The 13 Days of Pumpkin: In Which I Discover My Piping Skills are Terrible

Hello again!  Tonight we continue on the birthday theme from Friday, celebrating with pumpkin cupcakes!  And this recipe comes with a bonus recipe for applesauce, which is a delicious and easy and seasonally appropriate thing to make this time of year (and let's be honest, a nice break from pumpkins at this point).

This picture is getting quite the workout.

Let's start with the applesauce.  I prefer making applesauce with McIntosh apples, but there weren't any last time I went to Trader Joe's (apparently the weird weather this spring was rough on this year's apple crops; they're already predicting higher prices for apples, so I suppose it follows that there may be a shortage of certain varieties--though I certainly hope I won't be entirely without my Mackies!) so I had to settle for honeycrisps, which have a bit of tartness like a McIntosh but are much tinier.  If you've got tiny apples, use about 8 of them; about 6 if you've got bigger ones.  You can peel your apples at the start or, if you're feeling particularly adventuresome, you can fish them out after the sauce is done.  Slice and core your apples and toss them in a large pot.  Throw in about 3/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup brown sugar and a pinch or two of ground cinnamon.  Set it on the stove over medium heat to simmer 15-20 minutes, then mash the apples and voila!  Throw the sauce in a mason jar while it's still warm and store in the fridge.

A recipe for delicious!

Hokay.  So.  CUPCAKES.  Start by throwing 24 paper liners into your cupcake tins.  Toss half a Golden Oreo (the creamed side) into each liner.  In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup applesauce, 3 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla with a whisk.  Add 1 1/2 cups white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar and stir a few minutes till well blended.  Then add 1 can pumpkin.  In a separate bowl, stir together 2 3/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Add your dry ingredients to your wet and stir till just blended.  Fill your cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full (I found the 1/2 cup measuring cup worked nicely for this) and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow the cupcakes to cool completely, then you can frost them. 

To make the frosting, whip 1 pint heavy whipping cream till stiff peaks form (if you're doing this by hand, I recommend doing this in halvsies, or you'll likely end up with carpal tunnel).  Then blend in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 cup confectioner's sugar.  If you don't have the swanky proper icing bag and fancy pants tips, just spoon the frosting into a gallon Ziploc bag and give a corner a snip and it does the job just fine.  Dress up your tastycakes with a little sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon.  Aren't they pretty!  (They are, trust me.  I sent a picture to my parents today, they'll corroborate.  And once I fix the scanner, you'll see too!)

The icing is white in real life.  White crayon sadly doesn't show up real well on white paper.

The 13 Days of Pumpkin: Birthday Shoutout!

Where's your party hat, pumpkin?!

Today is an historic day: First, it marks the day in 1781 that the combined American and French armies forced General Lord Cornwallis to surrender the British army, effectively ending the American Revolution, and second, it marks the official entry of my father into senior citizenhood!  Yeehaw and happy day, Yankee Daddy!  (It's also my cousin's birthday--significantly less advanced in years than my dad--so I'd like to happy day holla at him!)

There was a year when my sister and I were little that my dad was unemployed and we got to spend a lot of quality time with Yankee Daddy.  The thing I remember best of all from this time was the French toast he would make for us some mornings (and that my sister picked up on my dad's English accent and started dropping her R's).  So in honour of Yankee Daddy's day of birth and our fest of fall gourd, tonight's recipe is Pumpkin French Toast.

A very simple yet scrumptious recipe: In a shallow bowl or pie tin, whisk together 3 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 3/4 canned pumpkin and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice until smooth.  Slather both sides of sliced bread in the mixture and cook 1-2 minutes each side on a hot skillet or griddle until golden.  Top with maple syrup and serve with your favourite breakfast side (did someone say BACON?!).  Told you it was simple!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS!  I LOVE YOU!

Birthday Toast!  Make a wish!

The 13 Days of Pumpkin: A Cake with a Dirty Name

(Sad news: Scanner and Computer are still not getting along.  They are in therapy, working on their issues, and we are hoping to come to an amicable resolution as soon as possible.  EDIT:  These issues are fixed.  Clearly.)

I can see this fella being turned into a carriage, can't you?

ZOMG!  YOU GUYS!  I did something awesome tonight.  I had (lots of) leftover pumpkin soup and some leftover glazed walnuts from the pudding, so I garnished the soup with the walnuts and it was awesome.  Seriously.  You should try it and find out for yourself.

