Autumn Recipe Roundup

It's no secret that autumn is my favorite season. And fall foods are my favorite of all the seasonal foods. So with October 1 just around the corner, here are some yummies to enjoy this season!

Pumpkin Apple Cider - Take the classic spiced hot apple cider and inject some pumpkin into the mix.

Pumpkin Coconut Pancakes - Coconut and pumpkin may not be obvious friends, but their flavors go together so beautifully.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Bourbon Glaze - A labor of love, but oh is it lovely to eat these!

Harvest Galette with Gruyere, Acorn Squash, and Caramelized Onions - Don't let the poor quality of my photo scare you off. (Seriously, what is happening with that onion situation?) This galette is one of my favorite dinners I've ever made.

Pumpquinoa - Pumpkin stuffed with quinoa, sausage, cheese, herbs, and veggies . . . what's not to love? See also version 2.0.

Sausage- and Apple-Stuffed Acorn Squash - Again, not a great photo, but these squash boats are super tasty and not very hard to make. And although I make a big deal about pumpkin, acorn squash is secretly my favorite.

Balsamic Roasted Pumpkin and Friends - A simple roasted side dish. Chopping everything does take some time, but the end result is worth it!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies - Easy and delicious!

Pumpkin Monkey Bread - Need I say more? Really?

And a few from around the interwebs:

• Balsamic Onions, Ricotta, and Butternut Squash Galette - Do yourself a favor and make this. It's a bit time intensive due to the different components, but it's well worth it. I've gotten rave reviews from friends both times I've made this galette.
• Pumpkin Poblano Casserole - I saw this recipe recently in a Cooking Light magazine and am SO excited to try it out!
• Pear Cranberry Crisp - Pears and cranberries, warming spices, and an oatmeal crisp topping. Yes, please! 

What are you looking forward to making this season?

Pumpquinoa, Version 2.0

For this year's pumpkin party, I wanted to carry on the Pumpquinoa tradition, but also wanted to change it up a bit. After reading through many stuffed pumpkin recipes, I settled on adding chopped apples, celery, and cranberries in place of the carrots. For the cheeses, I used Gruyere and Parmesan instead of monterey jack and pepper jack--and since Gruyere and Parmesan have a stronger flavor than the jack cheeses, I ended up using less cheese in order to let all the ingredients shine. Havarti would also be good, and I wonder how Brie would have tasted.

This year I also really wanted to use a Cinderella pumpkin, since I'd heard that they have much better flavor than the standard jack-o-lantern pumpkins I've used before. Miss Cinderella definitely did have a fuller flavor than old Jack, and she was quite lovely! On the other hand, she was a little more expensive, and my guests have always seemed perfectly happy with Jack in the past. So use whichever type of pumpkin strikes your fancy.

Overall, I really liked this fruited version of the filling, though I think I like the original a tiny bit better. While the cranberries and apples added a pleasant sweetness, I missed the carrots and the slight kick from the pepper jack cheese.

One final note. I'm not usually a big fan of kitchen gadgets that do only one thing. However, late last fall I spotted this pumpkin scraper/scooper in the store and bought it. Lemme tell ya' . . . it came in really handy while scooping all the seeds and stringiness out of this big pumpkin! The toothed edge scraped and scooped much more efficiently than the basic small soup spoons I normally use. The scoop is large enough that it probably won't fit inside a smaller pumpkin or other winter squash, but several weeks ago I used it on an acorn squash that I'd quartered, and it worked nicely.

Stuffed Pumpkin with Quinoa, Sausage, and Apples
Adapted from my pumpquinoa recipe and many other stuffed pumpkin recipes
Yield: 12+ servings

Ingredients
1 Cinderella pumpkin
2-2/3 cups quinoa (uncooked)
1 lb. ground pork sausage
1 lb. ground turkey sausage
2 cups finely chopped onion
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chopped Granny Smith apples
1 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup white wine
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Pinch of cayenne
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
5 oz. Parmesan cheese, shredded, divided

Directions
Cut the lid off the pumpkin, being sure to cut at an angle so that, when the pumpkin shrinks while it bakes, the lid will still stay on. Clean out the seeds and stringy parts and set the pumpkin aside. (Keep the seeds and roast them!)

Cook the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa well unless it's pre-rinsed. In a saucepan, bring quinoa, 4 cups water, and a small pinch of salt to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until quinoa is tender but still chewy. For this recipe, I think it's best to slightly undercook the quinoa since it will cook for quite a bit longer inside the pumpkin.

In a large skillet, brown the turkey sausage; drain and set the sausage aside. Return the skillet to the stove, and cook the onion. When it's starting to get tender, add the garlic, apples, celery, and white wine. Increase heat so the wine will evaporate more quickly; cook until the wine is mostly evaporated and the apples and celery are starting to get tender. Remove from heat.

Adjust your oven racks to accommodate a large pumpkin. Preheat oven to 350.

Add the following to a large bowl: cooked quinoa, dried cranberries, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Add the cooked sausage and the onion mixture, then stir well to combine. Reserve a couple handfuls of Parmesan (for topping) then stir in the Gruyere and most of the Parmesan.

Taste; add more seasonings and cheese if desired.

