Pumpkin cupcakes with gingersnap crusts & marshmallow frosting

One week from tomorrow, Matt and I will pile into my parents' Jeep and drive to Maryland for Thanksgiving.  I'm so excited!

...to see family, you guys.  Not for food.

(Okay, a little bit excited for the food.)

The number of family members expected at my aunt's house has taken a hit -- make that a big thwack! -- this year, thanks to mid- and cross-country moves and military assignments. While we'll be missing those that can't make the trip (you know who you are!), it will still be fantastic to spend the day laughing, eating, drinking, and playing Catchphrase.

Banana blueberry power muffins

I feel like a new woman!  Relaxed, refreshed, refocused, and re-energized, thanks in part to these amazing muffins.  But I'll get to those in a minute.

How was your weekend?  Did you celebrate something?  Maybe St. Patrick's Day or Pi Day or just the fact that you can celebrate for the sake of it.  Surprisingly, I celebrated neither of those things because, welp, I celebrated me.

Matt spent the weekend with friends for their annual man-cation -- it's basically a 24 hour all-guys get together doing all the guy activities one can imagine: watching sports and movies, playing video games, drinking, and consuming a multitude of meats.  From what I heard, bacon, pepperoni (pizza), wings, and cheesesteaks were cooked and consumed.  Somewhere, Ron Swanson is smiling.

Determined not to let him have all the fun, I planned a weekend full of my favorite activities, and it turned out to be pretty spectacular.  I called it my me-cation.

Pumpkin gingersnaps

I shared this recipe in 2010 when I made these cookies for the first time.  Since then, I've looked forward to making them each holiday season, and this year is no different.  I baked the first batch last night and, after one two three helpings, was reminded why these ginger snaps are some of my favorite seasonal cookies.  The pumpkin and molasses are such a unique combination and create a cookie that's chewy and full of spice!

Just in time for the season of baking and sharing, I thought this recipe deserved a little love and attention.  Here's (most of) the original post and how to make it:

I've got a question for you.  Just one question.  So, dig deep within your souls and be prepared to answer honestly.  Ready?

Ready, Freddie.

Are you sick of pumpkin yet?

I ask this because I've got a mind-blowing recipe for pumpkin gingersnaps that will, um, blow your mind!  I mean, these cookies will cure whatever ails you.  Be it the first round of the flu, it's-only-Tuesday-itis, or a why-won't-the-weather-cooperate-for-my-friends'-wedding-on-Saturday worry.  I'm still working on a term for don't-want-to-work-just-want-to-exercise-and-bake-all-day-itis.  Any suggestions?

Oh!  The cookies.  Yes, the cookies.  They'll fix all of those problems.  I did promise that.  Aren't they pretty?  So, are you sick of pumpkin yet?

Cookbook giveaway + pumpkin biscottini!

***This contest is closed.  Congratulations to Valerie, the winner!***

(If this is your first visit here, welcome and thanks for stopping by!)

It's time to transition from spooky Halloween treats to cozy Thanksgiving feasts, friends!

The sweet writers and food aficionados at the PG Plate & Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently invited me to review a new cookbook that they figured would be right up my alley:

I had the privilege of baking (and devouring) number of treats from the book and every single one has been a showstopper!  To read my full review, click here.

Oh, and did I mention you'll also find a recipe for the most delectable pumpkin biscottini?  I mean, just look at these:

Sweet pumpkin-y goodness.  I really wish I'd baked a double batch of those so I could enjoy some later right this minute.  If you're hungry  for pumpkin biscottini and more bite-size Italian desserts, then I've got some good news for you:

I'm giving away one (1) copy of Maria Bruno Sanchez's new cookbook, Small, Sweet, and Italian: Tiny Tasty Treats from Sweet Maria's Bakery.  Hooray, free stuff!


To enter, leave a comment with your name, e-mail address, and an Italian dessert that you'd love to make in your own kitchen.

Limit one comment per person, please.  You have until Sunday, November 10th, at 11:59 PM EST, to enter.  One winner will be randomly selected using Random.org and contacted.  Comments and your e-mail addresses will be deleted after the contest ends.

Good luck and be sure to check out my review of the cookbook and the pumpkin biscottini recipe!

Pumpkin chocolate chip cake

I recently stumbled upon a new-to-me food magazine.  I ooed.  I gasped.  I salivated.  And I read the whole darn thing from cover to cover in one sitting.  It was simply magical!

Except I can't remember which magazine it was, exactly.

Before you scoff and think, "Some magazine it must've been, Katy.  You don't even remember the name!" let me explain.

Matt and I went to Barnes & Noble to kill some time before a movie; it's one of our favorite places to visit/shop.  Once inside the store, we went our separate ways.  He typically begins in either the historical or science fiction sections.  I, on the other hand, don't pretend to be any kind of bookworm and proudly head to the other side of the store.  First stop is the Starbucks counter for hot chocolate and then to the magazine racks.

Pumpkin spice pudding cookies

I think I'm in love with these cookies.  I want to bake a giant life-size version and wrap myself in it like a quilt.  A pumpkin-spiced edible blanket.

