Pumpkin Chai Cinnamon Rolls
October means pumpkins and chai in my household, so what better way to usher in one of my favorite months than by baking up a batch of pumpkin chai cinnamon rolls?! When you taste these, you will cease thinking about quite literally anything else. So please, do yourself a favor and embark on this small labor of love to enjoy the most mouthwatering, fluffy, and absolutely delicious cinnamon rolls you will ever taste!
Original recipe from Orchids + Sweet Tea linked here
INGREDIENTS
CHAI TEA MIXTURE
1/2 cup whole milk
2 chai tea bags
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp chai spice blend (see below!)
CHAI SPICE BLEND
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
PUMPKIN DOUGH
4 cups (512g) all purpose flour
2 cups (240g) bread flour
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) rapid rise yeast
2 tbsp pumpkin spice blend (see notes!)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup (64g) warm water
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (roughly 65g) brown sugar
1 1/4 cup (roughly 299g) whole milk, room temperature
1 cup (250g) pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, room temperature
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted + cooled until warm
2 tsp good vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
FILLING
1/2 cup (90g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp cardamom
3-4 tbsp chai spice blend
CHAI-INFUSED MAPLE VANILLA GLAZE
3 cups (90g) powdered sugar (A.K.A. icing sugar), sifted
4 oz (113g) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
3 tbsp cooled chai tea mixture*
1 tsp good vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp maple syrup
*Can also use chai concentrate instead
Instructions
Combine yeast and 1 tablespoon brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and slowly pour in warm water while stirring frequently. Allow 10 minutes for the mixture to sit and for the yeast to activate.
Add in the room temperature milk and warm melted butter to the yeast mixture and whisk until well combined. Add in the eggs (one at a time), pumpkin puree, and vanilla, whisking to incorporate.
In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, brown sugar, pumpkin spice blend, and kosher salt and add them to the wet ingredients and mix on low-speed until well combined and everything begins to form into a dough-like consistency, about 2-3 minutes.
Change “mixer head” to kneading accessory and knead dough for 5-10 minutes on high speed until dough ball becomes smooth and elastic and dough springs back when lightly pressed together with 2 fingers. NOTE: If dough is still too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until texture is achieved!
Lightly grease a large bowl with a small amount of olive oil and place the dough ball in the bowl, tossing it around until coated. Cover with plastic wrap (or a towel) and let sit for 1-3 hours, allowing the dough to rise and double in size.
In the meantime, you can work on the filling. Add the softened the butter (best if done at room temp. so that it's more "paste-like" in texture once smeared) in a bowl and add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar, mixing them together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together your chai spice blend by adding cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, cardamom, and ground cloves. Set this aside as well for later.
Once the dough has risen fully, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9x13 pan with butter. Set aside while you work on the cinnamon rolls.
Add a bit of flour to a surface and place the dough onto it, lightly adding a bit of flour to the top. Using a rolling-pin, roll out the dough into a rectangular shape (approximately 9″x14 and ½-inch thick), trimming the edges if needed. NOTE: Try not to make the dough too thin or else rolling it up will be hard to do!
Generously add the softened butter and spice filling mixture atop the dough (spreading it out evenly with a spoon or spatula), followed by a sprinkling of more brown sugar and chai spice mixture, ensuring that the top is coated evenly.
Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut strips lengthwise through the dough. Roll up each cinnamon roll individually and place in the prepared baking dish. This will ensure the cinnamon rolls are uniform in size.
Then place plastic wrap or a tea towel over the baking dish with rolls and let them rise again for another 20 minutes.
Once the rolls have doubled in size or have gotten significantly larger, bake them for approximately 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven. While all the baking magic is happening, make the chai tea mixture and glaze.
In a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, add the milk and bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Add the tea bags and let it boil for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let everything steep for 5-6 minutes.
Once fully steeped, remove tea bags and whisk in 2 teaspoons of the leftover chai spice mixture and stir until well combined. Let cool completely.
In a bowl, beat (either by hand or using a hand-mixer) the softened cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Add the powdered sugar, chai tea mixture, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and beat everything together until the glaze becomes smooth and velvety. NOTE: Add additional chai tea mixture (1 tablespoon at a time) if the glaze is too thick or powdered sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) if too thin.
Spread the glaze atop the rolls using a rubber spatula evenly until generously covered. To serve, cut out each roll desired and enjoy! Note that these stay good refrigerated for up to 5 or 6 days and stay frozen for up to 2 months!
