Toasted Pumpkin Seeds with Sugar and Spice

My friend, Raquel posted this recipe on Facebook as her favorite way to prepare pumpkin seeds. I get really bored with just standard, salted seeds so I was game for trying something new. Well let me tell you, after preparing these seeds, this recipe is now MY new favorite way to make pumpkin seeds. They were delicious! I swear they were totally addictive. We had some friends over for the afternoon, and these disappeared pretty quickly...no one could stay away from the bowl!

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds with Sugar and Spice
From: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
6 tablespoons white sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dry and toasted. Larger seeds may take longer.

In a large bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons of white sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and sprinkle the remaining sugar over them. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts, about 45 seconds. Pour seeds into the bowl with the spiced sugar and stir until coated. Allow to cool before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

The Result:
My camera battery needs to be recharged, so I don't have a photo. Sadly, I only remember that it needs to be charged when I need to either take or upload a photo. I need to just find the charger right now and do it already! Anyway, these were fantastic. This is now my go-to pumpkin seed recipe. YUM!

No-Guilt Pumpkin Cookies

I still had some pumpkin leftover from bread-making, so I thought I would try this recipe for cookies. My friend, Claire found it on recipezaar.com when she was looking for pumpkin ideas. After a glowing review from Claire, I decided I just had to make these babies. Oh man! She was quite right to brag about these cookies...they are great! Light, fluffy, cake-like. Not too sweet, but nice and buttery. Yum! I heart them very much. Also, the recipe should come with a warning label...these cookies are highly addictive! You cannot eat just one!

No-Guilt Pumpkin Cookies
Recipe #169079

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar or Splenda granular
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat sugars and margarine until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, vanilla, and egg; blend well. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges.

Jen's Notes:
I added a teaspoon of nutmeg, too. What can I say??? I love nutmeg. Also, I think that cinnamon should not be without nutmeg. It is just such a classic pairing.



The Result:
Is it wrong to have cookies for breakfast??? I hope not, because this is precisely what my son and I ate this morning. In fact, it was his idea! Who am I to say that we should not have delicious, No-Guilt Pumpkin Cookies for breakfast???? After all, you are not allowed to feel guilty while eating them...it says so right in the title! I assume that includes breakfast, too.

Spiced Pumpkin Walnut Bread

About once or twice a month I go through my pantry, fridge, and freezer, and take inventory. I see what I have in stock, and then I also make a itemized list of staples that I need. While doing my pantry check last week, I found a huge, unopened can of pumpkin. It was a total head-scratcher! I think I remember buying a can during Thanksgiving, but obviously, I never got around to using it. Huh.

Anyway, since I cannot waste a perfectly good can of pumpkin, I decided to make some pumpkin bread. I love having homemade baked goods in the house, since they are usually a little healthier than anything you could buy. I did a search on recipezaar.com and found this recipe. I had everything on hand, so it was pretty easy to put together. I made a couple substitutions, and amended the original recipe to include my changes.

Here is a funny coincidence...I told my friend, Claire about my pumpkin find and, ironically, she found a can of pumpkin in her pantry, too. She decided to make some pumpkin cookies, and I went with the bread. Oddly enough, we both decided to do our pumpkin baking today. I still have some pumpkin leftover, so I will probably make her cookies tomorrow.

Spiced Pumpkin Walnut Bread
By Bev, 01/25/02, Recipe #18014
Yield: 2 loaves, 16-18 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup of natural applesauce (4 oz.)
3 large eggs
1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
1. Butter and flour two 9x5x3" loaf pans.
2. Beat sugar, applesauce, and oil in large bowl to blend.
3. Mix in eggs and pumpkin.
4. Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg,allspice, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl.
5. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions.
6. Mix in walnuts, if desired.
7. Divide batter equally between prepared pans.
8. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
9. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes.
10. Using sharp knife, cut around edge of loaves.
11. Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely.



The Result:
I am tired of typing, so my review is going to be short.

Here it is....

YUM!!!! This bread is awesome. Try it and you will see! Case closed. Over and out.

(Claire's Friend, Benah's) Pumpkin Crumb Cake

The nice thing about having a friend with a cooking blog, is that you can steal...I mean get inspiration from...recipes that she has collected from her other friends. This cake is a recipe from Claire's friend Benah, which Claire posted on her blog a couple weeks ago. It is really, really good. I had a chance to sample a piece of this cake at a playgroup that Claire hosted, and let me tell you, it is definitely worth recreating. I found some frozen pumpkin puree from about the time of the Mesozoic Era in my freezer (carbon dating analysis will confirm exactly how long it was in my freezer...ugh), so I thought that this cake would be perfect for using that up. My house is going to smell so yummy!

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Crust:
1 pkg (18 oz) yellow cake mix (take out one cup for topping)
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted

Filling:
1 lb can pumpkin
3 eggs
½ c granulated sugar
¼ c brown sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon (or 1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger)

Topping:
1 cup cake mix
½ c granulated sugar
½ c chopped nuts (optional)
3 tbsp butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix crust ingredients; pat into greased 9x13 pan.

Beat filling ingredients; pour over crust.

Combine topping and crumble over filling.

Bake for 45-55 minutes.





The Result:

Dear Claire and Benah,
Thank you for bringing this cake into my life. It is so amazingly delicious and easy. I love it! I would sing you a song about how much I L-O-V-E this cake, but I am tone deaf. It is better if I just write you this love letter. XOXO.

Warm Regards,
Best Wishes,
Hopelessly Devoted,
Forever Yours,

Jen B.