Pumpkin |

Mini Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Pies

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Kaitlin

Just because Thanksgiving has passed doesn’t mean I can continue to deliver pumpkin-y goodness on this blog. This recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Pie was featured on The Chew and I just loved the idea of it but wanted to make it a little bit my own. I didn’t want the pumpkin flavor to be lost in the chocolate so I decided to swirl a bit in at the end. And, because I’m apparently on a mini kick, I went with mini pumpkin pies! Ingredients: 3 oz Semisweet Chocolate Chips 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (cut into small pieces) 1/2 teaspoon Coffee or Espresso Grounds 1 15 oz Can Pumpkin 1 12 oz Can Evaporated Milk 3/4 cup Packed Light-Brown Sugar 3 Large Eggs 1 tablespoon Cornstarch 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg Pinch of Ground Cloves Mini pie crusts

Pumpkin Eggnog

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Kaitlin

The only upside to the colder weather, is that it is now appropriate for me to make eggnog. And not just any eggnog, but pumpkin eggnog. Pinnacle Vodka came out with a pumpkin pie vodka this year, and I’ve been waiting and waiting for the right weather to make this drink. I actually used a recipe that came from The Cookbook of Ellen M Emlen, which is a recipe book from from the 1860′s that The Historical Society of Pennsylvania found in their collection. I’ve written about this cookbook before on this blog and I just love it. One of the issues in the cookbook though, is that it is written before standard measurements were invented so the recipes aren’t easily reproduced. (For example, this recipe called for a wine-size glass of milk. White wine or red wine glass? Completely full, or what a serving in the glass would be? You get the picture.) But I figured if it was good enough for the 19th century, it’s good enough for me! Ingredients: 2 eggs 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar 2 cups milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree 1 oz pumpkin spice … Continue reading →

Gingerbread Chocolate Pumpkin Trifle

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Kaitlin

Every Christmas, my mom makes an absolutely delicious trifle to give to neighbors and have for dessert on Christmas day. This trifle is so engrained in our winter holidays that I’m pretty sure we aren’t allowed to show up to my aunt and uncle’s house without the trifle in hand. I’ve always loved the simplicity of trifles and wanted to try out a version using my favorite ingredient: pumpkin! I was given the opportunity to enter a contest with nine other bloggers. The challenge is to use Walkers Shortbread products to make a new dessert, and luckily one of the categories was trifle! It was a sign! My mom’s trifle has custard, chocolate pudding, and rum-soaked pound cake slices with whipped cream and fruit on top. So I wanted to keep the general concept the same with my recipe. I am actually I decided to keep the chocolate pudding because, well, who doesn’t love chocolate pudding? A thought a pumpkin mousse would just be fantastic.I decided to make it a bourbon pumpkin mousse to add an extra layer of flavor. And of course instead of pound cake slices, I used Walkers’ Stem Ginger Biscuits and Pure Butter Shortbread.The … Continue reading →

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Kaitlin

Have you ever had a recipe just not work out the way it’s supposed to? It happens to me all the time. I usually tend to mess up a recipe so badly that I don’t even post it on here. But every now and then, my odd mistake ends up not being so bad, and is, dare is say it, quite delicious. This is one of those times, so I decided to share it. This recipe is adapted from verybestbaking.com. Ingredients: 2/3 cup (~15) crushed gingersnap cookies 2 tablespoons butter, melted 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1 can pumpkin puree 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon allspice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs 2 tablespoons dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. (I tried both paper and foil cupcake liners. Use foil, the paper ones got stuck and I couldn’t get the tarts out!) Crumble the gingersnaps. Place them in a ziploc bag and roll with a rolling pin until finely crushed. Combine the cookie crumbs and butter in a small bowl. Evenly distribute into each muffin tin (about 1 … Continue reading →

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Kaitlin

One of my favorite parts of reading other blogger’s pages is checking out the “about me” sections of their blogs. It’s always so interesting to read how bloggers began cooking, how they decided to start and blog, and what else in life interests them. So when I was offered a copy of White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story written by Jenna Weber of the wonderful blog Eat Live Run I couldn’t wait to dig in! The book follows Jenna as she graduates college and makes the decision to go to culinary school to fulfill her dream of becoming a food writer. The book allows the reader a deep dive into Jenna’s journey to follow her dreams while dealing with life along the way. Like me, Jenna seems to pinpoint specific times in her life by food that sticks out from that time period. Throughout the book, her story is peppered with delicious recipes from her childhood as well as recipes she developed through her career. One of the recipes stood out to me: Jenna’s recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. I am pumpkin obsessed, and I have wanted to make whoopie pies for a while now but was always kind … Continue reading →

