Pumpkin Swirl Loaf

This recipe usually comes out of my recipe box each fall. The spiced pumpkin is marbled with a cream cheese topping. I usually make one large loaf, but I wanted two flatter and wider loaves so I divided the batter between 2 pans.

Mix together well:

-1 cup pure pumpkin

-1 egg

-1/3 cup water

-1/2 cup melted butter

Add:

-1 1/2 cups white sugar

-1 tsp baking soda

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp nutmeg

-1 3/4 cups flour

Beat together well.

Cream Cheese Topping:

-8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

-1/2 cup sugar

-1 egg

Beat together until smooth.

Grease pan. Put half of the pumpkin mixture into the pan. Spoon half the cream cheese mixture on top, then pour over the remaining pumpkin mixture, and top with remaining cream cheese.

Using a knife swirl, making a marbling effect. Bake in 350º oven for 1/1/2 hours. If you make in two pans baking time will be about 50 minutes. If the topping is getting too dark loosely cover with foil. Allow to stand in pan for 10 minutes and then remove to cooling rack. I don't find that this loaf freezes well.

Spicy Chicken Soup

The season is upon us again to get the soups simmering on the stove top or in our slow cookers.
I love coming home to a meal all ready that just took minutes to assemble in the morning, and greets us with wonderful aroma that says "Welcome Home" and we enjoy a steaming bowl of soup. If your slow cooker is way back in the cupboard collecting dust, bring it out and start using it regularly. Just for this recipe alone, you will be glad you did.

Spicy Chicken Soup

• 2 cups of mild salsa
• 1 28 oz. can of tomatoes
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 onion chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix or more to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 cups of frozen corn
• 4 chicken breast
• 1/2 cup of freshly chopped parsley or cilantro

1. Put all the ingredients in to the slow cooker.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Take out the whole chicken breast an shred return to soup.
4. Add the chopped parsley.
5. Serve with sour cream or plain yogurt, grated cheese and Tortilla strips if desired.

Cinnamon Bun Cake

This cake really does taste like a cinnamon bun. Delicious served warm. I think it would be great to serve for brunch even if it is a cake.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon maple extract

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, vanilla, and milk.
2. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
3. Pour into a 9" x 13" greased pan.
4. Whisk together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, and butter until creamy
5. Drop evenly over batter by tablespoons and swirl through the batter with a knife.
6. Bake in a 350º oven for 45 minutes.
7. In  small bowl whisk icing sugar, milk, and maple extract until smooth.
8. Drizzle over warm cake.
9. Serve warm, although it tastes great even after it has cooled.

Meat Buns ~ Flashback Friday

It's 'Flashback Friday' and I am re-posting one of the first recipes I submitted to this blog...back on June 10, 2008.  It has also been one of our most viewed recipes and so I decided it was time to give it a bit of an update.  It is now re-formatted and has a new photo. The original photos appear in the collage at the bottom of the post.  Instructions for using instant yeast are also included.

There’s nothing quite like the meat perishky I recall from days gone by…a dainty meat-filled pastry. I have my mother-in-law's recipe but somehow couldn’t see myself rolling out all the dough and spending hours making tiny little pockets. So I adapted the recipe somewhat and came up with meat buns.  They are wonderful to have on-hand in the freezer and pull out for a quick lunch with pickles and cheese. 

Filling:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 package onion soup mix
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1. Brown ground beef over medium heat in large skillet…breaking up while cooking*.
2. Drain. Add onions and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Stir in onion soup mix and mushroom soup and heat through.
4. Allow mixture to cool completely (can be made ahead).

*Tip: Use a potato masher to break apart the meat as it is browning.

Dough:

• 2 Tablespoons yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• ½ cup lukewarm water
• 4 cups warm water
• 1/3 cup potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes)...optional
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• ½ cup oil
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 12 cups flour

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in lukewarm water. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine 4 cups water, potato flakes, sugar, salt, oil and margarine.  
3. Add beaten eggs.
4. Stir in softened yeast and beat in six cups of flour.
5. Continue to add flour until dough leaves sides of pan.
6. Knead until smooth and elastic.
7. Allow to rise until doubled in size.  
8. Then punch down and form meat buns. 
9. Pinch off balls of dough about the size of a small egg.
10. Flatten dough in the palm of your hand into about a 3-inch circle.
11. Place a spoonful of filling on the center.
12. Bring the edges of the dough up and around the filling and pinch together tightly to seal edges.
13. Place pinched side down on a greased baking sheet.
14. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place.
15. Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 20 minutes...or until golden.

