Perfectly Moist Pumpkin Bread

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• As soon as September rolls around, all things pumpkin are fair game in my house. Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin candles, pumpkin decor, pumpkin soap, pumpkin body wash and so much more. I'm one of those crazies. One who looks forward to fall every year. One who has her fall clothes lined up even though it's still hitting 90 degrees each day. I long for fall. Fall makes me happy. 

To celebrate the start of the season, I did some baking last weekend. First up was pumpkin bread. Even though I've made many different kinds of pumpkin bread before, I decided to stick to an original recipe. One with nothing added in, just moist pumpkin bread. It was the right way to kick off fall. I enjoyed the bread in the afternoon with my coffee on the weekend and every morning for breakfast. 

This is one of those recipes that you have to make every year. One your neighbors will be asking for time and time again. Enjoy! 

Ingredients: 

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• 1 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

*2 tbs brown sugar for the topping

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• Directions: 
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• 1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a loaf pan. 
• 2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, sugars, eggs, oil and vanilla. Set aside. 
• 3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Set aside.  
• 4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. Do this until both the wet and dry mixture are combined. 
• 5. Pour mixture into the loaf pan. 
• 6. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 
• 7. Cool before removing from the pan onto a baking rack. 
• 8. Enjoy! 
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brookies

Brookies. Have you heard of them before?  A brownie and a cookie mixed together. Yup. It's as amazing as it sounds. 

This past Thursday, I realized I hadn't crossed off many things from my fall baking list. Yes, I made a list of things I wanted to make. I do this a lot. It's the only way I get things done. I also realized that I had yet to send a fresh baked treat to work with hubs this fall. Since Halloween was the following day, I decided it was the perfect time to send some treats in with him. 

I used a boxed brownie mix for the brownie part of this deliciousness. I had a box in the pantry and went the easy route. If I had cookie dough in the fridge for the cookie part, I would have used that too. Unfortunately, I didn't. So I used the recipe below for the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie portion. 

Overall, it took me a little less than a half hour (with a little at my foot and one in the solly baby wrap on my chest.) Cook time was a half hour. Worth every minute. These babies were my kind of dessert. The best of both worlds all in one little square. I ate three right away and had to package the rest before I ate the entire pan. These are sure to be a hit at any gathering this season! 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brookies

Adapted from Something Swanky 

Ingredients

Brownie Mix with ingredients for brownies: eggs, oil water 

For the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie layer:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups flour 
• 1/2 cup pumpkin spice baking chips
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
2. Prepare brownie mix as directed on the package. Set aside. 


3. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla.
4. In another bowl, mix together the salt, baking soda, and flour. Add it to the butter/ sugar mixture little by little until the dough is formed. 
5. Fold in the pumpkin and chocolate chips. 
6. Pour half of the brownie mixture into the bottom of the baking dish. Just enough to cover the bottom of the dish in a thin layer. 
7. Next, drop tablespoon sized balls of dough on top of the brownie layer. I used a medium cookie scoop to do this. I tried to evenly place them on top of the batter. Spread lightly with a knife or spatula. 
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

You'll have half of the brownie mixture left over. You can make another batch of the brookies or make some brownies. I decided to make 24 mini brownies using a mini muffin pan with the leftover batter. I baked them for 10 minutes at 350.  

Toffee and Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies

The week before baby #2 was born, I spent most of my time during the day in the kitchen. It was the first week of fall and I wanted to make everything and anything pumpkin. I scoured Pinterest for hours and made a master list of everything I wanted to bake over the next few months. I also started experimenting with some new recipes using some of the new pumpkin ingredients I've found at the store. One of the new ingredients I've added this year is the Toll House pumpkin spice morsels, which I found at Target. For this recipe, I wanted pumpkin flavor without using canned pumpkin. I love canned pumpkin but using it in cookies tends to make them soft. I decided to pair the new pumpkin morsels (chips) with toffee bits after seeing a I love toffee and pumpkin together, but I didn't want to make a traditional pumpkin cookie because they can be too soft sometimes. These are soft on the inside with a perfect crunch on the outside. They have the perfect amount of pumpkin and spice.  Enjoy this tasty fall treat!

