Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin time! 
recipe found on jessicainsd.blogspot.com

Bread
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Buttered Vanilla Glaze
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, brown 2 tablespoons of butter, letting it bubble up and turn a dark golden brown but being careful not to allow it burn (turn black). Once browned, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the milk, return to stove and heat through.**** Pour the milk and butter into the bowl of standing mixer (fitted with a dough hook) and allow to cool so it is no longer hot but also not cool (about 100-110 degrees F). Once it has reached a warm but not hot temperature add the yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar and allow to proof (this can take up to 8 minutes, the top will look foamy and the liquid cloudy). Then add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Stir until combined then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. If the dough is too moist, add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time.

Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.

While dough is rising, brown another 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well.** Making sure sugar evenly absorbs the butter. Set aside. Next, grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and flip out onto a clean floured surface and knead with hands for 1-2 minutes. Roll dough into a 20x12 inch rectangle.*** Evenly sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture and press into dough with palms of the hand. Cut the rectangle into 6 strips. Lay strips on top of each other and cut each strip into 6 even squares (cut in half then each half into thirds). Stack strips vertically into the loaf pan. Cover the pan with a clean towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.

In the meantime preheat an oven to 350 degrees. After rising in the pan bake for 30-40 minutes (mine took 37 exactly) or until top is a very deep golden brown.

To prepare the glaze, heat the butter, milk, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil then immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum and powdered sugar.

**Of course I didn't properly read this section of the directions... I was supposed to melt the butter and brush the dough with the butter then adding the sugar on top of the butter (instead of mixing it all together and sprinkling) but it worked my way so that's how I am listing it. It's really your call!

*** If dough is difficult to roll out, cover with a towel and allow to relax for a few minutes then try again.

**** My milk was room temperature. Adding it cold to the butter can result in clumping. Willow Bird Baking called for removing the butter from the pan, then heating the milk, then adding the butter back to the milk. I was lazy which is why I skipped that step. You can also heat the milk separately in the microwave if you'd like. 

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches

Doesn't that sounds yummy, especially with Fall upon us?! I got this recipe from ourbestbites.com I really like their website, lots and lots of yummy treats! Here's a direct link to this recipe: Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Cake Mix Cookies (for Ice Cream Sandwiches)

1 cake mix
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, shortening and eggs. The dough will be VERY stiff.  Drop by tablespoonful onto cookie sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes.  You want them slightly underdone because if you're making ice cream sandwiches, you're going to freeze them and you want them to still be soft when they're frozen. Also, I let mine cool completely on the cookie sheet instead of transferring them to a wire rack because they're so soft that they break and fall through the wire.


Cookies

Follow instructions for Cake Mix cookies, using a "Spice Cake" flavored mix. Use a cookie scoop so you make sure to get uniform cookies. Before cooking, use the bottom of a glass sprayed with cooking spray to flatten the cookies (they'll be better frozen if you flatten them). Under cook them. This is important! You want them very soft, otherwise they'll get rock hard in the freezer. Cold crunchy cookies are not good. Frozen, soft, doughy cookies? Good. 

Easy Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream (no-cook!)

2 C Heavy Cream
1 C Whole Milk (vit D milk)
1 C canned pumpkin
2 t vanilla extract
3/4 C Brown Sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/8 t ground ginger
1/8 t nutmeg

Make sure all liquid ingredients are very cold.

Place brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine. (Doing this helps the spices to distribute better in the mixture). Add cream, milk, pumpkin, and vanilla. Stir with a whisk until the brown sugar is dissolved. How do you know if the brown sugar is dissolved? Stick your finger in there and then taste it! You shouldn't be able to feel any of the granules on your tongue.

If you have time, chill the mixture for a few hours in the fridge before putting in your ice cream maker. If you don't have time, or you're just dying to eat it, take the plunge and just make it right now. It's okay. I do it all the time. Process according to the manufacturers instructions. When finished, transfer to an airtight container and place in freezer to firm up.

Making the Sandwiches

Okay, making ice cream sandwiches is a fine art. I know you're thinking I'm nuts because how hard is it to put some ice cream between 2 cookies?? Hard enough that people mess it up all the time. Ya, I'm talking to you- the one who had crunchy cookies that when frozen almost broke my front tooth. Or maybe I'm talking to you- the one who had super soft ice cream so when I bit down on the cookies it all smooshed out. Or perhaps you- the one with a too high cookie-to-ice cream-ratio, which made the ice cream liquid before the cookies were thawed enough to bite through.

The perfect ice cream sandwich needs to have the perfect balance of the perfect consistency of both the cookie and the ice cream.

Making these ahead takes a little more effort, but the extra steps help with a great finished product.

1. Make your cookies. The most important step is to under cook the cookies. More undercooked than you think you want them. Even if they're "doughy" they'll be a great consistency when frozen. Cook them so they're just done around the edges.

2. Let them cool completely and then pop them in the freezer for a bit to help them firm up. This way, they won't fall apart when you're smashing your sandwiches together.

3. Make your ice cream and place it in the freezer to harden. Don't let it freeze all the way, just a couple of hours or until it's a good scooping consistency, but still soft enough to smash. And if you do end up freezing your ice cream all the way, that's really okay too. Just let it sit at room temp until it's soft enough to scoop.

4. Take your cookies and place a spoonful of jarred caramel sauce on each cookie. Don't spread it around. It will spread on its own when you smash the cookie together.

5. Use a cookie scooper to get nice, even sized ice cream scoops. Place another cookie on top (you can caramel both sides, or just one- up to you.)

6. Place on a plate/cookie sheet/whatever in a single layer and place in the freezer immediately. If you're making a bunch of sandwiches, put them in the freezer as you go so they don't melt on your counter! Wait until they harden completely (overnight) before putting them in an air tight container or ziplock bag.

When you want to eat them, just let them sit at room temp for about 5 minutes to let them soften a bit and they'll be perfect!