Okay, awesome leftover magic ramble over.  Let's get on with today's recipe: Pumpkin Dump Cake.  Not THAT kind of dump, you nasty little sillies (Jamie, I'm looking at you)!  The dump cake is a crazy easy kind of culinary masterpiece that might be exclusive to the southern regions of this great country of ours, as I'd never heard of such a thing before migrating this way.  I first heard tell of it from a former roomie (from a former house) whose family made dump cakes of various...er...varieties on camping trips (apparently they're great for Dutch ovens.  Oh please, seriously?  Dump cakes and Dutch ovens?  We can't escape the grade school toilet humour, can we?!).  The premise of a dump cake is that you just dump ingredients into a cooking vessel--nothing swanky or complicated.

You're welcome.

So here's what we do for this dump cake: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9"x13" baking pan.  In a large bowl, combine a 15 ounce can of pumpkin, a 10 ounce can of evaporated milk (or two 5 ounce cans as I had to do because the store I was in only had them in 5 and 12 ounce cans.  Incidentally, if this stuff is supposed to be evaporated, why is there still liquid in the can?), 1 cup brown sugar, 3 eggs and 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.  Dump this into your prepared pan.  Dump 1 box yellow cake mix on top of this (well, more like sprinkle it over top as evenly as possible).  Then dump coarsely crushed graham crackers and coarsely chopped walnuts on top of that (again, really more a sprinkle).  Finally, dump 1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter over the whole shebang, throw it in the oven and bake 45-50 minutes, or until the center is set and the edges are nicely browned.  It's a tasty little contraption, I can tell you that!

The 13 Days of Pumpkin: Pudding!

(Note: I drew several lovely pictures to accompany this post, but my scanner and computer appear to be having a lover's quarrel and aren't communicating, so alas, no new doodles.  I will have another go at scanning tomorrow, I promise!)

Who doesn't love pudding?  I see no hands.  That's because EVERYONE loves pudding.  And because this is The 13 Days of Pumpkin, tonight we are making Pumpkin Pudding.

It's just such a good pumpkin, I feel the need to put it in every pumpkin post.

Hokay!  First, throw 6 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons cornstarch into a saucepan over medium heat.  In a bowl, combine 1 3/4 cup low fat milk (I used 1%) and 1 egg with a whisk.  Slowly add the milk mixture to the sugar mixture on the stove, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, and KEEP STIRRING!  Remove the pan from the burner and turn the heat to medium low.  Combine 1/2 cup pumpkin, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg in a bowl.  Slowly add this mixture to the saucepan, whisking constantly.  Put the pan back on the burner and cook 3 minutes until heated through and--you guessed it--KEEP STIRRING.  Also, do not boil.  Divide the pudding evenly between four small cups or bowls (I conveniently have 4 tiny coffee mugs that came with the dinnerware set my Gram sent me when I moved out that are just perfect for the job), cover them in cling film and set them in the fridge to set and chill.

I like most things better than coffee, so pudding is a no brainer.

To make a lovely little topping for the puddings, we shall make our own whipped cream and glazed walnuts.  What!  Sounds so fancy, yet is surprisingly easy to do.  First, the nuts.  Cover a cooking sheet with foil and slather that puppy with cooking spray.  Coarsely chop 1/4 cup of walnuts and toss them in a skillet with 2 tablespoons sugar and a dash of salt.  Cook over medium-low to medium heat to dissolve the sugar (the recipe told me to do this over low heat and that it would take about 3 minutes to accomplish--Commie lies, unless they have a magic fast cooking low setting on their stove or a Cheaty McCheaterson clock), stirring frequently to prevent the sugar from burning and to coat the walnuts.  Spread the nuts on your greased foil and allow them to cool.

While everything is chilling and cooling, you can make your whipped cream, which is not a challenging thing but is quite a nice arm workout!  Pour 1/4 cup (or more) heavy whipping cream into a small bowl and whip the bloody bejesus out of it until stiff peaks form.

To serve, top each cup of pudding with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of nuts.  Voila!  It's like pumpkin pie without the crust and the hassle of baking!

The 13 Days of Pumpkin: SOUP!

Okay, Recipe #4 and I think it's time for something savoury and pumpkinny for a change.  This recipe came to me via an email from the oh-so-delectable Panera last year and because it was so delicious when I made it then, I thought it would be a perfect addition to this month's repertoire.

Bibbi-di-bobbi-di-soup!

