Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls!

Well, thanks (again) to my buddy,Melissa, of Love at First Bite, I was able to make my first batch of cinnamon rolls ever. I was scrolling up and down her wonderful blog and decided that they looked sooooooo good, I just had to make them! Would you believe me if I told you that I had never worked with yeast until coming across this recipe? I guess I had always been scared of screwing up recipes just because I didn't know how to use it properly. How ridiculous is that? Well, I got over my fear and I'm so glad that I did because these cinnamon rolls were fantastic. I'd even venture to say better than Cinnabon. Hmmm....maybe I'm slightly biased because I made them. Oh well, sue me! What's cool about these rolls is that pumpkin was included in the filling and it just kicked the flavor up a notch--not to mention I've been looking for recipes that I could use all my leftover pumpkin for (and believe me, I have a lot!). Here are some pictures of my cinnamon roll adventure!

I got 20 cinnamon rolls out of this recipe! I made sure to give them away to family and friends because I didn't want to get stuck eating all of them by myself (which I easily could have done!). Speaking of the recipe, here it is. I hope you have just as much fun baking them as I did! And one more thing....the cream frosting is to DIE FOR! I'm going to eat one of the rolls I have leftover right now!


Pumpkin-Filled Cinnamon Rolls
(dough recipe adapted from Betty Crocker)


Dough:
3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast
1 cup very warm milk (120 to 130 degrees F)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 large egg


Filling:
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 c packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree


Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract


1. To make dough: mix 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add warm milk, 1/4 cup butter and the egg. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.


2. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Place dough in large well-greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour 30 minutes or until double. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.


3. Prepare filling: place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well blended.

4. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Flatten dough with hands or rolling pin into 15x10-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. Spread with filling. Roll rectangle up tightly, beginning at 15-inch side. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Stretch and shape until even. Cut roll into fifteen 1-inch slices with dental floss or a sharp serrated knife. Place slightly apart on a well-greased baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until double.


5. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.


6. Prepare cream cheese frosting: cream butter and cream cheese in a bowl. Mix in the vanilla and then the powdered sugar until well blended. Frost cinnamon rolls in the pan if eating them warm. Or, remove them to cooling racks and frost when cooled.


Makes 15 rolls

Thanksgiving with Dorie: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

Wow! It's been forever since I've made a post. With school being busy just before Thanksgiving break, working for my mom this entire week and having hordes of family members come in from all over the U.S. (and having them stay over at my place), I just haven't had the time. Until now! And I'm happy to be back. This week, we were given an extension for this week's recipe challenge since everyone would be busy preparing their Turkey Day feasts. This week's recipe--a pumpkin and pecan pie combo (hence, the "twofer" nickname) chosen by Vibi of La Casserole Caree --was the perfect dessert for my family's meal last night. The recipe is featured on her blog and received pretty good reviews from my family, even though it shared counter space with my more-favored Macadamia Nut Pie (which I'll post about later).

I know a lot of people can't stand pumpkin, but I love, love, love it...especially at this time of the year. I thought it would make a sensational accompaniment to the traditional pecan pie. This is what the pie looked like after filling the partially-baked pie shell with the pumpkin filling and then topping it with the chopped pecans.

Here, the pecans are soaking in a bath of the pecan filling, which consisted of dark corn syrup, eggs, brown sugar and some other yummy goodness!

As rude as it was, I insisted on having the first slice. I have a HUGE family and I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to take a test test so I could make a proper review. Now even though this pie was outdone by the aforementioned macadamia pie, it was delicious in it's own right. Others agreed. The pecan crust as well as the pie crust were so nicely crisped and the pumpkin neutralized the sweetness of the pecan filling. Perfecto! I'll definitely be making this one again!

Please stay tuned for more thanksgiving recipes. I've been doing so much cooking and baking lately that I'll be making posts for the next few days!

