A Thanksgiving Must Have

One of my favorite things to do when I'm bored especially is bake. My family hates it because they swear I'm trying to make them fat but I just love whipping up something that makes the house smell delicious and tastes yummy too. Since its Thanksgiving, time of course the ingredient of choice for most people is pumpkin. I LOVE pumpkin pie so much that I plan on skimping on the turkey and sides this Thanksgiving so I can have an extra large slice haha. I have to keep my calories in check some how right?! A few weeks ago I decided it was time to venture out past the pumpkin pie and try a few pumpkin inspired things. I came across these amazing pumpkin iced cookies and the most delicious pumpkin bread (or muffins) ever! Get ready for a long post!

Pumpkin Iced Cookies



Recipe from allrecipes.com



Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Icing: 

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

My edits: I substituted 1/2 cup of brown sugar for the 1/2 cup of white sugar to give the cookies a deeper flavor. Most likely I added more cinnamon and pumpkin puree than the recipe calls for because they are just so good! 

For the icing, I used a piping bag and drizzled it on instead of fully icing the cookie but that's your choice to make. I even added some cinnamon to give it a little extra kick

They were perfectly moist yet so simple to make. So if its your turn to bring a dessert to a holiday party this fall, definitely give these a try. You won't be dissapointed and your guests will love them too :) 

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Recipe from allrecipes.com



1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup applesauce (I used the cinnamon one because that's what was in my fridge)

2/3 cup water

2 cups white sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

Because this batter makes so many loaves and I only have 1 loaf pan, I decided to use the rest of the batter and make muffins. I topped a few of them with chopped walnuts and they came out fantastic. I would probably put them in the batter next time to keep them from getting a little over cooked like they did ontop. If using this at a dinner or breakfast party, I would recommend serving it with cream cheese :)

ENJOY!
xoxo Katelynn