Chocolate Pumpkin Breads

Well hey there. October passed in a flash, which is somewhat frightening, due to the fact that I am now merely weeks away from my 21st birthday (the age at which my mother will consider me a "real" adult, haha). Also, before I know it, I'll be in Ireland for four months. Of course that's exciting, but there are still so many unknowns right now, and it'll be sad to leave everything familiar. You knew I was going to Ireland, right? I feel like I've mentioned it offhandedly. Here's a picture which totally doesn't capture its behemoth-like proportions. 

Still, this is a booming metropolis compared to my school. 

So anyway, I'm embracing the pumpkin while I still have time. Although I have a sad pumpkin I planned to carve for Halloween sitting in the corner of my room. I hate that I didn't have time to carve it when I promised myself that I would. It's bothering me more than it probably should be. Well...Thanksgiving pumpkin?

These, despite having pumpkin in them, hardly tasted like pumpkin at all to me. Maybe it was more for...moisture? They're pretty homely. The supposed to be appetizing sugar crust looks sort of like...mold. I swear it's not. And someone stole the muffin pan so I had to make them more cinnamon rollish than was intended. And the chocolate chips look A LOT like raisins. Suspiciously so. I assure you they're not. Raisins will never make an appearance on this blog. I promise. Now that I've done such a great job selling these to you...haha, I dunno. Go enjoy your extra hour. 

Chocolate Pumpkin Breads 

by Hungry Girl por Vida 

1/3 cup warm milk
1/3 cup plain pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons unsalted, softened butter
Filling:
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
8 ounces (1 cup) chocolate chips, or chopped bar
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Egg Wash:
1 egg
1 Tablespoon cream
sugar for sprinkling

In measuring cup, combine milk with yeast and a pinch of sugar. Allow to proof 5 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and the egg. In a large bowl, combine flour, remaining sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the yeast-pumpkin mixture and mix on low to combine (if you have a stand mixer. Otherwise, spoon/hands are cool). Add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, mixing until the butter is incorporated before adding the rest. Scrape dough from the paddle, add the dough hook attachment  and knead on medium speed for 10 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky and stringy. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

While the dough rises, make the filling. In the bowl of a food processor, process all ingredients until all of the butter is distributed and you have an uneven, gravely mixture. Or just chop at it violently with butter knives, which is what I did. Set aside.
Liberally butter a 12-cup muffin tin. Or not. A square or rectangle or round pan is cool too. Set aside.
Once dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and gently deflate. Allow to rest 5 more minutes, before rolling the dough out into a large rectangle, the short end measuring about 12 inches–the long edge can be about 18-22 inches. Sprinkle the chocolate filling evenly over the rectangle, it will be bumpy, and begin rolling from the short end all the way up into a 12-13 inch log and pinch to seal. Gently saw off about 1-inch spirals, placing each into a prepared tin. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise another hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350*F.
Whisk together the egg and cream, brush gently over the tops of the proofed buns and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Bake in the center of the oven for 15-25 minutes. Mine took closer to 25 minutes to bake. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.