In typical Yankee Baker fashion, something screwy had to happen with this recipe when I went to start it, viz a viz, I forgot to buy fresh carrots (yes, I've finally run out of those, uh, spectacular little creatures former roommie left behind).  I also forgot to pick up more garlic cloves, but I did remember the coconut milk and vegetable broth, so things could have been worse.  The garlic I knew wouldn't be too much of an issue since I have more powdered garlic in my spice cupboard than any sane person should probably rightfully own (blame other former roomie for buying spices I already own!), but not even I can make carrots appear out of thin air.  Just when I was starting to despair, I remembered: bagged carrots weren't the only ones former roomie left behind!  CANNED CARROTS!  Who ever thought this guy would be my culinary hero?  Seriously.  Cos I didn't.

Who could forget these lovely fellows?

Hokay, so, turns out what I didn't have I did have in alternative forms, and Curried Pumpkin Soup could commence.  Get thee a large pot.  Into it, toss 1 tablespoon canola oil  and 1 tablespoon butter.  Heat through over medium heat.  Add 1 cup chopped onion (I don't like onion much therefore don't typically have them to hand, so you can substitute 1 teaspoon onion powder), 3/4 cup chopped carrots, 2 cloves minced garlic (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder), 2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger) and 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder.  Cook it up till the carrots are tender, about 5-8 minutes (unless you're using canned carrots, in which case only about 2-3 minutes).  Add 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in 2 15 oz cans of pumpkin, 1 cup coconut milk (the unsweetened kind), 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of sugar and cook it up for 2 minutes.  Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  Toss it all back into the pot and heat through.  Serve with some delicious crusty bread!

The 13 Days of Pumpkin, Continued--or, My Misadventures with Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin recipe number three is chocolate chip pumpkin bread.  Here's the deal: it's delicious, and it's still baking.  How does this work, you ask?  Well, I followed the instructions and baked the loaves at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick came out clean, specifically 50 minutes and the toothpick came out clean.  So I removed the bread, let it cool, and when I went to cut a slice, figured it'd be easier to remove said slice if I had the bread out of the pan.  So I flipped the pan over, the bread slid out, the slice came off, I ate it, and it tasted like manna from heaven.  And then I went to pick up the loaf to wrap it in foil.  And the bread fell apart.  By the time I finally managed to flip it over into the foil, there was a massive gaping oozing hole in the middle of the loaf--the outer regions of the bread were done, but the middle was still as liquid and unbaked as the batter I poured in the pan. 

So I cranked the oven back on, threw both loaves back inside for 15 minutes.  Still gooey.  10 more minutes.  Gooey.  Up the temp to 350, 10 more minutes.  4 minutes in, I start smelling burning.  Run into the kitchen.  The sliced end of the one loaf is getting overdone.  The rest of it?  Goo.  Stress eat a pumpkin popper.  Let the bread go the last 6 minutes on the timer.  Slightly less goo than before, but still goo.  10 more minutes on the timer. 

Oh praise cheesus.  This seems to have done the trick!  Let's see, that was an hour and 10 minutes at 325 and 20 minutes at 350.  My recipe was communist lies!  Basically, just bake this puppy till it decides to be done.  At least you get your exercise getting up and down to check on it.  You won't have to feel guilty about eating a lot of this bread.



I would have been angrier if the unbaked part wasn't so tasty.

All right, so what goes into this delicious yet annoyingly difficult to bake creation?  3 1/2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted together into a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, cream together 2 2/3 cup sugar and 2/3 cup butter (this is equal to one stick plus 2 2/3 tablespoons).  To this mixture, add a total of 4 eggs, but add them one at a time, mixing after each egg.  Then add 1 can pumpkin.  Now alternate mixing in portions of the dry ingredients you sifted together in the beginning and 2/3 cup water.  Add in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.  This is your lovely batter that just doesn't seem to want to bake after you pour into greased loaf pans (makes two loaves).  My suggestion?  Forget the baking.  Just eat the batter.

The 13 Days of Pumpkin--Day One

Here's a little insight to everyone's favourite Yankee Baker:

Autumn is my favourite season.

October is my favourite month.

Hallowe'en is my favourite holiday.

Pumpkins are my favourite gourds.

We're gonna bibbi-di-bobbi-di-boo this into something delish!

So needless to say, it's an exciting time of year in the Yankee Baker house.  And, as promised, today marks the official kickoff to THE 13 DAYS OF PUMPKIN!!  Yippee!!  Moving forward to the end of the month, I will offer thirteen different and (hopefully) easy things to do with those lovely orange fellows.  Today's post is chock full of hints and recipes to get you started.

