Pumpkin Patch Buns

These buns make great center piece for the table and awesome to accompany the dinner, or as is!

Step 1: Variations

This year was be my 4th year serving these lovely buns for Thanksgiving dinner. Each year, I made them slightly different one to another.

These buns can be made using regular canned pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin pie filling (I havent try the pumpkin puree mix yet!), which will create sweeter buns instead dinner rolls (I cannot remember which picture was using just pumpkin/pumpkin pie hahah, sorry!).

These buns can also be made with any brown sugar, regular, light, or dark, and you can use peanuts, pecans, pretzels, even sunflower seeds for the top vine/branch/stems.

And this year's buns? I used coconut palm sugar with regular pumpkin puree.

Each time, they turned out beautiful and delish :)

Step 2: Dough

3/4 cup milk

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/3 cup coconut palm sugar

1/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter/margarine

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

2 packages active dry yeast (1/2 ounces)

1 teaspoon white sugar

1/4 cup lukewarm water

5 cups AP flour

Pretzels

1 yolk wash

Mix palm sugar, sugar, salt and pumpkin puree in a bowl.

Heat milk for 1 minute in microwave, take out, add in butter, stir to melt. Add in pumpkin mixture, stir to combine

Proof yeast in lukewarm water with a tsp sugar. Once bloomed, mix with pumpkin mixture.

Place flour in a big bowl, make a well in center, and pour yeast mixture. Knead.

Cover with plastic cling, let rest for an hour, until doubled in size

Step 3: Pumpkin Buns

Punch dough, knead a bit and divide into two portions. Slice each portion to make 10 buns

Shape each dough into a ball and with a knife, cut as shown on picture

Press the center with your finger and place a pretzel stick

Place buns on baking sheets and let rise again for 45 mins

Brush with egg yolk and bake at 350 F for 20 mins

Happy Thanksgiving~