Alternate method using instant yeast:

• 11 cups flour
• 2 Tablespoons instant yeast
• 4 cups warm water
• 1/3 cup potato flakes...optional
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon salt 
• ½ cup oil
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 eggs, beaten

1. Combine instant yeast with 5 cups of flour.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine water, potato flakes, sugar, salt, oil and margarine.  
3. Add beaten eggs. 
4. Stir in the 5 cups of flour with added yeast. Mix well.
5. Continue to add flour until dough leaves sides of pan.
6. Knead until smooth and elastic.
7. Allow to rise until doubled in size.  
8. Then punch down and form meat buns...as in instructions above.

*One recipe of meat filling will not be enough to fill all the dough.  Use leftover dough to shape into regular dinner buns. 

Spelt Buns / Bread

Spelt is an ancient grain and has a really nice nutty flavor. Lately I have enjoyed using spelt flour to make my buns and bread. It doesn't work any differently than other wheat flour and has a nice taste to it. I modified my Honey Bran Bun recipe replacing the wheat and bran for spelt to make these.

• 2 cups very warm water
• 1/3 cup of honey
• 1/2 cup of olive oil, or the oil of your preference
• 7 cups of organic spelt flour 
• 2 eggs, fork beaten
• 1 tbsp. dry instant yeast (added to the flour)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tablet of crushed Vitamin C* (optional)

1. Combine  honey, water oil, salt and eggs (and Vitamin C if using).
2. Add 3 cups of spelt with the dry yeast, stir well to mix.
3. Add remaining flour gradually as you are kneading to make a soft dough but not too sticky. You may need to add a little more flour as needed.
4. Knead about 8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
5. Place in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease all the dough
6. Cover with a tea towel and put into your oven with the oven light on, for about 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
7. Punch dough down and shape into buns or bread. I usually get about 3 dozen buns, or 2 loaves of bread from this recipe.
8. Let them rise on the cookie sheet or loaf pan for another 30-40 minutes.
9. Bake at 375 for about 15-18 minutes, depends on your oven and how brown you like them.  For the loaf bake for 25-30 minutes. The bread will sound hollow when you tap on it, then you will know it is done.

 * A professional baker told me a tip that they use in their bakery is to crush a vitamin C tablet and dissolve it into the water. I did that for one recipe and not for the other. The dough may have been a bit lighter in texture, but I didn't find it to be essential to have good results.  I also only had orange flavored tablets and we could not taste the flavoring in the buns at all.

Overnight Steel Cut Oatmeal

Is it really time to go back to school?  Parents  everywhere will be scrambling tomorrow morning to get backpacks packed, lunches packed, hair combed while trying to give their children a decent meal before they rush out the door.  You can lessen the misery and chaos by thinking ahead just a bit.

I've been trying various ways of making steel cut oatmeal.

Steel Cut Oats take much longer to cook than even large flake oatmeal and if you enjoy your oatmeal made with milk as we do, care and patience and lots of stirring is necessary to avoid a scorched pot.

Everyone likes their oatmeal a bit different.  Some prefer it still with a bit of chew and others prefer it with a creamy texture.  How do you like yours?  With milk, water, soy milk? Almond Milk?

or...gasp...Instant? 

Regardless of how you enjoy your oatmeal, there is no debate about the goodness and health benefits of beginning your day with a full grain breakfast.

Photo taken right after adding hot milk to the oatmeal and chia seeds in the jar.

30 mintues later the lid has popped to seal and I've given it another good shake.

There are various popular methods for overnight steel cut oats using a slow cooker and for large families that may be the way to go but with just the two of us I wanted to be able to have a formula for just enough for several days without using up valuable refrigerator space with minimal fuss and mess.

If you want to use a different liquid such as water or almond milk, it should be just fine using this recipe.

• 1 cup Steel Cut Oatmeal  (click here if you want to know what the health benefits of steel cut oats are)
• 2 tablespoons Chia seeds or Anita's breakfast Boost  (click here if you are wondering what the health benefits of Chia seeds are)
• 2 teaspoons butter  (optional)
• 3 cups low fat milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Bring 3 cup milk (or water or liquid of your choice) just to a boil.  I do this in my microwave but you can certainly do it on your stove top if you watch it carefully not to scorch.
2. Put the Oatmeal and Chia seeds and salt butter into a canning jar and add the hot milk.  You may need to experiment a bit on the size of jar you want to use.  If you want to double the recipe just use additional jars and multiply and then divide the recipe.
3. Screw the lid on tight and give it a shake. (use a tea towel...it will be hot) Walk by every few minutes and give it another shake and after an hour, refrigerate it until the morning.  My lid always seals and so I make enough jars to last a week at a time.
4. To serve, bring to a boil for one minute on the  stove top or else press the oatmeal setting on your microwave in  individual bowls or the entire jar..minus the lid. If you like a softer oatmeal boil for a few minutes.  
5. Top with a drizzle of maple syrup, a bit of additional milk to your consistency preference  and fresh fruit...oh blueberries are perfect on top.  How do you top your oatmeal. I'd love some feedback on this recipe.  

