Apple Cider Pumpkin Loaves with Cranberries and Raisins

I got this recipe off the Libby's website. (Even though I did not use their product... Shhhh!) I made a few minor alterations and turned an ordinary pumpkin loaf into something simply spectacular!
 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 can (15 ounces) organic pumpkin
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup fresh apple cider
• 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in cranberries and raisins. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans.

BAKE for 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe makes two loaves.

FOR THREE 8 x 4-INCH LOAF PANS:
PREPARE as above. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

FOR FIVE OR SIX 5 x 3-INCH MINI-LOAF PANS:
PREPARE as above. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

(Chocolate Chip Loaded) Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

It's fall in New England! Although it is August and an Indian Summer looms right around the corner I am taking pleasure, extreme pleasure, in the fact that I can have all the windows open, wear jeans and long sleeves! The dry summer has led some of the trees to start turning prematurely... I can hear them rustling beyond. Suddenly I have this great craving, this great urge to have all things pumpkin. Rumor has it that Starbucks will introduce its first Pumpkin Spiced Latte of the season in just over a week... I swoon at the thought of this ... while visions of pumpkin bread dance through my head!

And then, as my youngest was eating his breakfast, I started to rifle through the pantry. I was pulling various ingredients and putting them on the counter... I had pumpkin puree and brown sugar and flour and chocolate chips and vanilla and baking powder... and then I sat down to my children's laptop and Googled "pumpkin biscotti." I scoured through recipes and came up with something that was partially my own and partially several others'...

I've had a few pieces already. I can attest to you that this stuff is good. Damned good. I'll to hit the treadmill a little harder today!

Ingredients:

3 Cups flour
1 1/2 Cups packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
1 stick of butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 (ok 3/4!) Cup white chocolate chips
1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 Cup of pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a mixing bowl beat together eggs, sugar and butter.
Beat in vanilla and pumpkin.
Add baking powder and flour. Mix well.
Fold in chocolate chips.


Grease and flour baking sheet. Or use a Silpat.

Drop dough by spoonfuls on to cookie sheet to create 3 equally sized logs, about 3 to 4 inches wide.
Bake for 30 minutes
Reduce heat to 300 degrees.
Bake for 30 minutes.


Remove from oven and very carefully cut the dough into slices, about 3/4 inch wide.
Place cookies on baking sheet. (I took out a clean one.)
Bake 10 minutes.

Cool a few minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

Pumpkin French Toast

It's no secret that I love pumpkin, pumpkin everything except, oddly enough pumpkin pie. I wanted to see what Pumpkin French Toast would taste like. It was a test, a gamble... I had three really hungry kids waiting to eat... I could have picked a better time to play with my food. As the French Toast was ready I slid a couple of pieces on to plates, and grabbed a slice myself... I had to. I would certainly not offer them something inedible. I took a bit of powdered sugar and sprinkled it over the top... bit down... and Oh. My. GOD! Pumpkin French Toast is like eating a bit of Heaven! (If you happen to like French Toast and Pumpkin.)

Feed to kids. Watch their reaction. Don't tell them what I have done... all is quiet. Silence. Chewing-swallowing-chewing-swallowing followed by "More please!"

Then husband enters the kitchen and looks at orangy mess in bowl. "Gross!" he declares. Then grabs a cooked one. As he shoves it in his mouth he asks why I have to add pumpkin to everything. The answer is two-fold. I like it and it's so good for you.

Chew-chew-chew-swallow. "Hey, these are pretty good!" The Old Skeptic declares has he dips into the plate and grabs another slice, this time adding syrup.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of good bread, preferably slightly stale (mine was not)
2 tbs granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 cups of lowfat milk
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 can of pumpkin puree

Turn on your griddle or stove and heat to high. Coat with non-stick spray, and keep on hand to reapply after each batch.

In a large mixing bowl add all the above ingredients except the bread. Mix well

Dredge bread into the pumpkin mixture so that both sides are covered. Do not scrape off excess.





The pumpkin will sizzle when the griddle or pan are hot enough. You will need to turn the heat down slightly. Cook till browned on both sides. This does take longer to cook than regular French Toast. Perhaps about 5 minutes a side.

As the slices are ready, they will be firm and not soggy to the touch, remove them from the heat and place them on a plate or in the oven to keep warm. Repeat as necessary.

This made, I believe, 24 slices.

After I tossed the bag with cooled pieces in to the freezer for later this week I thought about how good one of these slices would taste with a bit of Nutella spread over the top... and was glad (for my waistline) that the bread was in the freezer!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Swirl Cake

Lore has it that Lucy Van Pelt made this every year before her brother Linus went off to pay tribute to the Great Pumpkin. You never saw it, but Linus kept a slice or two hidden in his blanket to snack on when it got dark, cold and lonely out there.

