With love, from my little kitchen to you...: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

It's fall in New England, and pumpkins are all over the place, so I was inspired to make something pumpkin-y. And since I love cinnamon rolls so much, I decided to make a nice batch of pumpkin cinnamon rolls.

And, since I am not much of a baker, I searched the Internet for recipes, and this is what I came up with:

The Dough:
¼ ounce package yeast
½ cup warm water
½ cup scalded milk
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground clove
1 egg
4 – 5 cups all-purpose flour

The Filling:
½ cup softened butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

The Frosting:
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
¼ cup of unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt

For the dough:
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water and set aside.

In your stand mixer bowl, combine milk, sugar, melted butter, pumpkin puree, spices, salt, and egg with a spoon.

Attach the bowl to the mixer with the dough hook attached. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Then add the yeast mixture.

Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead with dough hook for about 5 minutes (or by hand on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes.)

Place in well-greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. (note: I rolled mine too big, which I do not recommend.)

Next, spread the softened butter all over the dough.
In a small bowl, mix together the sugars, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Then sprinkle over buttered dough.

Next, beginning with the shortest side of the dough, tightly roll it up, then pinch the finished edge together to seal it all up. Then cut the roll into 1 1/2 to 2 inch thick slices.

Coat the bottom of 13 x 9 baking pan with butter then place the cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350*.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth. For a thicker icing, add more powdered sugar. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.