Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 1 dozen cupcakes, 2 dozen mini cupcakes.

A fun and festive dessert!
Source: Cooking Classy

1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 large eggs

3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp canned pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

candy pumpkins, for topping

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger for 20 seconds, set aside.

 

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whisk together granulated sugar with brown sugar until no lumps remain. Add canola oil, set mixer with paddle attachment (one that scrapes the bowl is preferred otherwise stop and scrape bowl occasionally throughout entire mixing process) and blend mixture on medium speed until well combined. Mix in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in pumpkin and vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in flour mixture and mix until combined, then stop mixer and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and fold batter to ensure it is well blended.

 

Divide batter among 12 paper lined muffins cups, filling each about 3/4 full and adding a heaping 1/4 cup batter to each well. Bake in preheated oven 20 - 24 minutes until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in muffin tin several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

 

For the cream cheese frosting:

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy (at this point I recommend freezing or chilling frosting in refrigerator for a bit, returning to mixer and stirring occasionally, for a more stable consistency). Pipe or spread frosting over cupcakes then store in refrigerator in an airtight container. Bring nearly to room temp before serving. Top with candy pumpkins, if desired.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Makes about 16 pancakes.

Because these do not contain any sugar, they aren't exceptionally pleasing to adults, but I make them for the wee one and she loves them.  I freeze the leftovers and pop them in the microwave for an easy, healthy breakfast.
Source: SparkRecipes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp allspice
1 large egg1 3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat griddle or pan to 350 degrees.

In large bowl, blend pumpkin, egg, and milk with electric mixer.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and allspice and stir until blended. (Some small lumps are OK.)

Pour about 1/2 cup batter on hot griddle, lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Flip cakes after about 1 minute. Then cook another minute on other side. 

Moist Pumpkin Bread

Moist Pumpkin Bread

Makes 1 loaf.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating all you have to be thankful for.
Just like the title implies, this is a moist pumpkin bread.... and it has a sugary sweet cinnamon topping.  Yum!
Source: Food

1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 (15 ounce) pumpkin puree
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

TOPPING:
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

In a medium size bowl beat eggs and mix with sugar, oil, water and pumpkin.

In another bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients only until just blended. Do NOT overmix.

Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan. This bread fits perfectly in an 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes.

For topping: In a small saucepan mix butter, brown sugar and milk. Boil only 2 1/2 minutes while stirring constantly. Immediately drizzle on top of loaf. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and press pecans lightly into topping.

Wrap and store until next day for serving. 

Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

Makes about 24.

Thanksgiving is in one week!  And I think you should consider adding this recipe to your line-up.  For breakfast on Thanksgiving morning... or before you head out shopping on Friday... or just for general snacking throughout Thanksgiving day.  If you put them out, people will eat them.  This is a fantastic recipe... delicious!!!  I made them as donut holes in a mini muffin pan, but see the original recipe, linked below, for instructions on using a mini donut pan.
I also made a pretty big goof-up, but, in my opinion, it didn't hurt the overall taste.  :)  Instead of dipping the donut holes in the melted butter, I actually dumped the melted butter all over the donut holes and then covered them in the cinnamon sugar mixture before shaking to coat.  I ended up with a bunch of very buttery, gooey, cinnamony-sugary delicious little balls.  I wouldn't say it was a bad mistake, but I may try making them "correctly" next time for a neater bite.  :)
Source: Blue-Eyed Bakers

For Donuts:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk

For Coating:

1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons cinnamon (more if you're a cinnamon lover)

Preheat oven 350 F.  Grease a mini muffin pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and set aside.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture and stir until just combined, careful not to over mix.

Fill each mini muffin cup, 2/3 full, with the batter.  The donut cups should be fairly full, but not overflowing. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until donuts spring back when gently pressed.  Turn donuts out onto a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes.

While the donuts are cooling, melt butter in one bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another.  When donuts are still hot (but not too hot to touch), quickly dip each donut in melted butter, then coat in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Serve immediately.

*Note: If you're not going to serve the donuts immediately, you can bake them up to a day in advance and store them in an airtight container.  Do not coat them in the butter/cinnamon-sugar mixture until just before serving or they may get soggy.

Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips

Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips

Makes 12-14

It's October.  Bring some pumpkin into your life... especially when it's as easy as this recipe!
Source: Cupcakes! from The Cake Mix Doctor

1 package (17.8 oz.) chocolate chip muffin mix
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare muffin tin with liners.

Place the muffin mix in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center.  Place the pumpkin, milk, egg, and pumpkin pie spice in the well and stir the wet ingredients with a fork to combine and break up the egg yolk.  Stir the wet and dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon just until combined.  The batter will still be lumpy.  Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each prepared muffin cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. 

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed with your finger.  Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins and allow them to continue to cool on wire rack.

