Pumpkin Dinner Roll

As I believe I mentioned in a previous post, my sister-in-law is pregnant with her first baby. Since they were not finding out if baby is a boy or a girl, I needed a gender neutral theme for the shower, and decided to go with pumpkins, since I know she loves fall and pumpkins (her wedding was even a fall theme). These little rolls went perfectly with the shower, and it was quite simple to achieve, giving a cute, festive treat.

This isn't really a recipe, more just a way of preparing something. I didn't even make dinner rolls fresh (too many other things to make, especially after the cake fiasco), but instead used frozen rolls which you let defrost and rise for a few hours.

Once the rolls are risen and ready to be put in the oven, you simply press down on the dough ball a bit, and cut slits (about 8) in the rolls, leaving the center uncut. They will look a bit like flowers when they are uncooked. Bake the rolls (follow the directions for your roll recipe), and let them cool a bit. To make my rolls look a bit more orange, I melted some butter and added a bit or orange food coloring to it, and then brushed the rolls with the orange butter.

For stems, I decided to use small pieces of chocolate bars, though other food items would work well (pretzels, pecans, etc). After the rolls begin to cool (but are still slightly warm), you simply press the chocolate bar into the center, pressing down so it sticks (since the roll is still a little warm, the chocolate should melt a bit, allowing it to stay on.

That's it! With just a little extra work, you end up with cute pumpkin shaped rolls, prefect for a fall party or Thanksgiving.

A new schedule and some pumpkin cookies

I haven't been getting much cooking done lately. Between and empty fridge, and a new class schedule that has me not getting home until 6, I haven't even made it to the store in over a week. This leaves me to be creative with meals, finding things to prepare in the back of the pantry and, though they have all been more than edible, none of the recipes have been refined enough to share. I am sorry for this.
Instead of cooking an awe-inspiring meal this weekend, my hubby and I went and experienced our first Korean meal. The restaurant was called Seoul Garden, and the food, though completely overwhelming to me, was delicious. I cannot tell you what a single thing I ate actually was called, but it was all great, and I would recommend it to anyone in the Cleveland area.

Though I have been lazy with meals lately, I did make one recipe worth sharing. The recipe comes from Annie's Eats, a blog I would suggest anyone going to, because any recipe of her's I have made has been AMAZING. This recipe was no different. The cookies were soft, with just enough spice and pumpkin flavor to be different, without being overpowering. I followed her recipe almost exactly, only adding some allspice to the dough, and was very happy with the outcome. The cookies will be a great fall dessert, maybe even as something different for Thanksgiving or other Holidays.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
For the dough:
3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the coating: ½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
Dash of allspice

1. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.
3. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the sugar and spices for the coating in a bowl and mix to blend. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Scoop the dough and roll into a ball. Coat each ball in the sugar-spice mixture and place on baking sheet, keeping the balls 2-3 inches apart.
6. Dip the bottom of a flat, heavy-bottomed drinking glass in water, then in the sugar-spice mixture. Use glass to flatten dough balls slightly, recoating the glass as needed.
7. Bake 10-12 minutes, until set and baked through. Cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Source: Annie's Eats