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened

1 ½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 ¼ cup flour 

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 1/2 cups of toffee bits (found in baking section)
1 1/2 cups pumpkin spice baking chips 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375. 
2. Mix together butter and sugar, beat until creamy. Add egg and continue to mix. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. 
4. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture. Continue to mix until well blended. 
5. Stir in toffee bits and pumpkin spice chips.

6. Drop dough by tablespoons onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake about 9-11 minutes, until edges are set. I used a medium sized cookie scoop, which made just over 3 dozen cookies. 
7. Let cookies cool for 1 minute on baking sheets before removing to a cooling rack.

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

I've been meaning to post this recipe for weeks now.  I made it for hubs to bring to work for a recent potluck.  I look forward to his potlucks at work.  Now that I am not teaching or living close to family and friends, I don't have as many people to bake for. I don't like to bake just for hubs and I because we end up eating it and we don't need all the sweets I make!  

I found this recipe on one of my favorite bloggers, The Mix and Match Mama.  

She calls this treat Thanksgiving in a bar, and I couldn't agree more.  It tastes just like pumpkin pie, just in a handy dandy bar.  It received 5 star reviews from hubs coworkers and I enjoyed the piece I kept at home for myself.  I will be making this every year from here on out.  Enjoy!! 

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bars

Adapted from Mix and Match Mama

Ingredients: 

1 box of spice cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs

1 stick of butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar +1 TBS
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice +1TBS
1 cup flour
1 can of canned pumpkin (about 1.5 cups)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish with Pam.

In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, veggie oil, and 2 eggs with an electric mixer.  Spread  mixture across the bottom of your pan.

In a second mixing bowl, cream together your butter and sugar.  Slowly beat in your remaining 2 eggs and vanilla.

In a smaller bowl, combine your baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and flour with fork.  Slowly beat this dry mixture into your butter mixture.  Beat in your pumpkin.

Spread the pumpkin mixture down on top of your cake mix layer in the pan. 

Mix the extra TBS of pumpkin pie spice and sugar together.  

Sprinkle mixture over the top of the pumpkin mixture.  

 Bake 38 to 40 minutes.

Let your bars cool at least one hour before slicing and serving.

Easy Pumpkin Centerpiece

I've been in search of the perfect fall centerpiece for our kitchen table.  

I wanted to make something but didn't really know where to start.  

Then a friend texted me a picture of a pumpkin centerpiece she made.  

It looked so simple.  I ran to Hobby Lobby that afternoon picked up supplies. 

I bought everything for under $10, thankfully they had 40% off all of their fall decor.  

The centerpiece took 10 minutes to make.  It's the perfect addition to our kitchen table. 

Materials: 

Craft pumpkin (any size)

Twine

Decorative fillers (floral stems)

Knife 

Marbles (1 small bag) 

Directions: 

Cut the top off the pumpkin (I would cut the circle smaller next time).  

I used a regular kitchen knife, doing a little at a time. 

I poured the marbles into the bottom of the pumpkin.  

I used marbles for the weight and to hold the stems in place.  

After that, I added the floral/ fall stems.  

It took a few minutes to get them arranged the way I wanted.  

I finished off by tying a bow using twine I already had around it.  

Simple as that.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

By now you should know that I love all things pumpkin.  

Which is why I decided to give this recipe a try.  

I've had it on my Pinterest board for a while now, I always think of making it but never got around to it. 

I knew if I added it to our Christmas breakfast menu, I would definitely make it.  

And I did.  

Results: Delish.  I made sure there was a thin pumpkin layer on the toast after making the first one and thinking there was a little too much pumpkin on it.  Next time, I'll add some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.  

Enjoy! 

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Courtesy of 5 Dollar Dinners

Yield – 4 servings

Ingredients

• 14 slices whole wheat sandwich bread 
• 3 eggs 
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin 
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• Butter and syrup for serving 

Directions

• Set out the bread for dipping.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, pumpkin and pie spice until smooth.
• Dip each side of the bread and cook on a hot, greased griddle or skillet. Flip after 1 – 2 minutes.
• Once all are cooked, serve with butter and maple. And a side of fresh fruit.
• If freezing, let cool completely to reduce freezer burn.
• Enjoy this perfect fall “breakfast for dinner”!

