Pumpkin Pie Rice Krispie Treats

We're doing things a little differently around here this week.  Prepare yourself for a mini theme week of all things rice krispies!  To start things off I'm sharing this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Rice Krispie Treats.

Rice krispies treats are one of those classic kinds of snacks.  Somehow I find myself forgetting about them a lot of times when I'm thinking of a treat to make.  I think it might be because they're so simple to make and that there is no baking in the oven required.  When they do slip into my mind and I choose to whip up a batch I'm never disappointed.

It's also easy to forget how versatile of a treat it can be.  Add peanut butter.  Smother them in chocolate.  Stir in sprinkles.  The possibilities are endless!

Seeing as Halloween is only a few days away and I'm in a full on pumpkin mindset, I knew I wanted to incorporate the flavor into my rice krispies.  The key to using pumpkin puree in rice krispie treats is not using too much because the cereal will get soggy, but to compliment the pumpkin with the flavor of your favorite pumpkin pie spices; cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves!  If you want to make them a little more festive looking, mix in some Halloween sprinkles, cut them with cookie cutters or shape them into balls and add a little stem.  The possibilities are endless and I'm sure they'll be just as enjoyable any way.

Cheers,
Kelsey

Recipe slightly adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree (blot moisture out of pumpkin puree with a paper towel)
• 10 ounces of mini marshmallows
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups rice krispie cereal

Directions:

1. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside for later.
2. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter.  Stir in pumpkin puree until warmed.  Fold in marshmallows, frequently mixing until they are almost melted.  Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Remove from heat.
3. Let mixture sit for 20-30 minutes, or until it reaches room temperature, occasionally stirring so a hard layer does not form on surface.
4. Stir in rice krispie cereal and mix until all cereal appears to be coated.
5. Pour into prepared pan.  Grease either your hands or a spatula to press mixture into pan.  Put pan in refrigerator to set for 30 minutes.  Cut and enjoy!

If you like this recipe, you may also like:

• Pumpkin Cheesecake
• Caramel Oatmeal Chewies
• Homemade Marshmallows

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

First there was Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cake (yum), then there was Pumpkin Pound Cake (delish), and now I bring you Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies because Badger Kitchen is currently chugging along on a pumpkin sweets train this month.

You know how there are those special moments in life that are just so memorable that you'll never forget?  I remember picking out our family dog because my sister and I decided he had the softest fur and getting to have him sit on my lap for half the ride home (sharing is caring).  I remember getting engaged and crying my eyes out for a good ten minutes afterwards.  I also remember the first time I baked and ate pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies in my college apartment on a crisp October.

Being the good daughter I am (and because my parents lived 20 minutes away so I'd go home to do laundry), I took my mom a couple of cookies to enjoy and shared the recipe upon request.  It then got shared with Gramma, sisters, aunts and so on.  And now here I am sharing it with you!

To say that these cookies are life changing isn't too far from the truth.  They are superior to the average snickerdoodle cookie thanks to the added pumpkin and spices.  The additional moisture from the pumpkin puree also keeps the cookies chewy, which is good if you're not a fan of hard cookies like me.

The original recipe that I found is so good that has received such rave reviews that I've never felt the need to alter it.  The only change I make is that sometimes I will add a little more pumpkin than the recipe calls for, depending on if I'm in a super pumpkiney mood or not.  Oh, and don't discriminate, pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies can be enjoyed year round!

Enjoy!
Kelsey

Recipe from Sweet Pea's Kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (increase to 1 or 1 1/4 cups if desired)
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or different large bowl to be used for mixing) cream butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, or about two minutes.  Beat in egg.  Then beat in pumpkin puree.  Add dry ingredients from separate bowl and slowly beat in.
4. In a separate small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon.
5. Form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture until coated.  Space apart evenly on baking sheet.
6. Bake one cookie sheet of cookies at a time for 10-12 minutes, or until edges of cookies are starting to brown but centers are still puffy and soft.

Tip: Cookies freeze well either after baking and fully cooled, or in dough ball form without cinnamon-sugar coating.

