pumpkin

Pumpkin Pecan Granola

By in Breakfast No Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

I had to squeak in one more pumpkin recipe before all the Christmas festivities get started around here. Next week I”ll be decorating my house and listening to Christmas music all day long, with no shame involved! But, it”s not quite that time yet so I”m giving you one last bite of pumpkin bliss before it goes out of style.

We hardly buy any boxed cereal anymore because homemade granola is so easy to make and so adaptable to different seasons. Max is going through a major granola phase –  it”s all he wants for breakfast. But, when it”s so full of goodness and so easy to make, it”s one obsession I can get on board with.

Make this granola with that last bit of pumpkin before all the peppermint and cranberry recipes start rolling in. Wee Hoo!

Pumpkin Pecan Granola

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 2/3 cup maple syrup

  • 2/3 cup pumpkin puree

  • 4 cups rolled oats

  • 1 cup chopped pecans

  • 3 tablespoons sesame seeds

  • 1 cup dried cranberries

Stir together olive oil, salt, spices, maple syrup and pumpkin puree in a large bowl. Add oats, pecans and sesame seeds. Stir until evenly coated. Spread onto a baking sheet, allowing it to stay clumpy. Bake at 325°F for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until mixture is dry and lightly browned. Stir in cranberries and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Adapted from Simple Bites. Originally from The Sprouted Kitchen.

Pumpkin-Spice Cheesecake Mousse

By in Creamy, Fall, Sweets 2 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

I don”t know what”s with me this year but I”m especially obsessed with pumpkin. Hopefully you are too because it may take a little bit longer before it”s out of my system. I should probably back off soon though because I think the rest of my family may be needing a break. That being said, there were no complaints when I served up this Pumpkin-Spice Cheesecake Mousse. I mean, who would complain about that?

This recipe is so smooth, luscious, creamy and decadent. But it has a secret. It”s light! (er) Greek yogurt replaces whipped cream and pure maple syrup replaces sugar. Yes, it uses full-fat cream cheese, because in my opinion “light” dairy just means it”s that much more processed, so I always opt for full-fat. But if light”s your thing, feel free to use that. ;)

This is perfect on its own but can be used in so many adaptations to make it even more special. For a little added crunch you could serve these with gingersnaps or a sprinkling of maple roasted pecans or some gingerbread granola. Serve it in one big bowl and let people scoop their own and choose their toppings, or prepare them how you want and serve them in individual dishes. You could even turn them into a parfait by layering them with gingerbread. Really, the sky”s the limit!

Pumpkin-Spice Cheesecake Mousse

You can replace the spices for 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice if you wish.

  • 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese

  • 3/4 cup maple syrup

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree

  • 1/2 cup greek yogurt

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Slowly beat in maple syrup, scraping down sides of bowl to ensure even mixing. Beat in spices and pumpkin puree. Beat in yogurt. Pour into a large bowl or individual serving dishes and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Makes: 10-12 servings

Pumpkin Spice Roll

By in Cakes, Recipes, Sweets, Thanksgiving 11 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Pumpkin Spice Roll

I was planning on sharing a Thanksgiving side dish with you today, but it was a royal flop so I decided to make something pumpkin instead. Pumpkin heals all wounds. And, let”s face it, the whole (north american) world, including myself, is pretty much obsessed with pumpkin right now. And, I was in need of a guaranteed win.

I”ve made this Pumpkin Spice Roll quite a few times over the years and it”s always a winner no matter where I serve it. It”s so extremely easy to make and yet looks so impressive. I made it in our first years of marriage, when I was just learning to cook, and it turned out a great success, so you know it”s easy. ;)

A soft pumpkin spice cake coated in a layer of walnuts, with a creamy yet light, cream cheese filling – it”s pretty much an inside out spice cake rolled up into one pretty presentation. It would be perfect for Thanksgiving but you can save it for any special day, like maybe the first snow fall? Hopefully your snow holds off a little longer than ours. :)

Pumpkin Spice Roll

You can sub 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin spice for the combination of spices in the recipe, if you prefer.

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree

  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

  • 3/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar, divided

  • 1/2 cup (4 oz.) cream cheese, softened

  • 3/4 cup cold whipping cream

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease a 15x10x1 inch pan, line it with waxed or parchment paper. Grease and flour the paper as well. Whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder and salt. Set aside.Whisk together eggs and sugar until pale and thick. Whisk in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture just until blended. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle walnuts over evenly. Bake at 375°F for for 15 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when touched.

While cake bakes, sprinkle a clean kitchen towel with 1/4 cup icing sugar. As soon as cake comes out of the oven, invert onto prepared towel, remove the pan and gently peel of the paper. Starting at a short side, gently roll up the cake and towel together to form a log. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before adding the filling.

To make the filling, beat together 1/2 cup icing sugar and cream cheese until smooth with an electric beater. Gently mix in the cream and vanilla, scraping up any cream cheese stuck to the bottom of the bowl (mixture will be lumpy). Beat on medium-high speed until mixture is smooth and stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted.

Gently unroll cake, spread filling evenly over entire cake, leaving a 1 inch gap on both short ends (so filling won”t squeeze out as you roll it back up. Re-roll the cake, firmly but gently. Wrap cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. To serve, dust with additional icing sugar if desired.

Makes: 10 servings

Adapted from Kraft.

