Kabocha Pumpkin Squash and Potato Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Sounds like a mouth full right?  I was on a quest for a recipe to use both my kabocha squash and potato water (the water you boil your potatoes in).  I found a recipe that seemed like it could work, but I had to make some modifications.  The original recipe is from Smitten Kitchen.  I almost always make cinnamon rolls on a day that I make mashed potatoes, because potato water makes wonderful cinnamon rolls!  I also had roasted some of our kabocha squash and thought it would be great in place of pumpkin.  Actually from what I have read, many prefer to use kabocha in place of pumpkin.  I will be trying a pumpkin pie using kabocha soon and will let you know the verdict on that as well.

  

This makes about 16 rolls.        Printable Recipe from Google Drive

Dough

1/4 cup of butter (1/2 stick)

1/2 cup warm potato water (this is the water you boil your potatoes in) If

you don't have any potato water, you can use warm milk instead

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 

4 cups all-purpose flour, you will need some more to roll the dough out

later too

1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2/3 cups pumpkin puree, canned or homemade (smitten kitchen has a good

tutorial on making homemade)

1 large egg ( I prefer duck)

Oil for coating rising bowl

Filling

1/4 cup butter melted (1/2 stick)

3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Make your dough: 

Melt your butter, you can do this in a microwave or on the stove. You

can brown the butter if you so desire. I am however too lazy to use a pan,

I just nuke it in the microwave! You will be melting butter for the filling

as well so keep your bowl/pan for melting handy. Set aside to cool

slightly.

Add your yeast to your warm (not hot) potato water, set aside for 5+

minutes until it becomes foamy.

Combine flour, sugars, salts and spices in a mixing bowl.

Add your butter, yeast mixture,egg and pumpkin, mix until just combined.

Switch mixer to a dough hook and run it for 5 minutes on low. This is a

fairly sticky dough.

Scrape mixture into a large oiled bowl and cover, I used foil, you can use

plastic wrap or a towel too. 

Put the bowl in a warm location to rise for about an hour until doubled.

Line a cake pan and a pie plate or other small dish with tin foil, this

helps get them out once baked.  For me the recipe filled the cake pan and

there were about 4 rolls that went into the pie plate. If you have a bigger

cake pan you may not need the extra pie plate :)

Assembly: 

Place dough on a generously floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it

into a 16x11 rectangle.  This is not a precise measurement, just make a

guess and call it good :) 

Melt the butter (1/4 Cup) and spread it on your rolled out dough.

Mix your filling mixture of sugars/spice together and then sprinkle on

top of the butter. 

Roll your dough up, pinching the dough together at the seam.

Slice into roughly 1" rolls with a serrated knife.

Place the rolls in the pans, don't squish them together they need room to

rise some more.

Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Remove cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Enjoy! 

In the original recipe there is a glaze, but these were already rich and

sweet enough so I didn't use the glaze.