BUT, when I woke up to this:
I looked in my pantry and saw my rows and rows of canned pumpkin. I MAY have a problem with buying canned pumpkin every time I see it on sale! Ha ha!
Anyways, I suddenly got the idea of making pumpkin cinnamon rolls! YUM! I got on my computer, googled it, and there were tons and tons of recipes. I looked through some of the ones I thought sounded good, then decided to tweak the recipes to make them a little bit healthier.
The result is a cinnamon roll that is not too sweet, has a hint of pumpkin flavor, and brings out all the smells/tastes of fall. AND, I have to say that they were better than ones I've had at pastry shops where you can taste all the butter/oil in them. The pumpkin puree makes them a little more dense than traditional cinnamon rolls, so they are not as light and fluffy, but they are still pretty good! Warm, gooey, yumminess! :)
*Note: These do take quite a bit of time to prepare, but most of it involves just waiting for the dough/rolls to rise. This is a perfect thing to make on a cold, winter day..or a snow day, as was my case. My boys loved helping me, but they loved eating them even more! :)
Ingredients:
Makes roughly 15 cinnamon rolls
For the Dough:
* 1/4C warm water
* 2 1/4tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 package)
* 1/3C warm almond milk (you can use soy or regular milk too)
* 1 flax egg (1Tbl, ground flax mixed with 3Tbl. water) (or you can use 1 egg)
* 3/4C pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
* 1Tbl. melted Earth Balance butter
* 1 1/4C whole wheat pastry flour
* 2C all-purpose flour
* 1/2C brown sugar
* 1tsp. salt
* 1Tbl. pumpkin pie spice
For the filling:
* 1Tbl. melted Earth Balance butter
* 1/3C brown sugar
* 1Tbl. pumpkin pie spice
For the Glaze:
* 1/2 -1C powdered sugar (I always start with 1/2C, then add more depending on taste)
* 1/2tsp. vanilla
* 1Tbl. almond milk
Directions:
1. Stir yeast into the warm water and set aside. In another bowl, mix the ground flax and water together and set aside. Let both sit for 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix almond milk, salt, pumpkin, butter, 1 1/4C whole wheat pastry flour, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Add the yeast mixture and flax egg and beat vigorously for 2 minutes.
3. Slowly add the all-purpose flour, 1/2C at a time, until the dough is stiff and ready to knead.
4. Place dough onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough. *Note: during the kneading, I am constantly flouring my hands and the surface to keep the dough from sticking.
5. Place the dough into a greased bowl and turn to coat all sides.
6. Cover with plastic wrap/wax paper and let rise in a warm spot for 1-1 1/2hours, or until dough has roughly doubled in size. *Note: I did this on a cold day, so I actually placed my dough in the oven set at 100degrees.
14. While the rolls bake, prepare the frosting. Combine the milk, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Mix until smooth. Like I mentioned above, I start with 1/2C powdered sugar and add more to taste.
15. Let the rolls cool slightly before frosting.
16. Serve warm and enjoy! Yum, yum, yum! :)
