Pumpkin Pancakes

Original Recipe HERE

Pumpkin pancakes often are gummy in the middle because of the moisture content of the pumpkin.  These weren't as gooey as previous recipes I've tried, and they puffed up nicely instead of stayed flat.  The batter was very thick and didn't spread much in the pan, which I'm not used to, but it meant I could make smaller pancakes (yay for faster cooking) and fit more in each round in the skillet (yay for efficient cooking).  I got about 22 pancakes out of this, and I wish I'd doubled the recipe because the superhuman appetites of my kids weren't satisfied with 4 pancakes each.  Leftovers for the next day would've been nice, especially since the kids asked that I make them again.

Ingredients

1 egg

1 & 3/4 cups buttermilk

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 Tablespoons applesauce

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Directions

(1) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and applesauce.

(2) Into a separate bowl, sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

(3) Combine dry ingredients into wet.  Stir until just mixed but still lumpy.

(4) Cook pancakes on a griddle or in a skillet over medium-low heat until a few bubbles appear in the batter.  Flip and cook until done.

Kid Participation:

* Whisk wet ingredients

* Measure dry ingredients

* Sift dry ingredients

* Spoon batter into skillet (because it's thick and there's less chance of it turning into a mess in the skillet)

Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Original Recipe HERE

My kids love baked oatmeal dishes (especially when I serve them it with baked pears), and I was looking to whip together something slightly easier and just for a change of pace.  The entire dish would've been eaten in one night if we didn't have to wolf down dinner and leave for gymnastics.

 

Because I needed this to cook faster, I put it in a 9x13" dish and baked covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for 10-15.  The texture was more oatmeal-y and less firm than my usual recipe, which was fine.  I also didn't have any eggs, so I substituted several tablespoons of egg whites - whether that made a difference, I'll test in future makings.  I suspect it was the greater amount of pumpkin instead.  Also, I'd probably increase the amount of pumpkin pie spice - or at least add cinnamon.

 

Ingredients

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin purée
1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups milk
2-1/2 cups dry old-fashioned oats

 

Directions
(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease an 8x8" baking dish.
(2) In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, pie spice, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
(3) Whisk in milk.
(4) Add oats to pumpkin mixture; stir until well combined.  Pour into prepared pan.
(5)  Cover pan with foil.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil; bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

Kid Participation:
* Whisk together ingredients
* Measure oats

Pumpkin Spice Baked Oatmeal

Original Recipe HERE

 

We had this as dinner because it was super easy to throw all the ingredients in the stand mixer's bowl, dump the batter in the dish, and toss it in the oven and forget about it until the timer went off.  Notice the verbs used; it was That Kind of Night.  Thank goodness for recipes like this that everyone liked, so at least we ended the day on a positive note.

 

The original recipe called for half a cup of oil, which seemed nasty to me.  Normally I'd substitute apple sauce for the oil, but there already was some.  So I broke out my first ever jar of coconut oil and gave it a whirl.  I was in a rush, so I didn't take the time to fully liquify it, double-boiler style.  I kind of softened it up via the microwave, and as soon as I added it to the cold batter, it solidified again.  So halfway through the baking, I stirred the batter as best I could in the hopes that would distribute it.  Next time I'll have a better technique, but I'll definitely use it again because it gave a slight hint of coconut that added to the final product rather than detracted.

 

The level of sweetness was good, though the amount of brown sugar made me pause a little just because I was serving this as dinner.  Substituting half with honey, or maybe even molasses, could work.  I made bacon and served the oatmeal as-is, but next time I'll made it a more complete meal with yogurt or something.  Or not.  Yeah, probably not.

 

Ingredients

2 eggs

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted

1/4 cup coconut oil, liquified

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

2-1/4 cups milk [I used skim]

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt [I forgot this]

1/2 cup wheat flour

4 cups quick cooking oats

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9×13" baking dish.

(2) In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, applesauce, butter, oil,  pumpkin, milk, syrup and brown sugar until smooth.

(3) Add spice, baking powder, salt, flour and oats. Beat on low until incorporated.

(4) Pour batter into dish.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through in the center of the dish.

(5) Let cool slightly before serving. Serve with milk, yogurt, Greek yogurt, or as is.

 

Kid Participation:

* Dump ingredients into mixing bowl

* Run mixer

Pumpkin Muffins, the Cheater's Way

I'd heard about the "1 boxed cake mix + 1 can of pumpkin = deliciousness" legend, so I tried it with a chocolate mix.  It turned out perfectly fine, but there was no detection of pumpkin.  Further research led to the knowledge that a spice cake is the best way to achieve that.  Whether I tasted the actual pumpkin or just the spices in the mix, who knows.  But it was criminally easy and pretty darn yummy.

I read that the batter - and resulting baked good - can be slightly dense if just the mix and pumpkin are used.  The jury seemed to be out on that.  Per many suggestions, I added some eggs and a little bit of water.  I made the box mix into muffins, but the recipe is flexible enough to make a sheet cake, a loaf, or even cookies (so I read).  I got 19 muffins instead of the promised 24, but that's probably better anyway because I ate three-quarters of them.

Ingredients

1 box (18.25 oz) spice cake mix [I used Duncan Hines]

1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350.  Grease muffin tin
(2) In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, and water until well combined.
(3) Mix in cake mix until well combined.
(4) Pour batter into muffin tin.  Bake 18-20 minutes [mine were done at 18] or until a knife inserted in a muffin comes out clean.

Kid Participation:
* Whisk wet ingredients
* Whisk cake mix into wet ingredients
* Wonder where all the muffins disappeared to overnight...ahem, Mama...

Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

Original Recipe HERE

I was looking for a frosting recipe that was more interesting than a basic buttercream and thought this was seasonally appropriate.  Poor Husband; his birthday always is the guinea pig one where I try recipes I've never made before.  Luckily this one turned out well.  It's not sweet, so pairing it with the chocolate zucchini cake (which also wasn't very sweet) was a good match since I wasn't looking for a traditional sugar-laden dessert.  And if Husband didn't like it, there's always next year to try something new.  I'm sure he's already anticipating it with dread excitement.

I doubled it for a 9x13" sheet cake and it was more than enough.

Ingredients (for non-doubled recipe)

8 oz Philadelphia 1/3 fat cream cheese (do not use fat free)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

5 Tablespoons packed brown sugar

Directions

(1) Allow cream cheese to soften to room temperature.

(2) Add pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar to cream cheese.  Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Original Recipe HERE

These cookies were a great autumnal treat.  I would've eaten them all (with *N* gladly offering to assist) if I hadn't sent them to work with Husband.  He emailed me a few hours into the day to say they were a hit and that the recipe had been requested.

One thing to keep in mind when baking these is that they may not look or feel done - the tops will be very soft.  But watch for browning on the bottoms.  The end result is a very lightly-textured, "airy" cookie that means can easily find yourself consuming mass quantities because they aren't dense, fill-you-up-type treats.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened [or margarine or shortening]

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking soda

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice [can be substituted with nutmeg and cloves]

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray.

2) In stand mixer or using a mixing bowl with electric mixer, combine butter, brown sugar, eggs and pumpkin until smooth.

3) In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pie spice, and salt.

4) Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix on low until combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.

5) Spoon batter onto greased cookie sheets in tablespoon-size drops. Bake 9-11 minutes. Remove from sheets and let cool on cooling rack.

Notes: None.

Kid Participation:

* Measure wet ingredients

* Crack eggs

* Measure dry ingredients

* Whisk dry ingredients

* Spoon dough onto baking sheet (likely resulting in dough smeared all over the sheet and a burned-cookie smell from your oven)