Place your pumpkin on a good-sized baking sheet or pan (it will almost certainly leak some moisture while it cooks, and there's a chance it will collapse and spill its filling while cooking). Scoop the quinoa filling into the cavity of the pumpkin. Top with reserved Parmesan. Place the pumpkin lid on top.

Bake for 1-2 hours, until the pumpkin flesh is soft enough to scoop out and serve, but not so soft that the pumpkin collapses. My Cinderella pumpkin was well done in an hour; previous years' jack-o-lantern pumpkins have taken up to 2 hours. So check it at least after an hour, by poking it with a fork. If desired, remove the pumpkin lid for the last 15-30 minutes of baking time to let the cheese toast a little bit.

Carefully remove from the oven (this may be a two-person job). Transfer to a serving platter if desired (and if the pumpkin flesh is solid enough to be transferred). Serve directly from the pumpkin, scraping out some of the pumpkin flesh to go with each serving.

Note: A lot of the prep can be done ahead of time so that assembly the day of is less of a marathon. I usually brown the meat, cook the quinoa, and chop the onions and celery/carrots the night before. Just warm the meat and quinoa a bit before mixing up all the filling components, and you'll be good.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Bourbon Glaze

I'm not going to write much about these because a) the recipe is really long with several notes at the end, and b) I think the title speaks for itself. But I will say this: these cinnamon rolls took a boatload of time, and they were worth EVERY second. They turned out sweet, gooey, super soft, and basically the same thing as happiness on a plate.

One quick matter of business before we get to the recipe. I opted to mix and knead the dough in my bread maker. So the dough-making directions below are taken almost word-for-word from The Pioneer Woman, and I cannot personally vouch for how the process works. This was a little too much dough for my bread machine (most of its recipes call for 3 cups flour, and this recipe has 4-1/2) so it overflowed a bit but thankfully didn't make too big a mess. If you go the bread machine route, make sure your machine can handle this much volume, or cut the recipe in half.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Bourbon Glaze

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman 
Glaze adapted from my Pumpkin Monkey Bread recipe
Yield: 24 rolls

Dough 
1-1/2 cups milk (I used 2%; original recipe was for whole milk)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 envelope)
1 cup pumpkin puree
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 cup additional all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Additional flour for kneading and rolling

Filling
3/4 cup butter, melted, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used dark)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
8 oz. cream cheese, very soft (I used reduced fat)
1 cup finely chopped pecans

Glaze
6 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. brown sugar (I used dark)
2 Tbsp. rum or bourbon

Directions
Make the dough:* In a large saucepan, combine milk, vegetable oil, and sugar. Heat until hot but not boiling; remove from the stove and allow it to cool until it's warm to the touch but not too hot. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the liquid and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Stir in pumpkin puree.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Sprinkle it into the saucepan and stir until it just comes together. Cover with a dish towel and set in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour.

After an hour, the mixture should be very puffy and at least doubled in size. Whisk together the additional 1/2 cup flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into the dough until fully combined.

Roll out the dough: Dust your countertop and hands with flour. Turn dough out onto the counter and form into a rectangle. If it's too sticky, work in additional flour until it's handleable, but don't work in too much extra flour.** Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle, roughly 30 inches wide by 10 inches deep.

Add the fillings: Melt 3/4 cup butter and set aside to cool slightly. In a small bowl, combine sugar and filling spices. Dot the dough with globs of softened cream cheese, then use a dull butter knife (or the back of a spoon) to carefully spread it.*** It will not spread perfectly; that's okay. Pour about 1/4 cup of the melted butter over the dough and cream cheese, and use your fingers to spread it around evenly. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over the surface of the dough, followed by the pecans. Pour the remaining butter into two 9 x 13 x 2 inch pans, and swirl it around so it evenly coats the pans.

Roll, cut, and bake: For a more manageable rolling process, cut the dough in half, so you're left with two rectangles that are 15 inches wide by 10 inches deep. Starting at the top, roll each rectangle toward you into a large log, rolling as tightly as possible as you go. I frequently had to use a floured rubber spatula with a sharp edge to gently loosen the dough from the counter. End the rolling process the with seam down on the counter.

Use a sharp (floured) knife or dental floss to cut each of the two logs into 12 rolls (I find it's helpful to make hash marks before cutting). Nestle the rolls into the buttered pans. Cover each pan with a damp towel (one that's okay if it gets stained) and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 20 minutes. (Tip: Heat oven to 200, turn OFF, and place rolls in the warmed oven to rise.)

If rolls are rising in the oven, remove them. Preheat oven to 375. Bake for 15-25 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges, rotating the pans halfway through. Mine took exactly 20 minutes.

Make the glaze: Combine butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, and bourbon in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 3-5 minutes, until sugar is dissolved and browned, butter is nice and foamy, and some of the alcohol has cooked out. Drizzle glaze evenly over the cinnamon rolls. Let them cool for a few minutes before serving.

Notes
*Alternatively, if you have a bread machine that's big enough, put all dough ingredients into a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Use the dough cycle to make the dough, knead it, and let it rise.

**At this point Ree said the dough should be really sticky, and you should work in just enough flour so you can handle the dough. At this point, mine was more like batter than dough, so I ended up working in at least another cup of flour before I could actually handle the dough. Perhaps I mis-measured the flour initially, or maybe the bread machine method made for a wetter dough.

***On all the fillings, leave a 1/2 inch edge along the bottom of the rectangle with no filling. This will help it seal better when you roll everything up.

