My Favorite Pumpkin Recipes

I mentioned earlier this week that I am fully living up the Fall season by indulging in all things pumpkin. This goes above and beyond the PSL.  Here is a list of my favorite pumpkin treats. I have been eating them over and over and over again. 

Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Spiced Latte Smoothie 
Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake
Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Pumpkin Toffee Cookies
Cinnamon Oat Streusel Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Waffles
Pumpkin Banana Ice Cream 
Baked Pumpkin French Toast

Pumpkin Carrot Bars
Pumpkin Bread
Nutella Filled Pumpkin Muffins
Baked Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts 
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies 

What is your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Happy first day of Fall!  It seems only fitting to post a pumpkin recipe.  We have avoided cooking lately as temperatures soared last week with lots of humidity.  Mother Nature must have been listening to my complaints though as we are now enjoy crisp cool nights and sunny days.  Perfection in my book. Bring on the boots and sweatshirts.

I have made a lot of pumpkin breads and muffins over the years.  I don't have a true favorite and am always looking for another recipe. This is slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen and I added chocolate.  Probably not the best breakfast muffin but then again why not?

This recipe comes together quick and the muffins poof right up in the oven.  I had one right out of the oven and another a few hours later. I am pretty sure they are not going to last long, especially once Miss O gets her hands on one. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast chocolate pumpkin fall

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Ingredients (12 muffins)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup canned 100% pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners.

In a medium-sized bowl sift together the flour and the baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, oil, eggs, spice, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until smooth.

Whisk in the flour mixture until combined. Do not over-mix.

Fold in mini chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack.

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Acorn Squash, Black Bean and Spinach Quesadilla #secretrecipeclub

Since I started back at work in June I have been working from home on Wednesdays. I am pretty against merging the lines between work and home. I have always tried to keep work, at least the act of doing work, at the office. However, I have come to realize there are some benefits from having a home office. Mainly I don't shower on Wednesdays. Is that too much information?  The extra time from not having to get ready in the morning and drive to work is amazing. Mr. J takes Miss O to daycare and I have a solid 20 minutes to do laundry, wash dishes, brush my teeth. I am still rushing but for whatever reason it is not stressful.

Another reason working from home as been nice is my lunch time. I can go see Miss O at day care and have a hot lunch. When I am at the office I have to race to see Miss O and then end up stuffing my face in front of the computer. It may or may not be hot. And the hotness is not dependent on whether the said food should be hot. Most of the time I just don't have the time to wait for it to microwave. 

This month for the Secret Recipe Club I had Our Good Life by Terri.  We have been eating a lot of butternut squash lately after a surprise delivery of Fall garden treats from the In-Laws. I love butternut squash plain and simple but am always looking for ways to jazz it up from Mr. J. When I saw this quesadilla recipe I knew we would both love it.  Plus it was super easy to throw together during one of my stay at home lunches.

Although I went savory and healthy Terri had a ton of other recipes, mainly sweets that I want to check out as well: Caramel Cashew Cookies, Pull Apart Pizza, and Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate M&Ms

Acorn Squash, Black Bean and Spinach Quesadilla

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5-10 minutes

Keywords: saute entree vegetarian black beans spinach squash Mexican fall

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 c small dice cooked acorn squash
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 t cumin, ground
• 1/4 t cayenne
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 bunch spinach, destemmed and chopped
• 4 medium flour tortillas
• 6 oz monterey jack cheese
• lime wedges
• your favorite salsa

Instructions

Line a cookie sheet with nonstick foil. Preheat oven to broil. Heat the olive oil and garlic in skillet over medium heat. Add spices and stir for 30 seconds. Add the beans and 3 T water until hot, then add chopped spinach. Cook for about one minute, or until spinach wilts.

Place the tortillas on the cookie sheet. Place 1/4 c acorn squash, 1/4 of the bean mixture, and cheese. Fold over the tortilla to cover the filling. 

Broil until the top is golden brown, about two minutes. Serve with salsa and lime wedge.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Apple Fritter Bread #Secretrecipeclub

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you have the day off and are enjoying a picnic or two with friends and family.  We are bounding along on our first adventure with Olivia. I will let you know how it goes. Hopefully we aren't going to be scared for life about going out with her. 

Today on the blog is a special Memorial Day post for the May Secret Recipe Club.  For those of you who don't know the Secret Recipe Club is a group of bloggers that get together once a month for a special reveal day posting to share a creation from a secretly assigned member of the group.  It is a great way to learn about new blogs and find tasty new recipes.

This month I had Julie from Confessions of A Cooking Diva.  Julie is my kind of woman. She loves pink and books, especially cookbooks. Too bad she lives so far away otherwise I know we would be sharing our cookbooks.

I choose Apples Fritter Bread for my pick but I was eyeing so many recipes.  On the list were the old fashioned meatloaf and guacamole deviled eggs. My husband really wanted me to go with the deviled eggs but my sweet tooth won out.  Of course I didn't hear any complaints once the house filled with cinnamon and apple goodness. 