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out:

• Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Sweet and Salty Sugar Cookies
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Pumpkin Pound Cake

I could start this post taking about how much I love pumpkin and how when baking this recipe I was drinking pumpkin spice flavored coffee and had a pumpkin scented candle burning, but then this would sound like every other wonderful pumpkin blog post out there. When it comes to fall, who doesn't like pumpkin [cough, besides my fiancé, cough]?

Earlier in the summer when Badger Kitchen was thinking up the coming months' themes, pumpkin just couldn't be overlooked. But come October (ok, ok I was thinking about this since September), I just couldn't decided on a recipe to try. I really wanted to step out of my comfort zone and try something, non-baked good recipe. You know, get away from the traditional cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin trio recipe. But I was afraid of not liking it and my fiancé not even trying it. So, baked good it is. However, I've never had pumpkin pound cake before. I was pretty excited when I found this.

This recipe is super easy. Believe me, I made this after a very long wedding weekend while finishing up scientific figures for a grant and doing laundry and keeping the dog occupied. It reminds me of banana bread in the fact that it's really good without much effort. Also, this pound cake has the texture like banana bread in that it's dense but [dare I use the word] moist. Also, that cup of pumpkin goes a long way! I was afraid of it being bland but this pound cake is far from! The only thing I would do differently next time is maybe add a walnut or oatmeal topping to give it more texture diversity.

Bon Appétit,
Brittany

Slightly adapted from Something Swanky

Ingredients
1 1/2 c. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1 c. Granulated Sugar
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 c. Vanilla Yogurt
3 Egg Whites
1 c. Canned Pumpkin

Fall sprinkles optional (but why not? After all, it is cake)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bread pan or mini loaf pan.
2. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and nutmeg.
3. In a separate bowl add together the sugars, yogurt and egg whites. Mix until blended.
4. Fold pumpkin into the wet ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients. Stir just until all is blended together.
5. Pour into pan (should make about 8-9 mini loaves).
6. Bake for 60 minutes if large bread pan or 25 minutes if mini loaf pan.
7. Enjoy!

Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cake

Its pumpkin time! Hopefully you aren't already sick of everything pumpkin because we got a lot of pumpkin coming your way.

Do we all remember better than sex cake from about 10 years ago? That is what I was going for here, pumpkin better than sex cake. Because I can't seem to help myself, I not only changed the cake to pumpkin but changed the sweetened condensed milk to dulce de leche.

This is not a typical recipe for me at all. I'm usually very against boxed cake. It doesn't take that long to mix up your ingredients, lets be honest, but sometimes you have to trash things up and make them super easy, semi-homemade and decadent, because sometimes they just taste better that way.

Whip cream is another easy thing to make at home, but it doesn't really stand up to cool whip. I'm secretly a huge fan of cool whip amongst other super processed dairy items. Nacho cheese, anyone? Velvetta?!  Love. I try to avoid them because they are so processed, but sometimes you just have to give into that guilty pleasure.

Back to the cake, you can choose to use the sweetened condensed milk and not turn it into dulce de leche, but I think you would be missing out. There isn't any work involved in making it, other than making sure it stays covered in water. You wouldn't want it to explode. Not to alarm you, but honesty is important in any relationship.

The cake is sort of dense, chewy and moist. It isn't overly sweet. I really like that some, but not all, of the dulce de leche soaks into the cake while some rests on top too. So indulgent and fall like! It got rave reviews from all my friends and by friend I mean my boyfriend and dearest friend, Leah, who also happens to be the photographer for this post!

xo,
April

Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk (label removed)

1 box yellow cake mix
1 14 oz. can pumpkin puree
1- 8oz container cool whip
1/2 cup heath bits

Instructions:
Dulce de leche:

1. In a large pot, fill with water to cover the can of sweetened condensed milk. Over high heat, bring to a boil Let simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, making sure to add more water as necessary. Remove the can of dulce de leche from the water and let cool to room temperature.

Pumpkin cake:

1. Preheat an oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and set aside. 
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pumpkin puree (add only the pumpkin puree to the cake mix; DO NOT add any of the ingredients listed on the box, like eggs), until a smooth batter forms.
3.  Pour batter into prepared pan (it was pretty thick and made a thin layer, not to fear though!) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 
4. Remove cake from pan and let cool for 10 minutes. Using the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the cake. 
5. Place the dulce de leche in a microwave safe container and reheat for 30 seconds and pour over the cake, spreading evenly over the cake and filling in the holes (a spatula is helpful here depending on how viscous the dulce de leche is). Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes or overnight.
6. Spread cool whip evenly over cake and sprinkle heath bits evenly on top. Cake is best enjoyed in 2 to 3 days.

