Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns revisited

[Linda in MO]

OK, I guess I'm rushing fall here, even thought the temps. are still in the 90's! I had some leftover pumpkin after making the pumpkin cheesecake bars, so I made these again this weekend and they are soooo good! And I actually followed the recipe this time (except I made a cream cheese icing). I made these for the first time a couple of months ago, but I tried to lighten them and also make them more pumpkin-y. So I took some tips off an old thread and used only 2 T. butter in the dough and upped the pumpkin to 1 cup instead of 1/2 cup. They turned out good, but when I followed the recipe they actually turned out even better! I had also subbed pumpkin pie spice for some of the cinnamon, but I like using all cinnamon in the filling better. The icing I made was 2 oz. softened light cream cheese, 1 to 1 1/2 t. vanilla, 1 cup powdered sugar, and about 2t. milk. This makes quite a bit of icing, but it's really yummy on these! FYI, Here's the old post discussing these...
http://community.cookinglight.com/sh...+Streusel+Buns

Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns

When pumpkin is not in season, substitute canned pumpkin puree for the Pumpkin Puree, a separate recipe. Just be sure to add an additional cup of all-purpose flour if you use the canned puree.

Ingredients
Buns:
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
Glaze:
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon hot water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions
To prepare the buns, dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Lightly spoon 2 3/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add 2 cups flour, pumpkin puree, and next 5 ingredients (pumpkin through nutmeg) to yeast mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of the remaining 3/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).
Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into the dough. If an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)
Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Punch dough down; cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Roll up the rectangle tightly, starting with a long edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Cut roll into 12 (1-inch) slices. Place slices in a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 25 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Bake the rolls at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack.
To prepare the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and vanilla extract in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over buns. Serve warm.


Preparation Time: 125 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Servings/Serving Size: Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 bun).


Nutrition Facts (per Serving):
219 calories; 36.9 g carbohydrates; 16 mg cholesterol; 6.2 g fat; 311 mg sodium; 3.8 g protein; 24 mg calcium; 1.6 mg iron; 1.2 g fiber

[Terri-Lynn]

Thanks for the reminder!!

I have soooooo many recipes that I want to try this year for fall, it is my favorite time of year and it means I get to start planning my christmas baking!!

Thanks for the reminder, I had a fear of making these last year but I think this year I am brave enough to it.

Thanks again

Terri

[Linda in MO]

Terri, these are actually really easy to make. Especially if you have a nice stand mixer. I mixed all of the ingredients in my KA mixer and then kneaded it by hand. When the recipe came out last year, I was really nervous too, but I've come a long way since then.

[Terri-Lynn]

Its funny how a recipe brings back a memory of how tastes and abilites change. I organzie my magazines by month so each month I take out all of the ones for say september for each given year and look through to menu plan, there are so many recipes that I have passed on from previous years because I refused to try things or I was frightened to do something and when I see it again I think boy this looks great I'll make it.

I hope my abilites and tastes continue to grow!

Thanks again for the reminder.

Terri

[Mickey17]

OK. Lame-o question here. How do y'all make pumpkin puree? I would love to try fresh pumkpin instead of the canned stuff but it seems like a big ol mess and pain in the rear.

And anyone who does use it, is it worth the mess?

[Terri-Lynn]

Mickey17,

There has been alot of discussion on here about these when the recipe came out, many thought that it was too time consuming and not worth it but others loved it.

Here is a link where Molli redirects someone to previous threads on the subject of fresh vs canned.

http://community.cookinglight.com/sh...=pumpkin+puree

Hope this helps your decision making.

Terri

[lhall]

Originally posted by Mickey17
OK. Lame-o question here. How do y'all make pumpkin puree? I would love to try fresh pumkpin instead of the canned stuff but it seems like a big ol mess and pain in the rear.

And anyone who does use it, is it worth the mess?

I make my own pumpkin puree. I think there are instructions for doing it in the oven in the Nov 95 issue, and in the microwave in the Nov 01 issue.

Basically, cook the pumpkin like any hard squash. Cut in half, scoop out seeds, and bake in the oven or microwave in a dish with a little water. Then when it's done scoop out the pumpkin and puree it in the food processor. I then freeze it. I use it in pies, breads, pancakes, these buns, etc. I try to freeze it in the amounts required for the recipes. My pie uses 1 1/2 cups some recipes use 1/2 cup so I vary the amounts in my freezer bags. I like doing it this way and don't find it a big mess.

I made the buns last year and really liked them. I want to do them again. When I made them I'd gotten up early (about 6am on a sat) so I had plenty of time before everyone else got up to let them rise.

Leigh

[Linda in MO]

Are pumpkin puree and sweet potato puree interchangeable in baking recipes? For example could you used mashed sweet potato to make pumpkin bread, or these buns, etc.? I would think yes, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried it?

[KimKelly]

We made these last year as a snack for after my son's soccer game, and even though every kid on the team vowed that they would never, never, never eat anything with pumpkin in it, they loved these!

I'm guessing that you could sub sweet potato for the pumpkin without problem. I do that in breads and it has worked, but I have not actually tried it in this recipe. Let us know if you do!

Thanks for the reminder, I'm going to make them too!

Kim

[Linda in MO]

Thanks for the input Kim.

OK, are you guys sick of me talking about these yet?! I made them again tonight (but with a twist) to get rid of the leftover pumpkin puree. I turned them into Orange Pumpkin Rolls. Here's what I did...I subbed cinnamon for the nutmeg in the dough and then I made an orange mixture to use as the filling and the icing: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3 T. melted butter, zest of an orange, and about 1 to 2 T. fresh orange juice. You mix all of that together and spread 1/2 of it over the dough and roll up and slice. This was a little difficult because the dough was so soft but I managed to get them sliced with a serrated knife and get them into the pan OK. Cover remaining orange mixture and set aside. Let rolls rise 25 min. and then bake at 375 until golden. I let them go about 23 minutes because the 1st batch I under-baked a bit. Let them cool about 15 minutes and then ice with the leftover orange mixture. You can't really taste the pumpkin or the cinnamon in the dough but they turned out really delicious anyway and I was able to get rid of the pumpkin. The idea for the filling came from a recipe out of Hometown Cooking.

[Kayaksoup]

Dredging this up after a year I made these today, first yeast project ever. They are delicious.......

[kima]

I have half a can of pumpkin left after making Paula's Pumpkin Pancakes (which are amazing BTW). I am off to make these. I have some French Bread on the go as well. What fun on a windy, cold day! Thanks for the inspiration guys!

[Linda in MO]

I think it's time for me to make another batch of these! Mmmmm!

[Beth]

I wish I had reread this thread before I made these last weekend. I tinkered a little with the recipe to use some of my sourdough in it. The rolls were fine, but I would have preferred the cream cheese icing.

[Linda in MO]

Originally posted by Beth
The rolls were fine, but I would have preferred the cream cheese icing.

You know, I've made this recipe several times and I think I've always made a cream cheese icing for them. For me, I just don't think I'd like them as well with the simple powdered sugar glaze that's listed with them. But I'm a big fan of icing (good icing, that is).