Soft Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

The turn to autumn is one of my favorite things about living in New England. The air turns crisp, the leaves turn beautiful orange, yellow, and red hues, football starts up (go Pats!), and I can finally use the oven again without complaints that it's too hot. My husband's sweet tooth has suddenly come alive, as he has recently requested both caramel brownies and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Life has been a little crazy (evident by the tumbleweeds rolling through this blog), but I jumped at the chance to make cookies. They are usually pretty quick to throw together and would curb my yearning to get back to baking. I went straight to my blog to pull up the cookie recipe, only to discover it wasn't there. When I thought about it, I could barely remember ever having made pumpkin cookies before.


I pulled up my trust excel spreadsheet of recipes, and right there was a recipe for soft pumpkin cookies, rated five stars - my highest rating. I'm not sure why I never blogged about them, but I'm so happy to have 'found' them again. I threw in a few tweaks and my usual substitutions, and the result was a soft, but sturdy, cookie that is perfect for fall!

Soft Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Source: Adapted from Joy the Baker and Big Fat Cookies
Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice
• 1/2 cup (one stick) butter, at room temperature**
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

**I actually make this with Earth Balance butter sticks and it worked well.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Stir the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add the pumpkin and vanilla, mixing just until blended. Slowly add the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chocolate chips and cranberries.
4. Scoop mounds of dough, roughly 2 tablespoons each, onto lined sheets.  Space cookies at least 2 1/2 inches apart.
5. Bake cookies about 14 minutes, until the edges are just lightly brown. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.  The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie Cake

I have been ooo-ing and aaahhh-ing over have cake, will travel for a few weeks now.  The recipe offerings are vegan, but I noticed many of them call for the clean eating ingredients that have become a staple in my kitchen.  I was in the mood to bake this weekend so I perused the dessert offerings over there and decided on this brownie cake.  I've been getting a little tired of cookies, and I wanted to open a can of pumpkin for some baked oatmeal, anyway.   It smelled delicious coming out of the oven, and the 30 minutes of cooling was pure torture.



One bite of this heavenly, soft, delicious cake and I was seriously concerned about how to prevent myself from eating the rest of the pan before bedtime.  The pumpkin flavor is very light, the cinnamon is warm and inviting, and the chocolate chips add just enough to keep it chocolatey.  I'm in love!

Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie Cake
Source: slightly adapted from have cake, will travel
Yield: 6 to 8 servings  

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup (120 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cup (128 g) Sucanat
• 2 tablespoons (10 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup (122 g) pumpkin purée
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup (58 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Lightly coat an 8-inch (20-cm) square baking pan with spray. Combine vinegar and soymilk in a medium bowl: it will curdle and become like buttermilk.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sucanat, cocoa, spices, and salt.

Whisk pumpkin purée, applesauce, oil, and vanilla into the buttermilk mixture, until combined.  Fold wet ingredients into dry, being careful not to over mix. Fold in chocolate chips and place batter into prepared pan.


Bake for 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan, on a wire rack. Remove from pan after at least 30 minutes. Enjoy at room temperature or cold.

Nutritional Information, per serving (1/6th of recipe)
Calories: 263
Total fat: 7 g
Sat fat: 0.3 g
Cholesterol: 1.3 mg
Sodium: 419.6 mg
Potassium: 28 g
Carbohydrate: 46.9 g
Fiber: 4.6 g
Sugar: 28.3 g
Protein: 3.4 g

Pumpkin Spice Bagels

In this house, we have been obsessed with whole wheat bagels since I first made them in August. I've finally figured out a plan, so I only have to make them once a month. I made two double batches - one cheddar jalapeno for my husband, and usually sesame for me - and we are able to (stuff our freezer and) stretch this for four weeks. Last time I decided to make a seasonal bagel for myself instead of the sesame, and of course, pumpkin was the first thing that came to mind. I really wasn't sure whether it would be better to add the pumpkin to the biga, the soaker, or at the end in the final dough. I decided on final dough, with a slight adjustment in flour at that step since the pumpkin made the dough quite wet. Overall, they were a huge success! I was hoping for a nice swirl from the cinnamon, but it eluded me this time. Swirl or not, they are delicious, and the pumpkin and cinnamon are a subtle but welcome addition to these hearty bagels.



