After the startling discovery of my husband’s pumpkin secret, I’ve taken it upon myself to try to introduce him to new treats that are filled with pumpkin flavour. I figured, maybe he just hasn’t tried the right thing yet, maybe that’s why he doesn’t get my love of all things pumpkin. Paired with the warm notes of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, things that contain pumpkin just make me smile this time of year. That includes Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer, and the pumpkin spiced tea bags that I recently purchased. We’ve tried them all since discovered his true feelings about pumpkin, and not one of these things made his heart flutter for All-Things-Pumpkin like it does for me. (Side note: Some of these things even have me, a pumpkin lover, very underwhelmed. Sad, but true.)
I had one last plan. My final attempt at getting him to come over to the pumpkin side with me. But, would it work?
I decided to hit his weakness – cinnamon rolls. Only, these cinnamon rolls have pumpkin in the dough and instead of just cinnamon, they are filled warming pumpkin pie spice. Would it be enough?
The verdict? Pumpkin is now welcomed by him in Pumpkin Pie and these gluten free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. 🙂
The wonderful flavour of pumpkin and spices fills these soft, gluten-free rolls. Can be made ahead and refrigerated before baking. Allow extra time for the rolls to rise if you refrigerate the dough. For Gluten-free AND Dairy-Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls: REPLACE the instant milk powder with 1/4 cup almond flour (ground almond meal) REPLACE the milk with soy milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk) REPLACE all of the butter with vegan butter (like Earth Balance) OMIT the Caramel Frosting.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Filling:
Dough:
Caramel Frosting:
Instructions
Filling:
Dough:
Caramel Frosting:
These are best served warm, however, I had great success with reheating them in the microwave for a few seconds when they were a day old as well.
Notes
A picture is worth a thousand words, so a video must be invaluable! Watch me make cream cheese filled Cinnamon Rolls, the technique for these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls is very similar. CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT.
Beth says
YAY!!!!! I have all these gf ingredients!!! Thank-you! I am going to try these.
Jeanine Friesen says
I hope you enjoy them, Beth! 🙂
Something Sew Beautiful says
Ooh these look amazing!! Thank you for including the dairy free options as well, although I am determined to make the caramel frosting as well 😀 I will let you know how it goes!!
Heather says
Thank you for pointing out the dairy free option! I totally missed that last bit and was bummed it had so much dairy in it. Can’t leave out the caramel sauce though, there are several good dairy free recipes floating around the web:)
Something Sew Beautiful says
Oh no!! I accidentally said “as well” TWICE in the same sentence!! Well, since it’s 5:30AM & I’ve been awake for 2 hours already, I’m gonna just blame it on that! #sotired
Jeanine Friesen says
Haha, it must have been too early here, because I didn’t even notice it until you pointed it out. 🙂 LMK if you work the dairy free option. Cream cheese frosting would be good too, or even just a glaze. Mmm…
Kelly Grace says
Jeanine–
I love your brain!! Those cinnamon rolls are so gorgeous. I will try them this weekend.
When you say pumpkin purée, did you use canned? Or did you make your purée from fresh pumpkin? They give different results in baking. I want to get this right on the first time! Thanks a million!
Jeanine Friesen says
Why, thank you, Kelly Grace! One can’t just give up, can they? 🙂 I used canned pumpkin puree. I think homemade pumpkin puree would work, you’d just have to adjust things a bit (probably only 1/2 cup) because it isn’t as dry as bought pumpkin puree. Hope this helps!
Danalee says
Hi Jeanine,
I just wanted to say, my son tested pos for gluten sensitivity and it’s only been 2 weeks with the results,so I have just been familiarizing myself with the gf world and came across your blog. I love it, your recipe’s are amazing and so detailed. Corn dog muffins, cinnamon buns,potato pancakes, the onion rings.. I have made the first 3 and kids are happy, I messed up a bit, but everything still tasted great. Your cinnamon bun video helped. We are doing the onion rings this weekend. Lunches are surprisingly more fun. I have even ordered your book, after seeing your website. And you’re a prairie girl to boot. You are making this much easier than I thought, course it’s only been two weeks. I also made the buckwheat pancakes, the kids liked them better than regular. Thank you Thank you.
Jeanine Friesen says
Thank you very much, Danalee! I appreciate hearing from you. Although it may sound strange, I’m glad that your son was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity. I only say that, because then at least you know what is wrong, so many times things get overlooked for years with the person suffering. Once you know what the problem is, at least you know what to do to move forward. 🙂
It really doesn’t have to be a life being deprived of the ‘normal’ things. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! 🙂 I know I ate a lot of really, really bad things when I was new to GF, so I’m more than happy to share what works for me with others, so they don’t have to go through that.
And thanks for buying the book too! Perfect timing for you, since you’re just starting out. I am a prairie girl, from Manitoba! 🙂 Welcome here!
