Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

This might be my one and only pumpkin recipe this year.  I love pumpkin breads and muffins but I'm not a pumpkin pie fan.  I think its a texture thing for me.

Anyway, in my constant quest to find things for quick breakfasts I stumbled up this recipe.  Thank you Pinterest!  I figured since it had chocolate chips in it there was a pretty good chance my daughter would eat it, and I was right!  Yay!

I love how moist the bread is and how it stays that way even days later.  I store mine in a sealable plastic bag in the refrigerator and it's still as delicious as it was on day one.  The chocolate chips are great for obvious reasons but they do offer a little change in the texture and appearance too.  I'm thrilled with this bread and will make it again for sure.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark or light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, canola oil or melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

1. Lower the oven racks to the lower 3rd of the oven to prevent over browning.
2. Preheat the oven to 350º
3. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray, set aside
4. In a large bowl add the first 6 ingredients and whisk together. 
5. Mix the eggs and both sugars together in a medium bowl.  
6. Add the pumpkin puree to the egg/sugar mixture.  
7. Add the oil and orange juice to the wet mixture. 
8. Combine the wet and dry mixes together, do not over mix. 
9. Carefully add the chocolate chips. 
10. Pour the batter in the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes - tent aluminum foil loosely over the bread about halfway through baking to prevent over browning. 
11. Begin checking for doneness at 55 minutes by using a toothpick in the center. 
12. Remove from the oven and let cool before removing the bread from the loaf pan. 

Pumpkin Tea Cake with Honey Cream

I recently borrowed this cookbook from my local library and I've been wanting to try the honey cream so bad!  Of course, I felt guilty for thinking I could just eat the honey cream with a spoon.  So I made the tea cake too.  Plus, I like saying "tea cake".  

Plus plus, it's pumpkin and I like pumpkin. 

So anyway, I'm extremely glad I made the bread too, oh um I mean the "tea cake".  The honey cream compliments the tea cake really well.  But, I believe it would be just as tasty slathered on a piece of toast or a bagel. Or just use a spoon. 

The pumpkin tea cake has a great pumpkin taste without being too overly pumpkin-y.  The spice is mild as well.  The honey cream is delicious. Smooth and creamy.  It comes out as a very pale golden color and tastes like heaven. Go ahead, make some honey cream today.  You know you want to. 

Pumpkin Tea Cake with Honey Cream

Recipe from Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook page 64

Bread Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Honey Cream

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray
3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer using the whisk attachment, add the eggs, sugar, melted butter and pumpkin and mix well.
5. Fold the wet mix into the dry mix.
6. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Let sit for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and remove the loaf from the pan and let cool completely. 
7. For the Honey Cream, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Use a mixer with mixer for a creamier texture. Keep leftovers refrigerated. 

Dinner Club: Theme - Fall Foods

Dinner club is back in session on our cozy little street.  I missed it.  There is just something wonderful about the people living on our street, more than anywhere else I've ever lived. We all spend time with each other eating, drinking and looking out for one another.  It's great.

I was a little hesitant about dinner club in October because it's such a busy month for everyone.  Soccer is in full swing and I think most of us on this street have kids who play, volleyball is going on as well.  Not to mention trying to get ready for Halloween and school in general.  Busy busy busy, I'm sure you all can relate even if you don't have kids.

I decided to take a chance and host the first dinner club since back in the spring.  Luckily the attendance, food and company were awesome!  We had a new member join use last night, hi Alison!  Glad you could make it!

I made two recipes for this dinner club feast.  The main dish was Texas Chili that was made in the slow cooker.

Texas Chili

The second recipe I made was dessert, Chocolate Lasagna in fact. I've had this dessert many many times but I've never actually made it.  It's so easy and so delicious that I can see why it's such a favorite. 

Chocolate Lasagna

Jambalaya is a great fall weather food.  Alison brought this delicious dish and everyone loved it.

Jambalaya

Ingredients and Directions

2 liquid to 1 rice ratio
Roux - 1 can tomato paste and oil 
add trinity and garlic
add sausage and chunky chicken
cool down a bit
add 1 can/box chicken stock/broth, 1 can hot water, 1-2 cans tomatoes whole/sauce, 1 can rotel
season with tony's
bring to boil
add uncle bens rice
bring to boil, cover and simmer until rices is done and no liquid remains (30-40 min) depending on how much is made

trinity-onion, bell pepper, celery

Everyone loved this cornbread casserole made by Lisa W. So full of flavor, I loved the texture and it appears to be easy to throw together for those busy weeknights. 

