In A Nutshell

  Attention bargain shoppers: I found this  Nordic Ware autumn cakelet pan at T.J. Maxx for $15! I have found many a Nordic Ware pan at our local T.J. Maxx/Homegoods and have an impressive collection by now. And I’m pretty sure that ‘cakelet’ is an actual word….hear that, autocorrect? Adapted from a recipe in BH&G, I swapped out vegetable oil for olive oil because the resulting earthy moistness pairs well with pumpkin and I scaled it way down to make just 8 little precious cakelets. Now that we are empty-nesters, I find myself doing a lot of mathematics to scale down recipes, but feel free to do a little math yourself and scale back up if you like. Enjoy these with a nice afternoon cup of coffee! For the cakelets:   1/2 cup of flour 3/8 cup of sugar 1/2 t baking powder 1/4 t baking soda 1/8 t salt 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice mix 4 oz. pumpkin purée 1 egg 1/4 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin) Spray your cakelet pan with Baker’s Joy (properly or else your cakes will stick) a...

This recipe is adapted from Gourmet magazine (back when that still existed); the rolls are delicious and tender-perfect for Thanksgiving! 1/4 cup warm milk  3 T warm water 5 T unsalted butter, melted 2 t instant yeast 1 T honey 1/3 c canned pumpkin 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk 2 3/4 c all-purpose flour 1 1/2 t salt Egg wash: 1 egg beaten lightly plus 1 T water In the bowl of the mixer, stir together flour, salt and yeast. Stir together milk, water, butter, honey, pumpkin, egg and egg yolk and add to the flour mixture. Knead with dough hook for about 8 minutes until dough is smooth. It should have the consistency of moist, freshly opened Play-dough; if it doesn't add water just 1 teaspoon at a time. You want to avoid a dry, stiff dough. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl; cover and let rise until doubled and very puffy. The recipe says 1 1/2 hours but it was a cold day and I keep my house cool so it took around 3 hours.* Turn dough out onto a lightly oiled counter (I spray cooking spray on t...

These cookies also come from BH&G 100 Best Pumpkin Recipes. They are soft and delicious- almost more like a little cake than a cookie. A couple of notes to self: I didn't have enough icing for all the cookies-- I think I spread it on a little too thick so either make more icing or use a thin veneer for each cookie. Also, don't crowd them on the cookie sheets; use 3 cookie sheets to give them space to spread out and bake. This uses 1/2 can of pumpkin but you can feel free to double the recipe in order to use the whole can. 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 t baking powder 1 t baking soda 1 t pumpkin pie spice 1/4 t salt 3/4 plus 2 T canned pumpkin (half of a 15-oz. can) 1 egg 1 t vanilla 2 cups flour Preheat oven to 350º; beat butter for 30 seconds and add the next 5 ingredients (through the salt). Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping occasionally. Beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla. Add flour just until combined. Drop by 1/4 cup scoops (I ...

Delicious and hearty! This is adapted from BH&G 100 Best Pumpkin Recipes. 1 T veg oil 1 small onion, diced 1/2 lb Italian chicken sausage (I like spicy from Whole Foods) 32 oz. chicken broth 1/2 cup quick-cooking barley 1/2 t ground sage 1 T vegeta seasoning 15 oz. can pumpkin 1/2 T cider vinegar In a pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil and sauté the onion for a few minutes. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up with the back of the spoon. Add the pumpkin and cook for about 3 minutes; add the broth, barley and vegeta seasoning (or salt if you don't have vegeta which I highly recommend having) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 12 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

This is basically pumpkin bread, caramel, vanilla pudding, whip cream and pecans in individual servings. I try to assemble them in little jars or these tiny martini glasses so that you get 2 or 3 bites; after a big Thanksgiving meal, no one wants to be overwhelmed with too much dessert. They are so yummy- absolute comfort food. Make the proportions how you like them; I happen to love a lot of pudding so I go heavy on that. It's anything goes.... 1 recipe pumpkin bread , cut into 1" cubes- as many cubes as you need; I do this as I go 1 recipe vanilla pudding 1 recipe caramel sauce (comes from  The Pie and Pastry Bible) whip cream chopped toasted pecans Vanilla Pudding : 3 cups whole milk 3/4 cup sugar 4 egg yolks 3 T cornstarch pinch of salt 2 t vanilla 1 T unsalted butter, room temp. In a bowl using a whisk, combine the yolks and the cornstarch. In a heavy saucepan, combine the milk, pinch of salt and sugar. Cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula until li...

This recipe is adapted from Fine Cooking; the combo of chocolate and pumpkin is very nice. The recipe instructs you to wrap the cheesecake pan like a mummy in aluminum foil and then put it in a boiling hot water bath. I never do a water bath for cheesecakes because the risk of severe burns and a waterlogged cheesecake is too great (in my opinion)-- also it seems like a lot of extra work. I don't mind a couple of cracks on the top and I do not feel that the flavor or texture is compromised. In the spirit of disclosure, I did not make the whipped cream; it seemed kind of unnecessary but I will put the recipe down in case you decide to make it. For the Crust : 5 oz. Nabisco Famous chocolate wafer cookies 2 T sugar 3 T butter, melted Preheat oven to 350º; process the cookies and sugar until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse a few times until well-combined. Press the crumbs into a 9" springform and bake for 8 minutes. For the Filling : 1 lb cream cheese, s...

