These are a tradition for Christmas morning, served with quiche and fruit. We do make them other times...a rainy day always make me feel like a good, gooey cinnamon roll.
The Dough:
2/3 cup milk
4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup canned/fresh pumpkin puree
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
(I use all white whole wheat flour and add a couple tablespoons of gluten.)
I heat the milk and butter until the butter is almost melted. Beat the eggs. Adding all the ingredients to my bread machine. I place this in my bread machine on the dough setting. :) Easy.
If you don't have a bread machine: Heat the milk and butter until butter is mostly melted into the milk. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter, pumpkin, sugar, and salt until evenly combined. Add 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast to the bowl and mix until smooth. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and knead/mix until a soft dough comes together. You may need to add a little extra flour to make the dough workable, but only add a bit at a time. This is supposed to be a very soft dough! Lightly flour your countertop and knead the dough for a couple turns until you have a smooth dough. Lightly grease another large bowl and turn dough into it. Rub the surface of the dough lightly with a neutral oil, such as canola, cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
The Filling:
This changes...
~3/4 c. butter
I add cinnamon until it is the color brown I want...maybe 2 Tablespoons.
~ 1/2 c. sugar
Sometimes I add other spices, or brown sugar. Mix this into a smooth mixture and spread over rolled out dough. Sprinkle with nuts, dried cranberries, raisins...whatever your heart desires.
Roll length wise and cut into a dozen 1 1/2" to 2" wide portions. Place in an oiled 13 x 9 pan.
Now you can let rise in a warm place for 40 min or so. Or you can cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. This makes Christmas morning much easier.
If you rise right away: After rising, place them in a 350 degree preheated over for 30 minutes. Remove and glaze/frost.
If you opt for overnight: About an hour before you want to serve the rolls, remove plastic wrap from the rolls and set in an oven with the light on. Place a pan of boiling water on the rack below the rolls, close the oven and allow to warm for about 30 minutes. When you can no longer feel a chill coming from the dough when your hand is lightly placed on top, remove pans from the oven and preheat to 350F. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and glaze/frost.
Glaze/Frostings:
I oftentimes just use a basic glaze of powdered sugar mixed with orange juice/lemon juice to make it runny. You can use as much as you want.
The picture is a cream cheese based frosting with a bit of extra oj glaze. I had a tub of Trader Joe's Orange Cranberry Marscapone Cream Cheese leftover and decided to use it. You can easily make a cream cheese frosting with:
4 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 T. milk/orange juice
Mix until creamy and spread on top of warm rolls. You can add cinnamon, lemon juice (less sweet), marscapone, or cranberries.
Always good, but I like them warm with a good cup of coffee.
