These pumpkin dinner rolls look just like mini pumpkins. They are not only soft and buttery dinner rolls, but also easy and fun to make. Perfect for Halloween party or Thanksgiving feast!
I find myself today that playing with food is quite entertaining. I did have a great time making these Pumpkin Dinner Rolls. The best part? You get to eat them at the end!
Pumpkins are delicious and nutritious. So why not add some in dinner rolls to join the harvest season and celebrate the bounty of mother nature?
These rolls even look like mini pumpkins. They are quite easy to make from scratch and will look so gorgeous on your Thanksgiving dinner table.
These pumpkin dinner rolls are soft and tender with a hint of sweetness. Using a canned pumpkin puree brings a nice pumpkin color to the rolls and makes the process easy.
They didn’t take as much time as I thought it would. The whole process went really fast and I had nice warm rolls ready for my lunch.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- milk – preferably whole milk
- canned pumpkin puree
- light brown sugar
- white sugar
- butter – softened
- 1 egg
- salt
- active dry yeast – 2 envelopes
- water – lukewarm
- sugar
- all-purpose flour
- pecan halves – sliced into 3 vertical sections
- melted butter – for brushing
Recipe FAQs
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, you can make the dough the night before and let it rise in the refrigerator overnight. On the next day, bring the dough out to a room temperature and proceed to the next step.
Can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Absolutely! You can mix the instant yeast right in with the flour without the proofing step. Make sure your liquid is lukewarm so that it won’t kill the yeast.
What do you suggest if I want to make these rolls well ahead of time and freeze?
- You can proceed up to making dough balls and freeze on a baking sheet. Make sure each ball won’t touch from one another. Once frozen, you can put them all in a zipper bag and freeze up to 3 months. To thaw, bring them on a kitchen counter and cover with a damp cloth. Bring it to a room temperature, it might take several hours to do so. When the dough balls are soft and pliable, proceed to the shaping and so on.
- You can finish the entire process and bake the rolls, but don’t brush with melted butter at the end. Once the rolls are cooled, put them in a zipper bag and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, bring the roll to a room temperature by letting them sit on a counter top (about 30-40 minutes), then warm up in a preheated 350˚F oven for 4-5 minutes or until hot to touch. Brush with melted butter and serve.
I have a nut allergy. What else would be good for the pumpkin stem instead of pecan?
You can try with mini pretzel sticks broken into small pieces.
Can I use a fresh pumpkin instead of canned puree?
You can, but I recommend using steaming method, instead of boiling, to cook the fresh pumpkins. Mash the pumpkin and proceed to the recipe. You will need to adjust the amount of liquid to control the wetness of dough.
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls Recipe Instructions
Heat milk to scalding hot, add butter and let the butter melt. Add sugars, pumpkin and salt; stir everything well.
Combine yeast, 1 tsp sugar and warm water in another small bowl and let the yeast to proof (about 5 minutes). Add it to the pumpkin mixture with an egg; mix well.
Gradually add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon.
Time to knead! I used my mixer to do the job. Knead until the dough pull itself from the side of the bowl, about 5 minutes.
Dump the dough on the lightly floured surface and knead with your hand for 1 minute.
Form the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until they get double in volume.
Here is the beautifully risen dough. Love the deep yellow color!
Give it a punch to deflate. The moment I’ve been waiting for…
Divide the dough in half. Roll each half to make a log and cut each log in 15 pieces or more if you prefer smaller rolls.
Shaping into mini pumpkins
Form each piece into a ball by pulling it together…
Press down gently with your hand.
Using a knife, give 8 segments of cut on the edge but leave the center uncut.
Poke deeply on the center of pedal with your pinkie.
Let them rise again. The center indentation somehow disappeared but you can always poke them again. You gotta love poking!
Brush with egg wash to give a golden look.
Bake them in the preheated 350˚F oven for 9-12 minutes. Don’t over-bake.
Use Pecan for a Pumpkin Stem
Brush with melted butter for a little shine. And the final touch? Use a sliced pecan piece as a stem! Cute, aren’t they?
In a couple of weeks I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house for about 20 guests. Thank God, it will be a potluck!
Imagine the turkey adorned with all the bells and whistles, the scrumptious & glorious fall side dishes flowing around the Thanksgiving table. And think of these mini pumpkin rolls being passed around. I bet you will see some smiles on people’s face.