Similar posts: Pumpkin Cheese Cake, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars, Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Pumpkin Recipe Roundup

October is officially here and with that being said we have decided to officially declare it Pumpkin Month here at Badger Kitchen! (As if you didn't see that one coming.)  And while it is totally cliche to be focusing on pumpkin during the month of October, we can't help it because we just love pumpkin everything so we assume everyone else does as well!

To kick the month off we're doing a little recap of all things pumpkin!

This pumpkin french toast bread pudding can double as either a decadent breakfast or a unique dessert, and since there's already a splash of bourbon in it, you might as well pour yourself a drink to enjoy as well while you're at it.

If you're looking to go the more traditional route, you can never go wrong with this pumpkin bread.  It's my family's go-to pumpkin bread recipe and a slice goes great served up as an afternoon snack.

Don't forget to check out these other pumpkin recipes as well:

• Pumpkin Cheesecake
• Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
• Chicken-Pumpkin Enchiladas
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones
• Fall Pumpkin Olive Oil Bread
• Pumpkin Brownies

Check back for other new pumpkin recipes coming throughout the month!

Pumpkin French Toast Bread Pudding

Food and I have not been getting along lately. There has been a lot of cooking and eating, but will sub par success. Failed attempts at the perfect pumpkin Bourbon bread pudding (determination pays off people). Restaurant meals not meeting my highly anticipated expectations. Burning cookies.

Buying the same smoked butterkase, on two separate occasions, for a Badger Cheese Club Meeting, and I call myself president. Don't worry, I caught the mistake in time to dash to the store and by smoked mozzarella, but really I had already been to three stores for cheese that same day. Where was my head at?!

I made biscuits that were over mixed and poorly risen. The whole reasoning for making them was because they are the perfect fail safe. Biscuits are supposed to be my friend. It seemed like there wasn't anything to lose by giving the pumpkin bread pudding a fourth try at perfection.

A lot of lessons were learned on the road to this fabulous baked french toast bread pudding. Brioche bread makes better bread pudding than french bread. If you do chose to use french or country bread, try to use drier day old bread.

More bourbon for me and less for the bread pudding. Too much for the pudding and it gets a sick texture and taste. Same goes for too much bourbon for me, but that's a whole other story. Be sure to really let all the bread get well coated with the pumpkin custard mixture. Keep stirring it in a large bowl, until it is mostly all absorbed. Its important.

If you find the texture of bread pudding unpleasant, this may be for you. Its more like french toast, hence the name. It's super delicious and not too sweet. Double it to feed a crowd french toast, minus the hour standing in front of the griddle, for breakfast, on Thanksgiving morning. Give it a try with ice cream and caramel sauce, for dessert.

xo
April

Serves: 6
Ingredients:
5 cups brioche bread (11 ounces), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup whole milk
2 whole large eggs, 1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon bourbon
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch ground cloves

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F, with rack in middle.
2. Whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices and bourbon in a medium bowl.
3. In another large bowl, pour the custard mixture over the bread cubes. Toss the bread cubes until well coated and mostly absorbed. Transfer to a 8x8 inch ungreased baking dish and bake until custard is set, 25-30 minutes.

Adapted from Gourmet

Pumpkin Cheesecake

My family celebrates Thanksgiving by having a big dinner feast with just the immediate family.  My mom usually makes pumpkin tort for dessert, but this year she decided she wasn't going to so I volunteered to make a pumpkin cheesecake instead.  I was a little nervous though because I had never made a cheesecake before!

I found a recipe online of Paula Deen's online that I decided to use.  After reading a bunch of the reviews I decided to add a pan of water in the oven when I cooked the cheesecake to help so it didn't dry out.  I also adjusted the baking time and added about 20 minutes to what Paula's recipe called for.  The cheesecake ended up cracking a bit, but I'm sure that is something that will be fixed with experience.  One side also ended up being a little darker than the rest of the cheesecake but I think that is because I placed the pan of water on the rack under the cheesecake unevenly.  The cheesecake turned out quite delicious anyways and got raving reviews, especially when topped with homemade whipped cream!

