Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

These pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls are made with pumpkin puree and warming spices. They are topped with everyone’s favourite cream cheese frosting! These pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls are the perfect treat for any occasion.

It’s that time of year when everything turns pumpkin! Who doesn’t love waking up to a nice warm cinnamon roll? These cinnamon rolls are extra special and perfect for fall with the inclusion of pumpkin puree and warming spices - they are sure to quickly become everyones favourites! These cinnamon rolls are SO fluffy! An added bonus of the pumpkin puree is the beautiful orange colour it turns the dough. So pretty!

Overnight Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

You can make the recipe the day before and allow the rolls to rise in the fridge over night. Once the rolls are in the greased pan cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight. Pop them out of the fridge about a half hour before you want to bake (while your oven is pre-heating) and bake following the directions. That way you can have delicious warm cinnamon rolls when you wake up!

Tips for making for Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

Okay - are we ready to start baking? Here are some tips for making these delicious Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls:

1. Don’t over heat your milk: If your milk is too hot you will likely kill your yeast and your cinnamon rolls won’t rise. If you find it too hot to touch then the yeast will too!

2. Flour your work surface: To keep the dough from sticking make sure you flour your work surface generously. I would also recommend flouring your rolling pin.

3. Use room temperature butter for the filling: I like to mix my filling ingredients into the butter to get a nice even filling. Room temperature butter makes it easier to mix and spread.

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

Makes: 12-15 cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:

For the dough

1 package quick rise yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

½  c warm milk 

¼ c butter

½ c pumpkin puree 

¼  c sugar 

1 egg

3 ⅔ c flour 

½  tsp salt

For the Filling 

½ butter, softened 

¼ c brown sugar 

1 ½ tsp cinnamon 

½ tsp nutmeg 

¼ tsp cloves 

¼ tsp ginger

For the Cream Cheese Glaze 

¼  c butter, at room temperature 

4 oz cream cheese, softened 

1 ½  c icing sugar 

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

In a small saucepan warm together the milk and butter, until the butter is just melted. Transfer mixture to a bowl or measuring cup and let cool slightly before adding in the yeast. Let it stand for 5 minutes. The yeast should start to foam in the milk.  

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium speed beat together pumpkin puree, sugar and the egg. Slowly add in the milk and yeast mixture. Mix in the flour and salt. Until just combined. Switch to a dough hook, and mix until a smooth dough forms (3-5 minutes).  Place dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in size. 

To create the filling, in a small bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar and spices until smooth. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a long rectangle roughly 16 by 12 inches. Evenly spread the butter and cinnamon mixture over the dough. From one of the long ends, roll the dough into a log, pinch the ends together to seal.  Cut into 12-15 rounds. Place cinnamon buns in a pie plate or cake pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. *If you would like to bake the dough the next day, let rise overnight in the fridge. 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake cinnamon rolls for 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

While the cinnamon rolls are baking, in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment over medium to high speed, beat together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in icing sugar and vanilla, beat until smooth. 

Top warm cinnamon rolls with cream cheese glaze. Enjoy! 

Red Velvet Cookie Sandwiches

These red velvet cookie sandwiches are soft and chewy and filled with everyone’s favourite cream cheese frosting! These heart shaped cookies are perfect to share - anytime!

I am so excited to share this recipe with you. When I started planning what I wanted to make for Valentine’s Day this year cookie sandwiches immediately came to mind. I knew I wanted my cookies to be heart shaped, so I needed a dough that would hold its shape and since everyone loves cream cheese frosting I knew it would be the perfect filling.

Red Velvet Cake has that hint of cocoa flavour and is incredibly moist. I wanted to make sure that my cookies shared the same characteristics while still holding their shape. The cookies have a true red velvet flavour. They have just enough cocoa powder and the addition of sour cream really helps to bring home that red velvet flavour and texture.

There are a few key things that you can do to keep the cookies from spreading while baking. It all comes down to properly chilling your cookies. Chilling them before you roll them out and before they go into the oven really helps them keep their shape.

