Homemade Pumpkin Crescent Rolls

These are so, so yummy and perfect for fall.  I love the orange color the pumpkin gives these rolls.  Fun for serving with soup or eating plain.  This are a delight in your mouth!

Pumpkin Crescent Rolls
Ingredients: 
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast or 2 packages
1 cup warm water (110-115 F)
1 can (15 oz.) of pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. salt
5 - 5 1/2 cups flour
extra softened butter for brushing (about 1/4 cup)

Directions:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water; let stand for 5 minutes.  Beat in pumpkin, sugar, butter, egg, salt and 3 cups flour.  Add enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.  Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; divide into thirds.  Roll each portion into a 12 inch circle; cut each into 12 wedges.  Brush with butter.  Roll up from the wide end and place pointed end down, 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  

Recipe Source:  adapted from a Taste of Home Magazine

Pumpkin French Toast

We just made this french toast for breakfast.  It is scrumptious!  It has a perfect balance of flavors with the pumpkin and cinnamon while still tasting like french toast.  I ate it with the pecans; the rest of the family ate it without.  Each way it is delicious!  The cinnamon syrup is so great.  You have to try it!

Pumpkin French Toast

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 - 6 slices bread
Pecans, chopped

Directions:
In a large shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Place the slices of bread into the egg mixture and let soak while the pan heats up [3-5 minutes].

Spray skillet with non-stick spray in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place bread into the pan and cook until golden brown on 1 side, approx. 2-3 minutes. Turn the slices over and cook until golden brown, 2-3 minutes longer. Top with pecans and this delicious cinnamon syrup. Enjoy!

Recipe Source:  Krista's Culinary Creations

Pumpkin Cream Trifle

This Pumpkin Cream Trifle is a perfect dessert for Thanksgiving or for any type of gathering in pumpkin season.  I just made this for a large party, and it was a huge hit.  You just can't beat layers of soft and flavorful pumpkin spice cake layered together with smooth whipped cream and cheesecake pudding, all topped by a delightful crunchy toasted nut and toffee layer.  This dessert really is delicious!  Plus, it is so simple to make.  You can really whip it together once the cake is done and cooled. 

Pumpkin Cream Trifle

 First Layer:

1 pkg spice cake mix
1 pkg. (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup vegtable oil (can do ¼ cup applesauce, and ¼ cup oil instead)
½ cup water
3 large eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger

 Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x13 baking pan with vegtable oil spray. Place all cake ingredients in large mixing bowl. Blend with electric mixer on low speed from 1 minute. Scrape down sides and then increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more. Batter should look thick and well blended. Pour into prepared pan and bake 32-39 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool completely. (cake can be frozen at this point. Thaw at room temperature before assembling trifle.) When ready to prepare trifle, cut or tear into approx. 1 inch cubes.

 Second Layer (cream):

2 pkgs. (3.4 oz) cheesecake flavored instant pudding mix
2 cups cold milk
2 cups freshly whipped cream (unsweetened)

 Combine pudding mixes with milk and blend with whisk until it starts to thicken. Fold in whipped cream, then quickly assemble trifle.

 Third Layer (toppings):

½ cup chopped, toasted pecans or almonds
½ cup Skor toffee bits

 To assemble trifle:

Place 1/3 of cake cubes into trifle bowl. Top with 1/3 of cream mixture and sprinkle with 1/3 of nuts and toffee bits. Repeat layers two more times, ending with nuts and toffee on top. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered no longer that 24 hours.

Recipe Source:  Sister's Cafe

Linked to: Full Plate Thursday, Sweets for a Saturday

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup

Seriously...delicious! A fabulous breakfast for a cold wintery almost December morning! The syrup is absolutely fantastic!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

1 Eggs—Separate whites and yolks
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/8 cup oil
3/4 cup pumpkin
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbls. sugar
3/4 teaspoons soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 - 1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves

Mix egg yolks, milk, sour cream, oil and pumpkin. Mix together flour, sugar, soda, salt, and spices. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and barely mix. Beat egg whites til stiff and fold into other ingredients. Pour batter onto a preheated, greased skillet and cook. Serve with Cinnamon Syrup.

Cinnamon Syrup

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons light corn syrup

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens slightly. Pour into serving dish. Makes about 1 cup.

Pumpkin Bars

These pumpkin bars are a well loved treat. Our great friends gave this recipe to us when we lived in Kentucky. We had many a game night where we played games into the wee hours of the night gorging ourselves on these pumpkin bars. Seriouly, some of the best pumpkin bars. Thanks Mortensen's for the fabulous recipe!

