To make sweet potato puree, peel and cube one medium sweet potato. Boil sweet potato for 15 minutes until tender. Then drain and mash and measure out one cup for recipe. You can also use canned sweet potatoes!
TO make dough:
Warm milk and orange juice in the microwave on high for 15 seconds. It should be warm, but not steaming or hot. Add to a mixing bowl and stir in yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, mix together mashed sweet potatoes, egg, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Stir into yeast mixture.
Once combined, stir in flour one cup at a time.
Using a stand mixer: mix with the dough hook for 4-5 minutes until the dough is soft and combined well. You can also do this by hand by working the dough vigorously in the bowl.
If the dough is very sticky, add another 1/4-1/2 cup flour. It’s okay if the dough is a bit sticky though.
When dough is really soft and smooth, add dough to a clean metal bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover and let rise for two hours until it doubles in size.
To make Roll (or rolls):
Stir together filling ingredients except softened butter in a small bowl.
When dough is doubled in size, flour a clean surface and roll dough out into a large rectangle. If you’re measuring, shoot for a rectangle that’s about 10×16 inches. Nice and big.
Spread softened butter over the surface of the dough. Then sprinkle with filling mixture. Cut dough into 1 1/2-inch thick slices. You can eyeball it.
Roll up one strip of dough and place it in the middle of a buttered 12-inch cast iron skillet. Then start wrapping other dough strips around the center until all the dough is wrapped, forming a large cinnamon roll. Alternatively, you can roll each strip into it’s own roll and place the individual rolls in a baking dish.
Cover the large cinnamon roll and let it rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake large cinnamon roll for 40-45 minutes until center is cooked and top is golden brown. If you have a thermometer, the internal temp should be 190 degrees F. (if you’re doing individual rolls they will need 30-35 minutes)
Let roll cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting.
Make frosting by combining ingredients in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or whip together with a hand mixer. Beat together the softened cream cheese and milk and then add the powdered sugar in 1-cup batches until the mixture is thick, but still pourable.