Cornbread Casserole

Recipe by Home Sweet Ruby

Ingredients

• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can cream style corn
• 1 packages Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 1 pint sour cream
• 2 sticks butter, melted
• 1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Add all the ingredients (except the cheese) together in a medium bowl and stir.
3. Pour into a greased 9x13 for thinner, 8x8 or 9x9 for thicker pan.
4. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes.
5. Add cheese to the top and bake for another 5 minutes.
6. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

This little gem was made by Wendy. The original name for this recipe was "No-Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes" but we all thought that they were much more like a mousse than a cheesecake.  We loved the light an fluffy texture and the wonderful pumpkin cheesecake flavor.  Easy to make since there isn't any baking involved.  Great for the holiday's because your oven is probably already overloaded.  We all enjoyed this one tremendously. 

Pumpkin Mousse Cups

Recipe from A Family Feast 

Ingredients

• 1 sleeve graham crackers
• 1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 - 8oz package cream cheese
• 1 - 15oz can pumpkin puree
• 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 - 1oz package sugar free cheesecake flavored instant pudding
• 1 - 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1-12oz container frozen whipped topping + extra for garnish

Cooking Directions

1. Add the graham crackers to a food processor and process until they are fine crumbles. Add the melted butter and both sugars and process again until combined and it looks like wet sand.
2. Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of several 9 ounce plastic cups. Refrigerate while you make the mousse. 
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat the cream cheese until smooth. 
4. Add the pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and pudding until well mixed. 
5. Switch to a whisk attachment and add in the whipped topping, slowly, until combined. 
6. Refrigerate for one hour. 
7. Use a pastry bag or a zip lock bag with a tip cut off to add the filling into the cups on top of the graham cracker crust. 
8. Refrigerate until ready to serve, top with more whipped topping and other garnishes if desired. 

Thank you Emily for bringing this one. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all loved this soup.  Most of us love sweet potatoes anyway so this soup was a favorite.  Sweet potatoes are so good for you anyway so to find a new use for them is awesome. Full of creamy flavor with little bites from the cashews.  So good!

Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

Recipe from Food.com

Ingredients

• 4 lbs sweet potatoes
• 8 cups vegetable stock
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp half and half
• 1 dash thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped cashews for garnish

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º
2. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender, about 45 minutes. 
3. Peel off the skins and mash them.  You don't need to get them completely smooth, some chunks are OK. 
4. Add the mashed potatoes into a large stock pot and add the remaining ingredients except for the cashews. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1 hour. 
5. Add cashews when ready to serve. 

I believe we will resume our dinner clubs after the holiday's.  I can't wait!

Frosted Pumpkin Cake

It's that time of year for pumpkin everything!  Believe it or not I am not a fan of pumpkin pie but I do like all other things pumpkin. This cake was calling my name when I got my weekly email from MyRecipes. 

The cake is amazing and the frosting brings it over the top.  The cake is moist and full of pumpkin and cinnamon flavor, the cream cheese frosting is exactly what you'd expect.  Creamy and delicious.  My husband suggested that next time I add some raisins or apples and I couldn't agree more.  I love this cake the way it is but I might experiment next time. 

This is a perfect alternative to pumpkin pie this holiday season, if you're like me and don't care for it that much.  I can't wait to share this one with my friends!

Frosted Pumpkin Cake

Recipe from MyRecipes

Ingredients

• 10.1 ounces (about 2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• cooking spray

Frosting

• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) package 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside. 
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the brown sugar and butter and cream together.  Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. 
4. Add the can of pumpkin puree and mix well. 
5. Slowly incorporate the flour and fold in. 
6. Spray a 9x13 inch dish with cooking spray and then dump the batter into the prepared dish. 
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
8. Let the cake cool before frosting. 
9. To make the frosting, add the first three ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer and blend together.  Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. 
10. Frost the cooled cake and serve. 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

I'm just now getting around to some of the pumpkin recipes I have been wanting to try.  This one was sort of spontaneous since I wasn't sure if the Pumpkin Flan I made earlier was going to turn out.  I made this just in case.  Luckily it did turn out but this was a big hit with everyone anyway.  Easy to make and all I needed to buy were the ginger snaps that I used for dipping.

I loved how creamy the dip was.  The cream cheese blended with the pumpkin so you didn't taste the cream cheese necessarily but it sort of added a little something to the background flavor of the pumpkin puree. I kept the pumpkin pie spice to a minimum until I tasted it and then added more to my taste preference. Refrigeration really does help all the flavors meld together.