The cookies are delicious straight from the oven but they taste even better the next day in my opinion. The cream cheese frosting keeps the cookies nice and soft, and that extra day gives all the flavours a chance to meld together.

Red Velvet Cookie Sandwiches

Makes: 2-3 dozen individual cookies or 1-1.5 dozen sandwich cookies

Ingredients

For the Cookies

1 c butter

1 c sugar

1 tsp vinegar

1 egg

Red Gel Food Colouring

2 c flour

¼ c cocoa powder

½ tsp baking soda

2 tbsp sour cream

For the Frosting

8oz cream cheese, at room temperature

½ c butter, at room temperature

3 c icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-3 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

Directions

For the Cookies: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vinegar and food colouring  to butter mixture. Mix until combined. Sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. On slow speed, add in flour mixture. Finally, mix in sour cream. Mix until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for minimum 1 hour

Preheat oven to 350F. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to desired thickness. Cut out cookies using desired cookie cutters and transfer to parchment lined baking tray. Chill cut cookies in fridge for 15 minutes before baking. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until cookie edges are light golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

For the Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, over medium to high speed, beat together butter and cream cheese until light and creamy. On low speed, mix in icing sugar, one cup at a time, until incorporated. Mix in vanilla. Whip on medium to high speed for 1-2minutes or until light and fluffy. Add heavy cream until desired frosting consistency is reached.

To assemble: Pair up similar sized cookies. Pipe frosting onto cookies and sandwich together. Store cookies in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Moist brown sugar cupcakes filled with a delicious apple cinnamon filling and topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting.

I didn’t think that we would have the time to go apple picking this year but I am so glad that we made the time. It is one of my favourite fall traditions. We decided to check out a new orchard this year and I am glad that we did. The orchard also made hard cider, so we had the opportunity to taste test a few different varieties. They also had the most delicious apple cider donuts - I am still dreaming about them! I already can’t wait to go back next year! Of course I had to make something with all of the apples that we picked. The most requested dessert from my friends and family is still this Apple Pie Cheesecake that I made last year. I won’t lie its a bit time consuming to make so I decided to take inspiration from it and made these cupcakes using similar flavours.

The cupcake itself is a moist cake with a delicious brown sugar flavour that compliments both the apple filling and the cream cheese frosting. The apple filling is quick and easy to make on the stove just the right amount of cinnamon - its great not only in these cupcakes but also in yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast! The cream cheese frosting is one of my go-to recipes. As my friends like to say everything is better with cream cheese frosting!

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes

Makes: 1 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes

1 ½ c cake flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ c butter, at room temperature

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

½ c milk

For the Apple Filling

2-3 apples, peeled and diced

½ c sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp cornstarch

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 c butter, room temperature

8oz cream cheese, room temperature

4 c icing sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1-2 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

Pie crust cut-out shapes (optional)

Directions:

For the cupcakes: Pre-heat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium - high speed beat together butter, sugar and brown sugar, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Alternating between wet and dry ingredients, add in half the flour mixture, followed by the milk and ending with the flour mixture.

Fill cupcake liners 1/2 to 2/3s of the way full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely. 

For the filling: In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine apples, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Cover and let cook, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes. The apples should release their liquids and begin to soften. Stir in cornstarch and allow mixture to come to a boil. The mixture should begin to thicken. Continue to stir until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before filling cupcakes.

For the Frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes).

Reduce speed to low and add in icing sugar one cup at a time. Mix until combined. Add in vanilla. Whip frosting on medium - high speed until light, fluffy and pale in colour.

If you would prefer a thinner frosting, add in heavy cream until desired consistency is reached.

To Assemble: Use a knife to cut a small cone out of the cupcake. Fill with approximately one teaspoon of cooled apple filling. Frost cupcakes as desired. If you wish, top with additional filling and cut-out pie crust shapes.