Crust

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted butter

Filling

• 3 8oz packages of cream cheese at room temperature (I used low fat cream cheese)
• 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. For crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
3. Add melted butter.
4. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan.
5. For filling, beat cream cheese until smooth.
6. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar, and spices.
7. Add flour and vanilla.  Beat together until well combined.
8. Pour filling into crust and spread out evenly.
9. Bake in oven containing a separate pan of water for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until cheesecake only lightly jiggles.
10. Remove from oven and let sit for about 15 minutes.
11. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Grampa Zach's Pumpkin Bread

One year ago today was an extremely emotional day for my family.  It was early Saturday morning and I was in the car with my two older sisters on our way to the salon to get our hair done for our big brother's wedding that afternoon.  We received a phone call from our mom as we were driving, informing us that our Grampa Zach had passed away over the night.  He's the father of nine children, so quite a few people experienced these double sided emotions throughout the day.  It is unfortunate that these two events overlapped with each other, but it was comforting to be surrounded by friends and family the entire day and we were all still able to properly celebrate the joyous occasion!

Growing up one of the foods that my mom always baked on a somewhat regular occasion was pumpkin bread.  The majority of the time when she made pumpkin bread, a loaf would go to Grampa Zach because it was one of his favorite foods.  While I love my Grampa, as a kid I always thought this was a little unfair because it cut back sometimes by half the amount of pumpkin bread left for for the six of us left in our immediate family (although I will admit, more often than not Grampa only got a little loaf).

I decided that it would only be appropriate to use my mom's pumpkin bread recipe and bake some  in honor of Grampa Zach.  I would gladly give Grampa both loaves if I could today.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup shortening
• 2 2/3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups (1 15-16 oz can) mashed pumpkin
• 3 1/3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together shortening and sugar.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Sit in pumpkin.
5. Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with water.
6. Stir in vanilla.
7. Turn batter into greased loaf pans (2 large or 3 medium).
8. Bake for 45-60 minutes (depending on size of loaves).
9. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired after removing loaves from pans.

Happy Anniversary Zach and Kaci!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My brother recently graduated from basic training for the National Guard and moved on to officer training school in Georgia. Before he graduated the only way to communicate with him was via snail mail. He has a bit more freedom now and since he has been gone for nearly 5 months he could really go for a little taste of home and I am more than happy to oblige. I have been instructed to not send too many goodies at a time because they are expected to eat it all the same day they receive it. Strange if you ask me, but I have every intention to send large amounts so that he has to share with his army friends. We all know how happy it makes me when other people can enjoy my food! I just mailed these today and can barely wait to hear how they like them!

These cookies are chewy, crispy and a bit cake like all at the same, just the way I like them.They are also simple and versatile. You could add cranberries, cherries, almonds, chocolate or anything you like. I suggest taking the extra little effort to toast any nut you choose to put in these because it really brings out their flavor. Enjoy these and be sure to share them with a friend!

Adapted from My Baking Addiction blog
Yield 30 cookies


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks); softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins


Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and toast walnuts until fragrant.
3. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl and mix to combine.
4. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (about 5mins).
5. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla to the butter and mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients, raisins and nuts and mix until just combined. 
6. Drop onto a cookie sheet by the rounded tablespoon an inch apart. 
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes and let cool slightly and then move to a rack to cool.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

As you can see, this little blog of ours is doing its fair share of helping out with the pumpkin shortage.  I found this recipe and just couldn't resist making it, the perfect way to celebrate the end of the first round of midterms for the semester!

I was expecting these bars to be more cookie like, fitting more appropriately in the dessert category.  After consulting with my taste testers though, we've decided that they are more cakey and would probably fit better as a coffee cake.  They remind me of a cinnamon chip coffee cake that my mom makes.  Essentially, I'd consider these bars "all purpose" as they can appropriately be eaten at any time of day (not to say that I've never eaten a cookie for breakfast before).