Definitely a great recipe for your holiday parties this year!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

Recipe from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients

• 1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 - 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Cooking Directions

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream the cream cheese for about 3 minutes on medium speed.
2. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the confectioners sugar and then mix for another 2 minutes.
3. Add the pumpkin puree while the speed is on low until it's fully incorporated, then add the vanilla and the pumpkin pie spice and mix.
4. Refrigerate the mix for at least 3 hours before serving.
5. Some serving suggestions: gingersnaps, spice cookies, graham crackers or apples.

Pumpkin Flan

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you've got some fun plans with family and or friends today.  My daughter and I will be heading over to my neighbors house today for dinner since my husband is out of town working. :(  Our Thanksgiving will be on Saturday when he's home.  

If you follow me on Facebook you might have read that I attempted this Pumpkin Flan for the first time yesterday to bring to my neighbors house today.  I mentioned I had already made a mistake on it.  So the mistake I made wasn't huge, I just forgot to cover it with tin foil before popping it in the oven.  I let it cook for the entire 50 minutes before I realized my mistake.  Well after 50 minutes it wasn't done…so I put tin foil on it and baked it for another 20 minutes and low and behold, that did the trick.  I think it looks beautiful, just like a flan is supposed to look.  The texture is perfect and the taste is much like a pumpkin pie, minus the crust.  The caramel topping really brings this one home. 

See the sides? It's perfect. :)

Now that I've made one I feel like making more, trying new and different flavors.  I love the fact that it's crust less because I'm not a huge crust girl. I also love the idea of having the top, on the bottom, until the cooking is over and then flipping it over.  It makes the caramel run over the sides and as you know, I'm a caramel lover.

Overall I'm very happy with this dessert and can't wait to share it with my neighbors today!

Pumpkin Flan

Recipe from Camilla Consuelos from Live with Kelly and Michael

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups sugar (for the caramel)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 - 15 oz can pure pumpkin puree
• 1 - 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 1 - 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Melt the sugar slowly and carefully in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  It will turn golden in color but will burn quickly so watch it carefully. 
3. Once the sugar is melted and golden, pour it into a flan mold (or a pan you have). Swirl around the pans all the caramel is covering the bottom. 
4. In a separate mixing bowl beat the eggs lightly and add the remaining ingredients, stirring lightly after each addition. 
5. Mix well. 
6. Pour the ingredients over the caramel in the pan and cover it with aluminum foil. 
7. Place the dish inside of a large pan (like a jelly roll pan) that has boiling water in it until it reaches halfway up the outside of the pan with the flan in it. **You might find it easier to add the boiling water to the large pan after you've already placed it in the oven, so there is less spilling**
8. Place the pan in the center of the oven. 
9. Bake for 50 minutes. 
10. You can test for doneness by inserting a table knife in the center of the flan and when it comes out clean, it's done. 
11. Run a table knife along the edges of the pan to loosen it. Go all the way around. 
12. Place your serving platter face side down, on top of the dish you cooked the flan in. (After you've removed it from the pan with the water in it). 
13. Quickly flip the pan over so the serving dish is now on the bottom and the flan has been inverted.  You should hear and feel it plop down on the dish.  Carefully remove the dish, let come to room temperature then cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. 

Dinner Club - Theme: Fall Foods

Big thank you to TiNeill for hosting our October Dinner Club.  I missed attending our September Dinner Club because I was sick so I'll thank Lisa for hosting that one as well.  I have no post for September however.  October dinner club was just a small group of us compared to some of the previous get-togethers because October is always super busy for everyone.  I loved the theme "Fall Foods".  We were instructed to either bring foods that had the Fall theme such as pumpkin, cranberry, apple and so on, or Halloween scary stuff.   Since TiNeill was this months host she made a delicious White Chicken Chili that you see above.  She also made a yummy Pumpkin Praline dessert that you see below.

Arriving at TiNeill's house was as it always is, which means her house is spotless and festive.  I really don't know how she manages to keep her house looking so good with a husband, two kids and a dog.  I aspire to be like that one day. Today is not that day though.

Crockpot Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
• 2 cans white beans
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 pkg ranch dressing mix, powder
• 1 cup sour cream (I used light)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Cooking Directions

1. Drain and rinse beans thoroughly and toss them in the crockpot. Add everything else except the sour cream and whipping cream. Stir a little bit and cook on low for 7-10 hours.
2. Shred the chicken a little bit with two forks (this should be super easy - the chicken will be falling apart by this point). Stir in the sour cream and then the cream. Let sit for another 15 minutes or so to warm through. Serve.

