Thanksgiving-style Cinnamon Rolls from TheKitchn

Oh my goodness. Can I just say the fact that this made two and a half pans of rolls was not a bad thing?? We're about to finish off the last pan tonight/tomorrow morning and I don't think I've ever made a sweet bread that was devoured like this recipe was. I made these for Thanksgiving breakfast and was pretty much ready to make another batch immediately after I tasted them. I love the simplicity of the cinnamon rolls I've made previously with leftover pizza dough but these are worth the extra effort. The recipe is below or you can click the link to find the recipe on TheKitchn website and read in the comments all the alternatives to pumpkin that people used. Enjoy!

No-Knead Pumpkin Rolls with Brown Sugar Glaze
Makes 16-18 rolls

For the dough:
1/4 cup water
1 scant tablespoon yeast
1 cup milk // coconut milk worked just fine
1/2 cup butter // earth balance worked perfectly
1/2 cup sugar
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:
1/2 cup butter // used earth balance
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

For the glaze:
1/4 cup butter // earth balance
1/2 cup milk // coconut milk
1 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit a few minutes until the yeast is dissolved.

Meanwhile, warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan on the stove top until the butter is melted. Combine this with the sugar in a large heat-proof mixing bowl and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Let the milk mixture cool until it is just warm to the touch - NOT HOT. [This was the hardest part: being patient and letting it cool down. The milk, butter and sugar smelled so yummy and cozy.] Then stir in the yeast and the pumpkin. Add the salt and five cups of the flour all at once, stirring until all the flour has been absorbed. Squish it between your hands if you’re having trouble incorporating the last of the flour. The dough will be sticky, but should come together in a shaggy ball. If it's still more the consistency of cookie batter, work in an additional 1/2 cup of flower.

Cover the dough and let it rise for 1-3 hours. During this time, it should double in bulk. At this point, you can punch the dough down and refrigerate it overnight or continue shaping the rolls.

[I left my dough loosely covered in the bowl overnight in the refrigerator overnight.]

To shape the rolls (either immediately or with the refrigerated dough), sprinkle your work surface with a little flour and dump the dough on top. Pat it down into a rough rectangle and then use a floured rolling pin to roll it into a rectangular shape about a half an inch thick, longer than it is wide. If the dough gets sticky, sprinkle a little more flour on the dough’s surface and on your hands.

Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the brown sugar and the spices. Spread this over the rectangle of dough, leaving an inch of bare dough at the top. Starting at the edge closest to you, roll the dough into a cylinder and pinch it closed at the top.

Grease pans (two 9x13 baking dishes, two 9-inch cake pans, or a combination). Using a sharp knife, cut the cylinder into individual rolls 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick. Place them into your baking dishes so they have a little wiggle room on all sides to rise. Cover them with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise until they fill the pan and look puffy, 30 minutes for already-warm dough and 1 hour for dough that’s been refrigerated.

About 20 minutes before baking, begin heating the oven to 375°. When the rolls are ready, bake them for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden and starting to look toasted around the edges. Rotate the pans halfway through cooking.

While they are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and butter. When the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and salt. Stir until the brown sugar has melted. Remove from heat and strain into a mixing bowl to remove any sugar clumps. Stir in the powdered sugar. This should form a thick but pourable glaze.

Let the baked rolls cool for about five minutes and then pour the glaze on top. 

// TheKitchn recipe gives the option of using pecas (which I would definitely consider trying out!) but I removed those references so you can see just what I did. If you check out the recipe on their website you'll see when to use the nuts.