Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls will bring joy to your breakfast or brunch. A candied bacon cream cheese frosting really makes these special.
Sweet potatoes are available at our local markets year round, but for some reason fall really amps up my sweet potato cravings. We bake them and stuff them and casserole them, but have you ever had the earthy goodness of sweet potatoes in bread? If you’ve ever bought regular potato bread, then you know the joy of sweetness and smooth texture this particular kind of starch lends itself to.
Can you tell I love bread?
I love bread.
My first experimentation started with these sweet potato muffins with pecan streusel. They are soft and fluffy, and sweet… but not too sweet.
Which is also my favorite characteristic of these sweet potato cinnamon rolls. There’s only 1/4 cup of sugar in the whole pan of dough – just enough to feed the yeast. Oh!
The yeast. Don’t freak out, okay? I promise these yeasted rolls are both simple to make and totally worth any yeast-bread-raising anxiety you might have. It’s all gonna work out.
I filled my sweet potato cinnamon rolls with cinnamon sugar. Remember making cinnamon toast as a kid? How cool were you with your perfect cinnamon to sugar ratio on top of buttered crunch bread? Take all those happy seven-year-old skills and stuff them right into the middle of this dough.
Cream cheese frosting is a must in my cinnamon roll universe, so of course there is that. You might wonder what in the world a teaspoon of corn syrup is doing in the ingredient list? I learned a long time ago that just a dab of light corn syrup will make your frosting glossy and gorgeous just like in your favorite baker’s display window. It will set your frosting apart from the rest, I promise.
The crowning glory with these rolls though, are the equivalent of breakfast sprinkles: Candied Bacon Crumbles. Yes. Candied bacon started making its way into my baking regime with this Hunka Burnin’ Love Elvis bread recipe. Since then I have basically decided it pretty much improves most things.
You’ll see.
We definitely see! We also love using sweet potato in unexpected ways. Why not whip up some of Jennie’s sweet potato and black bean tacos or Jen’s kale and sweet potato pizza tonight, saving some extra sweet potato for these rolls tomorrow morning?
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Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
- 2/3 cup Milk
- 4 1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast 2 packages
- 1/2 cup Sweet Potato Baked and mashed
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour Plus and additional 1/2 cup if needed and more for workspace prep
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Allspice
- 2 tablespoons Light Brown Sugar Packed
- 2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese Softened
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar Sifted
- 3 tablespoons Milk Or cream
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Light Corn Syrup
- 4 slices Bacon Lean
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- In a small saucepan melt the butter. Pour in the milk and remove from the heat. You want the liquid to be warm to the touch but not hot (too hot will kill the yeast). You may need to let it cool for a few minutes. I always test mine with my fingers, but if you have a thermometer around 100°F is right. Your yeast package should have a recommended temperature if you don’t trust your fingertips. Add the yeast and stir. Then let it sit for 3-5 minutes and bloom.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix together the mashed sweet potato, granulated sugar, and eggs until smooth. Add the liquid and stir.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the 4 cups of flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and allspice. Gradually add this flour mixture to the sweet potato blend in the larger bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (you can begin adding the remaining 1/2 cup flour as needed; you want the dough to end up smooth and pliable, not too wet and sticky) and knead for about 8 minutes (less if you are using a stand mixer and not kneading by hand).
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a dish cloth. Let it rise for about 40 minutes.
- Mix up the filling ingredients.
- Butter 2 (9-inch cake) pans. Punch down the dough and press or roll it out on a lightly floured surface. You’ll want a large rectangle (about 13 X 9) with the longer sides closest to you. Scatter the filling across the dough leaving about an inch on each of the longer sides.
- Start to roll with the long side nearest you and then sort of pinch the dough to seal it. I like to place the seam side down.
- Cut the log in half and then cut each half in half, THEN cut each quarter into thirds. You’ll end up with 12 equal pieces. Place 6 pieces in each pan (5 around and one in the center). You may lose some of the filling when you transfer from workspace to pan. just scoop it up and sprinkle it over the top.
- Place the pans on the stove top and cover with a dish cloth. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Let the rolls rise for 30 minutes.
- While the rolls rise, prep the bacon. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay the bacon on the foil flat (if you have a rack to place over the foil that works, too). Mix up the brown sugar and cinnamon and rub both sides of the bacon with it.
- Bake the rolls for 25 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of baking put the bacon in the oven. Depending on the thickness it will take 7-12 minutes. Watch it closely.
- While everything is in the oven, make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar. Add the milk a tablespoon at a time. Then beat in the vanilla and light corn syrup.
- Frost the warm rolls. You may want to let the bacon drain on paper towels before crumbling and sprinkling over the top.
- These are best served warm or the same day but will keep for several days if covered tightly.
Notes
- I usually bake my sweet potato the night before (bake a few for dinner and save one!). 1/2 cup is equal to about 1 medium mashed sweet potato.
- The ingredient list looks crazy long, but it’s really just a few pantry staples broken down into steps.