Gluten Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with a dairy free / vegan option for #Meatless Monday

Free of gluten, eggs, nuts, soy, corn, with dairy free / vegan options

The season of pumpkin is upon us. I had half a large can of pumpkin puree leftover from making my Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie for Canadian Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago. So I modified my old recipe for Gluten Free Herb Rolls to use up leftover pumpkin puree, and added some cinnamon spice mix. (I have also made a similar version in the past using sweet potato puree instead of pumpkin, so you could use sweet potato instead if you like)

These rolls are simple, tasty, pretty healthy, and versatile. I've had them for breakfast, served them with dinner to guests, and drizzled them with a bit of icing sugar mixed with milk as cinnamon rolls for dessert. 

They also freeze well, so make up a batch and sock them away for later! 

Ingredients for Gluten Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (makes approx. 12 rolls) 

½ c warm water

1 Tbsp yeast

1 tsp sugar

1c tapioca starch

1 ½ c sorghum flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

Rice flour for dusting

1/2 c pumpkin puree

1/4 c + 1 Tbsp milk at room temp (for vegan opt, use dairy free milk like rice, coconut, almond, etc.)

1/4 olive or coconut oil

1-2 Tbsp melted butter or dairy free alternative

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp sugar

Directions 

Grease a baking sheet and/or line with parchment paper. Mix together the 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 Tbsp sugar. Set aside.

1. Mix the water, yeast and sugar together and set aside to rise.  The yeast should begin to rise and bubble (if it doesn’t, you might need new yeast or warmer water.  The water should be warm to touch but not too hot to touch).

3. In the meantime, sift all the dry ingredients together, except extra rice flour for dusting. Add in the pumpkin, milk, oil, and yeast mixture and blend until smooth. This will be a fairly gummy mixture, don't worry. 

4. To roll out the dough: I've found the best way to do this is to lay out a large piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper, tape it to the counter, and dust with rice flour. Turn out the dough, sprinkle with more flour, and cover with another sheet of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Roll out dough with a rolling pin to about 1/4" thick. Remove top sheet. Brush with about 1/2 the melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix.

 Lift the edge of the bottom layer of plastic, using plastic to lift the dough up and over, peeling back the plastic as you go to create a roll. (Sorry, I didn't take photos of this. I'll try to take some soon and add them, but for a general idea, check out the original post ) 

Slice roll into rounds about 1" thick with a sharp knife. A wet knife works best - moisten every couple of slices. Gently place on baking sheet. Brush with more melted butter. 

5. Allow the rolls to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, until almost doubled in size. 

6. Heat oven to 375F and bake rolls for about 15 minutes, until browned slightly and firm on top. Remove from heat and cool on a rack.

Tonight, Halloween night, my husband and I are going for dinner with the in-laws to check out a new tapas bar in Gastown. I'm super excited, and it will be interesting to see all the people dressed up in downtown Vancouver. 

What are you doing for Halloween?
and 
How do you use up your leftover pumpkin puree?

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This post was shared on the following great link parties: Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Fat Tuesday, Gluten Free Wednesday,