What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? While I enjoy most things about Thanksgiving, I would say my favorite part of the holiday is when it’s over and Zack finally lets me up the rest of the Christmas decorations and Michael Buble’s Christmas album is no longer off-limits. Most year’s not I’m really ready for the Christmas until December rolls around, but for some reason this year I’ve been itching to get the Christmas season kicked-off so Friday was my day to shine. As my apartment laid in complete disarray for the past 72 hours, Bear had a ‘fun’ time tiptoeing around all of roadblocks, but surprisingly seems to really like our new Christmas tree.

The WORST holiday tradition has got to be waking up at 8 AM to run 3.1 miles in the freezing cold as Zack’s family is really into 5K’s and Turkey Trots just happen to be a part of that. This was my 3rd year running the turkey trot with them, and definitely my worst time to date. Every year, I’ve convinced myself that it’s going to be fun – get in some exercise before a nice big lunch and be left feeling satisfied for the whole day. Every year, I’m wrong.

I have never been a runner. Even at my peak-physical-fitness, I could run a mile but hated doing more than that and that’s just the way I’ve always been. Somehow I ended up with a man whose entire family is into running. We had been dating for about 4 months in college when over summer break I showed up at Zack’s family’s house for a nice 4th of July weekend just to be casually told at 8PM – “Oh, by the way, we’re running a 5K at 8 AM.” It was about 95 degrees and the most humid day of the summer but I ran, I threw up, I got passed by their grandmother power walking down the street and I got 2nd place in my age group. Don’t worry, there were only 2 people in my age group so the competition wasn’t tough. Will there ever be a day I don’t hold that against Zack? Probably not, but I’ll let you know if it ever comes.

Moral of the story? If you’re going to commit to doing 5K’s every year, at least make *some* effort to train in advance so you don’t end up like me, limping around four days later as your body is injured in three different places from one run. The only thing that eased my pain on Thanksgiving was the thought of mimosas, cheesecake and this irresistible pumpkin roll waiting patiently for me in the fridge. It didn’t quite make up for it, but I guarantee that it will certainly knock your socks off either way.

Now, for a good pumpkin roll, you need a few key things: a good Non-Stick Jelly Roll Pan, a large and rarely-used towel, and a slight amount of grace. A lot of people have trouble making a good pumpkin roll without it cracking on the sides at some point during the baking and rolling process, but the secret is to just have a cool towel ready to go and to make sure you don’t let the cake cool in the pan before you roll it. I’ll tell you more in the recipe below, but just make sure you’re prepared!

To the people who say that Pumpkin season is over with Thanksgiving – you are not my people. While I’m very excited that’s it’s officially ‘peppermint season,’ I still plan on making this bad boy for a few of our upcoming holiday events. The addition of chocolate to this classic dish makes it a little less seasonal and a little more need-to-have, am I right? Give this recipe a shot and keep the pumpkin season alive for a few more weeks!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients

Pumpkin Roll

1 cup flour sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs room temp
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Frosting

6 oz. cream cheese room temp
1/4 cup butter room temp
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup mini chocolate chips if desired

Instructions

For the Pumpkin Roll

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heavily grease a Jelly Roll Pan (10" x 15") and then line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment as well and then set aside.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, whisk together the sugars and eggs until just combined. Add in the pumpkin puree and vanilla.
Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the mixture is just combined - we don't want to over-mix!
Using a spatula, spread the batter evenly across your greased Jelly Roll Pan. Tap slightly on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
Bake for ~15-18 minutes or until the cake no longer sticks to your finger when you touch it. IMPORTANT: While the roll is baking, make sure you complete the next step!
Lay a clean & thin kitchen towel down on the counter. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and spread evenly across the towel.
Once the cake is done baking, immediately invert the pan onto the towel and immediately roll the towel (& the pumpkin roll) into a log and put in the fridge.
Chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

For the Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla until combined. If the frosting is too thick to spread, add 1 tbsp. of heavy cream to help thin.
Remove from the mixer and fold in the mini chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
Once your pumpkin roll is cooled, remove from fridge and gently unroll onto the counter. Using a spatula, gently spread the cream cheese frosting across the roll leaving a slight border around the edge.
Roll the cake back up and tightly cover with plastic wrap to help the roll hold its shape. Place it back in the fridge for 20 minutes-1 hour or until you're ready to eat it!
Before you serve, dust with more powdered sugar and melted chocolate if desired!