Pumpkin Spice Whole Wheat Bagels
Source: Adapted from Whole Grain Breads, Peter Reinhart

Day 1: Make the soaker and biga
Soaker:
1 3/4 cups (227 grams) whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon (4 grams) salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (142 grams) water
2 tablespoons (35.5 grams) barley malt syrup, dark or light (for most authentic flavor), or honey

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl for about one minute, until all of the flour is hydrated and the ingredients form a ball of dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temp for 12 to 24 hours. (If you need more time, place in refrigerator for up to 3 days, but leave at room temp 2 hours before continuing with bread).

Biga:
1 3/4 cups (227 grams) whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) instant yeast
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (142 grams) filtered or spring water, at room temperature (about 70 degrees F)

Mix all the biga ingredients together in a bowl to form a ball of dough. With wet hands, knead dough in the bowl for 2 minutes to be sure all ingredients are evenly distributed and the flour is fully hydrated. The dough should be tacky. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead again with wet hands for one minute. The dough will be smoother but still tacky. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Remove from the fridge two hours before making the dough.

Day 2: Make the final dough, and bake
Final Dough:
All of the Soaker
All of the biga
5/8 teaspoon (5 grams) salt
2 1/4 teaspoons (7 grams) instant yeast
2 tablespoons (28.5 grams) water, at room temperature (about 70 degrees F)
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (106.5 grams) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons sucanat (or brown sugar)

1. Chop the soaker and biga into 12 smaller pieces (sprinkle flour over pieces to prevent sticking).

2. By hand: Dissolve yeast in water in mixing bowl, then add biga, soaker, and salt and stir vigorously with a mixing spoon or knead with wet hands for about 3-4 minutes, until all ingredients are evenly integrated. Add the pumpkin and flour and knead for 2 more minutes, the dough should be firm but not sticky. If not, add more flour or water as needed.

By stand mixer: Dissolve yeast in water in mixing bowl, then add biga, soaker, and salt and mix on low speed for one minute with hook. Add pumpkin and flour and mix on medium-low speed for 3-4 minutes until dough becomes cohesive and assimilated into each other. Add more flour or water as needed until the dough is firm and not sticky. This is a stiff dough, so turn the mixer off if necessary to avoid stressing the motor.

3. Dust a work surface with flour, the roll the dough in flour to coat. Knead by hand for 3 to 4 minutes, incorporating only as much flour as needed to form a stiff dough that is supple enough to shape. Form the dough into a ball and let it rest on the work surface for 5 minutes while you prepare a clean, lightly oiled bowl.

4. Resume kneading for 1 minutes to strengthen the gluten and make any final water/flour adjustments. Dough should have the strength to pass the windowpane test, yet feel supple and satiny. Form dough into a ball and place in prepared bowl, rolling to coat with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for approximately 45 to 60 minutes, until it is about 1.5 times its original size. Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet with parchment or silicon mat dusted with whole wheat flour or cornmeal.

5. Transfer to lightly floured work surface and divide into 6 or 7 four ounce pieces (I managed to get 8). In a small bowl, combine sucanat and cinnamon.  Stretch out each piece of dough to approximately 7"x2".  Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Starting at one end, roll up each piece of dough.  Then, roll each piece into an 8 inch rope, shape a circle around your hand. Seal tight at the point where the ends overlap by squeezing or pressing it into the counter. There should be a 2-inch diameter hole in the center. Place on prepared pan, cover loosely with a towel, leave at room temperature.

6. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment (dusted with cooking spray) or silicon mat. Bring 4 inches of water to a boil in a wide pot, add the baking soda to the boiling water. Lower the head to maintain a steady simmer.

7. The bagels should be read to boil within 20-30 minutes of shaping . Drop one in the boiling water, if it doesn't float within 30 seconds, boil it until it floats and then remove it, but wait 5 minutes before testing another. When they pass the test, boil 2-4 bagels at a time, gently turning them after 30 seconds so they boil for a total of one minute. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to remove them from the water and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Apply toppings, using an egg wash to help them stick, if necessary.