Coconut Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

I'm going to start with two apologies. Okay three. First, I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. Let's blame surgery for that one. Lots of time prepping for surgery and dealing with insurance companies + having little energy after surgery = not so much time for cooking. Add to that awesome friends who brought me meals, and my kitchen has been lying fairly dormant the last few weeks.

Second, I know I've been overloading you with pumpkin lately (is there such a thing as too much pumpkin?), but bear with me for one more pumpkin recipe because this one is perfect for Thanksgiving. (Okay two more, because I have a pumpkin cinnamon rolls recipe that's begging to be shared.)

Third, forgive the lack of good photos. I made this pie for a Thanksgiving gathering of friends last night, and my focus was on spending time with my friends rather than bringing my nice camera and finding a spot with good lighting and yadda yadda yadda. So a quick camera phone snapshot will have to do. But the recipe is yummy enough to share even without mouthwatering photos to go with it.

Now that that's over with, let's move on. I'm always a fan of putting a fresh spin on a classic, and I'm always a fan of putting pumpkin and coconut together. So when I saw this Pumpkin Coconut Pie recipe in the latest Food Network Magazine, it wasn't a hard decision to make it for house church Thanksgiving.

Fun tidbit: This was my first time to make pumpkin pie. Ever.

I took the filling from the Pumpkin Coconut Pie recipe and swapped out the crust for a chocolate one based on this Pumpkin-Chocolate Chiffon Pie, also from Food Network Magazine. I thought the result was delightful, and I received several compliments on the pie. The texture was nice and creamy, and the flavor was not overly sweet or overly spiced. The coconut flavor came through nicely and played well with the chocolate and pumpkin.

So if you haven't nailed down your desserts yet for your Thanksgiving feast(s), I'd highly recommend including this pie in the dessert spread.

Coconut Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from Food Network 
Yield: 1 pie, 8-10 servings

For the crust
5 oz. chocolate graham crackers (1/3 of a 15-oz. box)
1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

For the filling and topping
1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. rum or coconut rum (optional)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 to 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut (for topping)

Directions
Make the crust: Spray a 9-inch pie plate and preheat the oven to 350. Pulse/process the graham crackers and coconut in a food processor until finely ground. Pour into a bowl and mix in the 3 Tbsp. sugar and melted butter. Stir with a fork and/or your fingers until well combined. Pour into prepared pie plate, pressing the crumb mixture along the bottom and up the sides. Bake 15-20 minutes, until set, and move to a rack to cool completely.

While the crust cooks then cools, make the filling: Reduce oven temp to 325. In a large bowl, gently whisk together all of the filling ingredients (except shredded coconut) until combined. Pour into cooled crust and place the pie on a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the center of the pie is almost set but still jiggles a bit. Move to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, toast the coconut: Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Spread out the shredded coconut in the pan and cook, stirring often, until toasted and fragrant. Remove to a plate to cool. When the pie comes out of the oven, sprinkle toasted coconut around the edges of the pie.

Notes

• For the crust, the original recipe said to do everything in the food processor. However, I got sugar lodged in the crevices of my lid, so when I went to take the lid off in order to add the butter, I almost couldn't get the lid off because of the sugar granules stuck between the lid and the bowl. So as you can see above, I rewrote the directions above so the sugar wouldn't be in the food processor. I think it's good to have the coconut and graham crackers whirling around in there together, though, so the coconut gets chopped up a bit more. 
• The original crust recipe also suggested adding 1/4 tsp. orange zest to the crust. I left that out because I already had a good trio of chocolate-coconut-pumpkin and didn't want to risk having too many flavors. If you try it with the orange zest, I'd love to hear how it turns out!
• Be sure to allow plenty of time for the pie to cool. 

Sugar and Spice Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

In one of my Penzeys orders, I got a jar of Tsardust Memories, which Penzeys describes as, "Warm and spicy-sweet, this blend is awesome with ground beef - burgers, meatloaf, meatballs, casseroles... Excellent in hearty soups and stews, and one of the best things ever on pork chops... Hand-mixed from: salt, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, marjoram."

Though I haven't yet managed to grace some pork chops with this Russian blend, Tsardust Memories came in quite handy when seasoning some pumpkin seeds for roasting. It's a great blend of sweet and savory flavors, and the cinnamon and nutmeg are perfect for cooler months! If you don't have any Tsardust Memories, it's okay--just use a combination of salt, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and marjoram (or oregano).

Sugar and Spice Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
From me! I didn't measure a single ingredient, so these amounts are guesses I made afterward. 

Ingredients
Seeds from 1 pumpkin - strings removed, but NOT rinsed
Dark brown sugar - approx 1 Tbsp
Tsardust Memories - approx 1/2 to 1 tsp. (or use salt, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and marjoram)
Cinnamon - small to medium sprinkle - maybe 1/4 tsp
Chipotle powder - small sprinkle

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or foil plus cooking spray--these will be sticky!).

In a small bowl, sprinkle seasonings over the pumpkin seeds, and stir well. Spread seeds in an even layer on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes; stir; bake for an additional 5-8 minutes, until toasted and crispy but not too dark.

Allow to cool before serving.

Pumpkin Cider

I promised lots of pumpkin, and I'm here to deliver! This is kind of a recipe, but perhaps it's more of a starting point for you to hopefully draw some inspiration and adapt to meet your own cider preferences.