Almond Puff

For today's Flashback  Friday I'm going back to this Betty Crocker Danish pastry I posted seven years ago. It's a recipe that might takes many of us back to when we first started baking and became one of my favorites at a bridal shower in 1975. People have asked what kind of a filling it has and are always surprised that it has none and that, if fact, the pastry has no sugar in it.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temp
• 1 c flour
• 2 Tbsp water
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp almond extract or vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 3 eggs

frosting

• 1 1/2 icing sugar for frosting
• 2 Tbsp butter or soft margarine
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 - 2 Tbsp water 
• 1/2 - 1 cup roasted, slivered or chopped almonds 

1. Cut 1/2 c butter into 1 cup flour. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp water over mixture and stir with fork. Round into a ball and divide in half. 
2. On ungreased cookie sheet, pat each half into a strip, 12 x 2 1/2 inches, about 3 inches apart.
3. In small - medium saucepan, heat 1/2 c butter and 1 c water to rolling boil. 
4. Remove from heat and quickly stir in almond extract and 1 c flour. 
5. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball.
6. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth. At first it will have a slippery texture as you stir, but keep on stirring until each egg is incorporated to make a smooth pastry. 
7. Drop by Tbsp on top of strips and then spread evenly, using a wet knife, to cover strips completely, sides included.
8. Bake at 350 F for 60 - 65 min. When you take them out of the oven they will look like funny shaped , flopped French bread. Cool completely.
9. Frost and sprinkle with toasted almonds. Store uncovered or lightly covered with wax paper (room temp) to keep crisp. Can be frozen. 

Frosting: Mix  icing sugar, (confectioners sugar), soft butter, almond extract and 1 – 2 Tbsp warm water until smooth and easy to spread with a spoon.

Apple Pineapple Salad

Today's recipe is a fresh tasting fruit salad that we have often enjoyed at our extended family gatherings. It goes amazingly well with a turkey and/or ham dinner. You can prepare this the night before the dinner or in the morning of and it keeps well for days.

Ingredients:

• 6 - 8 apples
• 1 14oz can pineapple tidbits
• 2 cups pineapple or pineapple/orange juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch

Method:

1. Pour pineapple tidbits, along with the juice, into a large bowl.
2. Peel and chop apples into tidbit size, adding to the pineapple tidbits as you chop. Stir in between to allow pineapple juice to coat apples. The juice will keep the apples from going brown.
3. In a small pot, bring 1 cup pineapple juice to boil. In the meantime, shake sugar, cornstarch and 1 cup juice in a tightly covered container, then add to boiling juice, stirring until thick and smooth. Allow to cool.
4. Pour chopped fruit through colander, then mix with sauce. Chill to serve.



 

Making Soup in Marg's Kitchen

Join me for a day in my kitchen making my favorite soups. I love making hearty soups with chunks of meats and vegetables.  Usually, this is a full meal served with fresh homemade bread or biscuits.

Creating a large pot of soup allows that unexpected family member to drop by and leave with an appetite that has been satisfied.

Today I am featuring my version of Chef Dez's Bacon & Cheddar Corn Chowder.  I was at one of his cooking shows a few weeks ago and I'm always amazed at how he blends herbs and flavors together making you think that it came right out of your Grandma's kitchen.  I saw him packing up the extra grilled corn cobs.  I was quick to ask him, "What are you doing with the leftovers?"  I quickly volunteered that I had a perfect recipe...and would be willing to take them home and whip up Chef Dez corn chowder soup, using my version instead.  My version is adding more bacon and farmer sausage.

Moral of the story...I got what was coming and could not escape the consequences.  I was asked to cook my version of the soup and serve the staff at  Grand Pappys. 

I'm also highlighting a few of my favorite soups that you can find on our blog or in our cookbook.  This is the best time of the year to make soups with all those fresh garden vegetables that need to be used before the winter storms appear.