Danalee says
Thank you, I am a prairie girl from Alberta. You are so right about finding a gluten sensitivity, it gives hope. You know, we’re doing this for his behaviour, which has been over the top since he was 3, now he’s 7. Angry, defiant, never happy smiling kid. Tummy aches here and there, (but probably more than normal) since he was 2 and constipated, and hurt before and hurt to go. So we were used to his normal, how terrible for the him, really. In 2 weeks off of gluten as much as I know, no tummy ache, normal bathroom( he’s never had a normal for that department), can’t believe it and seems happier. Incredible. Thank you again for sharing your hard work.
Robyn says
Thank you for including the dairy-free alternatives. I’ll try these soon!
Beverly says
These look wonderful! I will substitute millet flour for the rice flour. One of the gluten free flours I’m allergic too.
Do you have an apple cinnamon roll recipe too?
Do you have a a carmel without corn or maple syrup?
Might decide to make a batch for my church circle’s bake sale too on Nov. 10, 2013.
I want to make some of the mini pies too for the sale.
I want to cruise your recipes to see if you have some dinner rolls as well.
Glad I found your website last night.
Thank you for the recipes. I would rate this recipe with a 4 before trying and probably move it to a 5 after trying. I do have to make the substitution for health reasons.
Bev Kendrick
Jeanine Friesen says
Hi Bev, thank you! I do not have an apple cinnamon roll recipe (yet).
I make a caramel sauce from this recipe (just omit the salt for regular caramel sauce): http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/05/22/homemade-salted-caramel-sauce-recipe/
Good luck with the bake sale!
AllieSong says
Absolutely amazing! Made them last night, served them this morning. Thank you for the fabulous recipes. Cinnamon rolls are one of the things I miss the most, I grew up eating them fresh from the oven and full of gluten. Had not found an acceptable substitute until now, Love the added pumpkin. Thank you again.
PS…My 8 year old daugher, took one bite and started listing all the special events at which she thought these should make an appearance.
Jeanine Friesen says
yeah!! So glad to read that, AllieSong! 🙂 I do have a standard cinnamon bun recipe here as well, quite similar to this recipe, in case you wanted a plain cinnamon bun. Makes me smile that your daughter is so happy about it. 🙂
Joanna says
Hi there, I can’t use the milk powder and almond isn’t a substitute I can use. What role does the milk powder play – are there other options I could try? Thanks — can’t wait to try these! 🙂
Jeanine Friesen says
You can omit it, the texture of the dough may just be a little different. Shouldn’t make too much of a difference though. I use the milk powder to up the protein of the dough a bit.
Cindy says
There is dairy free milk powder. Brand is DariFree – Nin Dairy Milk Powder. If you can’t find it in a store near you it is available online.
Kathyrinne says
So glad to have found this recipe! I made the dairy free version and they are currently rising. I did have a question about how many these would yield. Mine were quite large and I got 6 out of them. Is that typical? Have you tried making smaller mini-rolls out of this with any success? They look and smell incredible right now and I am sure they will look and smell even better when they are baking! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Jeanine Friesen says
Hi Kathyrinne,
I hope you enjoy them! I always make them into 8 rolls, and have never tried making smaller rolls. If you try it, let me know how it works!
Rosemary says
Oh GOSH! Jeanine! I came to get your recipe for regular cinnamon rolls that I love so much and I saw these…plans must change! 🙂 I’m so excited right now. Thank you!
Jeanine Friesen says
lol, I’m glad you’re adaptable, Rosemary! 😀 I think you’ll like these rolls, I know I’d love if a pan appeared in my kitchen. 😉 Enjoy them!
Krista says
Hi Jeanine! Love using your recipes! Do you happen to know if these can be made ahead of time and frozen? I’d love to take them to Grandma’s for Christmas for a yummy breakfast!
Jennifer R. says
Is there a nut-free option for the milk powder replacement? I can’t do nuts or soy or dairy, either.
Katie says
I am wondering if I want to refrigerate the rolls, do I let them rise prior to refrigerating or prior to baking?
Thank you!
Jeanine says
Hi Katie. I let the rolls rise AFTER refrigerating. They will rise a bit in the fridge, but will rise nicely once you take them out and let them warm up.
Robyn G Hovey says
I’m not sure if this will be noticed, since it’s an old recipe… but just a note on the directions. You say to cut the dough pieces and put them in the prepared pan, but nowhere does it say how to prepare said pan. I assume it’s just a greased pan, but I’d love to know what size before I attempt them!
I’m new to the gluten free thing, and have been loving your recipes so far. Much simpler flour bases than all the other new styled doughs calling for whey protein isolate and pure powdered pectin and other things not likely in my kitchen, despite having a cabinet full of various gluten-free flours.