RHODES PUMPKIN SHAPED ROLLS

This time of year many of us dream of a white Christmas. Me? I dream of making a side dish from scratch-ish. This year I was determined to make pumpkin-shaped rolls for Thanksgiving.

I found this recipe on my friend Karianne’s blog. Karianne is an amazing talent and a creative genius and the one thing we share is we both struggle in the kitchen.

This was the year I was going to make pumpkin-shaped dinner rolls.

I did not want a repeat of last year’s au gratin potatoes. Everyone loved them and went back for seconds. The compliments were flowing, like the wine. The only problem? I did not make the Au gratin potatoes.

Nope, I bought the 2-pack of Costco’s Au gratin potatoes. I hid them in the garage fridge and on Thanksgiving Eve I added the potatoes to the crockpot and tossed the plastic containers in the recycle bin. To cover my tracks I added a well-placed milk container and empty wine bottles to the top of the bin.

I thought I was in the clear, until my mom asked for the recipe.

Potatoes and cheese? I had no clue what ingredients were in this creamy, yummy potato dish. This year was going to be different.

This year I made a test batch of these dinner rolls in October. Let’s just say that even a detailed list of instructions can be a challenge.

I almost missed the one to two-hour additional hours of thawing time.

The best part of these dinner rolls is the only thing you need to buy is a bag of Rhodes frozen dinner rolls. Oh and you will need almonds or pecans and an egg. These are staples at our house.

RHODES PUMPKIN-SHAPED ROLLS

For years I have made cinnamon rolls I knew how easy it was to work with Rhodes frozen rolls.

The thing to remember is these are basic, white, frozen dough balls.

My goal was to follow the recipe and for the baked dinner rolls to resemble a pumpkin. Remain calm and thaw the rolls.

My second goal was to reread the steps.

INGREDIENTS

The ingredients are easy

12 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls
Non-stick cooking spray (Costco’s brand is the best -my mom recommended it to me).
1 egg to make an egg wash glaze
Almonds or Pecans to make the pumpkin’s stem

DIRECTIONS

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350
SPRAY THE BAKING SHEET WITH NONSTICK COOKING SPRAY
PLACE FROZEN DINNER ROLLS ON A BAKING SHEET SPACED OUT ( 12 SHOULD FIT)
COVER ROLLS WITH PLASTIC WRAP AND SET ASIDE FOR 2 HOURS.

PUMPKIN SHAPED DINNER ROLLS FOR THANKSGIVING

REMOVE PLASTIC WRAP AND WITH A PAIR OF SCISSORS MAKE 5-6 SNIPS ON EACH ROLL
BE CAREFUL NOT TO CUT INTO THE CENTER BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE YOU WILL ADD A PECAN OR ALMOND
ADD THE PLASTIC WRAP OVER THE BAKING SHEET FOR AN ADDITIONAL 1 1/2- 2 HOURS.
REMOVE PLASTIC WRAP AND ADD AN ALMOND OR PECAN (I USED AN ALMOND)

NEXT

USING A BAKING BRUSH (OR A FOAM BRUSH IF YOUR BAKING SKILLS ARE MORE IN LINE WITH MINE). DON’T JUDGE.

NEXT

Mix an egg into a small glassbowl and brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash.

In full disclosure, I remembered this step about three minutes into the baking time.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. My rolls were a little pasty so next time I will add a few more minutes to brown them up a bit more.

I was so excited when I pulled the rolls out of the oven and they looked like pumpkin-shaped dinner rolls.

I felt like Linus if the Great Pumpkin had showed up on Halloween. Maybe he should make pumpkin-shaped rolls for the Great Pumpkin.

COOKBOOKS I LOVE FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND THE EVERYDAY

If you need new baking sheets these Made in the USA are a favorite in my kitchen.

Thanks for stopping by today. If you have a Pinterest account I would love it if you pinned this to your recipe or Thanksgiving boards.

Here is a favorite recipe using Rhodes frozen rolls. For years I have made (and shared) my friend Kristin’s mom’s pecan rolls. I make them for long weekends and Christmas mornings.