Bacon & Corn Chowder

First Step

• 12 slices bacon
• 1/4 smoked ring farmer sausage
• 1 medium onion diced small
• 1 large carrot
• 2 large celery stalks
• 4 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 tsp fresh tarragon
• 1 tsp oregano
• 4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp sambal oelek 

Second Step

• Potatoes  

Third Step

• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups cream
• 1/2 half red bell pepper diced small
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Cook bacon in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat until crisp. 
2. Remove bacon and reserve for garnish later.
3. Chop all the vegetables sliced thin and add all the ingredients above to the rendered bacon fat in the pot.  The grilled corn added that extra smoked flavor.
4. Add the chopped farmer sausage to the vegetable mixture.
5. Keep stirring and once the butter is melted, cover and turn down the heat to medium to sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes. Do not brown the vegetables.
6. While the vegetables are cooking, peel and cut two large potatoes (diced 1/2 inch) and steam them in water for about 10 minutes. 
7. Once the vegetables have steamed, remove the lid and stir in the flour.
8. Cook for about 2-3 minutes to remove the starchy taste of flour.
9. To avoid lumps, stir the milk in gradually to the flour/vegetable mixture and add the cream.
10.  I chose not to puree the soup.
11. Add the steamed potatoes, including the potato water. ( I can't waste potato water)
12. Add the diced bell pepper and parsley.
13. Bring to a simmer over medium heat stirring often to avoid burning.
14. Garnish each bowl with remaining chopped parsley and reserved bacon pieces.

Optional: if you like cheddar cheese you can add 2 cups to this recipe. I opted out! 

One of my favorite tools in the kitchen is a parsley mill. They can be found in any kitchen boutique.
Enjoy this soup and savor the flavors.  You will want to make this again.

 Green Bean Soup / Gruene Bohnen Suppe

 This bean soup reminds me of the good old days when my Grandma invited us for bean soup.   It's an all-time favorite and the secret ingredient for this soup is a small handful of summer savory.

Cabbage Borscht

I purchased a new spice ball and it's plenty big enough but serves many purposes.  I've added fresh beets to this recipe and don't forget to add a  handful of fresh dill.  Otherwise, it's not Borscht!

One more favorite ~ Harvest Corn Chowder

This soup is made with chicken broth and I have modified this by substituting cooked chicken rather than farmer sausage and bacon.  This too makes a delightful meal on a cold winter day.
My favorite cook-wear is Le Creuset.  They were wedding gifts and I have replaced some of my pots after 40 years.

Add a loaf of your favorite homemade bread or biscuits and you are ready to have a full-size meal.

What are your favorite kinds of soups?

Farmer Sausage Soup

We have a restaurant here in the Fraser Valley that serves a great farmer sausage soup...using ground smoked sausage.  I recently discovered that one can remove the raw farmer sausage from the casing and then brown the meat as a base for this soup.  We quite enjoyed it!

• 1 pound raw farmer sausage (or any similar smoked sausage)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4-5 cups water 
• 3 medium potatoes, cubed
• 3-4 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 cups corn (frozen or canned, kernels or cream corn)*
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup grated cheese

1. Slit casing of raw farmer sausage and remove the meat by scraping it out with a tablespoon. (If the sausage is not 'raw meat', finely chop before sautéing.)
2. In a Dutch oven or soup pot, saute sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. 
3. Add the water, potatoes,carrots, celery, salt, pepper, basil and cayenne. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender.
4. Add the corn and heat through.
5. Using a wire whip, combine flour and milk and stir mixture into soup. Add grated cheese and cook, stirring constantly, until soup returns to a boil. Cook several minutes longer to melt cheese and thicken slightly.  

*I like to use one can of corn kernels and one can of creamed corn.

 

Wild Rice Blend Soup

Cooler days are here, soup's on. I love to have soup on hand at this time of year. We really enjoyed it, a nice change from the usual soups that I cook.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped 
• 3/4 cup celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2/3 cup corn
• 1/2 cup flour
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups wild rice blend, uncooked, I used a blend of wild and brown rice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 3/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups 10% cream or you can use whole milk

1. Melt butter over medium heat in your soup pot.
2. Stir in onion, celery, carrots, and green pepper, saute a few minutes until tender crisp.
3. Add mushrooms, corn, flour, and stir until well combined.
4. Add chicken broth, bring to boil, stirring constantly.
5. Stir in chicken, rice, all the seasonings, and cream.
6. Simmer until done, stirring occasionally, approximately 2 hours.

Poached Pears with Warm Cream Sauce

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving.

This weekend we are celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. Today being Saturday there will be many cooks in the kitchen preparing their family favourites. Tables will be set in autumn themes, turkeys will be thawing, salads will be made, buns will be baked, homes will begin to take on a holiday cheer. 

