Good Day Gourmet: Pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls

Dough:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

1. Warm the milk and add a pinch of sugar and the yeast. Let proof for 5 minutes. You know the yeast is working when a layer of foam forms on top.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the milk/yeast mixture, vegetable oil, sugar and pumpkin purée. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl--flour, spices, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix until everything comes together.
4. Cover bowl with a towel and let sit in a warm area for about an hour. Dough will start to puff up and grow in size.
5. On a well-floured surface, roll dough into a large rectangle. I strive for 18 to 24-inches in width and length, about 1/4-inch thickness. You can use a knife or pizza-cutter to slice off any irregular edges.

Filling:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1. Melt butter. Brush evenly over the entire sheet of dough.
2. Combine brown and white sugar, along with spices. Sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough.
3. Sprinkle white chocolate and butterscotch chips evenly.
4. From left to right, start rolling the top of the dough down, tightly and as evenly as possible. If the dough is too sticky to handle, you can periodically dip your fingers in flour or lightly sprinkle flour over the sticky patches.
5. Once the dough is rolled into a long log shape, you can let the dough sit for another 15 minutes to rise.
6. Cut your cinnamon rolls. I cut the log in half, then cut each half into fifths. This makes enough rolls to fill 2 cake pans.
7. Place your rolls into buttered cake pans (or pans sprayed with cooking spray). It's OK if they're wedged up against each other.
8. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 25 minutes. Since the pumpkin in the batter makes it hard to tell if the rolls have browned well, I usually remove a pan at the 25-minute mark and gently lift one of the rolls to check if the dough on the bottom has baked through.

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup rum (dark, spiced preferably)
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1. In a saucepan on the stovetop, heat the butter and white and brown sugar for several minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to bubble and caramelize.
2. Add the milk, vanilla, and rum (please remove the pan from the heat before adding any alcohol), then cook mixture on medium heat for another 5 minutes.
3. Add powdered sugar a little at a time and whisk until the lumps are gone, and the glaze thickens.
4. When rolls come out of the oven, spread glaze evenly on top.

To par-bake and freeze: Bake rolls for only 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Seal pan and rolls in a freezer bag, up to 6 weeks. When you're ready to finish baking, move pan from freezer to fridge the night before so dough thaws. Bake in 375°F oven for about 10 minutes. Glaze as normal!

This recipe and others from Vanessa available on her food blog: www.foodshelikes.com!