Favorite Pumpkin Recipes

Fall is in the air here in Northern California.  Fall is my favorite season because of the crisp mornings, the leaves thinking about changing colors, football and last but certainly not least.....everything PUMPKIN.

I'm a pumpkin fan.  From pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin muffins, I can't get enough.  I even stocked up on pumpkin scented candles.

To celebrate Fall, here are some of my favorite, from scratch, pumpkin recipes.....

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (click to see recipe)

Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies....you can eat these for breakfast!

Dreamy Pumpkin Ice Cream from Scratch.....oh so good.

I hope you're enjoying your ease in to fall as much as I am.  ~Nancy

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Pumpkin Hummus

This, by far, is my favorite time of year.  I am loving all the different recipes that are making their way into my in-box for the use of pumpkin!

Check out my latest and greatest pumpkin find from Bon Appetit....

Pumpkin Hummus!

Use a food processor to purée together canned pumpkin, tahini, garlic, parsley, ground cumin, olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle toasted pumpkin seeds and smoked paprika on top. 

Serve with pita chips.

Enjoy!

photo and recipe courtesy Bon Appetit

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Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

After the pumpkin ice cream the other day, I needed to use up the remainder of the pumpkin puree in my fridge and what better way than to bake some Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate cookies?!

Pumpkin has so many benefits...it's a great source of calcium, potassium and the antioxidant beta-carotene, which converts into vitamin A.  Any way to sneak into my kid's diets is a win-win.

These cookies are a healthy version, there's no butter, and a small amount of sugar and oil.  My kids eat almost anything that include chocolate chips so if they want a cookie in their lunch for school, it's gonna be a 'healthy' one.  No need for the extra sugar rush during school.

Mix the whole wheat and all-purpose flours together with the baking soda, baking powder, sea salt and Chinese 5-spice and set aside.

Whisk together the egg, oil, vanilla extract and pumpkin puree.  Then combine the two bowls, add the oats and chocolate chips.

Bake for a good 15 minutes and your done.  Oh and the bonus.....your house will smell AMAZING.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder and soda, salt, Chinese 5-Spice; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, egg, vanilla.  Add pumpkin and then add flour mixture and stir to combine.  Mix in the oats and chocolate chips.

Use a tablespoon to scoop up cookie dough and roll into ball, place on lined cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Bake until lightly browned, about 15-17 minutes.

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Dreamy Pumpkin Ice Cream

You've probably realized by now that pumpkin is one of my favorite seasonal flavors.  I wish it was available year around...but then again maybe I wouldn't appreciate it as much if it were.

I was asked to review an ice cream cook book for our local newspaper and one of the flavors I tried from the book was pumpkin. 

Mmmmm, this was good.  The recipe called for pumpkin puree that you roast yourself but I cheated a bit and used canned pumpkin puree....I have no patience sometimes....when I want something, I want it now and at that particular moment it was pumpkin ice cream, roasting would have taken entirely too long.

I can't share the recipe just yet, but if you start out with a basic ice cream base, just add 3/4 of a cup of pumpkin puree and some Chinese 5-Spice powder and you will end up with a delicious creamy pumpkin pie ice cream.

And your house will harbor the sweet and spicy scent of fall cooking.

Boil the milk, cream, seasoning and corn syrup for 4 minutes then add the cornstarch and boil again for a minute until it thickens.

Add the milk mixture to your pumpkin and cream cheese mixture.

Throw it in a Ziploc and give it a chilly ice bath for 30 minutes until good and cold.

Ice cream maker time, I use my KitchenAid attachment, for 30 minutes.  Then store in airtight containers for at least 4 hours until it's good and hard.

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