This might be more of a Fall recipe but Julie made it in March so I was in good company. After all who doesn't like a good apple fritter from breakfast or dessert for that matter. 

We were so impatient to try a piece I might have flipped the loaf before it was cool enough, hence the rip in some of the pictures.  Regardless this bread was amazingly good. We had it warmed, room temperature and topped with ice cream as a late night treat.  I managed to have enough restraint to keep it for three days before finishing it off. The last slice was just as moist and delicious as the first. 

Thanks Julie for such a great recipe. I am keeping it handy for another go around soon and it will definitely make an appearance come Fall. 

Apple Fritter Bread

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Keywords: bake bread breakfast dessert apple cinnamon fall

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Ingredients (serves 6-8)

• ⅓ cup brown sugar. I used light
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ⅔ cup granulated white sugar
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1½ cups flour
• 1¾ tsp. baking powder
• ½ cup milk
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled and chopped

For the Powdered Sugar Glaze:

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp. milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Put to the side.

In a bowl of a stand mixer add the sugar and butter. Beat until creamy and the sugar is well incorporated into the butter.One at a time add each egg. Mix until incorporated and then add the vanilla extract.

In a second medium-sized bowl add the flour and baking powder. Stir until mixed and then add to the stand mixer. On low speed mix until combined.

Finally pour the milk into the batter and mix till incorporated.

Pour half the batter into the loaf pan, spreading until the bottom is completely covered. Top the batter with the chopped apples and then sprinkle with the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture.

Pour the remaining batter over the apple and cinnamon/brown sugar mixture.

Take a knife and gently swirl the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture into the top batter.

Bake the bread for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

For the Powdered Sugar Glaze:

In a small bowl combine the powdered sugar and the milk. Mix until well combined. You can vary the amounts of powdered sugar and milk to get the consistency you prefer.

Allow bread to cool at least 20 minutes before glazing.

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Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

We are one week into November and suddenly everyone is requesting Christmas lists.  Where did the Fall go? I haven't done nearly enough baking with apples. No pumpkin recipes as of yet. But yet I am hankering for some Christmas cookies.  

I tagged this recipe several years ago and it has been on my mind ever since. Yes, I have a "to bake" list a mile long. The bread uses applesauce. Not quite apples but close enough in my book.

Mr. J doesn't like cake but if you disguise it in loaf form he doesn't know the difference. 

The loaf comes together so easily and took little effort to put in the oven. The whole wheat flour makes me feel like I am getting a few extra good things in this cake.  And the cinnamon and nutmeg make the whole house smell warm and inviting. 

If you leave off the frosting this recipe could totally pass for breakfast but who doesn't want a little frosting in their lives. The touch of cinnamon makes everything about this cake even more delicious and special.  It has been two days since I baked this up for a special treat and only two slices remain. 

Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

by Emily Morris, Eat, Live, Run

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Keywords: bake dessert apple cake fall

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Ingredients (1 loaf)

For the Cake:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup applesauce (unsweetened)

For the Frosting:

• 1/2 stick butter, softened
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan well with cooking spray or butter.

In a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar together on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg and keep beating until well combined. Scrap down sides of the bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add dry ingredients, along with applesauce, to the wet ingredients and beat until combined, about 30 seconds to a minute more.

Spread batter out in greased loaf pan, smooth surface with a rubber spatula, and bake for about 1 hour, until cooked through and golden brown.

To make the icing, cream together the butter and cream cheese until well combined and smooth, then add the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Continue beating on high for 6-8 minutes until light and fluffy. Spread icing on loaf once completely cooled.

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Apple Cinnamon Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar

Taste the essence of fall with these apple cinnamon donuts with cinnamon sugar.

Happy Sunday!!  This is the first weekend in a long time that we were home. Just the two of us. With no major projects to get done.  And beside the cold temperatures and rainy weather it was wonder.  Even those things weren't too bad. Bring on the soup, sweat pants and movies.  

Mr. J loves apple cider donuts.  Heck, he loves all donuts but in the fall he really loves these.  We have an orchard quite close by and he tends to drop in often to get his fix.  Sadly a lot of the time they aren't hot.  When it comes to apple cider donuts they need to be hot in my mind.  I guess I am picky like that.  

So as a special treat I decided to bake up some of our own apple cider donuts.  Enjoyed (maybe a bit too much) straight out of the oven.

These donuts come together super fast and don't requite any fancy ingredients. Unless of course you count apple cider as super fancy. I used the cider from our local orchard. It is so thick and flavorful I probably could have skipped the instructions below for reducing the mixture. 

We had our fill and then ate the rest the following morning.  A few seconds in the microwave do the fix if you like them warm like me. 

Apple Cinnamon Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast apple fall

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Ingredients (18 donuts or 36 donut holes)

For the Donuts:

• 1 and 1/4 cups apple cider
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

First, simmer apple cider over low-medium heat in a small saucepan on the stove for 15-20 minutes until reduced. You will need 1/2 cup of reduced cider. Transfer cider to a separate container and allow to cool in the refrigerator as make the donuts.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a mini muffin pan or donut pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth. Whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, and 1/2 cup of the cooled apple cider reduction.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and very gently mix together with a whisk. Whisk until all ingredients are just combined. It is OK if small lumps remain, but not many.