8. Place the baking sheet in the oven and reduce to 450 degrees F. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate sheet and bake 10 to 15 minutes more until bagels are nicely browned on top and bottom. Remove and cool on cooling rack for 20 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

I love pumpkin. I love ice cream. This was clearly a match made in heaven!  This ice cream is perfect with chopped pecans sprinkled on top.

Pumpkin Ice Cream
Source: Slightly adapted from The Novice Chef / Ben & Jerry's

• 2 large eggs (I used the equivalent amount of eggbeaters)
  
• 3/4 cup sugar or 1/2 cup agave nectar
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup fat free half and half
• 1 cup low fat (1% milk)
• 1 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, and continue whisking 1 minute more, until completely blended.  Pour in the cream, half and half, and milk and whisk until blended.  Pour 1 cup of the mixture into a separate bowl. Add the pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon to the mixture. Stir until blended. Return the pumpkin mixture to the cream mixture and whisk to blend. Refrigerate mixture for at least 4 hours.  Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the directions.

A Tale of Two Biscotti

I've been in love with biscotti since discovering this chocolate biscotti recipe. I love making it at home because you can make it really crispy or a little on the softer side - whatever your preference. With an open can of pumpkin in the fridge, I set out to find a pumpkin biscotti recipe and epicurious.com came through with one for pumpkin pecan biscotti. I also had fresh cranberries to use up, so I decided they were going in, too.

On the left, standard. On the right, cleaner.

The original recipe calls for shaping the dough into three logs, that would later be sliced to make the individual cookies. I decided to cut the recipe in half and try a direct comparison between the standard recipe and a cleaner version, using substitutes for the flour, sugar, and butter.  My old stand-by whole wheat pastry flour and my new friend sucanat fit the bill for flour and sugar, but what about butter?  I have been reading up on the vegan buttery sticks for baking from Earth Balance, and had those in mind for this recipe comparison.  I went to Whole Foods to try and get them, but they only had the non-hydrogenated shortening from Earth Balance.  With a quick read of the label, I decided it would be just fine.

Differences were apparent as soon as I mixed up the two doughs.  The clean dough required a little manual mixing to fully saturate the dry ingredients and form the dough, but because of that low moisture level, the log was easy to form.  The standard recipe came together more easily with a spoon, but then was very sticky and harder to shape into a log on the pan.  As expected, the standard recipe expanded quite a bit more than the clean recipe while baking. Perhaps my butter wasn't cold enough.  I also forgot to refrigerate the logs for 15 minutes before baking. Oops.

On the left, standard. On the right, cleaner.

The cleaner biscotti baked up much faster, and the standard dough required an extra 10 minutes of baking time to get the log set enough for slicing, once cooled.  After being cut, the standard recipe require another extended baking time to finish baking the individual cookies.

Then it came down to the taste test. The cleaner biscotti has a hint of that whole wheat character that I have, quite honestly, come to prefer.  The standard biscotti seemed to be missing something, in comparison, but is more sweet.  But, I am being nit-picky.  Either version is a delight!  The sweet biscotti paired with tart fresh cranberries, a hint of cinnamon and spice, and creamy white chocolate chunks all come together beautifully in a perfect fall treat.

Let me go ahead and clarify how much of a treat it is.  I got about 12 slices out of the standard recipe and 11 out of the cleaner one, counting the two ends as one piece since they are significantly smaller than middle pieces.  With that in mind, the breakdown follows each recipe.  Oddly enough, the substitute I used for the butter has more calories and fat overall, so the cookies do as well.  However, the saturated fat is (marginally) lower in the cleaner cookies, the fiber is much higher, and the sugar still has all the vitamins nature intended!  A decent trade off, I think, for something that is a treat no matter what dietary plan you follow.  Having demonstrated the flexibility of this recipe, I will experiment in the future with other butter substitutes, namely the one I'd intended to get, as well as Smart Balance 50/50.

