Pumpkin Pastries All Year Round - Κολοκοτες

I love to bake pumpkin pastries all year round because I simply love pumpkin but I also love the idea that I can make them and freeze them so I can enjoy them for long periods of time.

Baking and especially making dough relaxes me so it’s one more reason for me to bake often!

I know that many people think and use pumpkin only during the Fall. Well, that’s not me.

These are what I baked a few days ago. 

Growing up in Cyprus I would always see my mom and her friends buy a few of these huge pumpkins only once a year. They would only cut and use one of the pumpkins in order to make pastries and store the others in a cool place of the house so that they would continue baking pastries all year round.  Many times a few friends would get together for this elaborate baking process so at the end of the day and at the end of the production line there were always several yummy pastries!

Our pumpkins back home are long and elongated with a very light yellow color on the outside and very dark yellow/ almost orange color on the inside. They are the equivalent of the round large pumpkins we use here in the U.S.

These traditional pastries we make in Cyprus are labor intensive so when we make them we do so in large batches. We even freeze some so that we can enjoy these delicious pastries for a long time.

This is what I made a few days ago. Perhaps you get a couple of friends or family members to help you and you start baking and creating lots … and then start distributing the “wealth”. J

In Cyprus we call these – kolokotes ~ κολοκοτες

Here is my mom’s recipe.

Traditionally we use bulgur in the filling and NOT rice or any other type of grain!

Kolokotes  - Pumpkin Pastries                         

7 cups pumpkin chunks – can also use butternut squash (3 ½ - 4 pounds)

7 tablespoons bulgur – preferably the thicker grain (number 4)

7 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 cups raisins

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

For the Dough

12 cups flour

1 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½  cups canola oil

1 ½ cup cold water

For the Top

2 eggs

¼ cup milk

Peel the butternut squash or pumpkin. Remove the seeds and pumpkin threads. Cut up the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes.

In a large bowl mix the bulgur, sugar, raisins, canola oil and all of the spices. Mix well and set aside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave overnight. Do not refrigerate.

In a separate bowl, put the flour along with the salt. Make a well in the middle  and pour the canola oil. With your fingers, rub the oil into the flour for a couple of minutes. Start slowly adding the orange juice and water. Knead the dough until it is firm and does not stick to your hands. Leave the dough in the bowl for about an hour, covered with a couple of thick towels.

Split the dough into 3 equal parts. Take one and leave the others in the bowl covered with a towel.

Sprinkle the third piece with some flour and place it on a floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a pastry sheet of about 48 centimeters diameter. The thickness of the pastry sheet should be 1/16 of an inch. 

At the end of the pastry sheet place 3 tablespoons of the pumpkin filling, leaving some space in between. Fold over the dough once and then with a dough cutter, cut around the filling in the shape of half moon.

  

Continue this step until the entire pastry sheet is used. If you have any little dough pieces left don’t throw them out. You can save them until the end and use them to roll another smaller dough sheet.

Repeat the above process with the other two pieces of dough.

 

Wisk the egg well with the milk.  Brush over each pastry.

Bake the pastries in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for approximately 40-45 minutes. They are fully baked once they have a golden color on top.

Makes approximately 50 pastries.

Served warm or at room temperature for breakfast or snack.

Can be stored in a freezer for 2-3 months.