Ok, I totally made that up, but Lucy and Linus totally should have! Because this cake rocks and I urge you all to make this at home!

The best thing about this wonderfully moist, pumkinny, chocolaty delicious cake is that is couldn't be easier to make! You'll need:

1 package white or yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 oz) Pumpkin Spice pudding mix (New and Seasonal!)
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1/2 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of water
3 large eggs
3/4 cups chocolate chips
1/8 cup of chocolate syrup
2 Tbs cocoa powder

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl EXCEPT the chocolate syrup and the cocoa powder. With an electric mixer beat on medium until all the ingredients are well mixed.*

Divide the batter in half and pour half into another mixing bowl. In that mixing bowl add the chocolate syrup and cocoa powder. With the electric mixer, beat until all is well blended.

You can use any pan you want to: loaf, bundt, springform or tube pan.

Grease pan very well and pour the batters in alternating, one at a time so that you can create a swirled effect. The pumpkin batter is a bit thicker, so I used a spatula to help spread it in a swirly pattern. I repeated these steps until the pan was filled (quite high!).

Put the cake in to a preheated oven of 350 degrees. The baking could take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour depending on the type of pan you use. The loaf pan required 1 hour and 15 minutes to bake. The best thing is to keep checking. If you have a wooden skewer use it as you would a toothpick. Insert into the center of the cake and it should come out clean!

Let the cake cool for about 20 minutes before service.

* I totally forgot to add the chocolate chips into the batter, so they were added after the fact in layers. One layer of chips was placed in the middle of the cake and the other on top. It was not what I had planned, but it was tasty indeed!

The 3 basic items for this recipe!

Pumpkin Jell-O Pudding looks Mmm Good!

It's the Great Pumpkin Muffin (Charlie Brown)!!!

I love pumpkin. Anything pumpkin. I love that my kids love pumpkin too. It's so good and healthy for them too. We make lots of pumpkin breakfast goodies in the fall. It's September and the heat and humidity have left New England. The cool, crisp air is perfect for baking. Yesterday I made some fabulous pumpkin muffins. Always a hit around here. I added dried cranberries and raisins for a perfect breakfast or morning snack. We're running out quickly!

Ingredients:
3 cups of unbleached flour
1 tbs pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 - 3/4 cups of granulated sugar
1 can of pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
3/4 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of skim or 1% milk
1 cup of raisins
1 cup of dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Pour mixture in to muffin tins either well greased or lined with cupcake liners. (I use a small ice cream scoop and fill each tin about 3/4 to the top.)

Bake in oven for 25 - 30 minutes... check for done-ness with a toothpick after 25 minutes.

When done remove from oven and let cool.

A perfect taste of fall!

Pumpkin Brownies

Can't get your fill of pumpkin? Well, while these brownies are loaded with pumpkin puree you won't taste much of anything but chocolate. So if you are looking for real pumpkin flavor these might not be the answer to your cravings. However, if you want all of the pleasure of a rich, decadent chocolaty treat with very little guilt, these, my friends will not let you down!

My kids told me this morning that they wanted something "junky" as their after school snack. (This means no more yogurt and strawberries or cheese and apples.) So I decided to give them what they wanted... and have the last word at the same time.

The recipe could not be more simple.

You'll need one box of your favorite brownie mix (or whatever is on sale at the time!)
and one can (15 oz.) of pumpkin puree.
You'll make your brownies as the box requires and replace the oil with the can of pumpkin puree.
Add chocolate chips if necessary. (For Alexander it was absolutely necessary!)

In the end you will have a super decadent ooey gooey treat filled with vitamins A and C and virtually no fat.

This was a great hit and I will be bringing these to a Halloween party on Thursday afternoon.

The Great (Vitamin-Packed) Pumpkin Pancakes

Charlie Brown thinks all pumpkins are great and eats these pancakes year round! Of course you could make the batter from scratch, but since there never seems to be enough time in the day, there is nothing wrong with cutting a few corners! You'll need a box of your favorite Pancake Mix and prepare as indicated on the box.

You'll add a can of pumpkin puree,
an extra 1/2 - 1 cup of low fat or skim milk, depending on how thick or thin you would like your batter to be,
1 cup of raisins,
1 tsp of allspice,
1 tsp ground cinnamon,
1 tsp ground ginger,
(or 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice will replace the above ingredients)
a sprinkle of sugar
Mix all together

Pour onto the griddle (or pan, but you really should invest in a good stove-top griddle!) using a small ice cream scoop and cook on each side for at least 2 minutes -- bubbles will not form with these extra dense pancakes. Flip pancake over, flatten with a spatula and cook another couple of minutes. (These pancakes will take longer to cook than regular pancakes. Do not worry!)When pancakes are cooked place in a warm oven to keep warm until serving.

Topped with a little Maple syrup or lightly sprinkled with confectioners sugar my kids love these pancakes and have no idea how healthy they really are!