Christmas is just around the corner, and this year my sister-in-law volunteered to have the meal at her house, so this means I have some free time leading up the day, in which previous years I have not. (I am on pie duty, which I will take any day over making the meal) Since there will be family in from out of town and friends in and out of my house, I like to make sure there is something to eat each day for breakfast that everyone will enjoy. These Pumpkin Sticky Nut Rolls fit the bill perfectly, and the fact that I can assemble them the night before and let them rise in the fridge overnight is a huge bonus.

Pumpkin Sticky Nut Rolls

From Holiday and Celebration Breads in Five Minutes a Day

Pumpkin Brioche (Challah, Brioche, or Amish-Style Milk Bread [page 83 in HACBin5] will also work here)
7 1/2 cups (1065g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated yeast
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
4 large eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (freshly roasted or canned)

Sticky Bun Filling
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus  more for greasing the pan
1 1/4 cups well-packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground pepper
3 cups pecan halves, toasted (or 1 cup each of pecans, walnuts, and almonds, toasted)

Mixing and storing the dough: with a Danish Dough Whisk, whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a 5-quart Food Storage Container, fitted with a non-airtight lid. Combine the liquid ingredients and add them to the dry with a wooden spoon. Mix thoroughly, until there are no more dry bits of flour. The dough will be quite loose when you are done. (You can also use a 5-Quart Stand Mixer (with paddle) to mix the dough.)

Cover the container and allow the dough to rest on the counter for 2 hours. Once it has risen refrigerate for at least 4 hours before baking or it is too difficult to handle. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To bake: Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Grease the sides of a 9×3-inch springform cake pan with butter. (If your pan doesn’t have a great seal, then line the bottom and sides of the pan with a piece of parchment paper and grease the parchment.) Spread half the butter-sugar mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Scatter half of the pecans over the butter-sugar mixture and set aside.

Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1 1/2 pound piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 1/8-inch-thick rectangle, about 14×8 inches. As you roll out the dough, use enough flour to prevent it from sticking to the work surface, but not so much as to make the dough dry. Spread the remaining butter-sugar mixture evenly over the rolled-out dough, chop the remaining nuts, and sprinkle them over the top.

Starting with the long side, roll the dough into a log and pinch the seam shut.

With a kitchen scissors or a very sharp serrated knife or kitchen shears, cut the log into 8 equal pieces.

Arrange over the nuts in the pan, so that the swirled cut edge is facing down. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350F, with a rack placed in the center of the oven.

Place the pan of pumpkin sticky nut rolls on a rimmed baking sheet, in case the caramel bubbles over, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown and well set in the center.

While still hot, run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the rolls and invert immediately onto a serving dish. If you let them set too long, they will stick to the pan and be difficult to turn out. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Refrigerator Rise: Set your caramel rolls up the night before, so you bake them first thing in the morning: Prepare the rolls, cover loosely with plastic, and refrigerate for up to 18 hours. When ready to bake, preheat the oven and then slide the rolls into the oven. They will take longer to bake, since they will be well chilled. They’ve had a long, slow rise in the refrigerator, so you don’t need to let them rise more before baking.

This post was sponsored by Red Star Yeast, but the content and opinions are all ours.