Pumpkin Chai Latte

By in Beverages, Fall, Warm 3 Comments Tags: , , , ,

pumpkin chai latte

Pumpkin Spice Latte’s are all the rage these days, every year you see new recipes for homemade versions popping up everywhere. I’m sure if you’re a fan, you’ve already found your favourite homemade version, so I’m not going to venture there. But, I do enjoy a good pumkin-y warm fall beverage and since I don’t drink coffee everyday (as much as I’d like to) I wanted to do something with tea instead, and a Pumpkin Chai Latte seemed like the logical step.

The thing I love about recipes like this, is they help you use up those little bits of extra pumpkin that there always seem to be after a pumpkin baking session. It feels like a special treat yet you’re helping to reduce waste, always a good excuse right? Plus, it’s virtually guilt-free so you can enjoy it as much as you like.

I made this a couple times until I got it just right for me, but feel free to adjust the amounts of spice and pumpkin to your liking. As it is, it’s lightly spiced so that it complements the more delicate flavours of tea. I know I’ll be enjoying this often over the coming months and I hope you do too!

Pumpkin Chai Latte

Use your preferred milk alternative to make this dairy free.

  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • pinch ground cinnamon
  • pinch ground ginger
  • small pinch ground cloves
  • crack of freshly ground black pepper (or a small pinch of pre-ground pepper)
  • 1 black tea bag

Mix together all ingredients, except for tea, in a small saucepan. Bring to just barely a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, drop in tea bag and let steep for 4 minutes. Remove teabag and serve immediately. Garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon, if desired.

Serves: 1

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

By in Cakes, Fall, Sweets, Thanksgiving 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a great last-minute dessert for company or when your craving something pumpin-y. I got this recipe from my cousin Rachel. It comes together in one bowl with simple ingredients and results in a comforting moist yet fluffy spiced cake.

This is the kind of dessert that I can eat way to much of. The cake itself is so delicious that we”ve enjoyed it even without the cream cheese frosting. But as everyone knows cream cheese frosting and spice cake go hand in hand and it definitely puts this over the top.

I know everyone has a different definition of sheet cake. A sheet cake to me is a one layer square or rectangular cake, any size. They are simple to make for last-minute company but since you”re serving them cake they”ll feel like you”ve laboured.

Its natural orange color (which is more vibrant when using canned pumpkin) makes it a perfect dessert for any Halloween parties in your future. For a simple decoration make a spiderweb pattern on the frosting with chocolate syrup. You could either do it over the whole cake or on individual pieces. The frosting stays soft so there should be no problems doing it just before serving (but you could also do it ahead if you prefer).

Whatever event you serve this at, be assured that people will be asking for more.


Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Double this recipe for a 9×13 pan.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

  • 1/2 cup canola oil

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 cup flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree

Whisk together oil, sugar and eggs. Whisk in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, until no lumps remain. Stir in pumpkin puree until evenly distributed. Pour into a greased or parchment lined 8×8 baking pan. Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 oz. (1/4 cup) cream cheese, softened

  • 1 tablespoon butter, softened

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons icing (confectioners) sugar

  • 3/4 teaspoons heavy cream (or 1/2 teaspoon milk)

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Whisk in icing sugar until smooth. Stir in cream until evenly distributed. Spread onto cooled cake.

Makes: 9 servings

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

By in Cookies & Bars, Sweets 7 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Have you noticed that changes that have taken place on the blog recently? It”s looking, decidedly, a lot more blog-like. I think it”s going to take a bit of getting used to but it”s a good change for me. Having the photos the way they were before severely limited the type of photos I could take.  I feel like this will free me up to post more often, with a little less pressure and with maybe an occasional iPhone posts (like this one) thrown in.

So, I hope you don”t mind the more simplified look. I think it”s going to mean more yummy recipes headed your way. And no ones going to object to that right? :)

Speaking of yummy recipes, let me introduce you to today”s post. Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. Get ready because these cookies are addictive.

I”m not usually drawn to snickerdoodle recipes but when I saw these on Annie”s Eats I had to make them right away because 1) I”m addicted to cookies and tea 2) I hadn”t made anything with pumpkin yet this fall and 3) I wanted to step out of my chocolate-chip-cookie-comfort-zone.

I was surprised just how addicting these cookies were. They”re not overly sweet, which means it”s a lot easier to find yourself reaching for more until the tea is emptied from your cup… and then wishing you had used a bigger cup. The cakey-ness of the cookie also lends well to munching between sips of your favourite fall beverage. It just brings comfort.

I didn”t bake the whole batch at once. I got the cookies ready right up the point of baking and them popped them into freezer bags so that I can bake as many as I want, when I want. The cookies are firm enough (and coated in cinnamon sugar) that they don”t stick together. To bake them from frozen simply add 5-8 minutes to the baking time.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

For the cookies:

  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1.5 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1 cup butter, softened

  • 1 cup white sugar

  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar

  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree

  • 1 large egg

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the coating:

  • 1/2 cup white sugar

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in pumpkin puree. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until incorporated. Chill, covered, for one hour.

Mix together coating ingredients. Roll cooking dough into balls (I used an 1/8 cup [or 2 tablespoons] measuring cup to scoop). Coat dough balls in coating mixture. Place on a parchment-lined (or greased) baking sheet 2-3 inches apart. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a flat-bottomed cup.

Bake at 350º F for 10-12 minutes or until just set and bottoms are lightly browned. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Place on paper towel or wire racks to cool completely.

Makes: 3 dozen

Adapted from Annies Eats originally from dlyn.

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