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan.
2. Add butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and cream together.
3. Beat in vanilla and egg.
4. Add pumpkin puree and mix.
5. Mix in dry ingredients (flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt).
6. Add chocolate chips.
7. Spread batter evenly into 9x13 pan and bake for approximately 35 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart.

Chicken-pumpkin Enchiladas

There has been a plethora of sweet pumpkin recipes lately and I wanted to try using pumpkin in a savory way. I thought about pumpkin raviolis (next weekend?), but I decided that this was a much more original idea and slightly less work. I have been very excited all week to make these and was a bit panicked that I wouldn't be able to find anyone to make them for. My favorite part of cooking is sharing it with other people. I was thrilled when my roommate said she would love for me to make her enchiladas despite hating Mexican food and that her co-worker was going to join us too and we would watch the Brewer game. They both loved them despite being skeptical. If you have ever had sweet potato enchiladas they are very similar--a little sweet and spicy. The flavor of these and ingredients can really be tailored to your tastes, which is great. I threw a butternut squash in because it needed to be used. I decided to flash fry the corn tortillas to add a bit of flavor to them and make them more malleable. It is not necessary but I think it adds a nice touch. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

Corn tortillas

3/4 cup grated pepper jack cheese

Enchilada Sauce:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup (scant) New Mexico chili powder

2 tbs flour

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

1 (80z) can tomato sauce

1/4 tsp (rounded) cumin

1/4 tsp onion salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 garlic cloves grated or minced

salt to taste

Filling:

1 rotisserie chicken

1 small pumpkin (any works, I used a sugar pie)

1 small butternut squash

Vegetable oil

8oz goat cheese

3/4 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cut the pumpkin/squash in half and remove seeds. Drizzle the insides with vegetable oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of cumin and salt. Place them cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet and place on the middle rack on the oven for 30-40mins or until tender.
2. For the sauce place the vegetable oil, chili powder and flour in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Stir constantly, so it does not burn, until it starts to thicken and turn darker (about 1-3mins). Turn the heat down to medium and pour in the chicken broth, tomato sauce, cumin, onion salt, garlic and cinnamon. Stir to combine and thicken and remove from heat. Season to taste with salt.
3. Shred the chicken using a fork and place in a medium bowl.
4. When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, spoon the flesh into a food processor along with the goat cheese, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and salt. Pulse until combined to a somewhat smooth consistency.
5. Put 3/4 cup of the pumpkin mixture into the enchilada sauce and stir to combine. Place the remaining pumpkin mixture in the bowl with the chicken and stir to combine.
6. Preheat oven to 350F. In a 9x13 baking dish, spread 3/4 cup of the sauce evenly over the bottom of the dish. Heat a small skillet with 1/2 tsp vegetable oil over medium to medium- high heat. Place the corn tortillas in the pan one at a time and fry on each side for 15secs or until browned in spots, add more oil as needed. Fill each tortilla with 1/2 a cup of the pumpkin-chicken mixture and wrap closed, placing them seam side down in a the baking dish. Cover with 3/4 cup of sauce and sprinkle cheese over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 20mins or until cheese is melted and slightly golden.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones (for breakfast or dessert!)

I have been planning on making scones since summer but luckily I have been putting if off so I could make them in my favorite fall flavor - pumpkin!

But before I could make them, I needed to pick up all the ingredients. This started a huge adventure because I really wanted to find the sugar that bakeries put on their baked goods. The first (and pretty important) problem I had was that I didn't even know what that sugar was called! After some research on the internet, I found out it has quite a few names: sanding sugar, decorating sugar, coarse sugar, pearl sugar...but even though I knew the names of this large-grain sugar, I didn't know where to find it. After going to grocery store after grocery store, and even target, I finally found it at Whole Foods. The long search came to an end and I could finally make my scones, well, after I went out again to get the eggs I forgot. 

This was the first time I made scones and they turned out great! Everyone loved them! I can't wait to try this recipe again but maybe with blueberries instead of pumpkin and chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones 

adapted from Pumpkin Chocolate Chip and Pecan Scones 

Ingredients 

2 3/4 c. flour

1/3 c. sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground allspice 

1/2 c. frozen butter (I took it out of the freezer probably 10 minutes before I used it)

1 package (about 2 cups) chocolate chips 

2/3 c. canned pumpkin

2 eggs

3 Tbsp (& a small amount for brushing) half and half

Decorating Sugar for topping (if you can find it) 

Directions 

1. Add all dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix (flour to allspice)

2. Add the frozen butter by using a large-hole cheese grater (I got this tip from Allrecipes!) and lightly mix. Otherwise, other recipes show to cut the butter into small pieces and then use a fork to integrate it into the dry ingredients. 