Cranberry Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti (Standard)

Source: Adapted from Epicurious

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3 1/2 oz. good quality white chocolate
• 1 1/3 cups pecans
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (fresh is best)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
  

Combine first five (5) ingredients in food process. Blend until all ingredients are fully mixed. Cut chilled butter into pieces and feed into processor until a fine meal is formed. Add white chocolate until chopped. Add pecans and process until coarsely chopped, being careful not to over-process.

Combine eggs, pumpkin and vanilla extract in large bowl. Mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients and cranberries and stir until fully incorporated. A moist dough will form.  Grease and flour an 18x12 cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper.

Drop dough by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet, forming 3 logs equidistant from each other. With moistened fingers, shape into 2 inch wide logs. Refrigerate logs for 15 min.

Place cookie sheet on rack in center of oven which has been pre-heated to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool logs completely on rack. Reduce oven temp. to 325 degrees.

Carefully slice logs with a heavy, sharp knife. I slice them on the diagonal about 1/2 inch wide. Place cut cookies on cookie sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes until slightly toasted. Longer if a harder biscotti is your preference. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information (per cookie)
Calories: 203
Fat: 9 g
Sat. Fat: 3.8 g
Cholesterol: 28 mg
Sodium: 97 mg
Carbohydrate: 28.8 g
Fiber: 0.6 g
Sugar: 16.5 g
Protein: 2.9 g

Cranberry Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti (Cleaner)

Source: Adapted from Epicurious

• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  
• 1 1/3 cups sucanat
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter substitute of choice
  
• 3 1/2 oz. good quality white chocolate
• 1 1/3 cups pecans
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (fresh is best)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
  

Combine first five (5) ingredients in food process. Blend until all ingredients are fully mixed. Cut chilled butter substitute into pieces and feed into processor until a fine meal is formed. Add white chocolate until chopped. Add pecans and process until coarsely chopped, being careful not to over-process.

Combine eggs, pumpkin and vanilla extract in large bowl. Mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients and cranberries and stir until fully incorporated. A moist dough will form.  Grease and flour an 18x12 cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper.

Drop dough by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet, forming 3 logs equidistant from each other. With moistened fingers, shape into 2 inch wide logs. Refrigerate logs for 15 min.

Place cookie sheet on rack in center of oven which has been pre-heated to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool logs completely on rack.Reduce oven temp. to 325 degrees.

Carefully slice logs with a heavy, sharp knife. I slice them on the diagonal about 1/2 inch wide. Place cut cookies on cookie sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes until slightly toasted. Longer if a harder biscotti is your preference. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information (per cookie)
Calories: 230
Fat:11.2 g
Sat. Fat: 3.4 g
Cholesterol: 19.5 mg
Sodium: 160 mg
Carbohydrate: 29.7 g
Fiber: 2.9 g
Sugar: 15.8 g
Protein: 3.2 g

Pumpkin Penne

For a few years we have enjoyed a pumpkin sauce over pasta and turkey sausage, but I never got around to sharing it on here. Partly, I'm sure, because I have no idea where the recipe came from, and it certainly didn't come from my head. I decided it was about time to put it back on the menu, but when I pulled out the recipe I realized it used a butter/flour mixture to thicken it.

Certainly there is nothing terribly wrong with a tablespoon or two of butter throughout the dish, but I had recently been reminded of Cara's version using cottage cheese. I decided to give Cara's recipe a try and I'm so glad we did! I didn't miss the butter and the sauce really stuck to the pasta, vegetables, and sausage. I made a few small changes, using kale for the spinach and turkey sausage for the chicken (at least, I think it was turkey sausage... I must remember to label my freezer bags!). This version isn't quite as pumpkin-y as the old one, so next time I might increase the amount of pumpkin and slightly decrease the milk/cottage cheese. Either way, it's a wonderfully delicious fall meal!