Another Pumpkin Bread!

Super Moist Pumpkin Bread

Makes 2 loaves, or 8 mini loaves.

SUPER MOIST is an accurate name for this bread.  It's extremely dense, extremely moist, and all things fall.
Slightly adapted from: AllRecipes

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, coconut milk, baking soda, salt, ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon. Mix until all of the flour is gone. Pour batter into the prepared pans.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cover loaves with foil tightly. Allow to steam for 10 minutes. Remove foil and turn out onto a cooling rack. Tent lightly with the foil and allow to cool completely.

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread IV

Makes 3 loaves.

Rave reviews on AllRecipes.com.  Classic bread for the autumn holiday season.  Enjoy this week.  I hope you have a lot to be thankful for.
Source: AllRecipes

3 cups canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

4 cups white sugar

6 eggs

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour (mine took 70 minutes). The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.

All Things AUTUMN

All Things AUTUMN

October is here and if you're anything like me, you've had the typical autumn recipes on the brain for a while now.  Here are some of my favorites from years past to help you get started in your kitchen!

Baking:

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Cinnamon Glaze
Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
Caramel Dutch Apple Pie
Pumpkin Cookies
Pumpkin Delight
Apple Pie Gooey Bars
Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl

Soups:

Zuppa Toscana
Black Bean and Turkey Chili
Chicken Chili

Meals:

Apple Orchard Chicken Salad
Apple 'n Onion Chicken
Pumpkin Gnocchi
Maple Pretzel Chicken

Snacks:

Goblin Gorp
Caramel Apple Dip

And a must for October:

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

Serves 16.

Yum. Yum. Double yum. Did I mention yum?

Have I redeemed myself even slightly for yesterday's beyond awful photograph? This one's a little easier on the eyes, eh?

Source: Cooking Pleasures magazine

Cake:

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. ground ginger

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1-1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

2 c. sugar

6 eggs

1 (15-oz.) can pure pumpkin

1 t. vanilla extract

Glaze:

2 T. unsalted butter, softened

1 (3-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 t. vanilla extract

3/4 t. ground cinnamon

1-1/4 c. powdered sugar

2-3 T. heavy whipping cream

1/3 c. coarsely chopped walnuts, if desired

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with butter. Sprinkle with flour; tap pan to remove excess flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, 2 t. cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, beat 1-1/2 c. butter and sugar at medium speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs two at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, beat in pumpkin and 1 teaspoon vanilla until well-blended. Slowly add flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes or until deep golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack; cool completely.

In a large bowl, beat 2 tablespoons butter, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon at low speed for 1 minute or until blended. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in cream until of desired consistency. Pour glaze over cake; sprinkle with walnuts, if desired.

Cake can be made up to 2 days ahead.

Here's the naked cake, ready to be dressed. Let me tell you that there is some deep satisfaction when a cake makes a clean escape from the Bundt pan. I can also attest to the horrible feeling you get when it won't come out no matter how hard you try.

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Cookies

Makes 4-5 dozen.

A light and fluffy cookie for your eager fall taste-buds. I love the addition of raisins, something I never combined with pumpkin. These cookies are super soft and oh-so-good.

Source: Ace Cooks, Bakers, and Miracle Makers cookbook

1 c. shortening

2 c. white sugar

1 egg

1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin puree

2 t. vanilla

4 c. flour

2 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

1-1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg; beat. Add pumpkin and vanilla; combine well.

Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir in raisins.

Drop onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes.

Pumpkin Gnocchi

Pumpkin Gnocchi

Serves 4.

I found the recipe for the gnocchi on the following blog: Jenn Cuisine - Pumpkin Gnocchi. The sauce I made up myself, but it's simple, very common, and could be found on many blogs and recipe sites. The original recipe says it will serve 6, but if using this as a main dish, I would assume 4 servings; 6 side dish servings.

This was a great meal and a fancy change of pace from the normal weekly line-up. The taste, aroma, and ingredients are so appropriate this time of year. And if you're not typically a pumpkin lover, don't shy away. The Mr., who doesn't prefer pumpkin, said that you could "barely taste the pumpkin." His plate was clean -- that's argument enough for me.

Gnocchi:

1.5 cups pumpkin puree

2 tbs butter

2.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg yolk

1 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg pepper

Brown Butter Sage Sauce:

1/2 stick butter

4 T. olive oil

12 sage leaves, very thinly sliced

Salt and Pepper

Fresh parmesan cheese, shredded

In a saucepan, cook pumpkin and butter over low heat, stirring frequently, until the pumpkin has thickened a bit. Remove from the heat and add in the rest of the ingredients, mixing until just combined into your dough. Don’t overmix! Working the dough too much will cause your gnocchi to toughen up. (My dough still had tiny clumps of flour, but I was too afraid to overwork it. Once cooked, you never would've known those tiny clumps existed.)