There are so much to thank for. Family, friends, the laughter, and even the tears of life through rain or shine. Hope you enjoy these little mini pumpkin dinner rolls for your Thanksgiving feast.
Freezing Tips
Put leftover rolls in a zipper bag and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, bring the rolls to a room temperature first. Then warm up in the preheated 350˚F oven for 4-5 minutes or until hot to touch.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Gluten-free Pumpkin Rice Donuts
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Glaze
- Korean Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole milk scalded
- 6 tbsp butter softened
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water
- 2 envelope (about 4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 egg
- 5 cup + a little extra all-purpose flour
- 10 pecan halves sliced into 3 vertical sections
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Instructions
- Pour hot milk in a large mixing bowl, add butter and stir to melt. Add sugars, pumpkin puree, salt to the milk and butter mixture; mix well.
- In a small bowl, combine lukewarm water, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar. Wait 5- minute for yeast to proof. When it gets foamy, add it to the pumpkin mixture, and add the egg; mix well. Add the flour gradually and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. The dough will be sticky.
- Using electric mixer with a dough hook attached, beat the mixture on the low-speed setting until the dough itself pulls from the side of the bowl, about 5 minutes. You can add a little more flour if the dough seems too wet.
- Turn the dough out to a wooden board dusted with a little flour. Knead with hand for 1 minute. Form the dough into a ball shape, place in a greased bowl and cover with a cloth. Let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume, about 1 hr.
- Punch the dough to deflate. Knead ithe dough for a few seconds on a wooden board. Cut the dough into 15 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball shape with your hand. Flatten the piece with palm of your hand a little. Using a knife, give 8 cuts on the edge to mimic flower pedals but leave the center uncut.
- Poke the center with your finger to give a deep indentation. Repeat the same procedure to the remaining pieces.
- Place them, 2-inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or baking mat. Let them rise again until they become double in volume, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven 350ºF. If the center indentation doesn't look obvious on the rolls, poke them again with your finger. Brush with egg wash and bake for 9-12 minutes, until the top gets slightly golden.
- Brush the hot rolls with melted butter immediately. Insert the pecan slices on the center of the rolls to mimic the stem.
This is really cool!!!! I can’t wait to try this out!
LOVE THESE!!!
those are about as cute as a cute dinner roll gets. I will make some to take to our Thanksgiving dinner hosted by my youngest son and his family. This is such a good time of year for edible crafts! Thanks
Okay these are just way too cute! These definitely have to make an appearance on my thanksgiving table!
Oh, these little pumpkin rolls are so beautiful, Holly! If I am doing this, I don’t think it will turn out as beautifully like yours. Ive browsed all your posts and I think you are an excellent cook!
Yes, they will turn out good no matter. They are pumpkin after all. They are supposed to look “not perfect”
They look amazing!
Those are adorable and I am going to add them to my Mouth Watering Mondays this Monday. Come on over to see at http://www.noshingwiththenolands.com Cheers, Tara
Wow those look gorgeous and so festive! Can’t wait to try them. Thanks so much.
These are ADORABLE, Holly — pumpkin shape and pumpkin in nature. What a cute way to celebrate Thanksgiving!
Those are adorable!! I was curious, Could you make them a day ahead? Thanks, cant wait to try them!!
Kathy
I tried these rolls on the next day and they were still good. However they are best on the day they are made. I slightly under-baked my second batch and put them in the freezer to eat next week. Just thaw them out and reheat them in the oven to enjoy fresh baked rolls.
how do you know at what point to stop baking to under bake?
like cupcakes or anything you bake, just keep testing them. take a tooth pick and stick it in and if dough comes off on the tooth pick then they aren’t done. Also, when bread starts turning slightly golden, it usually means it’s done. By “not over baking” them she means to watch for them and make sure they don’t burn. Like with anything you bake, the time that it says to bake it at is not always right.
I have made these today! The dough went together beautifully and was very easy to work with…they are totally adorable. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I think they will be a hit at my dinner party this evening.
Great Jean! They are really easy to work with recipe and I hope your family loved them.
This is an awesome idea!
Adore the pecan stems.
Just discovered these adorable rolls via Lemons & Anchovies FB page – so cute!
Such a terrific recipe! Really cute. Great pictures, too. Really excellent stuff – thanks so much.
Oh wow these are just gorgeous! Laura, of Tutti Dolci, posted the link on Facebook and I just had to stop by. Bookmarking them. Thanks for sharing:)
Can the lactose intolerant use coconut milk in place of the whole milk?
