My Favorite Color is Pumpkin

There is nothing to get me in the mood for Fall more than the taste of pumpkin! Here are my favorite recipes, in case you are the same way...

Pumpkin Cake

This recipe is my new favorite. I got it from triedandtruemoms (Instagram), and I am a fan!

Ingredients

Blend together:

· 1 ½ cups granulated sugar

· ½ cup brown sugar

· 1 cup sour cream

· 1 stick salted soft butter

Add:

· 1 ½ cups pure pumpkin

· 2 eggs

· 2 tsp. vanilla

Blend together then add:

· 2 cups flour

· 1 tsp. baking soda

· 1 tsp. salt

· 1 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin spice

Mix well, and pour into a greased jelly roll pan

Bake at 350 degrees for 29 minutes.

Frosting

Brown 2 sticks of butter in a skillet.

Add 6-12 Tbs. milk

2 tsp. vanilla

5-6 cups powder sugar

Mix until creamy

Spread on cake while it’s warm.

Let cool and EAT!

Pumpkin Spice Swig Cookies

Makes 18 Large Cookies

This recipe is from abountifulkitchen.com. She has so many good recipes and whenever I am looking for a good recipe, I always choose to search her website first! After you make and eat these cookies, you will believe me.

Ingredients

· dough:

· 1/2 cup unsalted butter

· 1/2 cup Canola or Vegetable Oil

· 1 cup sour cream

· 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar or powdered sugar

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

· 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

· 1 teaspoon baking powder

· 1 teaspoon salt

· sugar for top of cookies

· frosting:

· 1/2 cup butter room temperature

· 2 tablespoon sour cream

· 4 cups powdered sugar

· 1-2 teaspoons vanilla

· dash of salt

· 1-2 drops red food coloring 3-4 drops yellow food coloring

· 1-2 tablespoons milk**

·

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 convection or 350 regular bake.

2. Take butter out of refrigerator and microwave for about 15 seconds.

3. Place butter, vegetable or canola oil and cold sour cream in a mixing bowl.

4. Mix for about one minute.

5. Add sugar and vanilla extract, mix until smooth.

6. Add all dry ingredients at once.

7. Mix just until flour disappears and the mixture comes together in a ball of dough, about

1 minute on very low speed.

8. Spray the cookie scoop with a little cooking spray.

9. Scoop the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. I use a 2 inch scoop. A 2 inch

scoop will produce a cookie similar in size to the Swig cookie. If you don’t have a cookie

scoop, use an ice cream scoop or roll the dough into a ball about the size of a golf ball.

It is best to use a scoop and overfill it a bit to get the desired jagged edge.

10. Place about 1/4 cup sugar into a small bowl.

11. Spray the bottom of a flat glass with cooking spray.

12. Flatten one cookie a bit then dip the glass in sugar.

13. Press the bottom of the glass against the cookie. Press the cookies so they are flattened

a bit ( until the cookie dough just reaches the outside of the edge of the glass) twisting

the glass as you press to produce a jagged edge.

14. I bake 8 cookies per tray. Continue until all cookies are flattened.

15. Bake in oven for about 10-12 minutes on convection or about 12-15 minutes regular

bake or until edges are lightly golden and cookies are slightly firm to the touch.

16. Remove from oven, let cool. Loosen the cookies from the cookie sheet after cooled a

bit, or they will stick to the pan (even though it has been lightly greased).

17. Place the cookies in the fridge and chill.

18. Prepare the frosting:

19. Beat together the butter, sour cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. When all

ingredients are incorporated, add the food coloring and a little milk if the frosting needs

to be thinned.

20. Frost after the cookies are completely chilled.

21. Makes about 18 large cookies.

Recipe Notes - Tips

· The recipe looks a little long and maybe even complicated, but it’s not. Once you get

the hang of the technique for scooping and pressing, it takes less than a half hour to

make and bake the entire batch.

· This cookie measures about 3 3/4 to 4 inches across when finished baking.-The St.

George Swig cookie is frosted with quite a thin layer of frosting. I prefer my frosting to

be a bit thicker. If you want to frost the cookie with a thinner frosting, add about 3-4

tablespoons of milk to the frosting.