Too far?

You see, as weird as that may sound, it's not entirely impossible.  How so?  Because these are basically the chewiest cookies I've ever eaten.  And they smell like a dream, but I'll get to that in a minute.

Anyone who's baked cookies before knows that the longer you leave them in the oven, the firmer and crisper they'll be.  Sometimes snappy cookies are what you're looking for, so firm and crisp is good.  But, more often than not, it's that chewy, slightly doughy texture that's the most appealing.

Pumpkin pancakes

If you had to name your #1 go-to easy comfort food, what would it be?

At first thought, a plate piled high with macaroni and cheese comes to mind.  Or chicken pot pie.  Gosh, it's been a while since I made either of those...

But then I think about the time it takes to make either of those dishes.  Are they worth it?  Absolutely.  But are they appealing to an uncharacteristically lazy cook who doesn't want to wait long for sustenance?  Not so much.

Enter breakfast foods.

Pumpkin & bean chili

I don't even know where to begin with this chili, other than it's utterly perfect material for a Monday.  It was my shining star and literally saved the day last week.  A day when nothing seemed to go according to plan.

(On a slightly related note, my coworker recently printed and posted this on her office door.  So true!)

Anyway, my day ended up being all kinds of discombobulated.  Nothing terribly bad happened, but things just went awry.

-I woke up 30 minutes before my alarm and was wide awake.  The worst!

Friday five: You-pick-it pumpkin recipe!

Friday!  I never thought I'd make it.  I could just kiss you right now.  The disbelief is so great that I've checked my planner and multiple calendars to confirm that it really is Friday and not Thursday or -- shudder - even Wednesday.  It wasn't exactly a slow week, judging by my to-do lists and evening plans, but certainly seemed like it.  Between you and me, I think it's because I'm still reminiscing about the excitement of last weekend.  Too much fun, I tell ya!

Speaking of last weekend, I've been on a mega apple kick lately, and realized I've only posted two pumpkin recipes so far this fall.  Eek!  Naturally, once I made sense of this, I went on a bit of a pumpkin brainstorming binge, jotting down no less than 20 ideas that I must make tomorrow, no, now!

Since indecision is my middle name (along with "kale" and "can'tsleepin"), it dawned on me that I should turn to you guys for a little help.  This week's Friday Five are a few of the pumpkin recipes near the top of that impulsive/hungry list.  Here goes:


1. Pumpkin spice snickerdoodles - The same soft and chewy cookie base you know from traditional snickerdoodles but amped up with pumpkin puree added to the cookie batter and then rolled in a mixture of sugar and pumpkin pie spices. 

2. Pumpkin pancakes - Exactly as they sound.  I'd love to say they'd be shaped like pumpkins, too, but that's TBD.

3. Pumpkin pudding cookies - Super soft and chewy cookies thanks to the addition of a package of pumpkin spice instant pudding to the batter. 
 
4. Pumpkin spice puppy chow - Again, another twist on a classic snack.  This time, think Chex cereal tossed with peanut butter, melted white chocolate, and pumpkin pie spices before being blanketed in confectioner's sugar.  I already can't keep my hand out of the imaginary bowl of this in my mind!

5. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies - Mmm hmm.


Search your soul, listen to your stomach, and leave a comment with your votes for #1 and #2 picks as to what you'd like me to make and share next.  Please submit votes byWednesday, October 16th, to have your appetite heard.

Thank you, friends! :)  Have a fantastically autumnal weekend!

Pumpkin butter oat bars

A week and a half ago, I saddled up and made pumpkin butter from scratch.  It was so easy and was/is so gosh darn, knee-slappingly delicious that I'd say it's one of the top ten best decisions I've made in 2013.

If you haven't figured it out by now, food kind of runs my life.  And I run so that food can run my life.  It's a circle of life kind of thing.

Is Circle Of Life stuck in your head now, too?  Sorry about that.

Gosh, it's been a while since I watched The Lion King.  To be honest, it was never one of my favorite Disney movies.  I enjoy certain parts, but parts of it are just so dark.  That Scar is one rat b-... bad dude.

Mildly terrifying moments aside, one part that everyone seems to enjoy is when baby Simba is held up for the entire kingdom to see.  Rafiki, the crazy monkey, is all, "Look!  This guy here!  Gonna be a big deal."

That's basically how I feel about my first batch of pumpkin butter.  I'm all, "Look!  This stuff is the bomb dot com!  And I made it myself."

Homemade pumpkin butter

If I had to sum up how autumn affects the food community, I'd use this picture:

People, myself included, go cah-razy for pumpkin.  Sweet recipes, savory recipes, no-bake recipes, epic recipes. 

Before the baking and cooking frenzy begins in my kitchen, there's one thing I absolutely must have to whet my appetite: pumpkin butter.

It's baaaaaaaack!

And celebrating its 10th anniversary.  The beloved Starbucks pumpkin spice latte!  (Today's lunchtime stroll now has a purpose and destination.)