I don’t think adding coconut milk will change the look of these rolls but it might alter the flavor. I think it will still be delicious.
Thanks for sharing this idea, they’ll be on our Thanksgiving table, too. Grandchildren will love them.
These are fabulous! I saw them on Pinterest. I definitely will plan on making these! Your photo is beautiful too and I love your step by step instructions.
Love them!! I have a few packages of pumpkin bread mix (I’m a cheater, I know!), do you think I could form little balls and get the same effect?
I personally never tried bread mix, but I don’t think it would be a problem as long as they rise.
Ok! I’ll try them! Thank you!
Great idea! And a yummy looking recipe too. Thanks so much for finding this– I’ve put a link to this post of yours on my food blog; I hope that’s okay!
These are so cute!
Holly, Love your Pumpkin rolls!
Are you able to try this with real pumpkin? Considering there are several leftovers from Halloween!
Hi Harmonity, I haven’t tried this recipe with the real pumpkin. However, I have tried making pies with real pumpkin. It contained more liquid than canned one and my pie was quite loose. So I think you might have to adjust the amount of liquid in the recipe.
Hi!
Thanks for this adorable recipe Holly! I made this with real pumpkin and its still awesome. Just baked and scooped out the pie pumpkin and used it in place of the canned pumpkin…
That’s great, Sanchai. Thanks for your tip on using fresh pumpkin to make these rolls! Glad to hear that they turned out great.
Holly- These are so adorable! I’ll definitely have to make them.
These will be perfect for an event I’m going to this weekend – thanks for sharing the recipe and for being so inventive with the shape. Just brilliant!
These look fantastic!
These are just so clever and so cute! I just saw this when Haniela shared them! What a wonderful idea!
Holly, those little pumpkin rolls are so cute! Amazing work and beautiful photography! 🙂
Hi, Nice recipie. Can i use this for my bread machine?
I think so.
Hi Holly! I’ve been meaning to stop by to take a closer look again on the blog but haven’t had the chance till now. I am in love with your pumpkin dinner rolls and one day I want to serve on our Thanksgiving dinner! So pretty and so adorable…. I’m in love with these. I love the picture of dough so round and cute!!! I need to be more comfortable with yeast. I’ve never seen mine like that. Got to learn and practice more!
Really nice ! I added them to my Pinterest page “Halloween Sweets/Idées gourmandes pour Halloween”. Thanks.
Anne, Paris, France
These are so beautiful and perfect for fall! They look delicious too 🙂
Sara
http://saraforsoker.blogspot.se/
These look awesome…..was wondering though, can they be made in a bread machine?
Sure, I don’t see why not.
Do you think these could be partially made on Wednesday for Thursday service? Where would you stop and refrigerate? Thanks for any suggestions!
I am going to make these rolls again for Thanksgiving dinner. I will make them a couple of days ahead only up to the shaping the dough part.
Two ways to prep ahead of time.
1) Shape the dough, then freeze. Then on the T-day, you take them out to thaw and let them rise, and then bake. But that will take a couple of hours to complete.
2) If you only have less than 1 hour to finish off, I would bake up to a little over half way through (about 6-7 minutes of baking time), then freeze, take out to thaw and finish baking until golden brown on top. I would insert the pecan pieces at last.
I personally prefer not to stop in the middle of baking for the better texture. But, in time crunch, you just gotta do what you can. I reheated some of these leftover rolls last night that I stored in the freezer, and they were still soft inside but slightly dry and crunch on the outside.
Hope this helps.
Holly
OMG they are too cute Holly!!! I LOVE THEM!!!!
You totally made me smile! 🙂
i want to make these, but I don’t want the pumpkin flavor, would I just omit it and have them turn out, or will I need to add in something different?
If you omit the pumpkin, you have to reduce the amount of flour to maintain the right consistency. You can adjust the amount the flour as you wish as you are making, but if you are not comfortable with that, there are plenty of good regular dinner roll recipes online you can search for.
What if my family doesn’t like pumpkin, can I make without or substitute
If you take out the pumpkin, you need to adjust the amount of flour. I would reduce the flour by 1/2-1 cup, omit the brown sugar and increase the white sugar instead. You might need to adjust more with flour. However if you are not so comfortable getting the right consistency of the dough by adjusting ingredients yourself, there are many plain dinner roll recipes online you can search for. Good luck!
