All right, all right. I admit it. I caved. We didn't last a week before going to the grocery store.
A (painfully) vegetarian stir fry was ready on the stove when Chad got home on Thursday, but my blood sugar was screaming for protein. Chad could tell the minute he saw me that I needed a good Smash Burger with rosemary fries (and goodness, don't we all?).
I gave a good fight, people, but in the end, I just couldn't go without cheese (or meat or butter). Maybe I'll try the challenge again when I know I'll have protein...if that's not considered cheating. Goodness knows I found protein this week by eating a couple things far too often:
lots of toast with almond butter
lots of fried eggs
lots of extra glasses of milk
By the way, have I told you I'm pregnant?
I'm pregnant.
Twenty weeks pregnant.
Which makes me need to eat even more often and have even more protein.
So I did darn well staying away from the grocery store for as long as I did, thank you very much.
I am happy to say we now have a bag of frozen chicken breasts in our freezer and a big chunk of cheddar cheese in our fridge. And the Costco list that was hungrily added to all week was put to good use on Friday.
To make up for my
You're going to die.
They are autumn on a plate.
And, to make things even better, they are glazed in a cooked-down spiced maple glaze. Holy what? I made them especially for my in-laws who came into town over the weekend (hence the lack of posts until now), but I couldn't wait; I baked a couple ahead of time so I could dig into that harvest goodness.
And dig in, I did.
Spiced Pumpkin Rolls with Maple Glaze
Loosely based on a recipe from So Good and Tasty
I highly encourage you to make this cinnamon roll spinoff as a weekend or holiday activity. The gorgeous color of the dough by itself is enough to knock you out cold, but just wait until they're baked and warm from the oven. You'll notice that I only used whole wheat flour, but don't think that spoils the texture of your favorite cinnamon swirls. The moist pumpkin perfectly combines with the whole wheat to make a workable, supple dough. I don't think you'll even notice the absence of the all-purpose.
I learned from serving these rolls over the weekend that they are significantly better when freshly warm from the oven. The glaze tends to soak into the rolls, so it's best not to pour it on until right before serving. The rolls are fine by themselves, but the glaze makes them irresistible.
And now I bring you (dare I say it) my greatest original recipe yet.
The Rolls
1 cup milk, warmed
4 teaspoons instant yeast
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (more if using homemade pumpkin puree)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice (ground cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg)
6 tablespoons butter, softened
In a large bowl, gently stir yeast and maple syrup into warmed milk.
In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, egg, oil, salt, and one cup of flour. Add pumpkin mixture to yeast mixture and stir until thoroughly blended. Add rest of flour one cup at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition. Add flour until dough holds together nicely but is still very soft; it will be slightly sticky. Knead for a few minutes until dough is smooth and forms into a nice ball.
Transfer dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let rise until doubled in size (usually about an hour).
On a well-floured counter, cut the dough in half and roll each into a ball.
Roll each ball, one at at time, into a rectangle that's about 1/2-inch thick. Spread dough rectangle with half of the softened butter. Sprinkle with half the pumpkin pie spice and half the brown sugar. Tightly roll the dough lengthwise, turn seam side down, and cut into fourteen equal slices. Place slices in a buttered baking dish. Repeat with other half of the dough.
Cover and let rise for about an hour. After the rolls have risen, stick the ones you won't be making right away in the freezer (leave them in their pan and cover tightly with plastic wrap). When you're ready to make the extra rolls, pull the frozen dough out of the freezer and let sit overnight. Pop them in the oven in the morning and you have fresh, homemade goodness.
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Be sure not to over bake them or they will be dry.
While the rolls are baking, prepare the maple glaze (recipe below; you'll want to double it if you make all the rolls at once). When rolls are finished, let them cool for a couple minutes before pouring on the glaze.
Be sure to serve these rolls while they're still nice and warm.
Makes 28 rolls.
The Glaze
In a small saucepan, heat one cup of pure maple syrup with 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice over medium heat. Whisking constantly, cook the syrup for 5 - 7 minutes. Let cool for a couple minutes before pouring over cinnamon rolls, waffles, or oatmeal. Glaze will thicken as it cools.