Creamy Pumpkin Penne
Source: Cara's Cravings

• 4 oz penne pasta
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced (about 75 g)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 2 links cooked chicken sausage, sliced
• 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese (1% milk fat)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• pinch of nutmeg
• 5oz torn spinach, thick stems removed
• grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, optional

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook gently for about 10-15minutes, until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add garlic, sage, and chicken sausage; continue to saute.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

3. In a blender, combine combine pumpkin, cottage cheese, and milk. Blend until no lumps are present. Add to sausage mixture in skillet and continue to cook over low heat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.

4. Drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Add sausage mixture and baby spinach, and toss together until the spinach is wilted. Serve with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Risotto

One of the best parts about living in the northern suburbs of Chicago is a little gem called Vintner's Cellar Winery of Libertyville.  We have visited them a few times for wine tasting, and have always enjoyed the wines, atmosphere, and employees.  It's a welcoming little place, and from the tasting bar you can peak back towards the rear of the store and see their many different types of wine working away to become... well, wine!

A few weeks ago, I got an email from them that caught my attention, as it announced the return of Pumpkin Spice Chardonnay. In two years of living here, I don't know how I missed the previous offerings of this delightful sounding wine, but I certainly wasn't going to miss out this year!  I went right over after work and picked up two bottles.




We enjoyed that first bottle right away - and I made note of the strong clove flavor as I planned a meal go accompany the second bottle.  Eventually I decided on a Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Risotto, and Walnut Crusted Chicken with a Cinnamon Sage Sauce.  I was even able to use the wine in the dishes!  The meal turned out fabulous and was perfectly complemented by the wine!











Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Risotto
Serves: 4

• 1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces)
• 8 ounces pumpkin (not carving pumpkin) or 1 cup pumpkin puree
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced shallot or white onion
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh sage, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• pinch ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Meanwhile, cut pumpkin and sweet potato into 3/4" cubes, drizzle with evoo and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, or until very tender.
2. Meanwhile, bring chicken broth to a simmer in a stockpot.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.  Add shallot and saute until translucent, but not brown. 
3. Add rice, stir to coat the rice in the oil, then toast rice for about 2 minutes.  Add wine and simmer about 2 minutes, until most of the wine is absorbed.
4. Add 2 ladles worth of broth, plus sage, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and nutmeg (add pumpkin puree now if you are using it).  Stir frequently for 5-10 minutes until broth is almost absorbed.  Repeat until broth is all used.  Remove from heat and stir in sweet potatoes, pumpkin and parmesan cheese, then serve.
   

Pumpkin Banana Oat Muffins

It's officially October so I figured it was time to break out the pumpkin and let the fun begin! As fall approaches, thoughts of pumpkin bread, ice cream, muffins, spice cake, etc, start to swirl in my head. I love the stuff and thankfully, there has been no shortage of pumpkin puree in my area. Still, this year I am faced with a challenge of a different sort. Then new and improved clean eating me can't bear the thought of making pumpkin-you-name-it and not being able to enjoy it.

I set out to try and find a clean way to enjoy pumpkin, and found inspiration from Katie at Good Things Catered. She took a pumpkin banana oat muffin recipe from recipeZaar.com and made some substitutions to make it a little more nutritious. Still, her recipe packed plenty of sugar and white flour, and that wasn't going to work for me. I switched out the white flour, whole eggs and sugar with some cleaner ingredients and the results were fabulous! This was my first time working with sucanat as a sweetener, and although I was hesitant to try it - it's great! The molasses flavor is fantastic and really adds to the complexity of the flavors in the muffin. I omitted the nuts this time around because I wasn't sure where I would be with the calorie count, but might throw them in next time now that I know the base recipe is only 100 calories per muffin!


Pumpkin Banana Oat Muffins
Adapted from Good Things Catered
Makes 18 muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup oat bran
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1.5 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 of a 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
4 egg whites
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/2 cup sucanat

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Spray with cooking spray or line muffin tins with paper liners.
-Combine flours, bran, oats, baking powder, spices, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
-Using whisk or spoon, stir until well mixed.
-Combine remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl; beat until smooth.
-Gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined
-Spoon into prepared pans or tins.
-Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.
-Remove muffins from pan and cool on wire rack as soon as they come out of the oven.

