Pumpkin Time!

Pumpkin is def growing on me. I've never liked pumpkin pie, but realized it's more because of the texture, not so much the taste. This week I got to pumpkin carve with some sweet peeps! It was a great din din date and fun fall night! Now I have more pumpkin than I know what to do with and tasty, roasted seeds to enjoy!

me with mine. sis with Duke chapel. Jon with batman. Michelle with her elephant!

I cooked down the pumpkin insides after we got done carving and just substituted my pumpkin for puree in recipes. The pumpkin was a bit more watery than canned puree, but I altered the recipes a bit as I was baking to account for the extra liquid. The bread is a bit more (ok maybe way more) healthy than the cinn rolls, but both made my house smell awesome and my belly happy!!

Cranberry Pumpkin Flaxseed Bread

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1 cup ground flaxseed

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

4 large eggs

2 cups pumpkin (1 large can)

1/2 cup oil

1 cup applesauce

1/2 cup juice (apple or orange)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups cranberries (1 bag of fresh add an awesome flavor, but dried work fine if fresh are not available)

1 cup walnuts (optional)

mix dry ingredients into wet. bake at 350 for 30 if using muffin pans. about 45-50 minutes if doing a bigger loaf.

my little mini muffins. some with cranberries. some without!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

For the dough:
1 cup milk
2.5 tsp yeast (2 envelopes)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
2 eggs
4-1/4 cups flour (can use half whole wheat, half white)


Filling:
1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup brown sugar
1-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

-heat milk in a microwave for 30 seconds. Add the yeast and a pinch of sugar. Stir and allow the yeast to proof for 5 minutes. Combine the pumpkin puree with the remaining granulated sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add 2 cups of flour and beat until combined. Beat in the milk mixture and slowly work in the remaining flour. Let the flour rise until double in size (about an hour or so).

-split the dough into four balls and roll out into rectangle shape. you can transfer the rolled dough to a cookie sheet and place it in the freezer or fridge until you are ready to use it. combine the 1/2 stick butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. spread into a thin layer on top of rolled out dough. starting from the long edge, roll the dough up into a log. cut the dough log into about 12 slices (1-inch thick). place in a non-stick baking dish (can butter your dish or use Pam spray to help) leaving some room in between the rolls. cover the rolls and let it rise a bit before baking.

-bake at 350 for about 30 min.

Optional Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz low-fat cream cheese

1/4 stick butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 drop of vanilla extract

splash milk

combine the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla extract. you can thin it out with some milk.

pumpkin cinnamon rolls!

I have some awesome pumpkin beer to enjoy this week to get me fully prepared for Halloween this weekend!