Caramel Pumpkin Dinner Rolls featuring Goetze’s Vanilla Caramel Creams®
Hands down the BEST dinner roll I have ever eaten in my entire life! Super light and fluffy, caramel pumpkin dinner rolls made with Vanilla Caramel Creams® candies!
- Yield: 3 dozen
Ingredients
- 1 package instant-rise yeast (~2 1/4 teaspoon)/7 grams
- 1/2 cup / 118.3 grams warm water
- 8 – 8 1/2 cups / 1001.2 – 1063.8 grams AP flour
- 1/3 cup / 97.4 grams brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon / 8.9 grams salt
- 1 teaspoon / 2.6 grams cinnamon
- 10 tablespoons / 141,8 grams butter, unsalted and softened
- 1 cup / 225 grams pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 1/2 cups / 367.3 grams warm milk, divided
- 20 Goetze’s Vanilla Caramel Creams®, unwrapped
- Melted butter for brushing
Instructions
- In a pan over medium heat add the Goetze’s Vanilla Caramel Creams®, 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tablespoon of butter. Slowly stir until the candies have melted and you have a smooth, soft caramel. It will not be liquid but rather super soft. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until just warm. It still will be soft but you don’t want it hot.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add 1 cup of milk, water and brown sugar, mixing to combine. Next, add in the pumpkin and caramel, mixing to incorporate.
- Switch to the dough hook. Add in the yeast, 4 cups of flour, salt and cinnamon. Slowly start to mix while scraping down the sides. Add 1 cup of flour at a time until 8 cups flour total has been incorporated.
- Add in 8 tablespoon of butter, one tablespoon at a time while the dough hook is churning. Don’t worry if the butter doesn’t incorporate immediately, it will. You can scrape down the sides to help it out.
- Once all 8 tablespoon of butter is added to the bowl, turn the mixer to medium and allow the dough hook to knead the dough for 10 minutes. If necessary, scrape down the sides. The dough will be very soft. If it seems a tad too wet, add a few tablespoon of flour. You want a soft, tender dough but not one that will stick to your hands.
- Place the dough into a buttered bowl, cover with plastic and place in a warm, dry area and allow to double in size. ~60-90 minutes.
- Once doubled, remove the dough from the bowl and place on a very lightly floured board. Divide the dough into 4-5 ounce balls (this recipe makes about 3 dozen rolls). Butter a large rimmed baking tray (I used a half-sheet pan) and place the balls on to the pan leaving just a bit of room. They can be close to each other (1/2” apart) but try not to let them touch. Cover the rolls with sprayed plastic wrap (to help prevent sticking). Set aside and allow to double in size (or when you press with your finger they indent and the indent stays) ~30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F, rack in the middle.
- Remove the cover from the rolls and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown and firm on top. These rolls are super soft inside due to the caramel. To be 100% certain the bread is cooked all the way through, take it’s temperature. The bread should be 190F using a thermometer.
- Brush the tops with melted butter then carefully flip your rolls out of the pan onto a cooling rack. They will be soft but will firm up, upon cooling.
Notes
Note about inside texture: Due to there being caramel in the rolls, the rolls may have super soft inside sections that may appear as undone. These are not, it’s just the ribbons of caramel in the dough. To be 100% certain the bread is cooked all the way through, take it’s temperature. The bread should be 190F using a thermometer.