Found your blog about a week ago and pinned a bunch of stuff. (I haven’t made it all the way through, yet, but you’re on my list!) This is the first recipe of yours I’m making, have it printed out in the kitchen.
I’m not a novice baker so I went ahead and started proofing the yeast before I started on the rest… but even though that’s the first two ingredients, it’s not the first thing you do. Then you talk about melting butter, and I saw the melted butter.. but. I figured it out, but ingredients in order of use would be super helpful.
The other thing is, I don’t see the instructions mention the salt? I’m putting it in before the flour right now. Will let ya know how it turns out!! 🙂 Sending it to the in-laws for Thanksgiving.
Thanks Tina. I guess I left out the salt part in the tutorial. The salt was in the recipe as an ingredient but I forgot to add in the instruction. I shouldn’t have overlooked at the power of salt, shouldn’t I? Glad that you are not a novice baker to point that out. I fixed the instructions. I understand your request for writing the ingredients in order of making. I will keep in mind that. You are right, it is helpful for people to follow the recipes in order. When I try a new recipe, I usually read the ingredients and the instructions before I start working. That helps me visualize how the recipe should proceed. Some recipes do have their ingredients not in order and it gets frustrating if I didn’t read in advance. I am glad that you found my blog, too. 🙂
Oh, and the recipe starts with pre-heating the oven, but I see a 1hr and 45min rise. My electric bill, lady! lol
Hi Tina, Thanks for pointing that out. You don’t want to preheat your oven that early. I can’t believe that I wrote to start with preheating oven in that stage in the recipe. What was I thinking?
These are amazing. So sweet. your tutorial is fabulous!!
These look delicious! Same as the rolls those little boys keep stealing in the movie Brave (that kinda made me laugh when I saw them).
Does it have to be whole milk?
You can use low fat milk. I wouldn’t use skim milk though.
I only had skim and was forced to use it. They turned out fine. I will make sure to have whole milk nest time, they will be even better.
Is it possible to refridgerate these over night (the formed, raw dough) and cook them in the morning and still turn out well? Or well that mess up with how they are supposed to rise?
It depends on the temp. of your refrigerator. Overnight night might be too long and they might rise too much if your fridge temp. is not as cold. Mine reached to a full rise after 4 hours in my fridge, but I live in the tropical country so that may have been the reason. If you are not sure, I would suggest to keep in the freezer and take out in the morning and let it thaw in a warm place to speed up the rising.
How creative! I loved it 🙂
Holly – These rolls are the perfect touch I was looking for! I’m going to wing it and see if making ahead will work. 🙂 By the way, you’re just the nicest person. The way you responded to the critique of your recipe was so kind. We could all learn from that. Blessed Thanksgiving!
Thank you for your comment and I hope this recipe will turn out great for you. Have a wonderful thanksgiving!
Just made. Half the dough is in the fridge. Used 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup skim as I didn’t have any whole milk. I’m going to bake a few and see how they turn out. Fingers crossed!!
Will these work with Splenda?
I haven’t tried with Splenda. I can’t guarantee but I think it will work.
These look so cute but I’d like to make them a day ahead of time. Are they good or can they be reheated the next day! My oven will be in use for other dishes. Any suggestions?
Yes, they reheat very good.
Came across your site (it’s great by the way!) a couple of weeks ago and I love it. Your photos are amazing! Thanks for this recipe. The rolls are too cute! I’m making these right now and the dough is currently rising… can’t wait to get them into the oven and see what the end result will look like!
Hi Rebekah! Thanks for your comment. I hope they turns out good for you and you like them.
Hi! Love your recipe! Wondering for step #13 above, would that replace #12, or do you do both? Thanks!
I do both. Egg wash will give the golden look on top when baked and the melted butter at the end will give rolls a little lust and the buttery flavor.
Awesome! Thanks Holly! I’m going to try this tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Hope it’ll turn out as good as yours.
Made these last night and they are wonderful! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Holly ~<3 Thank You so very Much For sharing your recipie of pumpkin dinner rolls … I made them for thanksgiving for tomorrow 🙂 they turned out AmAzing 🙂 can't wait to see my families reaction tomorrow 🙂
They are soft & beautiful 🙂
(I didn't taste it … I'll wait for my husband to do that 🙂
Thank Thank you thank you !!!!
God Bless you 🙂
Anush Kirakosian
Thanks Anush. Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving with your family.
