Pumpkin Dinner Rolls for Thanksgiving

Not only are these dinner rolls adorable, they’re super fluffy with a hint of sweet and pumpkin flavor that kids and adults alike will love. It’s even more fun when the kids help make them!

I always try to find a fun food project to do with the kids on the holidays. For Thanksgiving this year, I saw these adorable Pumpkin Dinner Rolls from Beyond Kimchee and thought it would be a great project to do with my little nieces and nephew.

As soon as I started gathering things for the dough, I had several helpers. My nephew measured out the pumpkin and helped with some of the wet ingredients, but then he got bored and ran off, quickly replaced by his sister who was happy to dump in the flour and other things. She helped till it was time to put the dough in the bread machine.

When the dough was done, I thought I’d have several helpers to shape the dough, but they were all too busy. It turns out I only had one helper to make the pumpkin rolls: my little 3-year-old niece. She helped me shape the dough into balls and then flattened them for me while I cut the slits in the side. Her little finger was just the right size to poke the holes in the middle of the buns.

When they were ready to cook, she helped me turn the oven on and went with me to put the buns in the oven. And she went with me to check if they were done. We set them on the table and she wanted to try one right away. She likes to hold the pumpkin roll by the “stem”. We’ve spent most of the day together, my little niece and I. We’ve been reading books, blowing bubbles and catching them on the wand, then popping them with her nose and giggling. She drew pictures for me and brought me a peacock feather. She played “you can’t catch me” with the dogs and spun around on the sit & spin. Now she’s settling down to read another book with Gramma.

I halved the recipe for these dinner rolls and I’m really not sure why I did that. The rolls went so fast, I think I’ll make the full recipe next time and maybe use more whole wheat flour/less white.

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls for Thanksgiving

• Yield: 15 - 20 buns, depending on how big you make the buns 1x

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Ingredients

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• 3/8 cup milk
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 package)
• 2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

For the “stems”: about 10 pecan halves, broken or cut into vertical slices

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Instructions

1. Put all the ingredients except the pecans in the bread machine and set it on the dough setting.
2. When the dough is done, shape it into a bunch of little balls, then flatten the balls slightly and cut several slits around the edges of the buns.
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4. If you have a little helper, have your helper poke holes in the center of the flowers (or use your pinky to poke the holes.
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6. They will like a bunch of flowers. Insert a pecan sliver into each of the holes in the center. You might need to poke some of them again to get the pecan to sit in there upright.
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8. Spray them with cooking spray and let them rise for about an hour or so or until they are doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 350, and bake for about 20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Spray with cooking spray or brush lightly with melted butter. Now they look more like pumpkins!

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Notes

You can brush the rolls with egg wash before baking if you like. I had intended to do that, but forgot.

If you don’t have a bread machine, see the original recipe for mixing instructions.

This recipe was shared at Show & Share Wednesday, Wednesday Extravaganza and Foodie Friends Friday.