Pumpkin Bars

Hands down one of the best pumpkin recipes I've ever made.  I made these for Halloween and my neighbors kept coming back for more.  Mine came out a little thicker than bars, more like a cake. Next time I'll make them into cupcakes so that you can eat them with your hands in a few bites. Enjoy!! 

Pumpkin Bars

Courtesy of I Heart Naptime 

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 16 oz can pumpkin
• 2 cups flour sifted
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 3 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. In a large bowl beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until fluffy. In a medium sized bowl stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, soda, and spices. Add to pumpkin mixture. Spread in greased 15x10 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool.
2. For frosting cream together cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy. Frost on pumpkin bars.

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispy Treats

Last month, I made these Cinnamon Bun Rice Krispie Treats.  I had no idea that there were different types of marshmallows out there until I came across the cinnamon bun kind.  Then, I heard there was pumpkin spice marshmallows.  I love anything pumpkin so I immediately was on the hunt for the marshmallows.  I ended up finding them at WalMart.  I followed the same recipe that is on the box for original rice krispie treats, but used 5 cups of krispies instead of 6.  Although both recipes were delicious, I actually enjoyed the cinnamon bun krispies a little bit more than the pumpkin spice.  Enjoy! 

Pumpkin Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've my fair share of pumpkin cookies over the past few years.  There aren't too many pumpkin recipes that I pass on.  And when I come across one where I have all the ingredients, I usually make it immediately.  That is what happened with this recipe.  I pinned it.  Checked my pantry.  Then started baking.  I was really excited about these cookies because I've never made a pumpkin oatmeal cookie before.  And I love oatmeal cookies.  The one thing I was missing from the original recipe (link below) was dark (or milk or semi sweet) chocolate chips.  To make up for what was missing, I just added more while chocolate chips.  I actually enjoyed the pumpkin and white chocolate combination and think the dark chocolate would have overpowered that.  When I make them again, I think I'll try the chocolate but only do dark chocolate instead of using white and dark together.

  These cookies were a hit with everyone who tried them.  Hubs took them to work and they flew out the door.  My parents came over a few days later and they enjoyed what was left.  If you're a pumpkin fanatic like myself, you'll enjoy these cookies.   

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chip Cookies 

Courtesy of Family Fresh Meals 

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2  cups all purpose flour

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips 

2 cups rolled oats (oatmeal) *I used quick cooking

1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

1 TB vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside.
2. Next beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until well creamed together.
3. Now add in pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Beat until combine well.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until incorporated.

5. Next, stir in your oats. Mix well.
6. Stir in both the white and dark chocolate chips.
7. Drop cookie dough by the rounded tablespoon on to the prepared baking. sheet.
8. Bake cookies for 14-15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. DO NOT OVER COOK. They will seem a little soft, but will firm up as they cool. You want to keep the nice, soft texture!

Pumpkin Magic Bars

I made a fall bucket list a few weeks back and this was one of the recipes I said I wanted to bake. Magic Layer Bars are one of my favorite desserts and so addicting!  When I came across one recipe made with pumpkin, I had to give it a try!  I made a few changes to the recipe which I noted below. The bars were AH-MAZING. The middle pumpkin layer tasted like pumpkin pie & the rest of it was just icing on top.  Enjoy!    

Pumpkin 7-Layer Magic Bars

Recipe Courtesy of BakersRoyale

Makes one 8×8 pan | 

Preparation: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Create a foil sling with a 1 inch over hang.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 16 whole crackers)
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 11 oz. golden delicious apples, shredded (about 2 regular size apples) *OMITTED
• 11/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup salted almonds, coarsely chopped *USED PECANS
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Combine graham crackers and butter  and stir until well blended. Press mixture onto bottom of pan
2. Combine sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and stir until well combined. Pour mixture over graham cracker crust.
3. Peel and core apples. Use the large side of the  grating box to shred the apples. Layer shredded apples on the sweetened sweetened condensed milk. Sprinkle on chocolate chips, followed by the almonds and then finish by sprinkling coconut on top.
4. Place assembled pan in the oven and bake for about 25-35 minutes. Let cool in pan completely and then transfer finished pan to the refrigerator to chill before cutting. 
5.               *I KEPT THE DESSERT IN THE FRIDGE UNTIL IT WAS GONE*

Pumpkin Toffee Chip and Rolo Chunk Cookies

Pumpkin + Chocolate Candy = Pure Bliss

After another blogger suggested this recipe to me, I knew I had to make it immediately.  And boy am I glad I did.  I will say that this is by far my favorite chocolate pumpkin recipe.  I plan on going to the store again this week to get more ingredients so I can make them to share with my neighbors. If you love pumpkin and chocolate, you'll be sorry if you don't give this recipe a try! 