· This cookie stays quite well in the fridge for about a week (or longer) if kept in an air

tight container. I frost the cooled cookies, then store them in the fridge. Once the

frosting is set on the cookie, you may layer the cookies between sheets of parchment or

wax paper. This allows you to stack the cookies without taking up too much space in the

refrigerator.

· This cookie freezes well frosted or unfrosted.

· If you are making this for a gathering where there will be other desserts, use a smaller

cookie scoop and bake for less time.

· If you like the frosting to be a bit more orange, add a couple more drops of red food

coloring and double the yellow food coloring as well.

· To decorate cookies, frost and sprinkle with decorations immediately after frosting.

Pumpkin Smoothie

I've had this recipe for awhile and not sure where I got it from but if you like pumpkin, then why not have it for breakfast...

Recipe Description

Just freeze up some portions of pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin puree, and you have the basis of a scrumptious pumpkin smoothie! You won’t believe the deliciousness.

Preparation Instructions

Well ahead of time, place pumpkin pie filling into a freezer-safe container. Freeze for a few hours or until frozen solid.

To make the smoothie, add milk, and yogurt to a blender. Drop in the frozen pumpkin pie filling and blend until the frozen filling is completely pulverized. Add more milk or yogurt as needed to get it the consistency you’d like.

Pour into individual glasses and sprinkle the tops with graham cracker crumbs. Serve immediately!

*Note: Make a lower-calorie smoothie by using unsweetened/unflavored pumpkin puree, nonfat plain yogurt, and the sweetener of your choice.

*Can also sprinkle with cinnamon and/or nutmeg instead of graham cracker crumbs.

Ingredients

· 1 can (15 Ounce) Pumpkin Pie Filling

· 3 cups Whole Milk (more If Needed)

· ½ cups Vanilla Yogurt (up To 1 Cup)

· A Few Dashes Of Cinnamon

· Cinnamon Graham Crackers, Crushed

Pumpkin Roll Cake

Recipe

3 eggs

1 c sugar

2/3 c pumpkin

1 tsp. soda

½ tsp. cinnamon

¾ c. flour

Mix above until smooth. Grease large cookie sheet and line with wax paper. Spray wax paper with cooking spray then pour batter into pan evenly.

Preheat oven 350. Bake at 350 for 15 min.

Sprinkle a dish towel with powdered sugar. Take roll out of the oven and tip the roll on top of the dish towel. Peel off the wax paper and roll the pumpkin roll up with the towel while warm. Let sit for 1 hour until cool.

Unroll from towel and remove then wrap up in foil and freeze* if you are not going to use immediately. If you are going to use immediately lay the roll out and see recipe below for cream cheese filling.

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 c. powdered sugar

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

2 T. softened margarine

Mix together with hand mixer until smooth. Spread on the pumpkin sheet then roll up into a roll. Wrap back up in foil and refrigerate for 1 hour or until you are ready to serve. When ready to serve roll out side in powdered sugar and slice.

*If frozen pull roll from freezer and let sit at room temp for 30-60 min then follow instructions above for filling.

Pumpkin Molasses Cookies

YIELD: 24 cookies

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/3 cups flour 2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 1/4 tsp black pepper 8 Tbs butter, room temperature 1 cup brown sugar, packed 1/4 cup molasses 2/3 cup pumpkin puree 1 large egg 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and pepper.

2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer

in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the

brown sugar, molasses, and pumpkin puree and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the

sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute more. Reduce the

mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until the flour and spices

disappear. If flour remains in the bottom of the bowl, mix the last of the dry ingredients

by hand to avoid over beating. You will have a very soft dough.

3. Divide the dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 30

minutes, or refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The dough is sticky, so the longer time it can

chill the easier it is to work with.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Put the sugar in a small bowl. Working with one packet of dough at a time, divide it into

12 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball. Roll the balls in the sugar and use a the

bottom of a glass to press down on the cookies until they are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch

thick. Transfer to cookie sheets. Do not over crowd.

6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12-14 minutes, or until the top feels set to the

touch. Remove baking sheets from the oven. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on the sheets

before transferring them to a cooling rack.

7. Repeat with second batch of dough.