PUMPKIN BARS

Ingredients:
4 beaten eggs
1 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin or one 16 ounce can pumpkin
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together eggs, oil, sugar, pumpkin and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix together. Pour into 11X14 inch greased cookie sheet. Spread until evenly distributed. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Mix together:
2 cups powdered sugar
6 Tablespoons softened butter
6 ounces softened cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

(May need to add 1 tsp. to 2 Tablespoons milk if frosting needs to be a little thinner. I've never had to add any milk.)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

These are my mini loaves.

I make this pumpkin bread every year. This could quite possibly be the best pumpkin bread I have ever tasted. EVER!!! It is absolutely delicious, and it stays so moist. You won't want to miss this recipe. You could all 5 loaves by yourself. Yep, it's that good. It's that addictive.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

3 cups pure pumpkin
6 eggs
1 ½ cups oil
4 ½ cups sugar
3 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 ½ cups water
4 2/3 cups flour
1- 24 oz. bag chocolate chips (save back some chips to sprinkle on top of loaves)

Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients mixing well. Add chocolate chips. Sprinkle a few of the chips on top of the loaves before baking. Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for about 1 hour and 5-10 minutes. Makes 5 large loaves.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Hello! Where have you been all of my life? These muffins are fantastic! Just the smell of them cooking makes your mouth water. The cream cheese filling was rich and creamy. The crumb topping was perfect. Oh my, I think I need to make more muffins!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:

For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup confectioners' sugar

For the muffins:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking soda

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

For the topping:

1/2 cup sugar

5 tbsp. flour

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Smooth the platic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whish to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on lower speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner. slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

Yield: 24 muffins

Recipe Source: Annie's Eats

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

WOW!!! Light, fluffy, moist, delicious! These cookies are fantastic. I have never seen a cookie recipe with so many eggs in it! I was definitely curious as to how they would turn out. I am now definitely in love with them.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 cups pumpkin, canned

3/4 cup oil

7 eggs

2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I added a few more) :)

1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixer bowl mix together sugars, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin, oil, and eggs until well blended. In a separate bowl, blend baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour; combine with pumpkin mix. Mix together until well blended, then add chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or a well-greased pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Note: I used fresh pumpkin that I had pureed instead of canned so my cookies will probably be lighter in color than when using canned pumpkin.

Recipe Source: Lion House Cookbook

Dinner in a Pumpkin

(This is the finished product.)

(Here's the pumpkins on the baking sheet ready to be cooked for the second time.)

We make this meal every October before Halloween. We love, love, love having it because it is both festive and tasty-licious! Since I've been feeling a little sickly, Mikey made it for us this year! What a great husband!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

4 small pumpkins (pie pumpkins)

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion chopped
1 teaspoon garlic
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can water
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup sour cream
1 can mushrooms
1 can corn
1 can green beans
2 cups cooked rice
(Any other vegetables or spices you want to add are welcome. Leave any out that you don't like.)

1. Scoop out insides of all 4 pumpkins. Heat oven to 350. Put the pumpkins on a baking sheet covered in foil with the top off. Cook the tops on the same baking sheet to the side of the pumpkin. Cook pumpkins for 30-45 minutes. 30 minutes if you don't want the sides to be so soft they come off easily. Longer if you want the sides to be softer. We like the sides softer because a little pumpkin mixed with the mixins inside tastes delicious.

2. Brown ground beef with onion until the onion is tender and beef is browned. Stir in garlic, salt, pepper, cream of chicken soup, and water. Stir. Then add sour cream, mushrooms, corn, green beans, rice, and anything else you want to add.

3. Spoon this mixture into the 4 pumpkins. Cook the pumpkins again with the mixture inside with the tops off for 30 minutes at 350.

4. Serve. You can then put the top on to serve or leave it off.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

This could quite possibly be the best pumpkin bread I have ever tasted. It is absolutely delicious, and it stays so moist. You won't want to miss this recipe. I got it from a friend in Kentucky, Stacey White.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

3 cups pure pumpkin
6 eggs
1 ½ cups oil
4 ½ cups sugar
3 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 ½ cups water
4 2/3 cups flour
1- 24 oz. bag chocolate chips (save back some chips to sprinkle on top of loaves)

Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients mixing well. Add chocolate chips. Sprinkle a few of the chips on top of the loaves before baking. Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for about 1 hour and 5-10 minutes. Makes 5 large loaves.

Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake

I got this recipe from my friend Krista's blog. She's got tons of delicious recipes. I am a huge fan of cheesecake and love to try new ones. This one is really tasty! (Sorry, I didn't take a picture of this one. There is one on Krista's blog though.)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar

Filling:3- 8oz.pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice

Whipped Cream

Mix crust ingredients together, just till coated and crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 2/3 up the sides of an 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 min. at 350. Set aside.

Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl, mix until smooth with an electric mixer. add pumpkin eggs, and spices, beat till smooth and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60-70 min. or till the top turns a bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate. After it has thoroughly chilled, remove the pan sides and cut. Serve with whipped cream.