I saw this recipe in Good Housekeeping magazine while I was waiting at the dentist. I changed it just a little... 1 cup flour 1 cup white whole wheat flour 1 T baking powder 1 t pumpkin pie spice 1/2 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1 1/2 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 3 T brown sugar 2 eggs 2 T vegetable oil chocolate chips (optional add-in) Mix the buttermilk, eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar and vegetable oil with a whisk in a large bowl. You can mix the dry ingredients together first if you want; I don't do this because I am too lazy and don't want an extra bowl to wash. Add the dry ingredients to the moist and whisk only until just combined. You may need to add a little more buttermilk if it's too thick. Cook the pancakes on a non-stick skillet until golden and cooked through. I liked them with the chocolate chips and without. I just sprinkled them on the individual pancake directly- that way we could have them both ways.

This pumpkin tart is absolutely delicious;  I probably wouldn't bother with the candied pumpkin seeds (although they are great on salads!) because I don't feel that they do anything to take the dessert over the top and therefore are an unnecessary extra step. Next time I make this I will just put some chopped toasted pecans around the edges and save myself a bit of work. I did not change this recipe at all so will just give you the link here: pumpkin caramel-bourbon tart I will make one comment regarding the crust, however; because it has cornmeal it turns out to be a pretty sturdy crust rather than light and flaky. If you think you won't like that gritty texture, you could always substitute a graham cracker crust or use a regular pie crust.

These are moist and delicious- my dog Milo LOVES these too; last year he ate 12 pumpkin cupcakes off the counter-- paper and all; he's looking like he wants a repeat of that action! The recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit. I like to add chopped walnuts on top of the frosting as well. This makes about 18 cupcakes. 2 cups flour 3 t baking powder 1 t salt 1 t pumpkin pie spice 2 eggs 1 1/3 cups light brown sugar 1 cup canned pumpkin 2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil 2/3 cup sour cream 1 t vanilla 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 4 oz. unsalted butter (1 stick) 1/4 t vanilla 2 cups powdered sugar Preheat oven to 350º and line muffin cups. With the paddle attachment or a whisk, mix the eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin, oil, sour cream, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt (you can mix these dry ingredients separately first if you choose) and mix just until combined. Bake for 23 minutes. Cream the butter and cream cheese; add the vanilla and p...

This recipe is from Bon Appetit; the main thing I changed is the baking time (original is way too long). Crust : 1 cup flour 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 t salt 1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced 1 cup pecan halves 2/3 cup oats In a food processor, pulse the first four ingredients until coarse meal forms. Add the pecans and oats and pulse until incorporated. Butter a 9X9 metal baking pan. Press 3 1/2 cups of the crumbs into the pan and bake at 350º for about 15 minutes until golden. Watch the crust carefully because it's not good when over-baked. Keep the food processor out for the filling (you don't need to wash it). On a rimmed baking sheet, bake the remaining crumbs for about 10-12 minutes, stirring once. Filling : 8 oz. cream cheese softened 1 egg 3/4 cup pumpkin puree 1/2 cup sugar 1 t cinnamon 1/4 t ground ginger (or more if you like a lot) Pour filling over crust and spread as evenly as possible; bake for 20 minutes (the sides should start to rise a bi...

This is adapted from Giada De Laurentis; super delicious and easy. You could make it vegetarian by leaving out the bacon (duh!) and using vegetable broth rather than chicken. I was just thinking that maybe you could do a dessert pumpkin risotto pudding using milk, sugar and cinnamon.... hmmmm.... something to try soon. 4-5 cups chicken broth 1 cup canned pumpkin 4 slices bacon, chopped, cooked and drained on paper towels 2 T butter 1 leek, white and pale green parts sliced thinly 1 t kosher salt pepper 1 1/2 Arborio rice 2/3 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan 1/4 cup chopped parsley 1 oz. cream cheese, softened Whisk together 4 cups of broth and the pumpkin and heat to simmer. Reduce to low and keep the broth warm. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook the leek and 1 t salt until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute.  Add the wine and simmer until wine is almost completely absorbed- about 2 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup p...

This is a family favorite, a very cake-like bread. The recipe is adapted from Bon Appétit magazine which originally calls for ground cloves (which I absolutely can't tolerate) and walnuts (which I love but for some reason not in this particular recipe). Feel free to add them or chocolate chips if you like; we, however, are pumpkin purists. 2 cups sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs 1 16-oz. Libby's solid pack pumpkin 3 cups flour 1 t ground cinnamon 1 t pumpkin pie spice (I use McCormick because it doesn't have the hated cloves) 1 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1/2 t baking powder Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly oil 2- 9X5 loaf pans. Beat sugar and oil to combine and add in eggs and pumpkin. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined (do not over beat). Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, depending on your oven. The center should be firm and a tester comes out clean. This is best eaten the following day....

I LOVE pumpkin in just about any form; this chili is the perfect fall food and is actually very healthy. I like to serve this with Zucchini Cornbread and a nice cold beer. You can add cheese on top if you want but it doesn't even need it. This recipe was given to my friend Julie (as in Power Muffin Julie) and she modified it a bit; the only change I made was to use chicken broth rather than water. It is ridiculously easy to make;  I usually double the recipe-- the leftovers (if there are any) freeze well. 1 lb Italian chicken or turkey sausage (I like spicy from Whole Foods), casing removed 1 T olive oil 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree 1 cup chunky style salsa (see note at the end about salsa) 1 cup chicken broth In a saucepan, heat the oil and add the sausage; fry over high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 or 15 minutes to let the flavors m...