I like my cider spiced but not overpoweringly spiced, because I want to be able to taste the apple and pumpkin. So I always go easy on the spices when I first put everything into the slow cooker, then taste about an hour before serving and add more spices if needed.

I've made this pumpkin cider several times, after stealing the idea and basic ingredients from one of my college friends, Olivia. Every time I've made it, it's been warm, cozy, well-received by my guests, and perfect for a cool autumn evening. I like the twist on normal spiced cider, and it's easy to throw everything in the slow cooker early in the day, and let it do its thing.

Pumpkin Apple Cider
Inspired by Olivia
Yield: 10 servings if using 12-oz. cups

Ingredients (all measurements are approximate)
1 gallon apple cider (more or less depending on the size of your slow cooker)
1 to 1-1/2 cups orange juice
1/2 of a 15-oz. can pumpkin puree
2-3 cinnamon sticks
1 orange
10ish whole cloves
Sprinkling of ground ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon

Directions
Press the cloves into the orange. Pour all ingredients into a slow cooker, and stir with a whisk to distribute the pumpkin and spices evenly throughout the cider. Let simmer for several hours (I turned my slow cooker on high for the first hour to warm everything, then turned it down for the rest of the afternoon).

About an hour before time to serve, stir and taste. Add more spices if needed, and remove the orange if it's getting too clovey or too orangey. Continue to simmer. Stir before serving.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

All you non-pumpkin-lovers out there, I'm gonna need you to bear with me for the next few posts. Because there's been a LOT of pumpkin going through my kitchen lately. Pumpkin apple cider, sugar and spice roasted pumpkin seeds, another round of pumpquinoa, and hopefully soon some pumpkin soup. But first, some pumpkin snickerdoodles.

When you love pumpkin as outspokenly as I do, friends tend to think of you when they see amazing-sounding pumpkin recipes. Which is awesome, because not only am I finding delicious pumpkin recipes from around the interwebs, but I'm also receiving the best of the recipes that my friends are finding! Such was the case with this pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe. One of my friends sent me this recipe in late August when it was still regularly in the high 90s, and it sat there in my Facebook inbox torturing me for about a month before it got cool enough for me to justify making them.

They were worth the wait! They were lightly sweet, nicely spiced, and a wonderful excuse to use pumpkin! They were a little more cakey than I'd like, but I learned from another friend that leaving the egg out of pumpkin cookie recipes makes for a less cakey cookie. Apparently the pumpkin plays the role that the egg normally would, so having both is unnecessary.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Adapted ever-so-slightly from Recipe Girl
Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg (omit for less cakey cookies)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Rolling Sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice

Directions
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter until fluffy. Add white sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin, and beat well. Mix in egg (if using) and vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Working with a little bit at a time, mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, just until incorporated.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour, until dough becomes slightly firm. Mix together the rolling sugar ingredients; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350, and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Shape the cookie dough into balls, using about 1-1/2 Tbsp. of dough for each one. Roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar mixture, coating well. Place on cookie sheets and press slightly for taller cookies like mine, or press more for flatter cookies.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until they are slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to finish cooling.

Pumpkin Coconut Pancakes

I'm officially declaring it fall in my household! I was going to try to hold off until either October 1 or until it was cool for several days in a row. But it was cool two days in a row, I was forced (using the term loosely) to order a pumpkin latte, Kelly brought molasses cookies to house church, and there were cute little pumpkins for sale in the produce section.

So I caved. Each sink in my house is adorned with autumn-scented hand soap. My table will soon have a centerpiece comprised of the aforementioned cute little pumpkins. And I made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast.

Pumpkin Coconut Pancakes

Adapted from Naturally Ella
Yield: 6 pancakes (2-3 servings)

Ingredients
1/3 cup pecan pieces (plus a couple pinches for garnish)
1/2 cup flaked coconut
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 cup milk

Directions
In a dry skillet over medium to medium-low heat, toast pecans just until lightly toasted and fragrant. Shake the pan frequently to keep them from burning. Remove from skillet to cool. Return the same skillet to the stove and toast the coconut, again shaking to help the coconut toast evenly and keep from burning. Remove from skillet and cool.

Reserve a few pinches of coconut and pecans for garnish.

When pecans are cool, chop until pretty fine. (Or, for more of a flour texture, pulse in a small food processor until the pecans resemble a coarse flour. Don't process too much, or it will start to turn into pecan butter.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: pecans, coconut, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. In a small bowl or 2-cup measuring cup, whisk together the wet ingredients: pumpkin, egg, oil, syrup, and milk. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir just until combined. If the batter seems too thick, add a bit more milk.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, scoop out 1/4 cup batter and pour onto the skillet. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles appear around the edges. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until nicely browned.

Topping ideas:
Maple syrup and/or honey
Butter
Toasted coconut
Toasted pecans
Sliced bananas and/or apples
Sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

It was 92 degrees today where I live, but my friends in the Northeast got snow. So it's not too late for pumpkin recipes, right?

I've never been consistently good at cookies--and more often than not have been consistently bad at cookies--but I'm proud to say I've successfully made these babies twice. Both times elicited much praise and many happy sighs from my coworkers, and both times I confess I ate far more cookies than someone who's trying to maintain her weight should.

