Fall Pumpkin Recipes

One of my favorite elements of fall and winter is the continuous opportunity to bake and create new things and old in the kitchen. The togetherness of making food with one another, the warmth of the oven or stovetop, the warmth of food freshly baked, the coziness therein, the natural ingredients, the appreciation of the process and the divine results, the nourishment of tummy and soul, etc....... It is a wonderful thing, especially when there are family and friends to share with. So, I decided to come up with a few pumpkin-esque recipes this last week to celebrate the continuing harvest season.

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Iced Pumpkin Cookies

 These lightly-spiced cookies were super moist and sweet. Every bite was like a taste of Autumn, cozy at home by the fire. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda                

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves                

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract                

2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon melted butter                

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.                

This recipe should easily make 36 cookies, about 3 batches in the oven.

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 Spiced Pumpkin Bread

This bread was very simple and delicious. I will definitely make this Fall comfort food again next year... in fact, I am making at least another loaf before year's end! The boys loved it and it certainly didn't last a day in our house. You can find the recipe here at Plain and Joyful Living.

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 Peanut Butter Pumpkins

These cute little treats were a blast for the boys to help with, but they are certainly a bit on the sweet side. These are along the lines of a healthier version of candy, being that they are made mostly of peanut butter, but they still have a ton of butter and sugar. A titillating pleasure for those with a fierce sweet tooth, these pumpkins are a cute, simple treat that little ones can enjoy.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter 

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar, sifted   

red food coloring  

yellow food coloring  

green decorators icing   

Directions

Melt butter in a large bowl and add a few drops of yellow and red food coloring, until mixture has a nice orange color.

1. Add the peanut butter and confectioners sugar and mix together until a dough-like consistency is reached. (This means that when the dough is nice and stiff and it gets hard to add any more sugar, to let it go at that).
2. Shape dough into small balls shaped like pumpkins; make ridges on the pumpkins with a toothpick or butter knife.
3. Add a small amount of green decorators icing to the top of each pumpkin for a stem.
4. Refrigerate, if you like, to allow pumpkins to firm.
5. Serve on a plate lined with toasted coconut and Halloween decorated cookies, if desired; these also look good on top of cupcakes.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte

This was fantastic! My old beat up mug that was only half full happened to be the only photo I caught between all of our lattes. The 3 boys dove in right away before I could capture a pretty picture. Can't blame them. The only modification I made to their's from that of mine was that they didn't have any coffee in their's. Lovely recipe for those who want to kick up their coffee or hot chocolate craving a notch or two. This recipe can be found here...with a much nicer photo, too. ;)

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Pumpkin Hummus

This delicious hummus is great for parties, snacking, or even a pretty solid lunch. We were certainly full once 3 of us finished this platter for a mid-day meal last week. There was a fantastic balance between the pumpkin, garbanzo beans, and spices. We just couldn't get enough, me and the little ones. I will certainly make this one again! The pumpkin hummus recipe can be found at the same website as the latte above.

......And there were even leftovers after filling up.....

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So, there you have it. A cozy little collection of pumpkin recipes, aside from the obvious traditional pumpkin pie. Try them and enjoy! Let me know if you have any more fantastic ideas for pumpkin recipes. In the case that we try a few more, perhaps I will share a pumpkin recipes post #2.

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