First.  When I mention pumpkin in a recipe, I'm referring to pumpkin puree, which you can purchase in the stores (typically in the baking aisle, though this time of year stores sometimes have it out in more auspicious places) or, if you're feeling plucky, make yourself.  Use the small sugar pumpkins.  Slice them into chunks, clean out the innards, boil to separate the flesh from the skin, then run the flesh through a food processor.  I haven't done it myself, so I'm assuming this method works.  I find it WAY easier to just pick up a few cans of the stuff already done.  BUT--and this is Very Important--make sure you get PLAIN PUMPKIN PUREE.  Do not get pumpkin pie filling.  The can should say "100% Pumpkin" on it, meaning no spices or anything have been added.  Plain.  Simple.  Pumpkin goop.  Also, it can be good to note that one 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree is equal to about 1 1/2 cups.  If you're very accurate with your measurements, you may be able to eke out 1 3/4 cups, but I like to be generous with my pumpkin, so 1 1/2 cups for me.

100% pumpkin yes.  Pumpkin pie filling no.

Second.  Pumpkin pie spice.  It appears in several of these recipes (though not the ones I'm featuring in this post).  You can purchase pumpkin pie spice from the store, OR mix up your own batch, since the ingredients in pumpkin pie spice are probably already in your spice cupboard.  You need: 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 4 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 4 teaspoons ground ginger and 1 tablespoon ground allspice.  Mix 'em all together and store your magic in an old spice container until I post something that requires it.

Hokay.  RECIPE TIME!!!  Tonight we will feature TWO fabulous pumpkin recipes.  Number uno: Pumpkin Biscuitti.  Yankee Dog's birthday was last week, so I though we'd get The 13 Days of Pumpkin rolling with a little something for the four-legged critters we love.  Pumpkin is actually great for canine digestion (try mixing a couple tablespoons of pumpkin puree into your dog's food if he ever has an upset tummy), so this crunchy snacks are healthy and happy for your pooch!  The recipe is incredibly simple: in a bowl, mix together 2 1/2 cups flour (whatever kind of flour you want: oat, whole wheat, brown rice, whatever), 2 eggs, and 3/4-1 cup pumpkin.  The original recipe only called for 1/2 cup of pumpkin, but the dough is super duper dry and needed something more, so I added more pumpkin.  Stir the goods all together (do your best; as I said, the dough is dry but at least it's a good arm workout), then dump out onto a lined baking pan.  Shape into a log about 2" wide and 12" long; smooth the top out.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Slice into 1/4"-1/2" pieces and bake another 20 minutes.  Let them cool before feeding to Fido!  Store remaining biscuitti in an airtight container in the fridge.  Yankee Dog gives them two paws up!

Two paws!  That's a rave review!

And now, recipe deux: Pumpkin Poppers, aka "Pumpkin Donut Muffins Covered in Crack."  These things are mega awesome.  You need two mixing bowls.  In one, put 1 3/4 cup flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (I only had whole cloves to hand, so instead of buying ground cloves, I mushed some up in the mortar and pestle.  Yes, I'm too lazy to process my own pumpkin, but not to grind cloves.  Don't judge).  Blend your dry ingredients together with a whisk.  In bowl two, combine 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3/4 cup pumpkin and 1/2 cup low-fat milk.  Add your mixed dry ingredients to your mixed wet ingredients and stir till everything is just blended.  Don't overstir.  This will be a nice thick, wet and slightly lumpy batter.  Slap heaping teaspoons of the batter into the cups of a greased muffin tin.  This should be enought batter to fill all twelve cups of a standard sized muffin tin--these would be great (possibly better) to make in a mini muffin tin, because then they'd be more like donut holes (I'll have to experiment with Yankee Mama's mini tin next time I'm in Yankeeland).  Bake 12-15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.  While your poppers are baking, melt one stick butter in a microwave safe bowl.  In another bowl, blend together 2/3 cup white sugar and 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon.  After the poppers are done, allow them to cool 5-10 minutes, then slather them in melted butter and roll them around in the cinnamon sugar.  And then try not to eat them all in one go.  OMMMMMMMMM NOMMMMMMMM.

Crayola needs to make a "cinnamon sugar sparkle" crayon.

Stay tuned, my darlings, for the next installment of The 13 Days of Pumpkin!