Pumpkin-Cinnamon Pinwheels

After honeymooning for a few weeks in the tropical bliss of St. Martin, I’ve desperately missed all the deliciously wonderful delights that fall brings… pumpkin-patching, falling leaves, crisp air, and most of all – fall flavors! So I sat down with my November issue of Better Homes and Gardens and found the perfect recipe for today. My positive intention for this baking session is to bring myself back to center before the work-week begins, here in my own home, during my favorite season.

I have slightly altered this recipe to make it a bit more of my taste, so here it goes:

Ingredients:

1 15oz can of organic pumpkin puree
1/4 cup & 4 tbsp organic granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp organic ground cinnamon (this is for enhanced flavor, you may use 1 1/2)
2 cups of unbleached all-purpose organic flour (plus more for rolling)
1 cup whole-wheat organic pastry flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 tbsp cold unsalted organic butter, cubed
1/2 tsp of organic pumpkin spice
Pinch of ground clove
1/2 cup plain organic yogurt
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Ready? Let’s bake!

Heat your oven to 375F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove 3 tbsp of pumpkin puree and set aside in a small bowl.
In another small bowl, stir in 2 tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon.
Whisk both flours, baking powder, salt, pumpkin spice, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon in a large bowl (or stand mixer bowl). Add your cubed butter. If you’re using a mixer, mix on a low speed for 1-2 minutes, then work with your hands. Add the remaining can of pumpkin puree and fold into the dry ingredients (do not mix and risk overbearing to create a tough dough). Dough should start to gather and form together.
Flour your surface that you will be rolling your dough out on (I highly recommend a Spinella board – they are so amazing and easy to clean), then roll dough out to roughly 8×16 in a rectangular shape.
Spread the reserved 3 tbsp of pumpkin puree onto the rolled-out dough. Then sprinkle your small bowl of sugar and cinnamon onto the dough evenly.
Start from a long side and slowly begin to roll your dough up to achieve the “pinwheel” look. Be sure to keep working from the middle out to the edges to ensure you’re rolling the dough up evenly. Once the dough is rolled, use a serrated knife to cut your dough into 14-16 pieces (14 if you want them thicker, 16 if you want them thinner – I did 15).
Space about 1/2 to 1 inch apart on your baking sheet, and place in your oven to cook for 20-22 minutes. At about 16 minutes in the oven, I put an additional 2 tbsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, and the pinch of clove into a small bowl. I then drizzled this mixture evenly over the pinwheels as they were baking in the oven for extra flavor and texture. I recommend checking at 20 minutes to see if they are golden brown, if so take em on out – if not, leave them for another 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
While cooling, stir the yogurt and powdered sugar together with a spoon, then drizzle mixture over the spirals.