Most grocery stores carry cinnamon chips in the same section as chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. If you want a chewier cookie, make the cookies a little larger; if you want crispier, make them smaller. I recommend the chewy option, myself.

Whether it still feels like winter where you are, already feels like summer, or is somewhere in between, I hope you enjoy these little bites of pumpkiny oatmeal goodness.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

Printer-friendly
Slightly adapted from Eats Well with Others
Yield: 3 dozen

Ingredients
1-1/4 cups flour (I use 1 cup all-purpose, 1/4 cup whole wheat)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups cinnamon chips

Directions
Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a second bowl, use a mixer to cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until well-combined, scraping down the sides as necessary. Stir in the pumpkin puree.

Slowly add in the flour mixture. Fold in the oats and cinnamon chips.

Preheat oven to 375 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop the dough by the Tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are set and golden. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

per cookie, from My Fitness Pal

Pumpkin Monkey Bread

Most of the time, I try to cook fairly healthy food. But friends, there is nothing healthy about this recipe. Nothing. I didn’t look up the nutrition stats, because why would we want to know? If we’re going to indulge, let’s do it right—and part of doing it right means living in ignorant, syrupy bliss about the calories, sat fat, and sugar. Right? Right.

This monkey bread adventure began with my friend Lauren sharing with me a recipe she found for Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread. I drooled, thanked her profusely, and immediately put it on my “must make” list. Now, recipes sometimes sit on said list for quite some time, because I read way too many food blogs and food magazines, and add recipes to this list much more quickly than I can actually make them. Several weeks later my friend Jordan showed up to work one day with leftovers from her weekend of baking, and one of them was this same recipe! Then I posted on my blog that I might make this bread during Thanksgiving week. My friend Megan saw my link on Facebook, commented that she thought she’d make it, then several hours later followed up with, “Make it. MAKE IT! You will not regret it!” She was right.

I bought this mug for 49 cents at Goodwill. I chose this
particular one because it's the color of pumpkins.

Based on feedback from both Megan and Jordan that the rolling-out-slicing-stacking-slicing-more-and-arranging-in-the-pan method in the original recipe was really complicated and made for a big cinnamon-and-sugar mess all over the kitchen, I decided to make mine more like a monkey bread. Also, the shape of the bread pieces in the original recipe kinda weirds me out a little. I’m not sure why. Don’t judge me.

I used my bread machine to make the dough; but if you don’t have a bread machine, you can follow the dough-making steps on the original recipe. I also wanted a more syrupy, less glazey sauce to pour on top, so I made it more like the buttered rum sauce from my Pumpkin French Toast Casserole. Oh, and since my house was cold because I’m too cheap to turn on the furnace, I used this tip when it was time for the dough to rise a second time:

“Searching for a warm draft-free place to allow yeasted bread to rise? Preheat oven to 350° for about 2 minutes. Turn off and place covered bowl in warm oven.”

Now, there are a lot of steps here, but none of them are hard. This bread will take a lot of time from start to finish, but a lot of that time is spent waiting. So this is a great recipe to make when you have a long, leisurely morning (or afternoon), with plenty of time between each step to clean the kitchen, do laundry, watch TV, listen to the movie your neighbors are watching next-door, write, process food photos, or do whatever else strikes your fancy.

Pumpkin Monkey Bread

Adapted from Willow Bird Baking, as seen on Sunny Side Up
Yield: 1 loaf pan
Printer-friendly

Bread Ingredients
2 Tbsp. browned butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2-1/2 to 3 cups flour
2-1/4 tsp. (1 envelope) active dry yeast – or 1 generous tsp. rapid rise/bread machine yeast

Coating Ingredients
2 Tbsp. browned butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Sauce Ingredients
3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. rum (or appropriate amount of rum extract or vanilla extract)

Directions
To brown the butter: Heat butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook until the butter turns medium-dark golden brown and smells irresistible. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan. The butter will continue to cook a bit in the pan, so take that into account when you decide how dark to let the butter get before removing it from the heat.

To make the dough: In a bread machine pan, combine the bread ingredients in the order recommended by your bread machine manufacturer. Select the dough cycle and let it do its thing. For the flour measurement, start with 2-1/2 cups, and when you machine gives you the, “Hey! Check on the dough and see how it’s doing!” beep, add more flour if needed. Mine definitely needed it. My machine’s dough cycle includes an hour for the first rise. If yours doesn’t, be sure to let your dough rise in a warm place for about an hour before continuing.

To prepare the coating: Brown some more butter; set aside. In a large, wide bowl, combine the sugars and spices for the coating. Grease a loaf pan.

To assemble the monkey bread: When dough has risen, punch it down and turn out onto a clean, floured surface. Knead a few times with your hands. You can work in a bit of flour here, but not too much, because you’ll want the dough to be sticky. Pinch (or cut) off small amounts of dough and roll into balls about an inch in diameter. Roll in the sugar mixture and arrange in the prepared loaf pan. Be sure to get them good and heavily coated with the sugar mixture. About halfway through, drizzle a bit less than half of the browned butter over the sugared dough balls. When all the dough balls are in the pan, drizzle the rest of the browned butter over the top. Cover pan with a clean, damp towel and allow dough to rise for 30-45 minutes.