Pecan Pumpkin Dessert

Ingredients

• 2 cans (15 oz) each solid pack pumpkin
• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pkg (18 1/4 oz) yellow cake mix
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 carton (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Cooking Directions

1. Line a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan with waxed paper and coat the paper with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, milk and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with cake mix and drizzle with butter. Sprinkle with pecans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Invert onto a large serving platter; carefully remove waxed paper. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Frost dessert. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 16 servings.

Melissa Y brought some delicious Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars.  Seriously a must try if you're a cheesecake lover.  This one was found off of Pinterest. 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling

• 3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp sugar, divided
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Apples

• 3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup caramel topping

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.
4. In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.
5. For the streusel topping:
6. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.
7. Sprinkle Streusel topping over apples. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy! Makes 16 servings.

Lisa F was in attendance as well and she brought Macaroni and Cheese and Apple Cider.  I didn't photograph the Macaroni and Cheese because the recipe is top secret and I couldn't post it anyway.  She could have told me but then she would have had to kill me (name that movie). I just wanted to tell Lisa that it was cooked perfectly. ;)

I bought this cranberry salad and thought it was very good.  It reminded me of a salad that both TiNeill and I used to have growing up that was green and had crushed pineapple and mini marshmallows too.  Can't remember what it was called but man it was good.  I really liked this salad and in many of the reviews that I read for it people were using this to replace the regular cranberry sauce they usually served with Thanksgiving dinner.  Not a bad idea!  

Fresh Cranberry Salad

modified slightly from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 pound bag cranberries
• 2 cups sugar (I used slightly less)
• 8 ounces miniature marshmallows
• 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple with juice
• 1 1/2 cups red grapes, halved
• 1 cup whipped cream, unsweetened

Cooking Directions

1. The day before the dish is needed - place the fresh cranberries in a food processor or a blender and coarsely chop. pour in the granulated sugar and put in an airtight container overnight.
2. In a large bowl about 30 minutes before you plan to serve it place the chopped cranberry and sugar mixture and mix in the pineapple, marshmallows and red grape halves.
3. Right before you are ready to serve, fold in the unsweetened whipped cream.

Chunky Apple Pumpkin Bread

We've been super busy around here trying to get ready for a big neighborhood wide garage sale coming up this weekend and you know what it's made me realize? I hold on to WAY too much stuff.  We have our garage almost filled with stuff for the sale and it doesn't really even look like it made much of a dent in my house.  I was expecting entire rooms to be empty but nope, that's not what happened. Oh well, hopefully some other families find all my old baby stuff useful.  Did I mention how sad I am to be getting rid of some of my baby stuff?

Sniff, sniff.

OK I won't cry.  I'll just drown my sorrow's in apple pumpkin bread.  That's what any good mother would do.

I'm really pleased with this bread.  The tart apples give your mouth a nice little party every time you bite into one. The bread is super moist and perfectly seasoned.  My husband likes to grill it so there are some nice golden brown pieces on each side.  Oh and as a bonus it makes your house smell awesome while it's baking!

Chunky Apple Pumpkin Bread

Recipe from Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 /2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
• 1 cup chopped peeled tart apples
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Cooking Directions

1. In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients, the first 8 ingredients above.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the remaining wet ingredients excluding the apples and walnuts.
3. Mix the wet ingredients until incorporated thoroughly and then add the dry ingredients just until moist.
4. Fold in the apples and walnuts.
5. Pour the mixture into a 9x5 inch loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours or 1 3/4 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool for 10 minutes before removing the bread to a wire rack.

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Yeast Bread

This was my very first attempt at a "swirl" of any kind.  As you can see from the photo above I didn't put enough cinnamon sugar down to make a very noticeable swirl.  Having said all that, this bread was super delicious!  You could totally taste the cinnamon sugar (even if you couldn't see it) and the pumpkin gave this bread a nice moist flavorful taste. Not to mention the wonderful color.

I read a blog called Tracey's Culinary Adventures; and that's where I saw this recipe.  I think the original recipe didn't call for the swirl part and Tracey added it because, well she's a genius. 

Give this a try, it's totally worth it.

This dough was really easy to put together.  You pretty much put all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix it before you even have to worry about letting it set.  This is different from the other yeast dough recipes I've made. 

