simply homemade: pumpkin cinnamon rolls

I love to bake on cold days. It's such a cozy thing to

do....plus, I love eating all those cozy things in my

warm house. today was cold AND snowy (kind of).

So of course cinnamon rolls had to be made. I've been

meaning to make these for a couple of years now and

today was the perfect day.

Here's the recipe:

Icing:

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla

and cream. Add powdered sugar to your desired

consistency. Cover until needed.

Pumpkin Yeast Bread

In a large mixing bowl stir together 1-1/2 cups flour,

the yeast, and spices;set aside. In a small sauce pan heat

and stir the milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Be careful not

to scorch the milk....that doesn't taste very good. The

milk should be very warm but no warmer than 130

degrees. That'll kill your yeast and that type of flat

bread also doesn't taste very good. Add to the flour mixture

and add your pumpkin.

Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead your dough

until it's smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Place dough

in a greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap and top with a hot

damp kitchen towel (I like to use flour sacks for this). Let rise

in a warm place until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured surface and roll out

into a 10x15" rectangle. Smear this with the good stuff. Butter,

brown sugar, raisins, pecans, and a good shake of cinnamon.

Now, as much as you may cringe, the secret to cinnamon rolls

is butter. Don't skimp!

Now roll it on up and slice off 1 inch rolls.

Place fairly close together on a shallow baking sheet.

Let them rise one more time until doubled. Now pop

these babies in a 375 degree oven and bake 10 minutes

then change heat to 350 and bake an additional 10

minutes. Don't they smell good? And don't you feel cozy?

Ice them while they're still warm....and honestly, if the

fat content freaks you out, eat one and give the rest

away.

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