This delightful dessert is perfect for fall weather! You will love these twisted pumpkin cream cheese muffin buns. They are a cross between a cinnamon roll, danish and a sweet bun. Filled with a sweet pumpkin cream cheese filling, twisted like a knot and stuffed into a muffin tin. They are so good, you won't be able to put them down!
Looking for more pumpkin recipes? You will love my recipe for pumpkin cream cheese muffins, creamy pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin chocolate marble muffins and pumpkin swirl cheesecake.
This recipe was first published 10/04/21.
If you've already made the first version of these, the sweet cream cheese muffin buns, then you will love these!
Instead of a sweet cream cheese, these are filled with pumpkin cream cheese and pumpkin pie spices.
The glaze on top is also very fall feeling, made with some honey and cinnamon. It also has cream cheese in it so it's a creamy glaze that is thicker than the classic recipe I shared previously.
You will have some extra pumpkin since the recipe only calls for a quarter of a cup.
Some of my favorite pumpkin recipes are a simple pumpkin muffin (slathered in butter, of course), pumpkin scones and of course the timeless pumpkin roll!
This is not the type of recipe you want to rush through. The filling needs to be chilled for 30 minutes and the dough needs to be chilled for 20 minutes after you fill it.
While you let your dough rise, it's the perfect time to chill the filling. When done right, it's perfection!
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Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients with amounts and instructions make sure to reference the recipe card toward the bottom of this post. This is just a summary of what you need.
- milk
- active dry yeast
- all purpose flour
- cane sugar - can use white sugar
- brown sugar
- powdered sugar
- kosher salt
- butter
- egg + egg yolk - using an egg yolk gives the dough a nice rich flavor
- greek yogurt - the secret ingredient
- cinnamon
- pumpkin pie spice
- pumpkin puree - not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling, must be using pumpkin puree for this recipe
- honey - used for the glaze
How To Make Pumpkin Muffin Buns
Prepare the dough. You must first proof the active dry yeast in the warm milk until it is puffy and frothy looking. Then in a stand mixer combine the dry ingredients; all purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice, sugar and salt.
Pour in the yeast/milk mixture along with the butter, egg, egg yolk and greek yogurt.
Mix this together with a dough hook on low speed for about 5 minutes. You want the dough to be soft, smooth and pliable.
Roll it into a ball then place it back in the bowl to rise, you want it to be doubled in size.
Make and chill the filling. While the dough rises you can make the filling because that needs to chill for about 30 minutes.
Beat together cream cheese, pumpkin puree, butter, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Cover with plastic wrap and move it to the fridge to chill.
Roll out the dough. Time to roll out the dough. This is the same as rolling out dough for cinnamon rolls, into a big rectangle. 15"x20" is a good size to aim for. Make sure to dust your counter with a bit of flour so the dough doesn't stick.
Too much flour on the counter and the dough won't roll and too little it will keep getting stuck.
Spread the filling. Remove the filling front the fridge and stir it around. Spread it over the dough, almost to the edges.
Folding the dough. The dough is shaped like a rectangle right now. Think of it like a letter you are about to stuff into an envelope. You will fold the dough exactly like a letter, bring the two ends into the middle - trifold style.
Take a rolling pin and gently go over the top of the folded dough, getting out air bubbles.
Carefully move this back into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. I find a bench scraper helps to move it and why your counter should be floured well.
Twisting the dough. Cut 12 strips of dough, width wise. Take one strip at a time and twist it, then bring both ends together and tuck one end under. Stuff them into the muffin tin until you fill up all 12 muffin wells.
You need to work through this step quickly.
Bake. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Once they are out of the oven you can brush them with the glaze.
The glaze. The glaze is made up of powdered sugar, cream cheese, milk, cinnamon and honey. Simply brush it on. You can wait a few minutes for the pumpkin twists to cool, so it doesn't completely melt.
Storing
Since there is cream cheese in the glaze you will need to store these in the refrigerator so they do not spoil.
Just like if you were making pumpkin cream cheese cinnamon rolls, they should be chilled to store.
You could cover the whole pan or transfer them to an airtight container, or even a ziploc bag.
FAQ
No. You need to use greek yogurt for the recipe, greek yogurt is thicker than plain yogurt and also isn't sweetened.
I wouldn't, they could get stuck to the liners. Just make sure to grease the muffin tin and you should be fine.
Pumpkin puree has quite a bit of water. If you put the pumpkin puree on a paper towel you will see the paper towel absorb the excess liquid. You can see an example of this in this recipe for pumpkin cream cheese muffins.
Twisted Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin Buns
This delightful dessert is perfect for fall weather! You will love these twisted pumpkin cream cheese muffin buns. They are a cross between a cinnamon roll, danish and a sweet bun. Filled with a sweet pumpkin cream cheese filling, twisted like a knot and stuffed into a muffin tin.
Ingredients
Dough
- ¾ c milk, warm but not hot
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 3 ¼ c all purpose flour
- ¼ c cane sugar
- ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ c Greek yogurt
Filling
- 6 oz cream cheese
- ¼ c pumpkin puree (blot on a paper towel to remove excess moisture)
- 2 tbsp butter, room temp not melted
- ¼ c cane sugar
- ½ c brown sugar, packed
- ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch of salt
Glaze
- ½ c Powdered sugar
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 3 tsp milk
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Add the active dry yeast to the warm milk, let this sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cane sugar and salt. Add in the yeast/milk mixture, melted butter, whole egg, egg yolk, and greek yogurt. Mix with a dough hook, on low speed, until combined (about 5 minutes).
- Dust some flour on a counter and roll the dough into a ball, put it back in the bowl, cover with a towel and rise until doubled in size.
- To make the filling cream together the cream cheese, pumpkin puree, softened butter, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt for 2 minutes until fluffy. Store the filling in the fridge to firm up a bit.
- Dust some flour on a counter, roll out the dough to a 15” x 20” rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over the dough, almost to the edges. Fold the dough like a letter (two folds toward the center - trifold style). Use a rolling pin to very gently roll the top of this, to get out any air bubbles.
- Carefully transfer this to the fridge to chill an additional 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Generously grease a muffin tin.
- Pull the dough from the fridge. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut 12 pieces of dough along the width (see photos for example). Twist each piece and tuck one end under (like a knot), place each one into a muffin well.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until light golden.
- To make the glaze, mix together powdered sugar, cream cheese, milk, cinnamon and honey. Wait a few minutes after the muffin buns are out of the oven then brush the glaze on them.
Notes
Pro Tip: It's best to work fast assembling the muffin buns once you've pulled them from the fridge, before cutting. If it's too warm the filling will squish out everywhere.
Pumpkin: It's super important to blot your pumpkin and remove extra moisture from it. Take a few paper towels, spoon the pumpkin onto it and let it drain you can even take another paper towel and press on the top.
Extra Pumpkin: With the leftover pumpkin you could make this pumpkin cream ravioli for dinner. It's a reader favorite!
Storing: These need to be stored in the fridge since the glaze has cream cheese in it.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 359Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 242mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 7g
This information comes from online calculators. Although moderncrumb.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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