Pumpkin Cranberry Bread or muffins

3 cups flour
1 Tbsp + 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 1/4 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger & allspice)
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup orange juice
zest of 1 orange
1 cup cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans or spray muffin tins. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in separate bowl, ebat until just blended. Add to flour mixture, stir until moistened. Fold in cranberries. Spoon into pans.

Bake loaves for 60-65 minutes or muffins for 15-20 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Pumpkin Chili

Fabulous quick and easy chili. Pumpkin makes it creamy and rich, taking the place of most of the tomatoes.

 

Pumpkin Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (14.5 ounce) can corn

1 (14.5 ounce) can kidney beans

2 cups pumpkin puree (or about 1 14.5 ounce can)

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

shredded Cheddar cheese

sour cream

 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the ground beef, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream. 

Pumpkin Donuts

The batter is sticky but careful handling and use of flour make it not too bad. The trickiest part for me was finding two circle cutters that would make a donut like shape. But they are delicious and we have enjoyed them several times. Between these, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin waffles, we eat a lot of pumpkin in the fall.

Baked Pumpkin Donuts

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup sugar
6 Tbsp butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin puree

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spice and sugar. Whisk together all of the remaining ingredients in a second, medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir them around the bowl until the mixture is well combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, rolling the donut dough to approximately 3/4" thick, then cut with donut cutter. Transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or just until the donuts are cooked through. Dip immediately into buttermilk glaze. Eat warm and enjoy!

Buttermilk Glaze
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk together in a small bowl until smooth. Dip hot donuts in the glazed, then allow to air dry on a cooling rack.

Original recipe from Cheeky Kitchen here.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are one of my husband's favorites. The recipe comes from his sister. They are like big soft pillows of pumpkin and chocolate goodness.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1/2 Tbsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups (12 oz pkg) chocolate chips

Cream the shortening and butter. Stir in the eggs by hand just until mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend.  Bake at 375 F for 13-15 minutes. Cookies will still look slightly undercooked but when touched will be firm with slight bounce. Remove and let cool on sheet for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Pumpkin muffins

I have made them 4 times in two weeks and have had requests for them from people. We really like these rich pumpkin muffins and so here's the recipe to share with you.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup wheat flour
2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoons ground cloves

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs
2 cups pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 F.Prepare muffin cups.

	In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together pumpkin puree, oil and eggs. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
	Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Yields 18-20 muffins.

Dinner in a pumpkin

An amusing way to cook a tasty casserole, this turned out to be a very tasty dinner. We really enjoyed it - you can mix in the cooked pumpkin pieces or just enjoy the aromatics. I think it would be a great Halloween dinner tradition.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb hot sausage, cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbsp brown sugar
28 oz beef stock
1.5 cups rice
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
frozen vegetables
1 sugar pumpkin

Brown the beef and sausage in a skillet, then add 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice and all the brown sugar. Add beef stock and rice and cover and cook until rice is tender. Then mix in cream of mushroom soups and any vegetables you might like to add. Heat oven to 400 F.

While rice is cooking, cut top off a pumpkin, going more straight across than what you would for a jack-o'lantern. Scoop out the innards. Put the casserole mixture in the pumpkin and put lid back on. Place pumpkin on a tray or in a casserole dish. Put in oven for 1.5- 2 hours until pumpkin is easily pierced with a fork.

Scoop out filling and pumpkin flesh to each person as desired to serve.

Pumpkin Waffles

I have been given a bunch of eating pumpkins and now am searching out tasty pumpkin recipes. Today we had pumpkin waffles for breakfast and they were delicious. I recommend you go try them!

Ultimate Pumpkin Waffles

Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

In my house, we love pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and make many batches each fall. They are like little pumpkin flavor clouds with bursts of chocolate in them. So delicious.

So when I saw these pumpkin butterscotch muffins at Confabulation in the Kitchen, I just had to try them. So yummy looking!

They did not disappoint. The flavor was great, they are delicious. A wonderful fall treat, and a fun provider of variety in our pumpkin consumption. :)

I used nutmeg instead of mace b/c that's what I had on hand and I used whole wheat pastry flour for about half of the flour amount, like I do in most recipes. As much fun as the pecans sound, DH is allergic, and loves pumpkin, so no pecans here. Oh, and I added 1/2 tsp cloves, but I don't think most people would like the cloves, which is why they are probably not in the ingredient list though they are in the directions.

So here's the recipe:

Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins

1-3/4 cups flour, sifted
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)

TO PREPARE:

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugars, ginger, mace, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Create a well in the middle of the mixture.

In another bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin and butter. Stir in butterscotch chips and pecans and pour into the well of dry ingredients. Fold together just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon batter evenly into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Place on a rack to cool.

YIELDS: 18 muffins