The Lord's Pumpkin Roll Recipe

You know what October means in our house?  Besides children screaming hysterically on hayrides (Nathan), children drinking my pumpkin spice coffee when I'm not looking (Charlotte), and children insisting they want to be princesses for Halloween (Gavin)? It means pumpkin roll, people!

In our house, we call this recipe The Lord's Pumpkin Roll.  In order to understand why we call it by this name, you need to hear a little story.  A few autumns ago, we were at a friend's house for a potluck dinner.  I made the pumpkin roll for dessert.  Our friend Ray snuck off to the kitchen after dinner to help himself to a slice of the pumpkin roll.  After the first bite, he began singing a song to the pumpkin roll.  A song about how delicious the pumpkin roll was, and how much he loved it, and how it "came from the Lord."  All of this was sung in a hilarious falsetto.  Sacrilegious?  Perhaps.  Delicious?  Absolutely!

Edited to add:  This recipe was originally shared with me several years ago by a fabulous woman named Mollie. It was love at first bite, and I haven't stopped making it since!  :)

Here's the recipe:

The Lord's Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup flour

Mix the ingredients in an electric mixer.  Put parchment paper in a 9 1/2 by 13 3/4 cookie sheet.  Grease the bottom and sides of the parchment paper with shortening.  Pour the batter into the pan.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, lay out a dishtowel and sprinkle it with granulated sugar.  Grasping the ends of the parchment paper, remove the roll from the pan and place it unpapered side down on the dishtowel.  Peel off the parchment paper, and immediately roll the pumpkin roll in the towel (while still hot).  Let the pumpkin roll cool in the towel for 2 hours.  As it cools, it will keep the "rolled" shape.

As the roll cools, mix the cream cheese filling.

Cream Cheese Filling recipe:

2 Tbsp. soft margarine or butter, softened
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla

Mix ingredients in mixer until creamy and smooth.  Unroll pumpkin roll from towel.  Spread cream cheese filling over roll, and reroll.  Keep refrigerated.  Sprinkle powdered sugar on top when ready to serve.

*This recipe can be frozen.

Here's another look at the finished product:

And here's what you'll get for your efforts!