PUMPKIN ROLLS ~ Now That You Are Home...

It looks like Pumpkin Season has arrived. Everywhere you look, they are there, pumpkins. There are even a few on my front door step. I’m never completely ready to embrace fall like most, but I have to admit, once the cooler temperatures start, there is no going back and it is sweater weather. And I do love a good sweater! Football has started and so must the annual traditions of leave raking, firepits and slow cookers to begin. A good stew or bourguignon filling a Saturday afternoon air is a must. Along with these great fall meals a warm buttery dinner roll is a perfect side. What better complement to a hearty stew would be a roll shaped like a pumpkin? How fall! Follow my recipe for these easy pumpkin shaped dinner rolls or adapt your favorite dinner roll recipe to make these cute pumpkin sides to add to your fall. They also look really cute just sitting on your table. Let the Pumpkin Season begin!

This is what you will need-

1 C. Milk

1 Packet Dry Active Yeast (.25 ounce)

1 Tbsp. Honey

4 Tbsp. Melted Butter

1 Tsp. Salt

3 C. Flour

Kitchen String

Vegetable Oil

In a large bowl, grease the inside with vegetable oil. Set aside.

Warm the milk to 115 degree F. Stir honey into the warm milk.

Add yeast and let set for about 10 minutes.

In a stand mixer, combine salt and flour.

Add yeast and mix with flour. Add melted butter.

Knead mix on medium speed for about 4 minutes or until a ball forms.

Place dough into the prepped oiled bowl. Cover with plastic and let rise 1 ½ hours in a warm draft-free area.

Cut 32 approximately ten inch lengths of kitchen string. Set aside.

Sprinkle flour on a work surface.

Kneed dough for two or three minutes. Form into a ball.

Let rest 10 minutes.

With a blade scraper, divide ball into two equal halves.

Pull a small amount of dough from one of the halves and roll out to form a long string. Cut into small pieces. Roll each piece out to free form 8 “stems”. Set side.

Divide one of the halves into four quarters as shown.

Roll each of these quarters into balls. Repeat for the other half of the the divided dough.

Place string into a container. Add a small amount of vegetable oil to soak string, just enough to coat the string.

On your work surface, crisscross three lengths of string as shown.

Place one ball of dough center down onto the string. Tie each set of strings together forming ribs. Repeat until all the strings have been tied.

Snip off excess string.

Flip dough over and place knot side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat for all dough balls. Place a "stem" on the baking sheet next to a pumpkin roll.