Cut the dough into sections, and roll each one into long "snakes."

Cut up into about 1/2 inch pieces and roll the gnocchis using a gnocchi board or a fork. I would imagine few people own a gnocchi board, and using a fork creates similar results.

Depending on whether you want to cook them immediately or freeze for later use, follow the appropriate directions below:

To freeze gnocchi: It is best to freeze gnocchi uncooked as soon as they are shaped. Arrange the gnocchi in a single layer on a baking pan and place the pan in a level position in the freezer. Freeze until solid, about 3 hours. Gather the frozen gnocchi into resealable freezer bags. Frozen gnocchi can be stored in the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks.

To cook fresh gnocchi: Bring six quarts of salted water to a vigorous boil in a large pot over high heat. Drop about half the gnocchi into the boiling water a few at a time, stirring gently and continuously with a wooden spoon. Cook the gnocchi, stirring gently, until tender, about 1 minute after they rise to the surface. Remove the gnocchi from the water with a slotted spoon of skimmer, draining them well, and transfer to a wide saucepan with some of the sauce to be used. Cook the remaining gnocchi, if necessary.

To cook frozen gnocchi: Gnocchi must be cooked directly from the freezer in plenty of boiling water, or they will stick together. It is important that the water return to a boil as soon as possible; cover the pots if necessary. Drain the gnocchi as described above.

To make brown butter sage sauce: In a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter with olive oil. "Fry" sage until just crispy. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with gnocchi and top with shredded parmesan cheese.

Pumpkin Delight

Pumpkin Delight

Another great, easy Fall dessert.

Crust:

18.25 oz. yellow cake mix (reserve 1 c.)

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg

Filling:

29 oz. can pumpkin puree

2 eggs

2/3 c. milk

1 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. ginger

1/2 t. salt

Topping:

1 c. reserved cake mix

1/4 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make crust by combining cake mix, butter, and egg. Press into a greased 13x9 baking pan. You'll probably need to use your (clean) hands.

Make filling by combining listed ingredients, and pour over the crust.

Make topping by mixing together cake mix, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in cold butter to create a crumble. Sprinkle over the filling.

Bake for 50 minutes.

Cool completely.

Cut and serve.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

It's two days before Halloween. Have you carved your pumpkins yet? Are you carving them tonight? Are you looking for a recipe to toast your seeds? If so, you've come to the right place!

I'll be honest: As a child, I don't remember ever really loving pumpkin seeds. My three brothers and I would carve; Dad would supervise; and Mom would be gathering our seeds, rinsing, prepping, and baking. And then, after a job well done, we would eye our pumpkins admiringly (or with sympathy depending on how they looked) and eat pumpkin seeds. I'd eat a few and be done.

This year, I had to toast The Mr.'s and I's seeds, because.. well.. that's just what you do after you carve pumpkins. And they were good! I like pumpkin seeds now!

I guess I don't know how I didn't appreciate them before. I mean.. they're drenched in butter and salt...


4-5 c. pumpkin seeds (we got this amount from 2 large pumpkins)
1 stick butter
salt


Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Make sure your seeds are rinsed well, with chunks of pulp removed. A few remaining strings here and there won't hurt anyone. Allow them to dry in a colander. Here again, they don't need to be DRY; just not dripping wet.

On a cookie sheet, dump pumpkin seeds. Resist the urge to spread them out all pretty yet.

Melt butter and pour over pumpkin seeds. Now you can spread evenly across the cookie sheet. Season generously with salt.

Bake for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so. If you are baking a smaller amount of seeds than I have listed above, your layer will be thinner, and therefore, your cooking time could be reduced to about 45 minutes or so.

The best way to know if they're done? Taste test. Buttery, salty, crunchy. Yum.

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl

Makes 2 standard loaves, or 4 mini loaves.

I found this recipe in A Taste of Home magazine. When I was away at college, my grandma used to send me packages of her cooking magazines after she had looked through them herself. This recipe came from one of those magazines, with a few slightly modifications. A creamy, swirly center gives your traditional pumpkin bread a snazzy new appeal.

Filling:

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. sugar

1 T. flour

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

Bread:

1 c. cooked or canned pumpkin

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

1-1/2 c. sugar

1-2/3 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground cloves

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and flour together in a small bowl. Add egg; mix to blend. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, oil, and eggs. Add sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, and cinnamon; mix to blend. Pour half of the batter into two standard (or four mini) greased loaf pans. Carefully spread filling over batter. Add remaining batter, covering filling. (This can be difficult. If some filling shows through, don't worry about it. Unless your anal, of course, then take the time to careful cover all filling.)

Bake for 60-70 minutes (35 minutes for mini loaves) or until bread is cooked through. Cool. Remove from pans. Store in refrigerator.