Make bagel dough: Whisk yeast, warm water and brown sugar in a bowl. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the bagel dough ingredients.
Whisk together pumpkin puree and honey until combined.
In the base of a stand mixer, combine flour, spices and salt. Once combined, add in yeast mix and the pumpkin puree. Mix with the dough hook on low-medium speed until the dough comes together. This can take 3-5 minutes, depending on how absorbent your flour is.
Once the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, increase the speed to medium and knead for 3 minutes until it's smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky to the touch. It shouldn't be sticky. If the dough seems wet or sticks to your hands, briefly knead in an additional tablespoon of flour.
Shape the dough into a ball, and let it rest in a lightly greased bowl, covered, in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough should just about double in size.
Make bagels: Preheat oven to 425°F. In a small bowl, coat twine in olive oil.
Punch down the dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Place the bagel in the center of the twine and bring the ends up. Cross the twine over the top of the bagel, turn twine to intersect and bring it down on the opposite side. Repeat, rotating the bagel and crossing the twine around it, as if you’re creating 8 pumpkin segments. Tie the ends securely but not too tight, as the dough will expand during boiling. Place the shaped bagels on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a clean dish cloth. Let them rest for 30 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the honey to boiling water. Carefully place bagels in boiling water, 2-3 at a time. Boil each side for 1 minute.
Remove the bagels with a slotted spoon and place them in Pumpkin Mini Cocotte. Dust with cinnamon sugar. Bake the bagels in the cocottes for 20-25 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Use kitchen shears to cut off twine. Insert cinnamon stick sticks to make pumpkins stems.
Make cream cheese by combining cream cheese, maple syrup and cinnamon sugar until smooth. Slice bagel and spread cream cheese in the middle. Enjoy!
FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS:
After shaping, before boiling:
Once you’ve shaped the bagels, place them on a parchment-lined sheet pan, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. When ready to bake, let them thaw and finish their rise in the fridge overnight (or at room temp for a few hours) before boiling and baking.
After boiling, before baking:
You can boil, then flash-freeze the bagels before baking. Thaw and bake straight from frozen — they’ll bake up just like fresh.
