Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

CUPCAKE:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups flour

1. Cream together shortening and butter until light and fluffy.

2. Add in eggs, one at a time, making sure to mix well after each egg.

3. Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking powder, and baking soda.

4. Stir in flour and pumpkin until incorporated.

5. Mix in buttermilk and vanilla.

6. Put in a paper lined cupcake tin, and fill each 2/3 of the way full.

7. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

8. Cool completely and frost with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream.


CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM:
8oz brick of cream cheese
1 stick of butter, softened
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
7 cups powdered sugar
Few Tbsp of milk

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter.

2. Add to the mixture the vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.

3. Slowly mix in powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy.

4. Add in milk as needed to get the best buttercream consistency.

5. Frost cupcakes!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

It's that time of year again. . .Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I hate to admit it, but I'm not exactly a "Thanksgiving-y" person. I would honestly not be disappointed if we just skipped right over it and headed straight to Christmas. I know: some of you are highly offended by such things, but for me, it's true.

I get that there's history in the Holiday, and that people take their turkey and pie quite seriously. I however, could (and do) eat turkey and pie all year long, so it's not about the meal for me.

Last year we spent our Thanksgiving at Disney World. It didn't even feel like Thanksgiving, and I was completely fine with that. We ate at a Chinese restaurant inside Epcot called Nine Dragons. Wasn't very good. TOTALLY un-Thanksgiving-y. We had an amazing time. Finished off the night with the Holiday Fireworks Display with more than 14,000 fireworks!

But this year we'll be home. My mom is having surgery on Monday and will be on the mend during the Holiday break, which means I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year. To prep myself for such festivities I have been pumping out the pumpkin treats!

I made these cookies a few weeks back to bring to our small group at church on Wednesday night. I usually bring a treat every Wednesday, and they tend to almost always be cupcakes. This week, however, I stepped outside the usual, and brought cookies.

They're soft, spicy, moist, and delicious. The cookie itself isn't very sweet. Almost like a pumpkin bread. But top it with the glaze and it's an incredibly indulgent treat! So prep yourself for the big meal, get into the swing of things, and make a batch of cookies! Added Bonus: The house smells very festive when they're baking!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies!

COOKIES:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

1. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until lightly pale and fluffy.

3. Add in egg and vanilla extract.

4. Combine the pumpkin with the creamed butter mixture.

5. Slowly add in the dry ingredients.

6. Drop, by Tbsp, onto cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes at 350.

7. Cool, and glaze!

GLAZE:
2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon butter (melted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until incorporated.

2. Spoon over cookies and let set.

3. I like to lightly dust the cookies with cinnamon sugar when glaze is still runny.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

My kids LOVE oatmeal. . .but they get sick of the same old thing every day. I do have to say, they're a bit picky about their oatmeal. Can't be too mushy or too gritty. Can't be too sweet, but has to be sweet enough. And it can't be those individual packets of quick oatmeal. They hate it.

Recently I've become addicted to Trader Joes Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats. It's amazing. (And I HATE oatmeal!) But the texture of the Steel Cut Oats is so good!

Being fall, I decided to combine my kids favorite fall dessert, with their coziest warm breakfast. Hence: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

Single Serving

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp pureed pumpkin

1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

Dash of ginger

Dash of cloves

1/4 cup Trader Joes Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, pumpkin, sugar, and spices. Bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat, and add in the oats.

3. Cover, and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes or until oatmeal is thickened, and tender. Be sure to stir every few minues.

4. Top with a splash of heavy cream, and a sprinkle of brown sugar.

Golden Pumpkin Pie

This is my mom's recipe. She's made it every year. Almost always with fresh pumpkin. I have tried many pumpkin pie recipes, and come back to this one each time. I won't even bother with another recipe. This one is it!!! It's got the perfect amount of spice, and it's just creamy, pumpkin, delicousness. It's the heavy cream. Has to be. This is not a calorie conscience recipe by any means, but it is tasty!

Golden Pumpkin Pie

1 unbaked pie shell
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup pumpkin
1 cup whipping cream

1. Line your pie dish with the pie shell.

2. Mix together all the rest of the ingredients.

3. Pour into pie shell, and bake at 350 for 1 hour or until set.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp oil

1. Mix together milk, egg, and sugar, and oil.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

3. whisk together the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients.

4. Add in the pumpkin and whisk until smooth.

5. Drop onto hot griddle, 1/4 cup of batter at a time.

6. Cook until top of the pancake is bubbly and popping. Flip and continue cooking about 1 minute.

7. Serve with syrup!

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins
Makes 32 muffins or 2 loaves of bread

2/3 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3 1/2 cups flour
2 cups pumpkin puree, or canned pumpkin
2/3 cup water

1. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add in eggs 1 at a time.

2. Stir in cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, and baking soda.

3. Next add in the pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin.

4. Mix in flour.

5. Slowly add in water.

6. Spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

7. Scoop about 3 Tbsp of batter in each muffin cup.
8. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Pumpkin Puree

Pumpkin Puree

1. Wash Pumpkins.

2. Cut Pumpkins into manageable pieces, and scoop out insides.


3. Put Pumpkins cut side down, in a baking dish. Add a little bit of water to the pans to help the pumpkin stay moist during cooking.

4. Bake at 350 for about 2 hours or until Pumpkins are darker in color, and fork tender.


5. Scrape the pumpkin out of the shell.

6. Cool completely.

7. Blend, using a hand held blender, until pumpkin is perfectly pureed.

8. Store as you wish. I divide my Pumpkin into 1/2 cup increments, and put it in snack sized Ziploc bags and freeze. That way I can take out only what I need for baking.