These incredibly soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls start with a spice cake mix for wonderful fall flavors in every bite!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’ve never made cinnamon rolls from a cake mix, let me tell you, you’re missing out. And these Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls may just be my new favorite flavor.
Let’s get one thing straight right from the start, these are pumpkin spice rolls, not pumpkin rolls–meaning there isn’t any actual pumpkin in them. Just the pumpkin spice!
Okay, not that we’ve got that settled, I can tell you how amazing they are!
There are a few things I love about starting my cinnamon rolls with a cake mix. First of all, the dough is incredibly, wonderfully soft. And it stays that way much longer than a traditional cinnamon roll.
It’s probably all of the preservatives in the cake mix or something. Whatever! They are delicious and I do not care!
The other thing I love about cake mix sweet rolls is all the different varieties you can make. I’m talking red velvet sweet rolls, chocolate sweet rolls, Funfetti, strawberry…..if there is a cake mix, you can turn it into a batch of soft, fluffy cinnamon rolls.
So if you can find a pumpkin cake mix, you can even make pumpkin cinnamon rolls!
This particular batch started with a spice cake mix, which I filled with a pretty traditional cinnamon roll filling and topped with the perfect cream cheese glaze.
Like I said, these rolls stay soft for days. And if they last that long at your house, you have much better self-control than the people who live here!
This is the perfect recipe to try on the weekend, or over Thanksgiving break, with your kids. I hope you love them as much as we do!
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Spice cake mix
- Yeast
- Flour
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Spices: pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, salt
- Cream cheese
- Vanilla
- Milk
- Powdered sugar
Cake Mix Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls:
- 1 16.5 oz. box spice cake mix
- 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/2 cups flour
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup butter very soft
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir yeast into warm water; set aside. In a large bowl combine cake mix, salt and 4 cups of the flour. Stir in the yeast and water. Gradually add the last 1/2 cup flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and a soft but slightly sticky dough forms.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough is doubled in size, about 60 minutes.
- Turn dough onto a large, floured surface and knead once or twice. Roll dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide, 28 inches long and 1/4 inch thick.
- Spread soft butter evenly over dough. Combine brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon and sprinkle over butter.
- Once you have spread the butter and spice mixture over the dough, cut the large rectangle in half to form two smaller rectangles. Starting with a long end, roll each rectangle into a log. Slice the dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces.
- Place the rolls into 2 greased 9×13 pans (or a 9×13 and a 9×9, depending on how many rolls you have). Cover the rolls and let rise until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
- While rolls cook, beat the cream cheese and butter for the frosting with an electric mixer until creamy. Mix in the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of milk.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar and salt, mixing until smooth. Add more milk, if needed, until frosting reaches desired consistency. Spread frosting over hot rolls.
4 comments
Crystal
Can these be made in my bread machine on the dough setting?
Danelle
I have never tried it, so I honestly couldn’t say. I’d love to know how it turns out if you do.
Platt College
I love cinnamon rolls. Add pumpkin spice and you got a winner!
Betty
Saving this! Sounds like the perfect weekend breakfast. I like pumpkin spice more than pumpkin, so these are right down my alley. 🙂