Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

(With browned butter cream cheese frosting)

If you've never tried browned butter, I highly suggest you do. It's very simple to make and tastes wonderfully decadent over pasta (like butternut squash ravioli), roasted vegetables, or in this case, whipped in to frosting! It has a very caramel-like taste, with a salty undertone. It really adds a whole new dimension to this cinnamon roll, and would be great atop pumpkin cookies, banana bread, bran muffins, etc. (here's a link to learn more about browned butter)

I don't fancy myself a bread baker, so I got the recipe for the cinnamon rolls here, at The Girl Who Ate Everything. The only change I made to the recipe was to omit the pumpkin pie spices (merely because I don't care for them), and add cinnamon instead.

While the rolls were baking I made my browned butter frosting. Here's what you'll need:

Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

4 Tablespoons Butter (browned)

8 oz Cream Cheese (softened)

4 Cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

To make your browned butter, heat the 4 Tablespoons butter in a sauce pan over medium heat until the butter begins to foam and turns a nice golden brown (3-5 mins). Remove from heat and pour into a small dish to set aside and let cool completely.

In your mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and browned butter until smooth. Scrape sides of bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar on low speed until combined, add vanilla. Then turn mixer up to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, scraping sides as necessary.

Spread generously over hot rolls. Enjoy!

(And graciously accept all of the complements people shower upon you after tasting these.)

This Week's Sweets: Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and Toasted Pecans

(Cake adapted from Country Living)

2 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Cocoa Powder

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

2 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

3/4 cup Buttermilk

1 1/2 cup Pumpkin Purée

2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 1/4 sticks Butter, softened

1 1/2 cup(firmly packed) Dark Brown Sugar

1 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

5 large Eggs

Prepare cake pans: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour three 8-inch cake pans. Set aside.

Make the batter: Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla in a medium bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, with an electric mixer set on medium speed, until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and light. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, blending well after each addition.

Bake the cake: Divide the batter among the pans and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean -- about 35 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove cakes and cool. (For cupcakes: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in standard cupcake tins and fill each with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 22 minutes.)

Frosting: Prepare Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting while cake are cooling. Recipe and instructions are here.

Assemble the cake: Trim each of the layers if necessary. Place one layer on a cake plate and top with frosting. Repeat with the second and third layers. Frost top and edges. Top with roughly chopped, toasted Pecans.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note: I made this as cupcakes as well and they were DELICIOUS. They would be perfect with some chocolate chips or toasted pecans mixed into the batter and served as chocolate muffins.

This Week's Sweets: Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with 

Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

If you've never tried browned butter, I highly suggest you do. It's very simple to make and tastes wonderfully decadent over pasta (like butternut squash ravioli), roasted vegetables, or in this case, whipped in to frosting! It has a very caramel-like taste, with a salty undertone. It really adds a whole new dimension to this cinnamon roll, and would be great atop pumpkin cookies, banana bread, bran muffins, etc. (here's a link to learn more about browned butter)

I don't fancy myself a bread baker, so I got the recipe for the cinnamon rolls here, at The Girl Who Ate Everything. The only change I made to the recipe was to omit the pumpkin pie spices (merely because I don't care for them), and add cinnamon instead.

While the rolls were baking I made my browned butter frosting. Here's what you'll need:

Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

4 Tablespoons Butter (browned)

8 oz Cream Cheese (softened)

4 Cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

To make your browned butter, heat the 4 Tablespoons butter in a sauce pan over medium heat until the butter begins to foam and turns a nice golden brown (3-5 mins). Remove from heat and pour into a small dish to set aside and let cool completely.

In your mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and browned butter until smooth. Scrape sides of bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar on low speed until combined, add vanilla. Then turn mixer up to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, scraping sides as necessary.

Spread generously over hot rolls. Enjoy!

(And graciously accept all of the complements people shower upon you after tasting these.)