Recipe Courtesy of Picky Palate 

Ingredients:

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix

One 15 ounce can Pumpkin (I used Libby’s)

2 cups mini chocolate chips

1 cup toffee chips

1 1/2 cups chopped Rolo’s (I used the mini baking rolo's and cut them in half)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silpat liner.

2. Place cake mix and pumpkin into a large bowl, mix to combine. Stir in chocolate chips, toffee chips and Rolo’s, mixing until combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 15-17 minutes until cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Serve room temperature or chilled.

 *You'll notice the caramel from the rolo's seeped out, it was easy to break off after the cookies cooled.  BUT...I was glad I had used a baking mat!

Makes 4-5 dozen cookies

Grandma's Pumpkin Muffins

About a month after I had my baby I decided to join Weight Watchers.  I joined because I wanted to lose weight while being smarter with the food I was eating and maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially because I am nursing. Weight Watchers has a point allowance for nursing mothers, which is ultimately why I went with the program.  So far, I have lost 5 pounds in 3.5 weeks and feel more energized.  I love tracking points and am thankful that there are apps to track and scan the things I eat.  It's honestly much easier than I expected it to be.  

I chose this recipe because of my love of pumpkin.  I will say that this is not my favorite pumpkin recipe, it was just okay.  The muffins tasted low fat and weren't bad for being a healthier option.  A lot of the reviews said to use eggs instead of an egg substitute and add cranberries or chocolate chips to the recipes.  I laughed because that takes the healthy part of the recipe away.  I do agree that they would be better with all that added, but along with adding the ingredients you'll be adding points. I would probably add more pumpkin next time and less applesauce.  I'd also add some pumpkin pie spice.  Overall, I'd try these if you're looking for a healthy pumpkin muffin recipe. 

Ingredients:
1 spray(s) cooking spray
2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
  2/3 cup(s) unsweetened applesauce
  1 cup(s) canned pumpkin
2/3 cup(s) sugar
  1/2 cup(s) fat-free egg substitute
  2/3 cup(s) fat-free skim milk


Instructions

    * Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a 12-hole muffin tin with cooking spray. Line with cupcake wrappers if desired.

    * Combine flour, baking powder, salt , baking soda, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.

    * Combine applesauce, pumpkin, sugar, egg substitute and milk in a medium bowl; mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

    * Add applesauce mixture to flour mixture and mix until completely incorporated.

    * Pour batter into muffin tins so each hole is about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Yields 1 muffin per serving.

Notes

    * We use both cooking spray and muffin wrappers to prevent any batter from sticking to the top of the pan but you can use a nonstick pan instead, if you prefer.

Pumpkin Bread

One of my favorite cooking magazines is Food & Family from Kraft.  I can always find good recipes in them and most of the recipes are super simple to make.  I was elated when the most recent one arrived in my mailbox a few weeks ago and immediately went through it.  There were over 10 recipes I couldn't wait to try.  Of course, the first one on my list was this pumpkin bread. I've never made pumpkin bread with pudding mix before so I was excited to try something new, especially a new pumpkin recipe.  The bread turned out delicious.  It was perfectly moist and the nuts on top added the perfect crunch.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1-3/4

cups  flour

1

pkg.  (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1

Tbsp.  CALUMET Baking Powder

2

tsp.  pumpkin pie spice

1

tsp.  baking soda

1/2

cup  butter, melted

1

cup  sugar

1

can  (15 oz.) pumpkin

2

 eggs

1/3

cup  chopped PLANTERS Walnuts

Directions:

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

MIX flour, dry pudding mix, baking powder, spice and baking soda; set aside.

WHISK butter, sugar and pumpkin in large bowl. Blend in eggs. Add flour mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into 8x4-inch loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray; top with nuts.

BAKE 1 hour to 1 hour 5 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, covering loosely with foil for the last 20 min. Cool bread in pan 10 min. Remove from pan to wire rack; cool completely