Pumpkin Pancakes

February 21 -27 is National Pancake Week.

Growing up my Mom made breakfast for dinner a couple times each month. It was my second favorite dinner after lasagna. I've continued the tradition with my family except we usually have breakfast for dinner once a week. We never have time to have a big breakfast for actual breakfast (who does?). In order to fill our tummies with pancakes, scrambled eggs, & hash browns, I fix it as soon as I hear the garage door open signaling Patrick's arrival home from work in the evening.

Tonight for National Pancake Week I chose to combine my 2 loves pumpkin & pancakes to make this breakfast for dinner. I found this recipe on the Martha Stewart website & it is a "good thing" that I did. These pancakes were delicious! I made another pumpkin pancake recipe before & while it was good, they took a long time to cook through in the middle & by the time they were they got too dark on the outside. This recipe worked much better. I cooked them at 350 degrees on my large griddle. They did take just a little bit longer to cook than a regular pancake, but not too much longer. My test tasters loved these pancakes & didn't mind the unseasonal pumpkin in February!

For a spiced breakfast treat, whisk 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt; 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg; and a pinch of ground cloves. In a separate bowl, stir together 1 cup milk, 6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 egg; fold mixture into dry ingredients. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup. Makes 8 to 10.

Pumpkin Scones

So I have this rule about pumpkin. Pumpkin goods can only be eaten from the 1st of September to the 31st of December during "pumpkin season". Today I declare that rule SILLY. No limit should be placed on pumpkin goods. Why do we have canned pumpkin if not to be able to enjoy its flavor year round? Sure pumpkin smells like Fall & gets us in the mood for trick-or-treating & Thanksgiving. But let's use pumpkin every month to enjoy its nutritional value & remember the Falls of yesteryear.

These scones are DELICIOUS. (Had I obeyed my SILLY pumpkin rule I would not have enjoyed these scones for another 8 months.) So I've already made them twice. Who knew that butterscotch & pumpkin would be such complementary flavors? My favorite thing about these scones is they are classified as a breakfast food. They taste like dessert but with eggs & turkey sausage they're a well balanced start to my day. So here's to pumpkin all year long!

I trace a 9 inch cake pan on a piece of parchment paper than tuen it upside down so I can still see the circle but won't get pencil on my scone.

Recipe from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
For the scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3-½ cup butterscotch chips
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger
Dash of ground cloves
2 tbsp. milk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk just to combine. Add the cold butter chunks to the bowl and stir with a fork to combine. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and the largest butter pieces are no bigger than peas. Mix in the butterscotch chips. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir together gently just until the dough comes together. If necessary, knead a bit with your hands, but be careful not to overwork the dough or you will end up with a tough scone.

Transfer the sticky mass of dough to the prepared baking sheet. Pat the dough into a 8 or 9-inch round. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. Slice the dough round into 7 or 8 wedges.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and spices in a small bowl. Add the milk and whisk to combine, until a thick glaze is formed. (If necessary, add a bit more milk to achieve a consistency good for drizzling the glaze.) Use a whisk to drizzle the glaze over the finished scones (I use a plastic baggie with a tip cut off). Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Pumpkin Dip

Hurry! Only 2 more weeks of pumpkin eating to go! Among all the candy cane, cranberry, fudge, & other Christmasy recipes, I had to make room for a pumpkin dessert. This recipe is a combination of recipes one from Taste of Home & the other from my cousin Hollie, who knows about my pumpkin obsession. This Pumpkin Dip is for graham crackers or sugar cookies, but I paired mine with Ginger Ball Cookies & it was delicious! Honestly I could just eat it by the spoon full. It tastes like liquid pumpkin pie - mmmmm..... delicious!

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 t cinnamon
1 18 oz can pumpkin pie filling (about 1/2 of a large can)
1/4 t ground ginger
3 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese in mixer until smooth. Add pumpkin pie filling; beat well. Add sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Beat well. Serve with sugar cookies & graham crackers or Ginger Ball Cookies.

Note: If using a large can of pumpkin pie filling do not throw the rest away. Freeze it for the next time you make this recipe. It freezes & thaws well & this is so yummy it will certainly be made twice!


Kristin

Pumpkin Cake

Since Audrey shared her birthday with our Very Fake Thanksgiving, I went with a Fall theme & made her a pumpkin shaped & flavored birthday cake. I had seen in Williams Sonoma a few years ago two Bundt pans specially made to be the top & bottom for a pumpkin shaped cake. I already have a Bundt pan & with enough icing, no one would know it didn’t have the molding of vines & pumpkin details under it!