Nutritional Information per muffin:
Calories: 98
Fat: 0.7 g
Saturated fat: 0.1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 150 mg
Potassium: 83 mg
Carbohydrate: 20.7 g
Fiber: 2.9 g
Sugar: 6.5 g
Protein: 3.3 g

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake

With all the experimental baking I've done, I've never made cheesecake before. This is probably due, in part, to the fact that I don't like cheesecake. However, my husband DOES love cheesecake and when he came home with 3 giant cans of pumpkin pie mix instead of pure pumpkin puree, I checked out www.verybestbaking.com to see what I could use it for and decided on pumpkin cheesecake. I was really nervous about making the cheesecake because I always hear about how it didn't go well... cracked top, shrinking, etc. I read up on how to bake using a water bath (thanks Allrecipes!), and learned a few other tricks for mixing the batter properly. (Oh no! It says no over-mixing!!! This is by far my baking Achilles Heel.)


I was very pleasantly surprised to see that everything went REALLY well. No cracking (though if it did, I had that lovely topping to conceal it!), or any other funny business. I may be underbaked it a tiny bit. I didn't really let it chill the recommended amount of time before slicing, so that may have something to do with it, too. I modified the baking instructions based on what I read on allrecipes (listed in italics in the instructions). As I said, I'm not a cheesecake fan, so my husband was the only litmus test. I had planned on saving him two pieces, then bringing the rest to work. He refused to let me take it... so I'm thinking that means it was pretty darn good! Time to make room in the freezer!
Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake

For the crust:
1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

For the pralines:
1/2 cups chopped pecans
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water

For the cheesecake:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 can (30 oz.) Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
For the crust:
Combine graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar in large bowl. Stir in butter. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.

For pralines:
Combine nuts, brown sugar and water in same bowl. Reserve 3/4 cup praline mixture for topping. Sprinkle remaining praline mixture over crumbs in pan. Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

For cheesecake:
Beat cream cheese in large bowl. Beat in brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Beat in eggs. Beat in pumpkin pie mix. Spoon over baked crust/nuts. Cover bottom of springform pan with foil to create a leakproof barrier for the water bath. Place springform pan into another, larger pan and place in the oven. Add boiling water to the larger pan to create the water bath. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until edge is set but 2-3 inches of the center still moves slightly. Sprinkle with reserved praline mixture. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the very center moves slighty. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in, with door closed, for one hour. Run knife around edge of cheesecake. Cool in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan, slice and serve.

Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes

I am still technically on a baking hiatus, but the cute Halloween related cupcake decorations at Target got to me. I decided that I NEEDED to bake cupcakes and bring them to work. The decision for what kind of cupcake was easy....pumpkin! I had seen a recipe in my google reader at Fresh From Cate's Kitchen and I instantly knew I wanted to make them! Pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting... how good does that sound?!

Along with the Halloween cupcake liners, sprinkles, and carved pumpkin flags that I planned to adorn the cupcakes with, I thought I'd try my hand at more decorating with royal icing. I had some leftover thinned royal icing that I wanted to re-thicken and make spiders with. I completely forgot about thickening it, and ended up working with the thinned icing. After about 24 hours of drying, they were completely dry, and I think they turned out really cute! I used an offset spatula to carefully dislodge them from the parchment paper, and only broke one leg. :-)

Behold... my army of spiders!

The cupcake recipe was soooo easy to throw together. I love the recipes where you just throw together all the dry ingredients, throw together all the wet ingredients, mix them together gently and you are done! The frosting recipe makes enough to quite liberally frost the 18 cupcakes I made, so if you are following the cupcake recipe and only making 12, you could cut down the frosting recipe a bit. Overall, the two go SO well together, the flavors really play off one another. Great dessert!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
From: Fresh From Cate's Kitchen
Yield: 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup applesauce

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and sugars.

In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.

Gently stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely on a wire rack

For the frosting:

4 tbsp butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup maple syrup

3 cups powdered sugar

With the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese.

Add maple syrup and beat on medium until combined.

Mix in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, then mix on medium-high until smooth.

Frost each cupcake liberally.

