Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

I tried out this recipe on some friends when we had brunch and watched football a few weeks ago.  It truly felt like fall.  My friend S told me that she had N.E.V.E.R. had a cinnamon roll.  Seriously.  And, she grew up in a normal family in the midwest and not in Tanzania or somewhere.  Seriously.  So, you know I had to remedy that problem!  I think she liked them - at least she pretended to :)

Things I learned from making these cinnamon rolls:

a.  I need a new rolling pin

b.  I'm not that good at rolling out dough (clearly the rolling pin's fault)

c.  I'm more patient with food than I sometimes am with my kids

d.  Pumpkin flavored baked goods are amazing and a total portal into the land of dietary backsliding

e.  Cream cheese frosting makes everything taste better, but not necessarily look better

f.  If you say you're making pumpkin cinnamon rolls, friends who haven't been over in awhile will come over for brunch

g.  Make more than you think your group will eat

h.  The pictures on someone else's blog are way prettier than the ones on my own.

i.  Yeast dough isn't as bad as I make it out to be in my head.

Ok, life lessons aside, here's the nitty gritty on this recipe.  I followed it exactly in terms of ingredients and amounts.  After I formed the rolls, I put the pans in the refrigerator overnight.  The next morning, it took a good 2 hours or so for the dough to reach room temperature and rise.  I had to turn the oven on low, turn it off, and put the pans on the open oven door.  The pumpkin flavor was a little more subtle than I thought it would be but the spices were good and these were amazing, even without frosting.  Next time, I think I might do the brown sugar, butter, pecan on the bottom of the pan thing (or maybe try them in muffin tins?).

You can find the full recipe with gorgeous photos here on Bree's food blog.  Enjoy!