As you can see above, I didn't take pictures of the whole mixing process because I'm sure you all can figure that part out.  I started taking pictures when I rolled the dough out to begin adding the cinnamon sugar mixture.

This process is after the dough has risen once. Now cut the dough in half, this recipe makes two loaves.

First, roll the dough out to about 9x18 inches.  Now you put melted butter on the dough, so the cinnamon sugar will stick.

See, not nearly enough cinnamon sugar.  Don't be like me, add lots more!

Now begin rolling the dough.  Once rolled, pinch the seams together and put it in a well greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.  You'll need two loaf pans.

Now cover each loaf pan with plastic wrap and let rise again until the loaf has risen past the height of the pan. 

As you can see, one of my loaves started to pull apart.  This didn't make one bit of difference to me but if you don't like it you can pinch it back together.

I put butter on the tops as soon as they came out of the oven but you don't have to.  Let cool before cutting.

I toasted mine and it was totally awesome.  I will be making this again!

Here is the recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures: Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Yeast Bread

Pumpkin Cream Pie

Today begins my Thanksgiving dinner and dessert items, so prepare yourselves!  One of the biggest hits of our dinner was dessert.  My husband said this is one of the best pies hes ever eaten and has already requested it again for Christmas dinner.  I made all my recipes from the same blog this year and was very happy with them all. I hope you'll give this one a try this holiday season; its a keeper for sure.

Start by crushing up the graham crackers either in a food processor or by putting them into a bad and beating the heck out of them with your rolling pin. One of these methods is also a stress reliever. :-)

Next add the melted butter and the powered sugar and mix until the entire mixture is damp.

Press this mixture into a pie plate and refrigerate until solid.

Next, in a medium saucepan add the vanilla pudding mix.  The Cook and Serve kind, a 3 oz box.

Now add the half and half, and spices and whisk together.

Refrigerate until cool so that it cuts easier. You'll also notice that I didn't top mine with the fancy graham cracker/brown sugar topping that she suggests.  This is mostly because I forgot.  Since I'm making it again soon I'll be sure to try the topping. Enjoy!

Here's where you can find the recipe: Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Cream Pie

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Let me start out by saying that I wasn't able to get a picture of this on a plate with me ready to dig into it because I made it for a work function, and didn't bring my camera to the function.  I am told that it was very good however.  I will be making it again just to verify and give more details.  This was very easy to make, and I didn't get any cracking like I sometimes do with other cheesecake recipes.  This is probably due to the mixture that is added to the top layer. 

I'm sorry for the lousy photographs you are about to see.  I made this at night so.....

Above I have mixed together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth and then add the eggs and blend again. 

Remove 1 cup of the mixture and pour it into the bottom of a graham cracker crust.

With the remaining cream cheese mixture add the pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Once mixed, carefully fold in the whipped topping.

Pour the pumpkin cream cheese mixture over the first layer of cream cheese and carefully smooth it out.

Sorry, I was in a hurry and put it in the oven before I took a picture of it. 

Here it is cooked, it had a beautiful orange color and was sort of firm around the edges while the center wasn't quite set all the way.  This is what you want.  This also made my house smell really good.  Quick and easy dessert, I wish I could comment about its taste but honestly I didn't even get to try some at my company event.  I was told it was very good though.

Here's where you can find the recipe: Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Do I really need to say much here?  Pumpkin cookies, with butterscotch chips.  Yum.  The End.

Start by creaming together the shortening and sugar.

See?  Creamed.

Measure out 1 cup of pumpkin.

Plop the pumpkin in with the shortening/sugar mixture.  Add vanilla. Mix together.

Plop is a technical term.

Sift the flour into a separate bowl and add the salt...

Baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.

Slowly add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture until its all incorporated.

Turn off your mixer and add the butterscotch chips.  You'll probably want to stir these in by hand.

Doesn't look like much dough but it makes a lot of cookies. These cookies are very sweet so you'll want to keep them relatively small.

Use a teaspoon to dollop them onto a baking sheet.  I lined mine with parchment paper but you could also spray your cookie sheet.

These cookies don't spread out in the oven like some cookies do so keep that in mind as you're putting them on the cookie sheet.  They will pretty much look the same before and after they are cooked.  The Butterscotch adds the perfect flavoring to these.  Even though they are sweet, they are also addictive!  Great fall cookie!

Here's where you can find the recipe: Pumpkin Cookies