Savory Pumpkin Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls

These Savory Pumpkin Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls are perfect for your holiday table. 

Is there anything better than a cloverleaf roll? It's pretty much the main reason I love Luby's. Well, cloverleaf rolls and their macaroni and cheese...I am only human, after all. And if you don't have Luby's where you live, I'm happy to add you to my prayer list. 

No lie...I had a meal plan there in college (I'm seriously not even a little bit kidding, y'all). The Luby's by our college offered students a prepaid card for 12 meals that my parents would kindly refill for me when they came to town. My roommates and I always closed the place down...since, you know, they close at 8 pm. My husband has always poked fun at me for being such a Luby's lover. Say what you want, they've got it going on. I may often be the youngest in the line picking out my sides and entree (on the LuAnn platter, of course) but Luby's is where it's at, man. I thought it would be fun to use a pumpkin roll recipe and create the signature Luby's cloverleaf roll with it. I changed up the seasonings and stuff...but it's a fall version of the classic cloverleaf. Check out the recipe below.

If you're not privy to all that is Luby's and the cloverleaf, this roll is basically a three-part pull apart roll, shaped like a clover. They're actually really easy to make. And not at all intimidating like a knot or the anxiety-inducing homemade crescent. Cloverleafs are user-friendly.

Just three balls of dough in a muffin tin. I love that they're fool-proof and won't stick together when baked.

And their pull-apart design makes them ideal for butter application (who wants to cut a fluffy yeast roll in half and smush all of its airy goodness?). And don't even get me started on the manner in which my husband butters a regular roll: on its top. What in the heehaw is that all about? A roll must be opened to have butter applied. If not, your butter is just dripping off the roll onto the plate. What a waste of perfectly good butter, y'all.

The pumpkin in these rolls is subtle, but definitely gives them a nice fall taste. You can play around with the seasonings, too, if you like. 

Savory Pumpkin Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls

Click Here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4-5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk, (115°F – 125°F)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin 
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• poppyseeds

Directions:

Combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer with a bread hook

attachment. In a separate bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, 1/3 cup melted butter, brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Pour pumpkin mixture into flour mixture. Mix on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Turn mixer to high for 3 minutes. Scrape down bowl. Continue mixing while stirring in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the extra flour to make a smooth and soft dough. Place dough into a greased bowl, turning to grease all sides. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about an hour and a half). Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Preheat oven to 400°. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. 

Grease 18 holes in two muffin tin pans (fill empty ones with water). Shape 1-inch pieces of dough into balls. Add three balls of dough per muffin tin opening. Continue until all of the dough is used and 18 muffin tin holes are filled. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Brush tops of rolls with remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle with poppyseeds. Bake 20-25 minutes or until rolls are golden. Remove rolls from pan and serve warm.

Click Here for Printable Recipe

What's your favorite kind of dinner roll?

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