Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

These pumpkin dinner rolls shaped like cute little pumpkins are absolutely perfect to serve with Thanksgiving dinner!!  These pumpkin dinner rolls are not only adorable but they also are delicious too! These sweet rolls have just a hint of pumpkin flavor.  I found the recipe for these rolls at Allrecipes and found the instructions for making them look like little pumpkins at Beyond Kimchee.  They may look complicated to make but I was surprised at how easy it was to make these.  

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water.  Let this sit until it becomes foamy on the top.  Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, heat the milk until it is scalding hot and then add butter.

Add the pumpkin into the milk and butter mixture.

Stir this until completely blended in and smooth.

In a large bowl combine flour, salt, sugar, eggs, and yeast mixture.  Stir together with a wooden spoon until combined.

Stir in the scalded milk and pumpkin mixture.

Stir until blended.  At this point I let my stand mixer take over and knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth.  You may need to add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.

Spray the inside of a bowl with some non-stick cooking spray.

Place the ball of dough into the bowl.

Cover bowl with a towel and place in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Place the dough onto a slightly floured surface and punch down

Divide the dough in half. 

Divide each half of the dough into smaller  roll-sized sections.

Flatten the dough into round shapes.

Using a knife cut around edges to make it resemble a flower shape while leaving the center intact.  Using your finger make an indent into the center of each roll.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes or until  the tops are starting to turn golden brown.   I made my rolls pretty large and the took about 18 minutes.  Just watch them carefully to be sure they don't overcook.

                          
 After removing them from the oven,  place a pecan sliver into the center of each one to resemble a pumpkin stem.  Aren't these just adorable looking?

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