Note: You should have quite a bit of sugar mixture left over at the end of my assembly process, and it may be tempting to sprinkle it into the pan. Don’t. I was tempted, too, and I’m really glad I didn't  This bread is going to be insanely sweet and rich as-is, and I think that if ALL that sugary goodness was mixed in, it’d be too much. So, either discard the excess sugar mixture, or save it for some future use. You could even use some of it for the sauce.

To bake the deliciousness: Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until top is deep, golden brown. It helps to tent the pan with foil for the first 20 minutes of baking time, and remove the foil for the remaining 10-20 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack for 20 minutes. Go a little crazy with anticipation.

To make the sauce: Heat your skillet once more over medium heat and whisk together butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup until sugar is dissolved and butter is browned. Remove from heat; whisk in the rum.

To serve: Use a plastic knife to loosen the sides of the bread from the pan, and carefully turn it out onto a plate. Place another plate on top, and flip it so it’s now right-side-up on the second plate. Pour butter rum sauce over top, and serve.

I've always kind of hated my blue counters, but they sure do provide
nice, photogenic contrast to orange, pumpkin-based dishes.  

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole with Buttered Rum Sauce

This is my new favorite breakfast. It’s cozy. It’s sweet and spiced. It’s got crunchy pieces and gooey pieces. It’s perfect for a 46-degree Saturday morning when you’re still trying to make it another month before firing up the furnace.

For the French toast casserole part, I pretty much followed a halved version of a recipe on Buns in My Oven. Though honey oat bread is my favorite French toast base, so I used that instead of French bread. I also decided to cube my bread instead of slicing it and doing two layers in the pan. Mostly because I didn’t start the bread soon enough the night before and wanted desperately to go to bed. So cutting the fresh hot bread into cubes was how I could make it cool more quickly so I could assemble the casserole. I’m pretty happy with my decision, though I suppose maybe this should be called bread pudding since the bread is cubed. (?) In fact, if you need a good dessert idea, call this bread pudding and—voila!—you’ll have a dessert instead of a breakfast.

For the sauce, I combined elements of Paula Deen’s praline topping recipe as seen on Buns in My Oven, with elements of the buttered rum sauce from this Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread recipe that a friend shared with me (yes, I will be making that recipe soon).

Part way through baking, I was worried that the cubes on top would turn into croutons and be unpleasant. But the texture was great! Pouring the buttered rum sauce on top part way through baking helped moisten the top layer. Parts of the top layer were definitely more crispy (though not quite crouton consistently, thankfully), which provided a nice contrast to the gooeier layer below.

This casserole reheated really well, though the texture was not quite as nice and varied when reheated.

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole with Buttered Rum Sauce

Adapted from Buns in My Oven

Yield: 4 servings (one 11 x 7 dish)

Ingredients

About 8 oz. bread, cubed (I used honey oat bread)

1 Tbsp. melted butter

3/4 cup milk

2-1/2 eggs (2 eggs + 1 egg white)

3/8 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ginger

Pinch of cloves

For the sauce

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 Tbsp. rum (or substitute vanilla extract; or substitute 1/4-1/2 tsp. rum extract)

Directions

The night before: Spray an 11 x 7 inch glass pan and arrange bread cubes in the bottom. Whisk together remaining ingredients (through cloves). I find that the whisk attachment on my immersion blender is great for whisking eggs and leaving no globs behind. Pour over the bread cubes; cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

The morning of: Remove casserole from fridge. Preheat oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, for 40-60 minutes, until casserole is browned and heated through. Mine took 40 minutes, but the recipe I was following said 50-60 minutes.

For the buttered rum sauce: About 20-30 minutes into the casserole’s bake time, put butter into a microwave-safe dish. Microwave in 20-second intervals until melted. Stir in brown sugar and stir until mostly dissolved. It may require a couple more 20-second trips to the microwave. Stir in pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and rum/vanilla/extract. Remove casserole from oven and drizzle with sauce. Return to the oven for the remainder of the baking time.

When it’s finished baking, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before digging in. You can eat it as-is, or add a drizzle of honey or syrup and/or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Ideas for next time

• For extra rich and gooey, I might make twice as much buttered rum sauce—half of it for pouring on top of the casserole for the last 10-20 minutes of baking time, and half saved to drizzle on right before eating. Especially if serving as a dessert rather than as breakfast. 
• I wonder what this would be like with light coconut milk instead of regular milk. And/or coconut oil instead of butter in the sauce.

Pumpquinoa

What, you may ask, is pumpquinoa? An excellent question, my friends! It's what you get when you stuff a pumpkin with a quinoa mixture. Pumpkin + quinoa = pumpquinoa. My friends Angie and Elizabeth deserve credit for coming up with the term. I'm still struggling with which syllable to stress (PUMP-keen-wah or pump-KEEN-wah). Neither one sounds exactly right rolling off the tongue, but this pumpquinoa tastes pretty good landing on the tongue.

At this year's pumpkin party, I got to make the big stuffed pumpkin dish that has become a staple at these annual pumpkin parties. For this distinct honor and distinguished occasion, I adapted a tasty-looking Quinoa-Stuffed Squash recipe from Cooking Light.

This is my favorite recipe I've made in a while, and I hope you like it as much as my fellow pumpkin party goers and I did!

Note, October 2016: I've been tinkering with this recipe every year and have decided it's time to incorporate those changes into this original recipe. Additions include celery, fresh sage, fresh rosemary, white wine, less quinoa, and a different kind of pumpkin.