Thanks so much for sharing…the instructions were thorough and I was so proud of myself for how they turned out. A huge thanksgiving hit!
That is so awesome, Becca! Thank you so much for this comment.
These dinner rolls were so festive for Thanksgiving dinner. They were a hit and actually easy to make. Thanks for sharing.
I made these for thanksgiving and everyone loved them. They will definitively be on the menu every year from here on out. Thank you!
These were awesome! And quite a hit both Thanksgiving and at church potluck the weekend before. I did find that scissors were much easier to use to do the cuts than a knife. And I did use a bread machine to mix the dough – although I found the dough was a bit too wet and had to knead in a bit more flour the first time (the second time I just watched it and added more flour to the machine).
Also, I vegan-ized the recipe for Thanksgiving (our holiday dinners usually have to accommodate both vegans and meat-eaters) and that worked fine as well (1 Tbs flaxseed meal + 3 Tbs warm water for the egg, soymilk, vegan butter, etc for the other ingredients). The only difference the vegan ones weren’t quite as orange as the original recipe ones.
Hi – I want to veganize/plant based these as well and am curious as to what you did on the sugar. I usually use maple syrup or coconut sugar for sweetening, so I was just wondering what you did in this case.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing, seems good!
I tried this recipe tonight. It was a total complete DISASTER!!! You said the dough would be sticky, but after gradually stirring in almost double the amount of flour, the dough was still painfully sticky and completely unworkable. I had to keep stirring because it was just too sticky to even think about kneading. I followed all of the instructions. The only thing I was uncertain about was the quantity of pumpkin. The size of the can was not listed in the recipe. I have only seen the 29 oz cans in the store, so I moved forward left to assume I had the right quantity. I hope I did. After a lot of effort and time I gave up, and threw it in a ziplock bag in the fridge, hoping maybe I can still rescue it. So sad to see so many costly ingredients go to waste 🙁
Hi Beth
So sorry to hear the disastrous experience with this recipe. I understand how frustrating it is when the recipes doesn’t turn out they way it should. I also had so many similar experiences in the past. 🙂
For the amount of pumpkin, the recipe indicates to add only 1 cup. If you used the large 29 oz can, that is almost 3 cups which means 3 times the amount it is needed. So your dough will be truthfully sticky even with added flour.
If I can suggest one recipe to rescue the failed dough, try my Korean sweet pancake recipe. You can use your pumpkin dough instead and just add the cinnamon sugar filling in the center. It is really good and many people have raved about it. You will find the tutorial in the link below.
https://www.beyondkimchee.com/hotteok/
wow, I checked back on the quantity several times and never saw the one cup, I read it as one can! yikes, no wonder I had such trouble! thanks so much for responding. worth another try another day…
These remind me of the rolls from the movie Brave that the little boys keep stealing from the kitchen. Beautiful pictures!
I just want to say I made this recipe the other day and absolutely loved it. I used your recipe (full credit given) in a recent Dutch Oven cook-off (adapted of course). I’m happy to say we won Peoples choice. Thank you for the inspiration.
http://mommaboyers.blogspot.com/2013/04/im-still-here.html
Cyndi Boyer
I just saw these on Pinterest and I am already thinking about Fall and Thanksgiving. These are adorable. Thank you so much.
Can we bake this without eggs?
Eggs help to bind and hold baked goods in their shape. Look for egg substitute if can’t use eggs.
Works fine in the bread machine if you halve the recipe. Thanks for this awesome idea! The little pumpkins are so cute.
These are so cute! I’m definitely trying these for thanksgiving but I do have a question. Do you think they would be ok made ahead of time? I’m worried they’d get hard or just wouldnt have the fresh baked taste anymore. We travel pretty far to our family’s house and I don’t think I’ll have the room to make them there.
Freeze the dough after you shape them. And have them thawed as you travel to your family’s house (You need to time well depends on how long the travel will take) in a room temperature and bake them there.
What a wonderful idea. These are adorable and even more importantly they sound delicious. I will be pinning this to my favorite recipes. Thanks
Can you use the dinner rolls that are premade in the containers by pillsbury or a frozen type and do they have to go through the rising process or can you just cut them, egg wash and throw them in the oven?
I was wondering the same thing?