Pour the batter into the mini muffin pan, filling 3/4 of the way full. You'll only need a couple teaspoons of batter for each. Do the same if you are making whole donuts. 

Bake the donut holes for 9-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The donuts will take the same amount of time.

For the topping:

Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Dip the donuts all the way into the cinnamon sugar, using your hands to mix it around so the entire donut hole (or donut) is coated generously. Repeat with all the donuts.

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apple pound cake

Cream cheese pound cake made extra moist and sweet with chunks of apples.

One of the hardest parts for me when traveling a lot for work is being away from the kitchen, especially when it comes to baking. I love trying out new local spots for the places I visit and I love sampling sweet treats. But nothing really compares to making something special at home.

After being gone for what seems like forever, I needed to get into the kitchen. After the cookies from yesterday it seems a bit much to make pound cake too.  This recipe even made two loaves.  Overkill yes.

This pound cake has butter and sugar - everything a proper pound cake should include -  plus chunks of apples to give it a Fall spin. Seriously delicious.  One night we even grilled up some slices in butter and topped it with vanilla ice cream. It wasn't chocolate but even I couldn't deny it was good.

Apple Pound Cake

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 75 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert apple fall

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Ingredients (2 loaves)

• 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup apples, diced and peeled
• 2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degree oven.

In a stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Add sugar, beating until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Turn mixer off and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Turn mixer to low and add in flour and salt.

Remove bowl from stand and fold in the diced apples.

Pour batter into two bread loaf pans that have been greased generously. In preheated oven for 75 minutes. The bread should be golden and set but not too browned.

Remove from oven and cool in pans for about 10 minutes before removing. Finish cooling on rack.

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pumpkin chocolate chip cookies {SRC}

Chewy chocolate chip cookies with a hint of pumpkin. 

I think October has flown by faster than any month I have ever experience. It is almost like it didn't happen. I barely posted any apple recipes and now our local orchard is saying this is the last week for Pick Your Own.  And pumpkin. Well that hasn't even started...that is until today.


This month for the Secret Recipe Club I had the pleasure of shopping Table for Seven's blog for a recipe.  There were so many savory meals that looks amazing but I was feeling a bit sweet. I picked the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies because chocolate and cookies are a given.  Plus, I was needed to get on the pumpkin bandwagon.  I love pumpkin and look forward to this time of year pretty much every other time of year. 

This recipe was so easy to put together and didn't make a boat load of cookies that I would feel obligated to eat all at once.  The pumpkin and cinnamon flavor definitely come out but they aren't overwhelming. And I really like that these were chewy cookies and not cake-like.  Mr. J ate two immediately and wanted more before I told him no more till pictures were done. 

If you don't know Table for Seven, stop on over and say Hi to Erin. There is lots to see from recipes to cute family photos!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Table for Seven

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate pumpkin cookie

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Ingredients (12 large cookies)

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 TBSP butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 2 TBSP pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cooking sheets with parchment paper or spray light with non stick cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together flours baking soda and cinnamon.

In another mixing bowl, whisk sugars, butter, egg, pumpkin puree and vanilla together. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until smooth.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop even spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Once removed from oven, let them sit about 5 minutes on pans before removing to a cooling rack.

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salted caramel apple crisp {Happy Birthday}

Happy Birthday Mr. J!!

For one month I am officially older than Mr. J.  For the other eleven months of the year we are the same age.

Fun fact about us.  My birthday is 9/10. His birthday is 10/9.  I think that means we were made for each other. 

Sadly he got a cold yesterday.  We will save the big time celebrating for later this weekend but I couldn't let the day pass without giving him a little something special. 

He doesn't like cake. Typically birthdays mean apple pie. This year he said he didn't need a pie but would take whatever apple dessert I concocted.  

This week has been busy for both of us so not having to make pie was music to my ears.  Apple crisp seemed appropriate enough but to jazz it up a bit for a birthday I added salted caramel on top.  Apples. Caramel sauce. Crumb topping.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Happy Birthday Hubby!!

Salted Caramel Apple Crisp

Adapted slightly from Mother Thyme

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients (serves 8)

For the Topping

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter cut into to small cubes
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Filling

• 3 pounds apples, peeled and sliced ( I used Gala, they need to be crisp apples)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the Topping

In a large mixing bowl add butter cubes, flour, oats, sugars, cinnamon and salt. Using a pastry cutter, chop up the butter until mixture is crumbly.

For the Filling

Toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and toss to coat.

In a large oven safe skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add apples and cook, stirring occasionally until just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Use 1/4 cup of store bought caramel sauce to pour on top of apples. Evenly sprinkle with crumb mixture.

Transfer skillet to oven and bake for about 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and remaining caramel sauce.

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