Pumpkin Dinner Rolls with Sage and Brown Butter
Pumpkin dinner rolls flavored with fresh sage and brown butter and a touch of maple along with plenty of pumpkin puree are shaped like mini pumpkins without time-consuming techniques involving string. That they only need about 15 minutes of work over a couple lazy hours is the kind of win you need during rushed holiday baking and cooking.
| Taste | Texture | ||
| Savory, lightly sweet | Super soft, fluffy |
| Active time | Total time | Yield | Difficulty |
| 15 minutes | 2 hours | 12 rolls | Easy |
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls are:
Why I Skip String When Shaping Pumpkin Dinner Buns
I’ve wanted to try making pumpkin dinner rolls for a long time. Still, the pumpkin shaped rolls I’ve seen involve tying a piece of string around a piece of dough. As the bun rises out of the oven and during baking, the string leaves an impression in the rolls, making the rolls look very much like actual pumpkins. They’re crazy cute, actually.
Still, the string step takes too long for most people. Many of my young students struggle with working with yeast doughs WITHOUT the added dexterity needed for tying up a pumpkin. Instead, I wanted to experiment with something that gave you close to the look of the string-tied pumpkin rolls without the work.
Beyond the unnecessary difficulty, most people making Thanksgiving are pressed for time. You do NOT need to be struggling with kitchen twine and lumps of sticky dough when you’ve got the turkey hogging the oven and 8 sides you’re trying to keep warm or cold. I’m here to make things easy for you!
Cloverleaf Rolls Make Faux Pumpkin Dinner Rolls EASY
As I was thinking through these rolls, the classic cloverleaf roll shape came to mind. To make a cloverleaf roll, you divide the amount of dough for one roll in 3 and roll each of those smaller portions into a ball. The tiny balls go into a muffin tin where they bake up into a roll with smaller pull-apart rolls that have all baked together.
Because pumpkins have more lobes than 3, I wondered if 4 small balls in the cloverleaf shape would get close to a pumpkin look. Spoilers, yes they do, especially if you add sage leaf or clove stems to them.
Ingredients for Sage Brown Butter Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls Dough
- Butter
- Fresh sage
- Canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- Milk
- Maple syrup
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour
- Salt
Finishing the Rolls
- Butter
- Sage leaves with stems
- Whole cloves
Equipment
- Bench scraper or knife
- Springform pan or 2 round cake pans
- Stand mixer (see note)
How to Make Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Make the Sage Brown Butter: Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Swirl the pan occasionally until the foaming starts to calm down and you see little brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Add the sage to the pan for about 10 seconds before turning off the heat.
- Make the Dough: Whisk the pumpkin, milk, and maple syrup into the sage butter. Add in the eggs and then the yeast, whisking to dissolve the yeast. Add all the wet ingredients to a mixer bowl along with the flours and salt. Knead the dough with a dough hook until smooth and elastic–about 4-5 minutes on low speed (Kitchen Aid 2). Cover the dough for 1 hour until it has doubled in bulk.
- Shape the Rolls: Brush all the wells in a muffin tin with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Use a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough into 12 pieces. From there, divide each piece of dough into 4 small balls. It’s okay if the smaller pieces are not exactly the same size. Roll each small ball into a little one and place 4 balls into each muffin well. Cover the rolls to rise for 30 minutes.
- Bake: Towards the end of the 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Bake the rolls for 15-18 minutes until they are beginning to brown around the top edges and are set. Brush the rolls immediately with the rest of the melted butter.
- Decorate the Pumpkins: Push the blossom end of a clove into the top of each roll along with a sage leaf.
- Cool the Rolls: Cool the rolls for about 5 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin . Wrap the rolls in a clean kitchen towel or cloth napkin in a bowl to keep them warm for serving.
More Thanksgiving Dinner Rolls to Make
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls with Sage and Brown Butter
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
Description
With the Fall flavor trinity of sage, brown butter, and maple to boost the pumpkin flavor, these rolls are every bit as delicious as they are cute. The simple shaping gives you most of the look of a pumpkin in an easy muffin tin baked roll you can get ready for the oven in just a couple minutes. Definitely add the clove stems and a leaf of sage for the most pumpkiny looking pumpkins.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Dinner Roll Dough
- 6 Tablespoons butter (85 g)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix), (120 g)
- 1/3 cup whole milk (79 mL)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (60 mL)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 g)
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (98 g)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Baking and Finishing the Rolls
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 12 whole cloves
- 12 leaves of fresh sage with part of a stem
Equipment
- Muffin tin (12 wells)
- Bench scraper or knife
- Kitchen Aid
Instructions
Make the Sage Brown Butter
- Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat.
- Swirl the pan occasionally until the foaming starts to calm down and you see little brown bits in the bottom of the pan. It’s best to use a light-colored pan so that you can see the brown bits easily.
- Add the sage to the pan for about 10 seconds before turning off the heat. The heat will bring out the best flavor in the sage.
Make the Dough
- Whisk the pumpkin, milk, and maple syrup into the sage butter. Add in the eggs and then the yeast, whisking to dissolve the yeast.
- Add all the wet ingredients to a mixer bowl along with the flours and salt. Knead the dough with a dough hook until smooth and elastic–about 4-5 minutes on low speed (Kitchen Aid 2). Cover the dough for 1 hour until it has doubled in bulk.
Shape the Rolls
- Brush all the wells in a muffin tin with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Use a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough into 12 pieces.
- From there, divide each piece of dough into 4 small balls. It’s okay if the smaller pieces are not exactly the same size.
- Roll each small ball into a little one and place 4 balls into each muffin well.
- Cover the rolls to rise for 30 minutes.
Bake
- Towards the end of the 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
- Bake the rolls for 15-18 minutes until they are beginning to brown around the top edges and are set. Brush the rolls immediately with the rest of the melted butter.
- Push the blossom end of a clove into the top of each roll along with a sage leaf. In reality, you could use either a clove or a sage leaf, but after testing, my family decided they like the look of both best.
- Cool the rolls for about 5 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin. Wrap the rolls in a clean kitchen towel or cloth napkin in a bowl to keep them warm for serving.
Storing Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Rolls are best eaten the day that they’re made, but they can be kept covered wrapped in a kitchen towel for up to 2 more days beyond that.
Notes
Make ahead: cool the rolls down and then package them either in foil pans covered in foil or flat in large plastic bags. Freeze up to 2 months ahead.
Reheating:
- Oven: Place the rolls on a sheet tray and reheat in a 350 F oven for 7-10 minutes.
- Slow cooker : Wrap the rolls completely in a lightly damp kitchen towel (you may need 2 towels) and place in the slow cooker on LOW for about 30 minutes. Definitely use the slow cooker if you’re short on oven space.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Breads
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
