Well, I’ve posted about these over on Instagram nearly every day since I’ve made them. I wanted to put the recipe here for those of you (show of hands, mine included) who prefer to see a recipe on a website, rather than a tiny instagram screen. Is this waxing on about how everyone needs them a sign of obsession? I think it might be, and I think it’s also a sign that I need to make them again this weekend. Maybe…if our new fridge arrives on Saturday like it’s supposed to. Our died a tragic death this week, and we’re currently living on peanut butter sandwiches, bananas and ramen.

A little disclaimer – the pumpkin shape is very, I repeat, very cute. BUT you don’t actually need to spend the extra time to make them into the pumpkins. This recipe is delicious even in the shape of regular rolls. Especially if you slather them in butter and dip them in cinnamon sugar. I keep pitching them as a Thanksgiving centerpiece, but I think I might enjoy them even more on the breakfast table with a pile of fruit and a few slices of bacon. So good.

Pumpkin Yeast Rolls

You’ll need:
1/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup white sugar (1 tablespoon for yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons in the rest of the dough)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (don’t add this all at once. depending on your pumpkin puree thickness, and baking conditions, you may not need it all!)
Cinnamon sugar & melted butter (optional)
Cinnamon sticks for stems!

To make:

1. In a small bowl, add water, a tablespoon of white sugar, and yeast. Stir together and set aside to rise.
2. In a small saucepan, stir together pumpkin puree and butter on a medium heat, stirring constantly. Allow to cool slightly.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add 2 1/4 cups of flour, remaining 3 tablespoons of white sugar, and salt. Stir in yeast and egg, and mix well. Add in pumpkin and butter mixture. Add in remaining cup of flour, 1/2 cup at a time (*note: you may not need all of the flour depending on the consistency of your pumpkin puree – you want your dough to pull away from the bowl, but not to get too dry. A little stickiness is good as long as you can still work with it!) Stir well until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 5 minutes until smooth (again….it’s better if your dough’s a little sticky here, rather than adding too much flour). You can use your dough hook instead if you have a mixer!
5. Cover with a clean, damp cloth, and let rest for 10 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into 9-12 equal pieces, and roll into round balls. Cut a piece of string long enough that it can wrap around the dough ball four times. You’ll need a piece for each roll.
7. Carefully place the center of the string over the first dough ball, flip over, cross the string over itself so it creates tension, flip the dough over again, and repeat. The goal is to create four equal cross sections of the ball. I shared a reel for how to do this! The string should be snug enough to stay in place, but no tighter than that, as it will tighten as the dough continues to rise. Tie a double knot at the end, and trim the ends of the string so they aren’t too long. Place onto a baking sheet, and repeat for all remaining dough balls.
8. Cover dough balls with a towel, and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until you can press a finger into the dough and it leaves an indent (if it bounces back quickly, it needs more rise time).
9. Bake the dough for 15-17 minutes, or until golden. Remove and allow to cool slightly before cutting strings and gently removing. Serve warm.
   
   *if covering in cinnamon sugar – melt some butter and brush on the rolls while still warm. Roll around in cinnamon sugar. Add little cinnamon stems on top for cute factor!