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As the parents of a very picky 9-year-old – we are always happy when we can convince our daughter to eat more foods with vegetables – like these Cranberry Squash Dinner Rolls.
(I know – it’s terribly ironic…two food bloggers are parents to an extremely picky eater! Someday – we hope – she will appreciate the good food we cook!) 🙂
We don’t try to sneak in the vegetables – we always tell our daughter when we add the vegetables because we want her to recognize tastes of foods when she eats them.
Plus, adding cooked, pureed squash such as pumpkin, butternut, acorn or any other winter squash variety to these Cranberry Squash Dinner Rolls not only adds delicious flavor and nutrients, but it also gives these dinner rolls a wonderfully soft, moist and dense texture.
You can make these dinner rolls with or without the dried cranberries added – we all enjoyed the texture and the hint of sweetness from the added cranberries! And the ground sage added to the dough complements the savory squash and the sweet-tart cranberries.
These Cranberry Squash Dinner Rolls are very easy to make – just about 15 minutes to mix up the dough – then another two hours to proof. They bake up perfectly and are a wonderful addition to any meal!
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Cranberry Squash Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup of any cooked pureed winter vegetable such as butternut, acorn, buttercup or blue Hubbard squash (alternatively, you could also use canned pureed pumpkin).
- 1 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 tablespoon dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon dry ground sage
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- Olive oil for bowl
- 1 egg and a teaspoon of water beaten for egg wash
Instructions
- In a microwave safe bowl, mix milk, butter and pureed squash. Mix and microwave to 110 degrees F using a probe thermometer. Depending on your microwave, this could take approximately 30 seconds. Set this aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle, mix bread flour, 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour (save ½ cup aside), yeast, sage, salt and sugar until combined.
- Add warmed squash mixture from earlier, stir and add beaten eggs.
- Switch to a dough hook. Mix to form a dough that just barely sticks to the bottom of the bowl. Add some or all of the ½ cup of all purpose flour to achieve this consistency.
- With the mixer on medium, knead dough for six minutes.
- Add cranberries and mix to combine.
- Lightly coat a large bowl with olive oil and add dough. Toss to coat in the oil then cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Proof in a warm place (80 degrees F) until doubled in size, about one hour or so.
- Pour out onto counter and cut into 12 pieces.
- Line a 9X9 pan with parchment. Form each piece into a ball by pinching sides to bottom then place on prepared pan. Again cover with plastic and a towel and proof until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Brush the top of each roll with the egg wash, being careful not to let the egg wash drip down to the pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes turning pan half way through until browned on top.
- Serve warm.
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It doesn’t say when to add the eggs
Hi Donna – The beaten eggs are brushed on top of the rolls (Step 10) – not added to the dough.
Hi Donna
Martha just sent you an email on this. You are totally correct, this is my screw up. This recipe has been out there for years and you were the only one who caught it. The beaten eggs are mixed in right after the step where you stir in the warmed squash. I added it in and updated the recipe. You may need to clear your cache to see it.
Sorry for my error.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Jack
Now this is something I have to try! Both my husband and daughter hate their veggies and I think this is another creative way to have them eat it instead of the smoothies. This will be tried tomorrow! Thank you Martha!
Hope you all enjoy the dinner rolls!