Halloween is my favorite holiday! This year we had Shabbat on erev Halloween AND Halloween was on a full (blue) moon?! Maybe there are ‘some’ highlights to 2020 after all! 🙂

All week long I’ve been making new recipes like Frankenkiwis, Witches’ Fingers and vegan Mummy Dogs! I surprised my kids with an extra special Challah-ween by celebrating with TWO new recipes! Vegan & gluten free pumpkin challah rolls, below, and vegan & gf Skull Bolognese! (my Lentil bolognese with skull mushrooms!)

Even if Challah-ween has passed (I still get a kick out of writing that!), these pumpkin challah rolls are PERFECT for any fall Shabbat dinner. Really, they go with any meal during the autumn season. Between the pumpkin and the spices, it’s so seasonal and tasty!

They are pretty easy, but more time consuming than most of my recipes. Still, worth it! My 7 year old inhaled her roll before we even started the blessings. Good thing it makes about two dozen challah rolls!

I’d love to know what you think, or if you try the recipe. Let me know in the comments below.

Wishing you all a spooky & spiritual Erev Halloween!

Shabbat Shalom.

Pumpkin Challah Rolls (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Ingredients

• 2 egg-replacer eggs: 2 tbsp egg replacer & 6 tbsp water (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 2 flax eggs: 2 tbsp ground flax & 6 tbsp water
• ⅔ cup warm water plus 2 tsp sugar plus 2 packets active dry yeast
• 2¼ cups oat flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1 tbsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 4 tbsp melted vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (ACV)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Chef’s Note:

In order for Challah to be kosher for blessing, it needs to contain 51% or more of one of the following five grains: wheat, rye, barley, oat or spelt. Of these, oat is the only one that can be gluten free. If you’re not planning to use it for Shabbat, go ahead and use all GF flour.

Directions

1. In two small bowls, mix the flax eggs and egg-replacer eggs.
2. In a small bowl, prep the yeast by mixing warm water, sugar and yeast packets. Let sit for 5 minutes, until bubbly.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flours, brown sugar, xanthan gum, pumpkin pie spice and salt and mix until combined.
4. In another bowl, mix the remaining water, butter, pumpkin puree and ACV.
5. Add the wet ingredients, “eggs,” and yeast to the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel and allow it to rise for abut an hour, until doubled in size.
7. Spray 2 muffin tins with spray oil or line with muffin liners.
8. Mix the batter again to deflate, and scoop into muffin tins. (Fill about 2/3 full, since they will continue rising. I used about 1.5 scoops of my medium ice cream scooper per roll.)
9. Cover the muffin tin with plastic wrap and a damp towel and allow to rise another 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
11. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
12. Let the challah rolls cool a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
13. Enjoy!

Kitchen Gadgets Used

• Ice cream scoop
• Muffin tin
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons

Adapted from: Rhea Parsons