Pumpkin Orange Cinnamon Rolls with Chocolate Chips

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

• 3 1/4-ounce packages of active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water (105F - 115F)
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie (or apple pie) spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom powder
• 7 cups all-purpose flour (31.5 ounces) with more as needed
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• chocolate chips (enough to suit you and your family)

1. Combine the yeast, brown sugar and warm water together and stir. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the pumpkin puree, honey, melted butter, eggs, and spices. Mix on low speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the foamy yeast / sugar mixture and mix for another minute. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
3. Combine flour and salt, and add them 1 cup at a time to the wet mixture. Use a flexible scraper or a spatula to fold the flour and salt into the pumpkin base. Once the mixture begin to look shaggy, empty it out onto a work surface and continue to add the flour 1/2 cup at a time. After each addition, knead the flour into the dough, adding additional flour once the dough becomes a little sticky.
4. Tip #1: Once the dough only needs a little flour at a time, just rub flour onto your hands and knead it in, a little at a time that way. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
5. Tip #2: Many people perform a windowpane test to see if the dough has been kneaded sufficiently. To do this, pinch off a piece of dough and flatten it. Using your fingers, slowly stretch it. If it tears easily, keep kneading. If it stretches until it thins before tearing, your ready.
6. Coat a large bowl with butter and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning it to coat it. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area of the kitchen to allow the dough to double in size (about 1 hour).
7. Tip #3: For rising, I heat a cup of water in the microwave and then put it in the back corner of the microwave. I slide in the bowl containing the covered dough, and close the door. Think of it as a nice warm incubator for your yeast to grow.
8. Punch down the dough. Pull up one side of the dough and fold it over the the rest of the dough. Recover and return it to the microwave incubator until it doubles again (about 1 hour).
9. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and divide the dough in half. Roll out each half of the dough to an 18" X 12" rectangle. Smear the Orange Sugar Butter filling (in the below part of the recipe) over the surface with a spatula and sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Starting with the shorter side, roll the dough up like a jelly roll. With a sharp knife, slice the roll into 1" slices and arrange in a baking pan, spaced about 1/2" - 3/4" apart from each other. Loosely cover in plastic and let rise for another hour.
10. Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake the rolls for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and brush with the Orange Maple Glaze in the below recipe.

Orange Sugar Butter and Orange Maple Glaze

• 8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup

1. For the Orange Sugar Butter, combine the first 3 ingredients.
2. For the Orange Maple Glaze, combine the last 3 ingredients.