Platinum Chef 9: Apple Pumpkin Chili

I'm BACK! I've been quite busy in the last month preparing for a huge exam. It is OVER now, so I can finally get back in the kitchen and start sharing recipes again. YAY! I also happen to think this is the perfect way to come back... with the Platinum Chef Challenge! I love this event, as it seems to be the only way to get creative juices flowing in the kitchen.

This time, Lisa of Lime in the Coconut chose GREAT ingredients for fall! This round we had to create something with sage, bacon, apples, shallots, and mushrooms. All I have been able to think about since the arrival of fall is CHILI, and I decided that all these ingredients definitely belonged in a chili together. We already have a favorite red chili, so I decided this should go the white chili route. We're a no beef household, so I use either ground turkey or chicken and, for this challenge, turkey bacon (which really is nothing to write home about. I would have much prefered real bacon or some pancetta or something, but alas, those are off the list, too). The flavors really came together nicely in this, and the best part is that it's just an easy throw-together recipe for the crockpot. Love it!

Apple Pumpkin Chili

• 1 pound ground turkey or chicken, browned in a skillet
• 2 cans (15 oz each) white beans, I went for one can northern and one can navy
• 1.5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, cleaned, and sliced
• 4 slices bacon, browned and crumbled or chopped
• one medium shallot, diced
• 1 granny smith apple, diced
• 1/2 of a 14oz can pumpkin puree (about 1 cup)
• 2.5 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon dried sage
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• (optional) equal parts arrowroot or cornstarch and chicken broth, for thickening
• grated gouda cheese, for topping

Combine all except thickener and cheese in a crockpot. Stir to mix ingredients. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6. Add thickener if desired and heat on high for a few minutes to thicken sauce. Serve, topping with grated gouda.

Pumkpin and Goat Cheese Risotto Balls

I was doing some preliminary googling for Platinum Chef Challenge #7*, and stumbled (no, I don't know how, given the ingredients) across this website with a recipe for pumpkin and goat cheese croquettes with maple mascarpone sauce. I immediately thought about twisting the recipe into risotto balls, since I'd seen them here and had them on my list of things to try.

These were amazing! I was a little light on seasoning, so I've increased that in the final recipe here.

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto Balls
For the risotto:
~1/2 of 15 ounce can Pumpkin
~1/4 cup minced shallot (prefered, I didn't have it so I used white onion)
~2 Tbsp butter
~drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
~1 cup arborio rice (about 200 grams)
~2 tsp dried sage
~3/4 cup dry white wine
~1 quart low sodium chicken broth
~1/4 cup goat cheese

1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp of the butter in a saucepan. Add the minced shallot, cook until tender. Add the pumpkin and sage, stir to combine with the shallot.
3. At this point the butter will be gone, push aside the pumpkin and add a drizzle of oil to the pan. Add the rice, coating it with the oil. Toast the rice, while stirring, about 2 minutes, then combine with the pumpkin/shallot mixture.
4. Add the wine, stirring to combine, cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly with each addition until broth is absorbed. When finished, the rice should be tender, but firm to the bite.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the goat cheese and remaining 1 Tbsp of butter.

You can save all of it for risotto balls, or reserve 2 cups of risotto and eat the rest. :-) The remainder of the recipe is based on 2 cups of risotto.

For the risotto balls:
~2 cups risotto, chilled
~2 eggs, lighty whisked
~1/2 cup panko (I ended up using breadcrumbs because I was low on panko and wanted it for rolling)
~3 or so ounces of goat cheese, cut into small squares
~additional 1 cup panko or breadcrumbs for rolling
~1 tsp dried sage
~oil for pan frying

1. Combine the risotto, eggs, and 1/2 cup panko. In a separate bowl, combine the 1 cup panko and sage, for rolling.
2. Form a ball in your hand with a scoop of risotto, indent it in the middle and place a piece of goat cheese there. Wrap the risotto around the cheese to close it up into a ball, and roll in the panko/sage mixture. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet (or other tray). (I got about 11 LARGE risotto balls out of this.)
3. Chill in a refrigerator (I'd say at least an hour, I had them in there for over 2 hours).
4. Heat oil in a sautepan (I just used enough to liberally cover the bottom), and fry risotto balls until golden brown on each side. Be careful not to crowd the pan. Drain on papertowels and sprinkle with salt.