This looks amaaaazing and like something I can actually do, which doubles the amazing factor. 🙂
Beautiful presentation! Thanks for sharing. I’m not crazy about the flavor of pumpkin..do you happen to have a favorite dinner roll recipe without it?
ciao! ho fatto il tuo pane http://www.diariodellamiacucina.com/2013/10/panini-zucca-alla-zucca-con-pasta-madre.html e ho messo il link al tuo blog ^_^
The recipe calls for 2pkgs of active dry yeast but I buy my yeast by the jar. How much yeast would you say is in 2pkgs?
Usually 1 package yeast is about 2-1/4 teaspoon. 2 package will be 4-1/2 teaspoon or so.
These are very attractive and I’m sure tasty too. I will definitely try this recipe and i love the design for my other recipes.
Thank you Holly for sharing!
These are adorable! And I bet they taste fantastic!
These were wonderful. They remind me of a recipe that my mom made for me when I was a kid! Love the fun touch though!
These rolls look too cute to eat!
CAN THE DOUGH BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME AND FROZE?
Yes.
These are soooo cute! But a baker I’m not. Do you think you could make these with the refrigerator biscuits? Just shape them as you stated?
Thanks so much!
Sure, you can just adapt the shaping method to the store bought biscuits.
I might have missed this in the comment somewhere but I was wondering if this recipe was possible without a machine mixer, meaning is there a way to completely hand knead and achieve the same adorable result? If so, how would the recipe change?
Of course you can knead with your hand.
Can I use whole wheat flour and honey instead of sugar?
At one stage in the directions before baking, the direction is to brush with egg wash. What is an egg wash? Does that mean to brush w/egg whites? Thank you in advance.
Egg wash means 1 whole egg beaten with 1-2 teaspoon of water.
Thank you Holly! I plan on making them on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. 🙂
I don’t think my family will like the pumpkin and I’m in a hurry during Thanksgiving.Do you think you could do this with the pillsbury rolls?
Sure. Just adapt the shaping method.
I wonder if this would work with a fermented sourdough to avoid the yeast?
Adorable! I made them yesterday and they were so much fun! Not to mention delicious 🙂
Thank you for sharing the recipe, Holly!
Oops! Forgot to give you the link to my pumpkin rolls: http://www.wingitvegan.com/2013/11/pumpkin-shaped-pumpkin-dinner-rolls.html
Can I use whole wheat and honey instead of sugar?
It should work.
Just the other day, a friend showed me a photo of these cute little pumpkin rolls she was making. She tried sending a link for the recipe, but it didn’t work. After a quick Google search, up came your site with gorgeous photographs and the recipe as well. These rolls will definitely be added to my family’s Thanksgiving feast this year!! Thank you for sharing such a great idea!
By the way ~ I’m also excited to peruse your other recipes; I was hooked at the mention of kimchee in your blog title. Happy Thanksgiving!
That’s great, chocolate lady! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!
These were such a hit last year, I can’t wait to make them again!
These are amazing!!!! My kids are going to love them!
Made the dough today and it’s really beautiful and has risen perfectly. Turned the process over to my children, ages 9 and 12, to create the pumpkins. They are excited and will enjoy sharing them tomorrow. Thank you for the recipe- I can tell it’s a new tradition at our house!
I made these last year and they were a big hit. they are fun to make and easy. making them again this year…thanks for the festive idea!
I tried making these but found the dough to be way to sticky even after adding about 4o more cups if flour. The only thing I can think is that I proofed the yeast accordimg to packet which called for 1/2 a cup of warm water where your recepie called for 1/4 cup of water per 1/2 oz…..
My husband made these for this years thanksgiving dinner and I must say I’m certainly glad I stumbled upon the recipe because they were a huge hit with our family. The children asked for thirds 🙂
Hi Holly. Thanks for the fun recipe! They were adorable! I had an oven disaster that resulted in scrapping the first batch, but the second one turned out beautifully. I substituted coconut milk and it worked fine. I even ran out of flour for the second batch, and I substituted coconut flour. No problem. I don’t think they taste like pumpkin at all. Next time, I will actually measure my salt, though, because I think I could have used more.
I have to admit I turned these into Apple Cinnamon pumpkin rolls and everyone raved about them. I also did a batch of cranberry pumpkin rolls too. They were far more moist than typical cinnamon rolls
I love these! I’m going to make them for my church Life group. Thank you!
I can’t wait to make these for my church Life group. You are an amazing cook! Thank you for sharing with us!
these look sooo cute, I always try to bring something different to the table at Thanksgiving! These are on the top of the list. Holly, I love your hair style. Thanks for recipe and will check out other recipes.