Sadly, I have only used a spice cake mix with a can of pumpkin to make a pumpkin cake. Since it was for Audrey’s first birthday I decided to look for a pumpkin cake recipe made from scratch. This one received rave reviews & I managed to only make a few changes by upping the spices & reducing some calories. The result – the best pumpkin cake I’ve ever tasted! It was flavorful & moist. Most importantly, Audrey loved it!

I found this recipe for cream cheese icing on allrecipes.com. I learned it was featured on Throw Down with Bobby Flay. Well, it certainly was delicious & my new “go to” cream cheese icing recipe. The only problem is it’s really soft. For the orange it was perfect, but for the leaves & vines I added some more powdered sugar to give it more structure.

I used two cake ice cream cones to make the stem. The first I put in the hole of the two cake & the second I dipped in melted chocolate, firmed in the refrigerator, & put upside down in the center. I think it turned out pretty cute & for what it lacked in beauty it made up for in taste!

*Note: It takes 2 recipes of the pumpkin cake to make the tope & bottom of the pumpkin shaped cake.

Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil ( I used ½ oil ½ applesauce)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional, no nuts for the baby)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12x18 inch pan( I used a Bundt pan). Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread batter into prepared 12x18 inch pan (or Bundt pan).
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Cream Cheese Icing II.

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.
   

Kristin

Pumpkin Blondies

This recipe comes from one of my favorite food blogs, Annie’s Eats. She is a medical resident, a wife & a new mommy. Somehow she still has time to cook & bake, especially cupcakes!

After a few pumpkin cakes & pumpkin breads, I decided to make a new pumpkin recipe. These pumpkin blondies are moist & delicious. My friends Mike & Emily gave them great reviews after trying the blondies on their way to his medical internship interview. I thought it was ironic that this recipe came from Annie, my online medical resident chef. Hopefully they brought him good luck since we would love for them to live closer to us!

I actually forgot to add the butterscotch chips & although they were pretty close to perfect, I think I will add them next time…and oh, there will definitely be a next time. I also forgot to take a picture, so this picture comes from Annie herself.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
½ cup chopped, toasted nuts (optional)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with foil. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips (and nuts, if using) with a rubber spatula. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting. To serve, lift the cake from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Peel off the foil and using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.

Kristin

Pumpkin Chili

Kristin told you we heart pumpkin, and she meant it! We don't play when it comes to autumn and consuming as much pumpkin as possible. I came across a couple different recipes for Pumpkin Chili on allrecipes.com the other day. This concoction was combination of two different recipes, so this another one we could technically call "Hannah's Pumpkin Chili".

Okay, so it sounds weird, right? Be brave and try it! The pumpkin adds a hearty texture and the pumpkin pie spice adds just a hint of sweet and cinnamon. I gave my good friend Karen some to try and she and I both agreed it tastes very similar to Sloppy Joes--of course better and gourmet because it doesn't come from a can and it has PUMPKIN in it!

Granny and I had this for lunch with a generous slice of Annette's cornbread. Okay, I had two generous slices--one to eat and one crumbled in my chili.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I used the leanest I could find!)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
2 cups tomato juice
1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
1 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I did not use a whole tablespoon)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sautee bell pepper, garlic and onion until onions are translucent. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Add beans, tomato juice, tomatoes, pumpkin, chili powder and pumpkin pie spice. Simmer 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can serve with cheese and/or sour cream if you like.

Pumpkin Bread

Look no further. This is the BEST pumpkin bread recipe ever!

Recipe from: The Mormon Cookbook

1/2 cup butter
1 cup butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans (an option I choose not to add)

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Add pumpkin and mix; set aside. In another bowl sift dry ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamy mixture. Beat until blended. Add chocolate chips & pecans, if desired. Grease one loaf pan or 4 mini loaves. Pour into pans. For one loaf, bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. For mini loaves, bake at 350 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes. Makes one loaf or 4 mini loaves.

Kristin

Pumpkin Mousse Pie

A PUMPKIN SHORTAGE! A PUMPKIN SHORTAGE!!!!! A few weeks ago I went to the store with canned pumpkin on my list, of course. And NO pumpkin. Just an empty shelf with the Libby's Canned Pumpkin label staring at me. Then another store, another store, and another store. Still no pumpkin. A visit to the Google informed me there was a shorter pumpkin growing season due to cold (what cold?) weather. Oh NO!! Well I found 4 of the large cans of pumpkin in the vegetable isle of my neighborhood Harris Teeter & bought them all. Hopefully it will last me until I can find some more. This is a travesty.