TWD Break & Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

Folks, I'm going to have to bow out of TWD for the next two weeks, only because they will be busy and I won't have time to make the recipes. I have a friend visiting from North Carolina this week, not to mention I have two exams, one of which is a midterm! Arghh! Then, this weekend, I'll be out of town to find a place to live in El Paso, Texas-my next duty assignment. I won't be back until Tuesday evening. So please forgive me! Who knows, I might feel guilty and actually make the Rugelach post tomorrow after all...even if I do have to study!

Anyway, on Halloween I made a Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Pie. I found the recipe in this month's issue of Better Homes and Gardens. I took one look at the picture and decided that I had to make it. Halloween was the perfect opportunity since I had company over and it was so simple to make and well worth the effort, as you can see in the pictures. I love cheesecake and the addition of the pumpkin is not only perfect for the fall season, but was a perfect complement to the sweetness of both the chocolate and the cream cheese. It was creamy and delicious and I will definitely make this for Thanksgiving! Oh, and I must admit that I "cheated" by using a refrigerated pie crust. It sure helped to speed the process, since I'd prepared the pie about an hour or so before company arrived.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, November 2008)

For Deep Dish Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablsepoons shortening

5-6 tablespoons cold water

For Pie Filling:

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 cup finely chopped semisweet chocolate or mini chocolate pieces

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup half and half, or light cream

Chopped Chocolate (optional)

1. In medium bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and 1/4 tsp. salt. Using pastry blender or two forks, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoons of cold water over part of flour mixture; gently toss with fork.
2. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon of water at a time, until all flour is moistened. Form into ball. On lightly floured surface, flatten dough and roll pastry from center to edge into a 13-inch circle.
3. Preheat oven to 450. Transfer pastry to a 9 1/2 to 10 inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim crust edge 1/2 inch beyond pie plate. Flute edge high. Line pastry with double thickness of foil. Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 6 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 375.
4. In medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 egg; beat on low speed until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture into cooled pastry shell. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate.
5. In bowl combine pumpkin, brown sugar and spice. Stir in 4 eggs. Gradually stir in half and half. Slowly pour pumpkin mixture on chocolate layer. To prevent overbrowning, cover pie edge with foil.
6. Bake 60 to 65 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove foil. Cool on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours. Top with chopped chocolate. Serves 8.

The pie was a hit. Ask Jacques; he was there. Lucky for me, I didn't have too many visitors, so I had some leftovers. My visiting friend, Heidi, and I had some for a snack yesterday and for breakfast this morning and it is still so delicious! So try it! You'll love it!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Pumpkin Muffins

I love fall! This recipe was the perfect recipe to ring in the fall season. There's nothing like the sweet aroma of pumpkin, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg all mixed together in one concotion that made up Dorie's Pumpkin Muffins--a recipe chosen by Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp. If you share my love for all things pumpkin--pies, muffins, rolls--head on over to her blog for the recipe! The recipe called for sunflower seeds and golden raisins, neither of which were in my pantry. I did have red raisins though and if I had done a little bit more thinking, I would have done what most TWD'ers did and added the chocolate chips I had on hand. Next time! When Rosie (my Kitchenaid) mixed up the batter, it was quite thick. Not surprising since I piled on the raisins and chopped pecans.

I used my cookie scoop to distribute the batter evenly (and with minimal mess!) into my muffin cups. I really packed the batter in. The recipe calls for about 20 minutes baking time and it's a good thing I thought to check in on the muffins a little early. Around 17 or 18 minutes, they had reached a very golden brown. I immediately pulled them out!

And this is what I got. I immediately took a taste test...well, both Lucy (my dog) and I did and we agreed that these muffins truly rock! They were warm, moist and so flavorful!

Since I didn't want to get stuck with a butt-load of muffins for the next week, I bundled the muffins up and took them to my Auntie's house for her potluck. I guess they were a hit because I didn't have any left over. I am definitely going to make these again...probably on Halloween because I plan on having some company over and the goal for that evening is to pig out on a smorgasbord of junk food! I can't wait!

By now, you should be dying to try these muffins! Then get on over to Kelly's blog for the recipe. And Kelly, you are to be commended for choosing it!