Pumpquinoa

Yield: 16 servings
Adapted from Cooking Light
Printer-friendly version

Ingredients
1-1/2 to 2 cups dry quinoa (yields ~4-1/2 to 6 cups cooked)
1 pumpkin (mine was 13 lbs.)
2 lbs. ground turkey sausage
2 cups finely chopped carrot
2 cups finely chopped onion (I used yellow)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup white wine (I used cheap chardonnay)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2-4 Tbsp. minced fresh sage
2-4 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
Generous 1/2 tsp. dried thyme (or 1/2 Tbsp. fresh)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper
Cayenne pepper, to taste
6 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (reduced fat, if available)
6 oz. pepper Jack cheese, shredded (reduced fat, if available)

Directions
Cook the quinoa according to package directions, but use a 1:1.5 (rather than 1:2) ratio of quinoa to water. This will result in less mushy quinoa. Also be sure to include a pinch of salt in the cooking water.

Cut the lid off the pumpkin, being sure to cut at an angle so that, when the pumpkin shrinks while it bakes, the lid will still stay on. Clean out the seeds and stringy parts and set the pumpkin aside.

Brown the turkey sausage; drain and remove sausage to another dish. Sauté carrot, onion, celery, and garlic in the skillet for a couple minutes over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/2 cup water and white wine; increase heat to high, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the veggies are tender but not mushy.

Preheat oven to 350 (and arrange racks to accommodate a tall pumpkin).

In a large bowl combine sausage, carrot mixture, cooked quinoa, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, cayenne, and all but 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cheese. Taste--savor the moment!--and add more salt, pepper, or cayenne if needed. Taste some more, just for kicks.

Pour the quinoa mixture into prepared pumpkin, top with reserved cheese, and place the lid on the pumpkin. Put the pumpkin in a roaster pan or on a cookie sheet with sides.

Bake for about 2 hours, checking every 15 minutes once you reach the 1-1/2-hour mark.* You want the pumpkin flesh to be soft enough that you can scrape it out with a spoon when you dish up the quinoa filling, but not so soft that the pumpkin collapses.

Carefully remove from the oven (this was a two-person job for me and my co-hostesses). Transfer to a serving platter and, if desired, dress up the platter with some fresh parsley sprigs. Serve straight from the pumpkin, scraping out some pumpkin meat to go with each serving.

*Note: I've made this with basic jack-o-lantern pumpkins, as pictured here, but I like it better with Cinderella pumpkins, which are more flavorful and prettier. My first Cinderella pumpkin was extremely tender after just 1 hour in the oven, and my second one was still a little al dente after about 1-1/2 hours. So I recommend that you plan for 1-1/2 hours but check it after 45-60 minutes. The good news is that, if it cooks quickly and is done earlier than you need it, it does hold really well. Just take it out of the oven and keep the lid on, and it'll stay nice and hot.

Comments
This was phenomenal! Savory with the sausage, with a bit of kick from the cayenne and pepper Jack cheese, and delightfully autumnal and festive. The carrots were still a bit crisp which complemented the soft quinoa and chewy sausage. I don't say this very often with it comes to recipes, but I don't think I'll change a single thing next time I make this for a big group. When I make it for just myself I'll obviously scale it down and cook in a little pie pumpkin or some other squash that strikes my fancy. But as far as flavors, ingredients, and ratios, I think this was just right! (2016 me here. Well, those comments about not changing a thing are ironic.)

A little peek inside before baking.
Sorry about the blurriness of the iPhone photo.

Pumpkin Chai Latte

I have nothing profound to say about this chai latte. Just that it's good. If you make it, I hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin Chai Latte

Adapted slightly from babble.com
Yield: 1 large mug

1-1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
2 chai teabags
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 packets Truvia, or sweetener of choice
2 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
Scant 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. maple syrup

Pour milk, teabags, vanilla, and Truvia into a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until milk is just about to boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and discard teabags.

Meanwhile, in a large mug, whisk together pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup. Add milk mixture to mug and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust sweetness or spices if desired.

Notes:

• More often than not, one or both of my teabags manages to break. If this happens, just pour milk mixture over a fine mesh strainer when adding to your mug.
• You could heat everything in the microwave rather than stovetop. I feel like the chai steeps better on the stove, and it feels a little more like a treat to warm the beverage on the stove rather than zap it in the microwave.

Nutritional Information (compliments of My Fitness Pal):
163 calories; 0.9 g. fat; 29.7 g. total carbs (1.4 g. dietary fiber, 5.5 g. sugars); 13.1 g. protein

Fall (Happy Sigh)

I can't wait for fall. For the crisp nights, cozy meals, and frosted windshields. I wish I could say I've always loved fall, but in actuality, I used to view fall as simply cooler weather (good), going back to school (blah), and gearing up for the main event: Christmas. But within the past few years, fall has become my favorite season. One year, in an attempt to keep myself from breaking out the Christmas music in September, a friend and I wrote a blitz of fall-themed parodies of Christmas carols and church songs. Another friend invited me to her All Saints Day pumpkin parties (yes, we're theology nerds even when it comes to food-themed parties). Starbucks' pumpkin spice lattes happened. And I discovered the exquisite joy and versatility of cooking fall/winter squash and roasting vegetables.