My First Guest Post – at A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Kaitlin

Today I wrote my first guest post over at A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis. His page is truly stunning so I am honored to be the guest post this week. Stop on by Chef Dennis’ blog to see my post on Pumpkin Sticky Buns with Caramel-Pecan drizzle! I think you are well aware of my pumpkin obsession by now (I have twelve other posts on here using pumpkin!) so I really wanted to do something special to round out my bakers dozen of pumpkin recipes. The recipe does take some time, so this would definitely be a weekend choice. But you can refrigerate the dough or even freeze it once it is shaped into the sticky buns. I hope you enjoy my post!

Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Kaitlin

Are you getting sick of my pumpkin recipes? I think this actually brings me to over a dozen posts on pumpkin-flavored desserts/meals. I wasn’t lying when I said I was pumpkin obsessed! Anyways, I’ve been trying to make this recipe from Cooking Light for almost 2 weeks, but for the life of me could not find wonton wrappers. I finally just adapted the recipe to use fresh pasta from By George in Reading Terminal. Ingredients (makes 3 servings): 1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin 2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh sage 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, divided 6 pieces of fresh pasta lasagna sheets, rolled thinner if desired (I used pumpkin pasta, no surprise there!) – about 1 lb. 1 cup fat-free milk 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese 1 tablespoon egg substitute or one egg, mixed 3 tablespoons hazelnuts, chopped Fresh sage leaves for garnish Note: It would be super helpful to have a ravioli stamp, (or ideally, to have a ravioli maker!) but you can get the same results by pressing firmly and separating … Continue reading →

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Kaitlin

At the request of a coworker (and by request I mean he brought in cans of pumpkin puree), I finally made a pumpkin classic — Pumpkin Bread. Although usually made with walnuts or pecans, I instead decided to use chocolate chips. I used a recipe from Cooking Lightas a base for the recipe. Ingredients: 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon cloves 2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup egg substitute 1/2 cup canola oil 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk 2 large eggs 2/3 cup water 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin Cooking spray 1/2 cup chocolate chips Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves to a medium sized bowl. Combine using a whisk. Add the sugar, egg substitute, oil, buttermilk, and eggs in a large bowl. Using a mixer, beat on high until well mixed. Add 2/3 cup water and the pumpkin puree. Beat on low until blended. Add the dry flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat on low until just combined. Add the chocolate chips. Combine using a spatula. Be sure … Continue reading →

Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies & Review of Melt Buttery Spread

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Kaitlin

One of the huge downsides of my pumpkin obsession is that most of the sweets made with pumpkin really should be eaten in moderation (something I am not capable of adhering to). So I am always in search of a way to lighten the calorie intake of those desserts so that I can still enjoy them without feeling terribly guilty afterwards. Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny recently had a post trying out a new buttery spread called Melt with rave reviews. Luckily, Melt graciously sent me two packages of their organic buttery spread for me to try out as well! So what exactly is melt and what makes it different from other butter substitutes? Melt contains virgin coconut oil, flax seed oil, palm fruit oil, and canola oil — all healthy cooking oils and “good fats.” Typical buttery spreads are made of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, which have been liked to obesity, heart disease, etc. Melt is also organic, gluten free, soy free, kosher, and has 50% of the saturated fat and fewer calories than butter. Whew. Melt’s, well, melt point is close to original butter’s melting point, making it perfect for baking. Typical buttery spreads usually have a lower … Continue reading →

Stuffed Pumpkin with Cranberry-Raisin Bread Pudding

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Kaitlin

When I came across the title of this recipe, I was intrigued. I wasn’t sure if this would actually be a success, but it sounded so interesting I had to give it a try. So behold, Stuffed Pumpkin Cranberry-Raisin Bread Pudding. Ingredients: 1 pie pumpkin, about the size of your hand 1 stick of butter (1/4 cup) plus 1 teaspoon butter, melted and divided 1 teaspoon brown sugar 1 large egg 1/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup half and half 1/3 chopped pecans 1/2 a raisin bread loaf, cut into smaller pieces 1/4 cup fresh cranberries Lemon-Vanilla Sauce, to taste 1 vanilla bean, split 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch A pinch of salt 1 teaspoon butter or margarine 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the butter to a pot over low heat to melt. Cut off the top of the pumpkin. Reserve the lid. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and pulp. Brush the inside of the pumpkin with 1 teaspoon melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Cut the bread into similar sized pieces. Top with the … Continue reading →