Pumpkin Crescent Rolls for Dinner

It’s always fun to make festive breads for Holiday gatherings. I particularly enjoy making these Pumpkin Crescent Rolls. The canned pumpkin adds a wonderful, deep color to the rolls and pumpkin pie spice provides just a hint of flavor.

You’ll like these rolls even if you’re not a fan of pumpkin bread. My sons would never have known there was pumpkin in the rolls if I hadn’t told them. They thought the rolls had cinnamon in them. My oldest son loves cinnamon so that’s a good thing.

Pumpkin Crescent Rolls

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Start to Finish: 2 hours, 40 minutes

Tip: To help with Holiday preparations, you can prepare these rolls up to 12 hours ahead, then cover and refrigerate. About 1 1/2 hours before serving, remove rolls to a warm place to rise until double in size. Bake at 400 for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 to 4 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 package regular active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 to 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 egg

Directions:

Yield: 16 rolls.

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour, the yeast, brown sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.

In 1-quart saucepan, heat water, pumpkin and 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat to 120°F to 130°F, stirring occasionally.

Add pumpkin mixture and egg to flour mixture. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.  By hand, stir in just enough of the remaining 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour to make a soft dough that leaves sides of bowl.

Place dough on floured surface. Knead 3 to 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy.

I covered the dough with a bowl and let it rest about 10 minutes before kneading. Letting it rest (autolyse) helps the gluten start to develop so you don’t use as much flour during the kneading process.

Place dough in large bowl greased with oil, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until double in size.

Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead a few times. Shape dough into a ball, then flatten.  Roll into 15-inch circle.

Spread with remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Cut into 16 wedges.

Roll up each wedge, starting at wide end. On ungreased cookie sheet, place rolls with points underneath and curve slightly.

Cover and let rise in warm place 20 to 30 minutes or until double in size.

Heat oven to 400. Bake uncovered 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve these aromatic rolls warm.

 

These rolls were a big hit with my family. I hope they will be with yours as well.