I only have a hand mixer. How much time or by what measure do you adjust for kneading manually?
i’m going to try for thanksgiving dinner, can’t wait to taste them.
I just bake for fun as a hobby.
This was an amazing recipe! I made it for a potluck and everyone loved it. The host of the party packed up and ate 6 of these the next day as she was traveling home for Thanksgiving!
I made this about 2 years ago and it was actually the first dish I made from your site. I’ve been hooked since 🙂
How neat! I am so happy to hear that people loved them. Ironically these roll recipe is one the most beloved recipes on my site. Funny, isn’t it?
I TRIED THIS RECIPE YESTERDAY,IT CAME OUT JUST AS I HAVE SEEN IT
AND IT TASTE AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS.
THNKS FOR SHEREING YOUR RECIPES.
I MADE SOME AND THEY ARE GOOD I LOVE IT I WILL MAKE SOME
FOR THANKSGIVING . FOR SHEREING THIS RECIPE
I tried these today. Mine turned out just a little flatter than pictured, but still close enough to say they look pumpkin-like. I realized while they were baking that I forgot the salt, which may be why they didn’t rise as well? But the flavor was great – the family really enjoyed our taste-test tonight. I have to say – I made half of them the recommended size and half of them “mini”. So I cut half the dough into 32 pieces instead of 15. They baked just as well – just skimmed about 90 seconds off the baking time. They look just as adorable and they are the perfect size for tomorrow’s putluck event. I ended up sprinkling a little sea salt on top after brushing with butter. But salt IN the recipe would have been better! haha. I’ll double check everything next time. Making them again for a Halloween party…maybe again for Thanksgiving. This may be my go-to recipe for a number of events this year! Can’t thank you enough.
Thank you so much for this!!! I,ve made thse today, for the Thanksgiving dinner…they are delicious and look great!
http://patchworkdailydesire.blogspot.ca/2014/10/happy-thanksgiving.html
Hi. We looooove your pumpkin rolls! We would like to feature your recipe on our Ruby for Women Blog and also in the holiday issue of our online magazine, Ruby for Women, A Voice for Every Christian Women. Would that be okay with you?
Please respond to karen@rubyforwomen.com
I am so glad you shared this recipe as it will be the little something special on our Thanksgiving table.
I made these to go with my Thanksgiving dinner and they were absolutely delicious. The dough itself was perfect. Also I used the breadmaker to form the dough, they turned out wonderful.
These looks fabulous.. i will definitely try the recipe sooooon
Hi there!
I made these last year and they were a BIG hit! Everyone loved them. I was wondering if I could prepare the dough the night before to let it rise (you mention 1 hr would be enough) and bake them the day after.
You can definitely let the dough rise over night, then shape in the morning and let it rise for the second time. You will need 1 hour before you bake them. If you are short on time, let them rise in a warm place or put a bowl of hot water underneath to speed the rising.
Hi again,
Thank you for the reply! I did just that and it worked fine. But mine don’t come out golden, just yellow, even with the egg wash? And the yeast taste was very strong when I tried one. Hope the yeast ‘taste’ will be less when they cool down.
Thanks and happy thanksgiving! (From Canada)
I love this idea! They are so cute and I’m sure they taste just as good as they look. I’m going to have to remember to try these this fall.
https://c2creativelycourtney.wordpress.com/
I am in the process of making these today (the rolls are rising right now). I was going to try to make them in my bread machine but after adding the wet ingredients there was no way 5 cups of flour was to fit, let alone have room for a rise. I suppose it depends on the size of your bread machine, but i have a bigger one (I think it makes a 1 1/2 lb loaf of bread). I ended up mixing this in my stand mixer.
This is also a fairly soft dough. I had to add probably 1/2-3/4 c flour just to pull the dough together enough so it was manageable.
I’m very anxious to see how these taste (they’ll be going in the oven very soon). I love pumpkin and if they turn out well, this will be my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner.
I made these last Thanksgiving, and they were a hit! I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year, and can’t wait to make these again. Thank you for sharing!
I made these today and although pretty, I feel they would benefit with 2 teaspoons salt.
Wow, these look so perfect! As I’m rolling mine into balls they’re getting small little cracks & rifts in some places in the dough where I don’t want them to be (almost like the dough is ‘folding over’ just a teeny tiny bit on itself) so they are not as smooth and uniform like yours! :O And as I’m cutting the ridges into the balls, the little parts are kind of ending up kind of jagged/angled-looking and not pretty and circular. How’d you get yours to look so perfect?? 🙂 LOL 😀
What size can of pumpkin puree do we use?
