Note: The story below appears in our Nov./Dec. 2014 issue. For the full story download our FREE iOS app or view our digital edition for FREE today!
Think about it: breakfast gets left out of holiday feasts, while our lunches and dinners are filled with a smorgasbord of Thanksgiving favorites. I know, turkey and mashed potatoes for breakfast? No thanks. But this year, I do want to start off my Thanksgiving morning with at least one flavor of the holiday season: pumpkin!
I read a description of pumpkin cinnamon rolls to my friend Liz and we both practically started drooling. That was my cue to go home and test the recipe right away. I was intimidated at first about making my own dough, but the recipe I found doesn’t call for yeast, a fear I have yet to conquer. Maybe one day…
Anyway, canned pumpkin incorporated into the dough gives these rolls the holiday flavor – and color – I was looking for. The dough was easy to roll out; I filled it with brown sugar and cinnamon, formed it into a log and cut it into the spirally cinnamon roll shape we all know and love. My kitchen smelled just like pumpkin pie as these babies baked! Topped with a cream cheese icing, my pumpkin cinnamon rolls are the perfect Thanksgiving breakfast. Bet you can’t eat just one, but I would recommend trying to resist to save room for the turkey!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from Ally’s Sweet and Savory Eats
For the rolls:
- 2 ¼ cup flour (add more, one tablespoon at a time, if dough is too sticky)
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 2 Tbl. sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup cold butter
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/3 cup cold milk
- For the filling:
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbl. cinnamon
For the icing:
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- Sift together dry ingredients. Cut butter into flour, working it into pea-sized pieces. Add pumpkin and milk.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough into a ½-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into a log; cut into 1- to 2-inch slices.
- Place each roll on a buttered pie plate or cake pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- While rolls cook, mix cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer. Spread icing over rolls while still warm.
Yield: 12 rolls
