The Pumpkin Chronicles

I went a little crazy with the pumpkin the past couple of weeks. This is what you get when Walmart insists on selling only the giant sized cans of pumpkin...

First up, pumpkin snickerdoodles. These were for another overnight at work. Pumpkin and cinnamon always work well together, and the pumpkin kept the cookies very soft and fluffy. They were a very nice twist on a classic cookie. I think the recipe was off though. The dough was more like cake batter than cookie dough. I had to add an extra half cup of flour and chill the dough before I could work it into a ball. They weren't cakey at all once baked, so I think the extra flour was probably needed from the start.

Next came the mini-pumpkin-maple pies. This was my first chance to try out a pan I bought about a month ago that makes 4 mini pies, about 4-5 inches in diameter. I basically just used the recipe on the back of the can of pumpkin from Libby, but added maple syrup and pumpkin butter to amp up the flavor. I also added some dark rum instead of vanilla. I thought they were pretty tasty. The crust was store-bought, and was the weakest link in this concoction. Next time I'll suck it up and make my own.

Finally, I made some pumpkin pecan "brownies." I use the quotation marks because I think real brownies require chocolate, which was missing from these. Still, they are brownie-esque, and I got to use yet another pan that had yet to make a debut in my oven. It basically makes little bite sized square of whatever, and is perfect for brownies (or "brownies"). I'm also thinking it would be good for mini quiches. They turned out super moist and pumpkiny delicious.

That wraps up the pumpkin for now. It's only the middle of November though, and there are at least 3 more cans of pumpkin in my cabinet right now. Plus, I'm not letting myself touch anything gingerbread until after Thanksgiving, so more pumpkin it is.