Pumpkin Spice Rolls

Source: The Sisters Cafe

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons active dry yeast, or approximately 2 envelopes
1/4 cup milk
about 5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1  teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (I didn't have any so I left it out)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree, or a 15 oz can of pure pumpkin
egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with 1 Tablespoon of water)

Directions:
Heat milk to between 110 and 115 degrees (feels slightly warm on the back of your hand) on the stove or in the microwave and pour into the bowl of your stand mixer (I don't have a stand mixer, so I just used a large mixing bowl); stir in the active dry yeast, and let stand for at least 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, spices, sugar, and salt - I only added about 3 cups flour to this mix, then added the rest bit by bit as I stirred and kneaded, so it wouldn't become too dry), and mix well.  In a separate large bowl, lightly beat the two eggs, then stir in the melted butter and the pumpkin puree.  After the yeast has been activated, add the wet ingredients directly into the bowl of your stand mixer, and stir to combine. Then add 1/2 of the dry ingredients from the other large bowl, and stir to mix the dry and wet ingredients together.  After it is well mixed, add the remaining 1/2 of the dry ingredients and mix again.  Using the dough hook, allow your machine to knead the dough for you until it is smooth and still somewhat sticky (3-5 minutes) (or just do it by hand - it's relaxing!).

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, and cover to let rise for approximately 1 hour (it will double in size).  Then, remove the dough from the bowl, place it on a lightly floured surface.  Lightly grease a bar pan cookie sheet.  Cut or pinch off 18-24 evenly sized portions (depending on how big you want them) and roll them into balls that can fit into your palm (they don’t need to be perfectly round).  Space them in the pan so they are just barely touching the sides of one another; they will expand during the second rising time and during baking to completely fill the pan.

After your dough is shaped, cover it loosely with a towel, and let it rise for another 1-1 1/2 hours.  Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 F.  Once your bread is ready to bake, brush the top lightly with the egg wash, and sprinkle dinner rolls with chopped nuts or pepitas if desired.  Bake bread for approximately 30-35 minutes (mine took less - more like 25 minutes), until browned, or until an instant read thermometer inserted in center reads 190 degrees. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

Makes 18-24 rolls.

Notes:
I had seen this recipe on The Sisters Cafe blog around Thanksgiving time and thought it looked intriguing.  When we decided to have book group at my house this month, and one of the girls offered to bring soup, I knew I had to try them out.  As they were cooking the house smelled amazing - like pumpkin pie and gingersnaps.  I admit I was a little worried that these rolls would turn out more like dessert than a dinner roll, but when we ate them, the spice and pumpkin flavors were very subtle, even though the scent was strong.  They were very fluffy and soft and delicious, and everyone loved them.