You will need only 1 cup, so 15 oz can would be the closest.
Hi can these be frozen they look fantastic but ive got a lot to prepare be great if I could whip them out of the freezer on the day and re heat??? Thanks so much.
Hi Kim, I have made many different breads/rolls, including these for the past several Thanksgiving dinners. That said, I almost always make double/triple batches of buns when making any type because it is so time consuming and I like to have some on hand for other occasions. Each year, I make these rolls ahead and do everything but the last rise and baking and then I freeze them. Here is what I do:
Get them shaped and cut the little cuts to make them look like little pumpkins and skip the indent for the stem. Place each one that is completed onto a big sheet pan, not touching each other at all. As I work, I cover all of the shaped and cut rolls with a damp towel to keep them nice and moist. The reason for this towel is because if the tops of the buns get dry at any time during this process, it will cause them not to rise as well and not to look as nice in the end because it makes a tough skin on the outside.
Once each tray is full without any touching, I spray them with some non-stick canola spray all over, to ensure they will stay moist when they defrost.Then, I put them into the freezer on their trays and cover lightly with plastic (not sealed well, just enough to keep them from being dried out on the tops). Once they have frozen solid (after a few hours or overnight), I simply toss them into ziplock bags and keep them frozen for however long I need to. I’ve even had them in there for months and they still come out just fine in the end.
On the day I want to bake them off, I take them out about 4-7 hours before I will be serving them. I arrange them on a sheet pan lined with a silpat or parchment paper. And again, it is very very very important to cover them with a damp towel as they thaw. Once they thaw, they will begin to rise and once they have risen to about double their initial size, it is time to whip up your egg wash. Just before you egg wash, you will want to poke the indents into the middle of each bun, then wash away. Bake and pop your pecan stem in. Viola! It’s as if you made them the same day. I’ve never had any problems doing this. Oh, and one thing I have done with these in the past is to add just a teeny bit of cinnamon and sugar to the egg wash. Not only does it make them taste fantastic, it also caramelizes the outside really nicely making them shine even more. Hope this helps!
I made these last year for the first time and loved them. Trying to make for this Thanksgiving and it’s been a disaster. Tried the recipe twice and can’t figure out what’s going wrong. The dough is way too sticky and can’t get it to separate from the bowl. I used a mixer for the 5th cup of flour like you did and yeast was foamy and added to recipe. Any thoughts on why it’s too sticky to even come together?
Thank you for this recipe! It has become a new Thanksgiving tradition in our house. I made them for the first time two years ago, and this year when asked what she wanted to bring for her “feast” at school, my eight year old shouted, “pumpkin rolls!” She loves to help in the kitchen, and I am grateful for a recipe that she can not only help with, but master and take pride in displaying on Thanksgiving. I almost had a heart attack today, when I realized I had not saved this recipe to my pepperplate! I frantically Googled, and fortunately found it (and immediately copied and pasted it to pepperplate!) I can’t wait to make these this afternoon with my daughter, should she let me help, and again on Thursday. Great recipe!
These are my all-time favorite rolls! Look forward to making them again this year.
I made these for Thanksgiving and they were a hit. Even my skeptical husband admitted they were better than he thought they’d be (he’s not a fan of anything with pumpkin). It’s a keeper!
I made these for Thanksgiving and they were a hit. I was asked to bring them for Christmas dinner as well.
Oh my, these pumpkin dinner rolls look amazing! My kids would love them!
I recently made these for a Friendsgiving meal and everyone was in love with them! The only change I made is reducing the sugar a bit by leaving out the white sugar, otherwise I made as directed. Thank you for this great recipe and adorable presentation!
Just made these – the didn’t “puff up” as much as I hoped – any guess what I did wrong. They look more like gourds (not a bad thing!) and taste more yeasty than I expected. Thanks!
We have used this recipe for 4 years at Thanksgiving. They are now a tradition, as I go to 2 Thanksgivings I make them twice . A couple of adaptations… I don’t use packets so it is about 1 tbsp loose yeast and we use a pair of kitchen shears to make the cuts..
For your pumpkin dinner rolls, what size tin of pumpkin puree should I buy?
15 oz can should be sufficient. You will need only 1 cup of pumpkin puree for this recipe.
Thanks.