For the mascarpone sauce:
~1/2 cup mascarpone
~1/4 cup heavy cream
~1.5 tbsp maple syrup

1. Stir to combine mascarpone, cream, and syrup. This is half the original recipe, and found it to be a good amount for the 11 risotto balls that I made (plus, I only had 1/2 cup of mascarpone left). :-)


*I have it as #7 in my book, and if I make this one #6 I will have two #6s and that bothers me!

Sage Chicken and Pumpkin Polenta

Fall isn't over at our house! I had some pumkpin leftover from Cuteshorn's soup (which was also really good!), so I decided to try my hand at something different. I had some chicken thawed, so I went in search of something that would combine the two. Eventually I stumbled upon a pumpkin polenta recipe that sounded really good. So what then would I do with the chicken? I'm not very creative and am still trying to learn what flavors and spices go together. I decided sage was a good way to go, and found this recipe for Sage Chicken.

My notes on the chicken recipe: I combined all the seasonings and breadcrumbs to make one master batch, then coated both sides of the chicken with it. I had 4 chicken breasts but still found their recommendation to be a lot. I will probably cut it down next time. I baked mine at 350F until a thermometer read 160F in the chicken, then broiled for a minute or two, to help crisp up the topping.

Pumpkin Polenta (Source: Relishmag.com, Recipe by Crescent Dragonwagon, Relish the Season, "From Patch to Pan," October 2007. Below are the amounts I used, as I only wanted to make 1/2 the recipe)

Cooking spray

2 cups water (I used chicken broth)

3/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup stone-ground cornmeal (not instant or pre-cooked polenta)

3/4 cups cooked pumpkin, coarsely mashed (I use canned)

1/8 cup sour cream or heavy cream

Few turns coarsely ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup shredded Gruyère or Jarlsberg cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or if you are like me and grab the wrong thing at the store, Grana Padano cheese)

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously coat a 1 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. (I forgot this and still survived fine). Combine water, salt and cornmeal in dish, mixing well (the mixture will separate). Bake, uncovered, 40 minutes.

Remove from oven; stir in pumpkin, sour cream, pepper, nutmeg and half the cheeses. Bake 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, top with remaining cheese, and place under the broiler for a few minutes, until top is brown and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

These both turned out GREAT and got rave reviews from my fiance. Both recipes are definitely keepers!

Pumpkin!

I have never cooked with pumpkin. The girls over at What's Cooking were making some really delicious sounding things, so I decided I had to try it!

First up, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (care of Musing of a Mommy).

These were really good and made the kitchen smell GREAT! I think I like them better without the cream cheese, though.

Almost-Like-Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins... on a diet

~3 cups flour (I intended to use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all purpose, but grabbed the wrong bag at the store)
~1 tsp cinnamon
~1 tsp nutmeg
~1 tsp ground cloves
~4 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice (I used a substitution of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves in a 4:2:1:1 ratio)
~1 tsp salt
~1 tsp baking soda
~4 eggs
~2 cups sugar
~2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
~1 ¼ cups vegetable oil (I used 1 ¼ cups unsweetened applesauce)
~8 oz package cream cheese (I used 4 oz fat free and 4 oz of the 1/3 less fat variety)
~Chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans) (optional, and I didn't use them)

Place cream cheese on tinfoil, roll into a log and freeze for up to an hour. Mix ingredients together except cream cheese and nuts. Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) half full. Remove cream cheese and slice. Put 1-2 tsp cream cheese in the middle, pressing down. Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped nuts. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part (do not touch the cream cheese!). Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. Makes 24 muffins.

As I made them, the nutrional information per muffin is as follows:
Calories: 130
Fat: 2.3 g
Sat. Fat: 1.0 g
Cholesterol: 45 mg
Sodium: 216 mg
Potassium: 77 mg
Carbohydrates: 23 g
Fiber: 1.5 g
Sugar: 10 g
Protien: 4.2 g