Ah yes... my most guilty baking pleasures of them all: cinnamon buns. I can't put my finger on why I love working with sweet doughs so much. Granted, working with yeast is time-consuming. The end result, however is more rewarding. There's a sense of accomplishment when you peak in and the dough has doubled inside. Plus, the flavor geared more towards my palette. I would take a cinnamon bun over a slice of cake any day.
Today's guest visited our kitchen for only a brief while. Introducing, Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns by Good Life Eats! They made their entrance quietly in the night and were gone in such haste, the frosting never left the bowl! Yes yes yes... the "quest" for the perfect Pumpkin Cinnamon continues! Having any left over pumpkin in the house is dangerous because it always ends up in some flour!
This version of Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns did not disappoint. I would have to try them back to back with the Amish Girl's version to assess whose cuisine reigns supreme. Delicious fall flavor- check! Beautiful rolls- check! Soft texture- check! Truth be told, I prefer my filling to have a higher brown sugar than granulated sugar which is an easy enough adjustment.
As for the cream cheese topping, it was used more as a dip because we were too busy eating the fresh rolls to pour it on! I do love, however, when cream cheese frosting calls for a little bit of lemon juice; it balances the sweetness and adds a hint of something special. As you can see above, our sad attempts to slather it on after the buns had cooled.
There was one tiny detail about this recipe that had me cussing. In addition to using all purpose flour, this recipe requires whole wheat pastry flour. I didn't have this ingredient on hand and overlooked it on the ingredients list. Why whole wheat pastry flour? It has a finer texture then regular whole wheat flour. You don't want grainy bread. Plus, it helps to yield a softer dough. You could probably substitute with straight all-purpose flour, but I do love the earthy flavor of whole wheat.