3. In a different bowl, add all the wet ingredients (pumpkin, eggs, and half and half) and mix. 

4. Pour the mixed wet ingredients and chocolate chips into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix (don't over mix though). 

5. Lightly flour hands and parchment paper (I only had tin foil) that is on a cookie sheet. Shape dough into two discs of the same size and thickness (about 3/4 inch).

6. Brush a little half and half on top of the discs and sprinkle on the decorating sugar. (skip this step if you don't want the sugar on top or are substituting the sugar for a glaze).

7. Cut the discs like you would a pie or pizza for a total of 12 triangular pieces, or 6 pieces per disc. 

8. Now, not like normal baking, skip the oven and go for the freezer. Let the dough set in the freezer for about 30 minutes. 

9. While chilling in the freezer, preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

10. Place cookie sheet full of scones in the center of the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a fork comes clean after poking a scone. 

11. Cool for 5 minutes before enjoying! 

Fall Pumpkin Olive Oil Bread

I have been in a bit of a rut lately and decided it was time to get out of it and take a bike ride this morning. I make it a goal for myself sometimes when I ride my bike to smile at everyone I pass. It is awesome to think that I made someone’s day a bit better by smiling at them and even if I didn't I made mine a bit better. I couldn't help to think to myself the whole ride, corny as it is that as I was giving out warm fuzzies to people passing by, at the same time the bike path was covered with fuzzy wuzzy caterpillars that I was constantly swerving to miss the whole ride. Who doesn't love seeing all the little fuzzy caterpillars this time of year? By the end of the bike ride it had done exactly what I needed it too and I just had to keep the fall atmosphere going in my apartment with some pumpkin bread!

Enough rambling about my day but it was my inspiration to make the bread today! I have had pumpkin puree in the cupboard and have been waiting to make this for awhile now. It was super simple and is supposed to be “healthy”. I followed the recipe exactly except for adding more pumpkin than was called for. I have had breads and cakes with olive oil before and they are always super moist and simply delicious. My day got a bit hectic and I had to wait to try a piece until this afternoon but it was worth the wait. It is super moist. The only thing I would do differently is put pumpkin seeds on top for some crunch as was suggested, but I didn't have any.

Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup honey

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and then combine the wet ingredients (eggs, pumpkin, sugar, olive oil, honey) in a large bowl to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a spoon until just combined and then poor into a 9x5 loaf pan. Spread the batter evenly and tap on the counter a few times and cook for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the bread cool for 15 minutes before taking it out of the pan.

Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger

Pumpkin Brownies

I was making these really awesome pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies the other day and I had some leftover pumpkin that I couldn't decide what to do with. I was thinking something along the lines of pumpkin pancakes but then I came across this pumpkin brownie recipe and just couldn't resist trying out the combination of chocolate and pumpkin together, two of my favorite flavors!

So after class and work on Friday I came home and baked these guys as a nice transition from the school week to a fun filled weekend of Badger and Packer football domination! Two of my roommates kept my company while I baked and made a music playlist for our corn-husking tailgate.

After a couple of near tragic measurement mix ups (1/4 cups baking powder instead of 1/4 teaspoons. How does that even happen?!) the brownies came out of the oven scotch free. My taste testers and I decided that they are best eaten with a cold glass of milk, otherwise they may be a little too rich. I meant to put a dusting of powdered sugar on top of the brownies when I took them out of the oven but forgot, oh well. Enjoy!

Ingredients

10 oz. of dark chocolate

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 cup of pumpkin

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a square 8x8 pan (line if you'd like first).
3. Melt butter and chocolate squares together. Stir together.
4. Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix together.
5. Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and baking powder. Mix together with wet ingredients.
6. Pour batter into pan and level out (batter will be thick and won't fill in all the nooks and crannies of the pan on its own).
7. Bake for 30 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Running to the Kitchen