Our Famous Pumpkin Roll Recipe: the Perfect Fall Dessert

With the Thanksgiving holidays fast approaching, I find myself thinking about recipes I’ll be preparing and sharing with family and friends. It will be a mix, some new, some old standbys: a long list I better begin to shorten! But more than anything, I think of those I’ve shared the table or cooked with…so many happy and funny memories. I miss those who are not around the table anymore but I smile knowing that they live on through stories, recipes, special holiday plates, baking pans, etc. These things bring them back to the table and into the kitchen, cooking and baking with us.

Particularly I think of my grandmother, Maybelle – or Foonha as I called her (perhaps I couldn’t pronounce Grandma when I was smaller). She just loved pumpkin pie, particularly the one on the Libby’s can. “You can’t go wrong with that recipe – I invented it. How they got into my recipe box, I’ll never know and now it’s on every label!” she told me. I knew better than to debate her on that one!

As a young woman just starting in my food career, I remember my mom and her talking about jelly rolls. Foonha made the best. They explained how they were made to me but it made no sense. I could not understand how you could roll a cake in towel and then fill it with a filling. “Wouldn’t you get filling on the towel? How does the towel come out? ” I asked them. I’m sure they wondered where I had studied food and culinary arts with these questions!

Unfortunately, the opportunity never did arise for Foonha or my mom to show me how to bake one. But seeing someone prepare one helped me understand. Wow, so that’s how the towel comes out! I couldn’t wait to make one myself, and guess what, it wasn’t as hard as I thought. So don’t be hesitant to try our pumpkin roll recipe; our video below will guide you step-by-step. Like the pumpkin roll recipe, this video is one of our most popular how-to videos. I know you’ll be a pro in no time!

Our pumpkin roll is perfect to have on hand to be part of or bring to your Thanksgiving or Holiday feast (great for gifts too). The recipe can be doubled to make 2 rolls and for those of you who like to bake ahead, the roll freezes well. I suggest that you wrap tightly with plastic wrap and then foil. Label and freeze no more than 4 weeks; thaw under refrigeration. The rolls, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, if they last that long!

Although Foonha is no longer with us, she will be present in the kitchen with me when I start making pumpkin rolls. Above is a picture of me with one of my most cherished possessions: her beloved jelly roll pan. Time to get rolling!

Links:

• LIBBY’S® Pumpkin Roll recipe
• Pumpkin nutrition info & recipes

Related pumpkin holiday recipes:

Pumpkin Orange Cake Roll

Sensibly Delicious Pumpkin Roll