On a happier note, my friend Melissa sent me this Pumpkin Mousse Pie recipe. I wanted to make it weeks ago, but due to the pumpkin shortage...oh well, better late than never. I decided to make this as low calorie as possible since I have been consuming lots of Fall treats. I used sugar free Jell-O pudding, Free Cool-Whip, and skim milk. So it's not a diet food, but it's definitely less guilty than other desserts! It made a delicious creamy pie, something a little different than the traditional pumpkin pie. Let's just say it was a good use of my pumpkin stock I am currently rationing! Thanks Melissa.

Pumpkin Mousse Pie

1 1/4 Cups cold milk

1 pkg (4 serving size) vanilla flavor instant pudding & pie filling

1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice (may substitute 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 3/4 tsp ground ginger and 1/ tsp ground cloves in place of pumpkin pie spice.)

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tub (8 oz.) frozen cool whip, thawed

1 graham cracker crust, recipe follows

1. In a large bowl beat milk, pudding mix and spice with wire whisk for 1 1/2 minutes. Whisk in pumpkin. Fold in half of whipped topping. Spread in crust.

2. Top with remaining whipped topping.

3. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Garnish as desired. Store in refrigerator.

YIELD: 8 servings

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

1. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter or margarine, and cinnamon until well blended . Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.
2. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7 minutes. Cool. If recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour.

Kristin

Pumpkin Whoopies Pies

After my friend Melissa heard of my pumpkin obsession, she sent me this recipe for Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies. I have seen many recipes like this before, but I had never tried them out until now. Boy, I've really been missing something GOOD! These cookies are beyond easy, so yummy & if eaten without nuts, chocolate chips or icing only 1 Weight Watcher point each! But since we are in the season of treats, I decided to sandwich 2 pumpkin cookies & some store bought cream cheese icing to make Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. Thanks Melissa these are delicious!

1 box spice cake mix
1 can pure pumpkin (15oz. can)
Non-stick cooking spray

*optional nuts or chocolate chips or 16oz can cream cheese icing

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheets with non- stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix together the cake mix and the canned pumpkin and optional items if you wish.

Drop cookie dough onto cookie sheets and then bake for around 10-12 minutes.

*Makes 48 cookies or 24 whoopie pies.

Kristin

Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

Pumpkin - Check! Cream Cheese - Check! You know this one is going to be good. I know these are usually ingredients in a dessert, but this time it's a main dish pasta! A little off the norm, but the PERFECT Fall dinner recipe. When I told Patrick we were having this for dinner he asked, "Have you made that before? It sounds...weird." Weird - Maybe. Delicious - Yes! And boy did my family love it. It's a pumpkin version of Fettuccine Alfredo. Try it - You'll like too!

See Audrey loves Pumpkin Pasta!

1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, cubed
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 (15oz) can pumpkin
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 (16 oz) pkg pasta, cooked

In a large saucepan, combine Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, butter & milk. Cook over low heat, stirring until cheese is melted. Add pumpkin, cayenne pepper, nutmeg & cinnamon; mix well. Heat throug; do not boil. Add pasta, tossing lightly. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.

Kristin

Pumpkin Spice Granola

After eating a big piece of pumpkin cake for breakfast, I decided to look for a real pumpkin breakfast. I found this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Granola on another food blog & knew instantly it was my perfect pumpkin breakfast food. It was supper easy to make & delicious. I used about 3/4 cups of pecans & a cup of Craisins. It's great as is or on top of some vanilla yogurt. Now I can eat pumpkin for breakfast without it being cake or pie!

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups rolled oats

2 ½ cups puffed rice cereal

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

¾ tsp. salt

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup pumpkin puree

¼ cup applesauce

¼ cup maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

up to 1 ½ cups chopped nuts

up to 1 cup dried fruit

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine oats and puffed rice cereal. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin pie spice, salt, sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until very smooth. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until the oat mixture is evenly coated. Spread on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes. Then turn over the granola using a large, wide spatula. Sprinkle the nuts onto the granola and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until crisp and golden. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center may not be fully dried if your granola layer is thick, so if necessary remove the edges of the cooked granola and let the rest cook until done, 10-15 more minutes. Cool on pan or on a fine wire rack.

Break up granola as desired and toss with dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.

From www.annies-eats.com

Kristin