This year, I'm especially ready for fall. My heart skips a beat every time I see predicted high temps below 85. I love the sound of the marching band practicing during lunch. I've been drooling over pumpkin recipes that keep appearing on my Facebook feed and favorite food blogs. And a couple weeks ago the smell of roasting garlic nearly drove me to tears (not exaggerating; yes, that was a particularly tough week with some emotion that seriously needed to be acknowledged).

But more than the lower temps and nutmeg-infused baking, I'm looking forward to the start of a new season in my life. This summer was hard. Sure, there were bright spots like taking part in a childhood friend's wedding and vacationing in New Mexico. But I spent the first half of the summer watching (and walking alongside) my boss and friend as his health rapidly deteriorated, while fully expecting him to not live through the summer. And I spent the second half of the summer mourning his death and dealing not only with my own emotional upheaval, but also with all the practical upheaval at the office. Someone had to cancel his five thousand email subscriptions, break the news to people who called the office asking for him, go through hundreds of his files, and help empty his office while not knowing who would be moving into it or when.

So I'm ready to close the chapter of summer 2012. Sure, there will still be grief for a long time, and nothing will ever fill the Charles-shaped void in my heart and life. And there are still days when I need to cry over something as emotionally neutral as roasting garlic. But the grief is becoming less intense with each passing week. This week I get to help move a new boss and friend into the office next to mine. A new semester is underway. And soon I will be burning my favorite Pumpkin Carnival candle and cooking my way through recipe lists like these.

Balsamic roasted pumpkin and friends

The fall cooking bug has bitten me. Not just a quick little nibble. No, it’s latched on with iron jaws and will not. Let. Go. Not that I’m really trying to get rid of it, mind you! I spent significant portions of last weekend browsing pumpkin and squash recipes, preparation tips, recipes, articles, and recipes . . . and just drooling and wishing I could make every single one of those recipes.

Side note: Did you know that WebMD has a whole section oncooking? I didn’t! But they do, and it’s great! They have all sorts of articles on things like how to cook healthfully for one or two, how to incorporate convenience foods in a healthy way, how to make healthy changes to recipes you already use, etc. If you’re interested in eating healthy foods, I would highly recommend it.

Anyway . . . needless to say, there are a whole lot of new recipes on my “must try” list, and it will take me awhile to work through them all! Tonight I made Balsamic Roasted Pumpkin and Friends. Even before my weekend of pumpkin recipe searches, I had wanted to roast some fall/winter vegetables. I had already picked up a sugar pumpkin, acorn squash, and sweet potato, and then I came across this recipe. So I used her sauce on my veggies, and the result was phenomenal! The smell alone was enough to drive me a little crazy because it smelled so good! And that first bite was unbelievable! I think heaven is going to taste pretty awesome, and I think that roasted winter squash is going to be among its flavors. Holy cow. Okay, here’s the recipe!

Balsamic Roasted Pumpkin and Friends

Ingredients:

1 sugar pumpkin (the small kind)

1 acorn squash

1 sweet potato, unpeeled and washed

1 yellow onion, cut into wedges

8-12 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Paprika

Salt

Juice of 1 orange

I eyeballed the sauce ingredients. Probably used about 2-3 Tbsp. each of the oil and vinegar, and just kinda sprinkled in the salt and paprika. I also learned from WebMD that pumpkin and sweet potato are denser than acorn squash and, therefore, generally take longer to roast. So I cut my acorn squash into larger chunks than the pumpkin and sweet potato, so they’d all cook pretty evenly.

Directions:

Peel the pumpkin and acorn squash, if desired. I recently learned that acorn squash skin is edible—and actually has lots of nutrients—so I didn’t bother peeling mine since acorn squash can be tricky to peel. Cut squash and pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy fibers. Cube the pumpkin, squash, and sweet potato. Cut up the onion and garlic and dump into a bowl with the other veggies, preferably one with a lid. I did all the above steps the night before and refrigerated overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a couple 9” x 13” pans with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, paprika, salt, and orange juice. Pour over veggies and toss to coat (or put on the lid and shake). Add more salt, paprika, or olive oil if you feel the veggies need it. The goal is to have enough sauce and spices to add a nice flavor to the veggies and keep them moist while roasting, without overwhelming them or making the dish high in fat or sodium. Pour into prepared pans and bake until the veggies are tender, about 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

Yield: 4-6 generous servings.

Verdict and variations: This would be awesome with some pecans sprinkled on near the end of the baking time, though it tastes divine as is. And really, you could use just about any combination of winter squash that roast well. In this dish, my slight favorite was probably the acorn squash.

I ate it with these Easy Turkey and Parmesan Meatballs from Real Simple and some embellished store-bought marinara sauce (I think I added my own garlic, onion, mushrooms, and dried Italian herbs), both of which I made over the weekend. The only things I changed in the meatball recipe were to use half-and-half instead of whole milk, and to use crushed rosemary and olive oil Triscuits instead of breadcrumbs. Oh, and I used a smaller scooper than Real Simple does. I’ve never been a huge fan of meatballs, but these are really good—and fairly healthy! I’m not positive that the combination on my plate was an excellent one, but the meatballs and marinara were delicious, and the pumpkin and friends were even more so! So I ended up a very happy camper!

All ready to roast!

Ready to eat!

Mmmmm!