I had leftover kabocha squash casserole and decided to try to adapt my squash dinner roll recipe into cinnamon rolls. It turned out pretty tasty.
Cinnamon Rolls with Kabocha Squash
Ingredients
- 1½ cups
- warm milk
- 2¼ teaspoons
- dry yeast
- 4 tablespoons
- sugar
- 1 tablespoon
- salt
- 1
- egg, lightly beaten
- ¾ cup
- puréed kabocha squash
- 5 tablespoons
- vegetable shortening
- 4
- to 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons
- butter, melted, plus more for pan
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 TBS ground cinnamon (or more if you like it)
- 4 TBS butter, room temperature
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine milk with yeast, sugar, and salt. Let stand 5 minutes, then add egg and beat well to combine.
- Add squash and shortening; mash with a fork until shortening is in small pieces. Add 1½ cups flour and mix well with a wooden spoon. Gradually mix in more flour by the cupful until dough collects around spoon and pulls away from sides of bowl (you may not need all the flour).
- Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead 2 minutes. Put dough in a greased bowl; cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.
- Punch dough down, turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead until dough is smooth and supple, about 7 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double in size.
- Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to a rectangle about ½ inch thick.
- Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon then spread butter evenly over surface. Spread raisins evenly over surface. Beginning with the long end of the dough, roll into a long log making sure to get it tight and without air pockets.
- Using a very sharp knife, slice the long into rolls about ¾ inch thick. Place rolls in buttered glas baking dish allowing sides to barely touch. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
- Bake in 375 degree oven until golden brown on top and bottom, about 18-20 minutes. Do not let the tops get too brown.
- Remove from oven, let cool slightly then glaze or frost with your favorite recipe. I used a cream cheese frosting with a little extra milk to make it more of a glaze. Serve warm for best flavor and texture.