Today I'm going to keep things simple. I'm not going to write a defense speech why this is my 4th pumpkin recipe posted in less than a month. I think it's pretty obvious I LOVE pumpkin!! Look at these rolls, how could someone not love pumpkin? These rolls are even better then the regular cinnamon rolls I used to make with dairy butter and milk. I'm warning you, these are addictive! I made them a couple of days ago and already hubby put a request in for another batch. We could not stop eating them! Trust me, forget your cinnamon rolls recipe, it's high time you make some pumpkin cinnamon rolls! They are sweet, buttery, gooey, flaky, with swirls of shredded pumpkin infused with cinnamon and nutmeg. And to top them, as if the rolls themselves weren't enough, a cream cheese maple icing. Dare to resist them!
Probably the hardest part to make this rolls is to wait for them to cool down so you don't burn your tongue. Trust me, it hurts :(
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (vegan)
Start by cleaning 2-3 pie pumpkins. Peel and scoop the seeds out. Shred the flesh. In a heavy pot mix the shredded pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in the raw. Cook over low hear until soften. Let it cool completely.
When the pumpkin mixture is cooled it's time to make the dough. In a bowl, mix the yeast with lukewarm almond milk. Let it proof. Meanwhile sift together the flours and melt the butter. When the yeast mixture has doubled in volume and lots of bubbles appear add the melted and cooled butter, 1 cup pumpkin mixture, 1/4 cup sugar in the raw and a pinch of salt. Give the mixture a whisk or two. Slowly add the flour, 1/4 cup at a time. The dough will be elastic and smooth and will clean itself from the sides of the mixing bowl.
Put the dough into a buttered bowl and let it rise until doubled in volume. When doubled, knead the dough by hand for a couple of seconds and with a rolling pin roll out on a floured surface into a ~ 20X10 inches rectangle. Spread the remaining pumpkin mixture on top of it. Beginning at the 20-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into ~16 rolls.
Coat the bottom and the sides of baking pan with butter. Place pumpkin cinnamon rolls close together in the pan and let them rise for the second time 10 minutes plus the time it takes the oven to reach 375F. Do NOT let them rise longer!
Bake until golden brown. Remove from the oven and spread the maple cream cheese on top.
Let them cool and dig in!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (vegan)
Ingredients
2 lbs shredded pie pumpkin 2 tsp cinnamon 2 tsp nutmeg 1/3 cup sugar in the raw
2 tsp. dry yeast 1 cup almond milk 6 tbsp melted but cooled butter 1/4 cup sugar in the raw 1 cup white whole wheat flour 4 cups bread flour pinch of salt
4 oz vegan cream cheese 2 tbsp. maple syrup
In a heavy based pan mix the shredded pumpkin with the cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/3 cup sugar. Cook over low heat until softened. Should yield about 3 1/3 cups pumpkin mixture. Let the mixture cool completely before starting the dough.
In a mixing bowl add the lukewarm milk and mix it with the yeast. Let the yeast proof. Meanwhile sift together the flours and melt the butter. When the yeast mixture has doubled in volume and lots of bubbles appear add the melted and cooled butter, 1 cup pumpkin mixture, 1/4 cup sugar in the raw and a pinch of salt. Give the mixture a whisk or two. Slowly add the flour, 1/4 cup at a time. The dough will be elastic and smooth and will clean itself from the sides of the mixing bowl.
In a buttered bowl let the dough rest until doubled in volume. Should take around 1 hour. When risen, knead the dough by hand for a couple of seconds and with a rolling pin roll out on a floured surface into a ~ 20X10 inches rectangle. Spread the remaining pumpkin mixture on top of it. Beginning at the 20-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into ~16 rolls.
Coat the bottom and the sides of a baking pan with butter. Place pumpkin cinnamon roll close together in the pan and let them rise for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F. Do NOT let the rolls rise for more than 10 minutes plus the time it takes the oven to reach 375F. Bake until golden brown, approximately 50 minutes. In a small bowl mix the cream cheese and maple syrup. Spread the icing on top of the rolls as soon as you take them out of the oven. Let them cool and enjoy!
