welcome, fall

Yesterday was a beautiful Fall day -cool, crisp, a little rainy. The leaves here are starting to change a bit, and everywhere you look, pumpkins are for sale.

Oooh, pumpkin. For me, there is no other symbol of autumn that can compare in both beauty and taste. Sure, the apple puts up a good argument, but pumpkin is the hands down winner. My Mom always made a pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving, and for some reason, it was pretty much ME who ate it. Why did everyone pass up her Pumpkin Cake for Chocolate? Or Apple Pie? Maybe because I kind of hid the cake. Perhaps it was difficult to find it in the basement or under my bed. They should have looked harder.

Last year, I made Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, Pumpkin Cupcakes, Pumpkin Cheesecake, and Pumpkin Pecan Pie. To kick off my pumpkin repetoire this year, I am starting with Pumpkin Bites. They are very similar to whoopie pies, only much much smaller and terribly addictive. I must have made 1000 of these last year for some of the functions I was catering, because they kept getting requested. At only about an inch wide, they are perfect for popping and great for parties and tailgates, especially because they are foolproof and take such a little amount of time to put together.

Pumpkin Bites

makes 60+ sandwich cookies

• 3 cups plus 2 Tbsps all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 TBSP cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup Canola Oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.
2. In a Mixer Bowl, whisk the sugars, canola and melted butter together. Add the pumpkin puree and combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Pour the flour mixture over the wet ingredients and slowly whisk to combine. Do not overmix.
3. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare to baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a SilPat.
4. Place entire mixer bowl in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes while oven preheats, then transfer batter to piping bag fitted with a star tip* (or any tip you choose, just choose one that is mostly open, not a leaf style or tiny tip). Pipe cookies in about 1 inch circles onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies look done. Once cool, fill centers with cream cheese icing.

(* I couldn’t find my small star tip for this batch & used a large tip. I MUCH prefer the smaller one, I think it is Wilton 12. Maybe a 22. I have a hard time remembering the numbers! You’ll get a more distinct pattern using that tip…kids I served them to called them Pumpkin Acorns, and LOVED them. If you don’t have a tip or piping bag, you could always just use a spoon and forgo the extra pattern, they’ll taste the same – delicious!)

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 stick butter, Room Temperature
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
• 3 1/2 cups Confectioners Sugar, maybe more
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• Dash of Salt

Beat Cream Cheese, Butter, Salt & Cinnamon until lump-free and smooth. Gradually add sugar until well combined. Add vanilla until just incorporated. Pipe onto cookies and sandwich them together. Enjoy!!

So, what’s YOUR favorite Pumpkin recipe? Soup? Mousse? Cake? Please share! My husband is a huge Pumpkin Lover, and being the sweet wife I am (hardy har har) I want to make him fat & happy!