Pumpkin Dinner Rolls and Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

During Pumpkin Week here at Basil and Blue, I ended up baking some goodies and thought I would share them with you. I made them both vegan, and would be loved by anyone as they are delicious.  They would be a great addition to your Thanksgiving meal. Bon Appetit!

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

This recipe I've adapted from The World of Breads, by Dolores Casella and published in 1966.  This was one of my mom's favorite bread books, but I don't remember her making these rolls.  They are very easy to make!  The pumpkin flavor is not too strong, and makes a good all purpose dinner roll.

2/3 cup scalded, cooled milk (I used soy milk)
1 cup canned 100% Pure Pumpkin Puree
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. butter (or vegan butter)
1 t. lemon zest
1 cake yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
4-5 cups flour (can use all purpose or whole wheat, or a mix)
1/2 t. cinnamon (optional)
1/4 t. allspice (optional)

Combine the milk, pumpkin, sugar, salt, lemon zest, and butter.  Blend well.  Add the dissolved yeast to the mixture, along with 2 cups of the flour and spices, if using.  Beat well.  Gradually stir in more flour until the dough is stiff enough to knead.  Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead well.  Place in a buttered bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled.

Punch down and and shape individual rolls into desired shapes.  Here I just did simple balls in a rectangular pan that I had oiled with a little olive oil.  You could do them differently.

 Place on buttered cookie sheets, muffin tins, or rectangular pans.  Cover and let rise until doubled.

 Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.  Brush with soft butter while hot (optional).

My next pumpkin delight:

Pumpkin Pecan Cinnamon Rolls with Ginger Cream Cheese Glaze


The next recipe I just had to try was for Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Cinnamon Rolls.  While these are vegan, I make no claims that they are "healthy." :-)  They are a delicious treat, however.  Unfortunately, I didn't have all of the ingredients and had to improvise.  I also added a bit here and there.  You can see the original recipe and many other great vegan recipes here. The following is my adapted version.

Dough:
1/2 cup pumpkin puree, canned/unsweetened
2 1/2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 packet yeast
1/2 cup vegan shortening or butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt if using shortening.  No salt if using vegan butter.
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
+ extra white flour to use during kneading

Pecan Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecan, chopped
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

Ginger Cream Cheese Glaze:
1 3/4 tsp ground ginger
8 oz vegan cream cheese
1/3 cup vegan butter, barely melted
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash of allspice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/3 cup coconut milk (Silk)
2-3 T powdered sugar (I found I didn't need to add this, but you may want to)

This will take about 3 hours!

1. Combine the warm water and yeast.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, melted shortening, 1 cup of the flour, sugar, pumpkin, and salt.  Beat on low until smooth.  Fold in the remaining flour with a spoon until it is barely sticky to touch.  Roll into a ball and knead for 1-2 minutes.  Place dough in floured mixing bowl and cover with a damp cloth.  Let rise in a warm spot for about 2 hours or until doubled.

2. Filling:  Combine sugar and vegan butter.  Stir in spices and vanilla.  This should be thick but spreadable. Set aside. Keep chopped pecans separate, so this will be easier to spread.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4. After the dough has risen for 2 hours or doubled, roll it out onto a clean well-floured surface with a rolling pin.  Roll out very thin.  I rolled mine out on a silicone mat that was 16x23".  Spread the butter/cinnamon mixture over dough.  Sprinkle the chopped pecans evenly over the dough. Roll the dough tightly into a "log" the long way.  Slice into 1 1/2" rounds and place next to each other in a greased cake pan or rectangular pan.

5. Bake at 400 for about 25-30 minutes, but start to check after 20 minutes, depending on your oven.  Let cool for at least 20 minutes before applying glaze.

6. While they are cooling, combine all glaze ingredients and beat until smooth with a hand mixer.  Sift in the desired amount of powdered sugar, and stir.  Pour over rolls, and refrigerate the leftovers.