Fall desserts are some of my favourite. Warm poached pears with cream sauce is one I like to serve during this season. It's a really nice dessert to serve after dinner, or one I like to serve when we have guests in for just coffee and dessert.

• 6 pears
• water to cover pears
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 lemon, juiced, plus 1 tsp lemon rind
• 1/4  cup white wine or apple juice

1. Wash pears. 
2. Fill a pot with water. 
3. Stir in brown sugar and add the cinnamon sticks and lemon juice, rind and wine or apple juice.
4. Place washed pears in water. Add more water until pears are submerged.
5. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a slow boil. Continue to cook until pears are tender, but not too soft or mushy when poked with a sharp small knife. This takes approximately 20-30 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and carefully remove pears. Discard brine. Place pears onto a cutting board and slice off a very small amount from the bottom of each pear so that they stand on individual serving plates. (See serving suggestions at bottom of recipe)
7. Serve warm with warmed cream sauce. Recipe follows. Best served right after they come out of the cinnamon sugar brine.

Cream sauce: (can be made a day before and slowly heated when ready to serve)

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 cup whipping cream

1. Place sugar in a small sauce pan. 
2. Drizzle with lemon juice to moisten sugar.
3. Stir in whipping cream.
4. Place over medium heat and stir until mixture gets very warm, but do not boil. 

Serving suggestion:

Warm caramel ice cream topping and drizzle it over your serving plates before placing your pears on the plates. Place pears in centre, add a scoop of ice cream and top with warm Cream Sauce.

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake

You've just been told asked to bring a dessert for Thanksgiving and you are wondering what you could make that seems like a homemade dessert but really is a simple combination of several ingredients.  I understand that not everyone has time to bake from scratch and so I tested this cake  in our home and I can tell you that it turns out less like angel food and more like a moist pumpkin pound cake.  It will not rise as high as a regular angel food cake so your pan will not fill to the top like a regular angel food cake does.

You could bake it in two layer cake pans, a 9 X 13 pan, a tube pan or a Bundt pan like the cake you see in the photo.   In this recipe I have frosted the cake with a cream cheese frosting but you could whip up some heavy cream, slice the cake and add a dollop of whipped cream to each slice.

Either way... it's quite delicious and tastes like Thanksgiving!

• 1 box 450 grams or 1 lb white angel food cake mix
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 398 ml  / 15 oz can or 1 2/3 cups pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) 
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice ( or 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg )
• 3/4 cup cold water

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Spray the pan of your choice with cooking spray.
3. Combine all the ingredients in a large glass or metal bowl and beat on medium speed for one minute.  Scrape bowl once in between to ensure all ingredients have been mixed in.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean.  The cake will need between 30 - 45 minutes to bake depending on your pan.  To test for doneness, a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of the cake should come out clean.
5. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/3 cup softened butter
• 1 cup softened cream cheese (can be spreadable)
• about 2 cups icing/powdered sugar 
• finely chopped crystallized ginger (optional) 

1. Beat together butter and cream cheese and then slowly beat in the powdered/icing sugar until you have a spreadable frosting that holds its shape.
2. Spread evenly over cake and garnish with finely chopped crystallized ginger.

Slices into 12 servings

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

I have been busy cutting up, and baking pumpkins to make puree. I like trying different recipes this time of year when the pumpkins are bountiful. The idea of shaping these dinner rolls into pumpkin shapes came from pinterest. At first I was going to make pumpkin butter horn rolls but I think this is a better look for the season. So fun to eat as you pull the sections apart. They are delicious served with butter, jam, or honey butter.

• 3/4 cup milk, scalded
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup pumpkin, canned (I cook and puree my own)
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 cups flour
• Egg wash, in a small bowl, whisk together an egg and 2 teaspoons water
• 14 pecan halves

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together milk, sugar, butter, pumpkin, and egg until blended.
2. Stir in salt, yeast, and 4 cups of flour. Add the rest of the flour as needed and knead 5 minutes to make a smooth soft dough. It may be slightly sticky. Place in a greased bowl, cover and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
3. Punch down dough and divide into 14 equal pieces.
4. Roll each piece into a ball and place on a parchment lined pan, flatten each one slightly with your hand. Cut each ball into 8 slices, being careful not to slice all the way to the center. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, for 45 minutes.
5. Using the end of a wooden spoon poke an indentation into each roll. Brush with egg wash.
6. Bake in a 375º oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place a sliced pecan in each indentation.
7. Yield: 14 rolls