You didn’t think I’d skip the season and would be the only food blogger not to post a recipe involving pumpkin, did you?

I know, I know, I made you wait for it a while. But, sometimes you’ve got to wait for the good things, right? And this recipe… well, this recipe is really good.

Generally consumed at or around Christmas in Bulgaria and called “Tikvenik”, this is a sweet type of “Banitsa”, or pumpkin filled phyllo. It’s very easy to make, and if you’ve never had tikvenik before, I highly recommend you reserve some of your pumpkin stack for this – you won’t regret it.

Ingredients

• About 20 regular phyllo dough sheets (depending on how much mixture you place in each roll)
• 5 cups shredded pumpkin
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (You can use more or less depending on your personal taste)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) melted, unsalted butter
• Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease lightly a cookie sheet.
2. Combine together the shredded pumpkin, the cinnamon, walnuts, and sugar. Make sure it’s mixed well.
3. Place a phyllo sheet on the table. With a brush, spread some melted butter over it. Cover with another phyllo sheet. Spread generously some of the pumpkin mixture on one end, lengthwise. Then, carefully, start rolling toward the opposite end (over its width).
4. Take this first roll, and then roll again, this time forming a circle like a cinnamon bun. Place at the center of the cooking sheet. Repeat the previous step, and then place the new roll around the first, forming a bigger circle. Continue until you have no mixture/rolls left.
5. Bake for about 35 min, or until golden. (Partially depends on how much filling you’ve put.)
6. Sprinkle with powdered if desired after the tikvenik cools down (I skipped this).

Note:
I’ve seen this recipe adjusted for slightly boiled or even for canned pumpkin, so if you don’t feel like shredding 5 cups, that’s something to keep in mind. Also, if desired you could add some nutmeg too.