Cinnamon Rolls with Squash

Nana is back with a delicious family favorite! These rolls are a great way to sneak a little more vegetables into your children!

The garden is done for the year – and the harvest is in. Now it was time to do some baking!

The fragrance of baking squash and cinnamon rolls linger around me as I write.

We made a tradition with the grandchildren to make Cinnamon Rolls when they came. We would roll out enough dough to cover the length of our dining room table and would have a contest to guess how many rolls we would be able to make!

We found a recipe that uses squash in the batter. It makes them extra moist & more heart healthy! It is a treat to serve when friends come for coffee so we keep a batch in the freezer ready to defrost in the microwave making them taste freshly baked!

To prepare the squash I sliced it in half and baked it in a 350 degree oven until soft.  Then I scooped it out and put it into bags for the freezer.

All except a cupful – that is what it takes to make a batch of these yummy cinnamon rolls!

Cinnamon Rolls with Squash
(From Nana Shirley’s Kitchen)

1 packet (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
2 Tablespoon warm water
1 cup mashed cooked butternut squash
1/3 cup warm milk
¼ cup oil
1 egg
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 to 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water.

In a mixing bowl, combine squash, milk, oil, egg, brown sugar, & salt; mix well.

Add yeast mixture and 1 ½ cups flour; mix well. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn out a floured surface; knead until smooth & elastic, about 6-8 minutes or use dough hook on mixer. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover & let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down.

Roll our to about ½ inch thickness. Spread with softened butter or margarine. Spread with brown sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll from long side. Cut into 1” to 1 ½” sections and turn on end as you place them into a greased sheet cake or cake pan.

Let rise until doubled. Bake 350° until done. (15-20 min?) They will be brown on top and will sound hollow when you “thump” them with your finger!

Take a spatula and loosen from pan while still warm in order to get all the “goodie” from the pan.

Let cool until just warm to touch. Frost with Powdered Sugar Frosting. (Recipe below or can use canned)

Powdered Sugar Frosting:

Mix together in a small bowl 2 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup softened butter or margarine, 2 tsp. vanilla, (1 tsp. maple flavoring—optional) ¼ cup cold milk. Add more milk or sugar as needed to make the frosting of spreading consistency. It is best if you put it on the rolls while they are still warm.

Rolls can be frozen after they are cool. Defrost and/or warm in microwave before serving to give a fresh baked flavor!

Yield:  12-18 rolls

Until next time,

Nana Shirley