Round one experiment was cinnamon rolls with a kiss of pumpkin. My brother and I are fiends for a Cinnabun at the mall. I got this recipe from the blog RecipeGirl.
Note: If you're gonna make these, make sure you have the time. These are easy to make but a smidge time consuming because of the dough rising.
Dough:1/3 cup milk or soymilk
2 Tbs butter
½ cup canned pumpkin or mashed cooked pumpkin
2 Tbs granulated sugar
½ tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
Filling:
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs melted butter
Icing:
¼ cup (4 Tbsp.) butter
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbs milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
½ to ¾ cup sifted powdered sugar
In a small saucepan, heat milk and 2 Tbsp. butter until almost melted, stirring constantly.
In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with an electric mixer until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flours. Add half of flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Beat mixture on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft). Turn into lightly greased bowl (butter works just fine), then grease surface of dough lightly. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. My girlfriend Jess told me the higher the location you let things rise- the better. Don't ask the physics- just words of wisdom passed down.
Do not panic if you do not have bread flour. I'm stuck at home in a blizzard- I have the bare essentials. You can substitute bread flour with all-purpose flour. However, it will not come out as firm. Bread flour is used in pizza dough and such so it's got that strong rise. There's nothing wrong with all-purpose flour as a sub- just know it's not gonna be the exact same results.
Punch dough down. Turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy to handle. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 12×10-inch rectangle.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush surface of dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jelly-roll style. Pinch seam to seal. With a sharp serrated knife, gently cut roll into twelve 1-inch slices. Place rolls cut-side-up in greased (be generous with that butter- spray stuff aint gonna cut it) 9-inch-square baking pan. 
Dust off some of the flour. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls about 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack. Cool 10 to 15 minutes.
While rolls are cooling, prepare icing: In small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cool over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and cool mixture slightly. Stir in vanilla, salt and powdered sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended. If necessary, add more powdered sugar for desired consistency.Drizzle icing over warm rolls. Enjoy!