It happens every year.  There are a few more weeks of summer, but the onset of this fall flavor makes me crave sweaters and piles of tri-colored leaves.  I'm not even going to fight it.  Bring on the pumpkin!  (And the salted caramel hot chocolate.  Yum!)

If you really want to show the world how much you love PSLs, toting around this bedazzled tumbler could be the perfect way.

Fast Friday: Corn bread change-up

TGIFF - thank goodness it's finally Friday!  I swear that upcoming weekends filled with fun things always make the preceding week move along at a glacial pace.  Slow as molasses, I tell you!  But we made it, didn't we?

I am so looking forward to a very important date with a friend tomorrow.  Once a month, a nearby theater pairs with a local bakery for the glorious invention they've deemed Cinebrunch.  Doesn't that just sound like the best idea ever?!  A buffet of all sorts of breakfast foods and pastries is set out at 10, which moviegoers enjoy at their leisure.  At 11, everyone heads into the theater to enjoy that month's classic film of choice, which happens to be The Wizard of Oz.  I don't know how I ever lived without Cinebrunch in my life :)

Speaking of things I can't live without, at the top of my shortcut foods list you'll always find Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix.  A friend and I were recently talking about corn bread.  She and her husband hosted a pumpkin party recently, and she planned to make a big batch of chili and cornbread.  When I asked if she had a good recipe for the latter, she confessed that she almost always uses the little blue Jiffy box.  "Me, too!" I exclaimed.

I've tried a few recipes for homemade cornbread, and the results have been okay, but not great enough to warrant making again.  And certainly not worth the effort when a more delicious alternative takes all of 3 minutes to prepare.  Honestly, the blue box has it down!

Not long ago, I was preparing to make corn muffins to go with a batch of my favorite chili when I realized that I was out of eggs.  D'oh!  The blue box requires only 2 outside ingredients -- egg and milk -- and I was only batting .500.  Not a good sign.

Pumpkin oatmeal cookies

Sit down and pay attention.  Please.  Pretty please.  Because this is important.

I think I have a new favorite cookie.

I know, I know.  I spend so much time championing this recipe and that, saying things like, "This one!  You must make this one now!"  And I truly mean it every time.  I love food.  And I only tell you about food that I really, really love.

But, sometimes, I fear that you might see me as the boy who cried wolf, or, um, the girl who cried delicious.  "How can she say everything is so totally awesome?  Does she even realize how often she uses the words super and totally and amaaaaaaaazing with way too many "a"s?  Pfffffft.  I don't know if I believe her."

Well, believe this, sister (and brother): These are the best cookies I've eaten this year.  Certainly the best I've made this year.

Trick or treat: Pumpkin recipes for everyone

**Today is the last day to enter to win 3 dozen cookies!**

Hi and a happy Halloween to you!  Now you can rest easy, knowing what I carved into my pumpkin this year.  Artistic I am most certainly not.  The response from one of them while we were carving them at last weekend's pumpkin party: "Aw, that's very Katy."  I'll take it :)

While my carving skills may not be anything to write home about, I'd say my pumpkin adventures in the kitchen are much more exciting and delicious.  Just because today is Halloween doesn't mean that it's the end of the road for pumpkin dishes.  As far as I'm concerned, pumpkin flavors are even more in season in November and around Thanksgiving.

Here is a collection of all of the pumpkin recipes I've posted over the years. Enjoy!

• Pumpkin bisque
• Pumpkin enchiladas
• Roasted pumpkin seeds
• Baked pumpkin pie oatmeal
• Pumpkin bread
• Pumpkin spice cheesecake brownies
• Pumpkin gingersnap cookies
• Pumpkin gooey butter cakes
• Pumpkin spice whoopie pies

Are there any pumpkin recipes you'd like me to make and feature in upcoming posts?  Sound off below!

Pumpkin & bean enchiladas

Have you ever caught -- and stopped -- yourself in the midst of doing something only to realize that you've actually been doing the same thing, unnoticed, for hours or days at a time?

My favorite example of this occurs when I'm shopping.  I'll be browsing around a store and begin picking up items when, after a few shirts, scarves, or sweaters are draped over my arm, I'll notice that every item is some shade of orange.  I'll picture my closet and think, "Hm, maybe I could use a pop of bright color and some more orange in my wardrobe," and head into a dressing room.

It's there, in the dressing room, when I'll catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and put two and two together:

I'm wearing an orange sweater with an orange scarf.


I'll then realize that I've been in an orange kind of mood and worn something in that color every single day that week.  Now it all makes sense!  I wasn't trying to fill some pumpkin-hued void in my closet.  I was continually satisfying a craving to dress like a traffic cone.

Armed with this knowledge, I'll once again examine the items in my dressing room... and I'll try on all of 'em anyway.  There's no stopping me.  When a lady wants orange clothing, she's going to get orange clothing :)

Open letter to Starbucks

Dear Starbucks,

I'm writing to extend a hearty congratulations to your company, namely your marketing team.  You have succeeded in becoming more powerful than the internationally-used centuries old Gregorian calendar system and the national holiday of Labor Day.  Not too long ago, both of them were once used to signal the end of summer and the beginning of the next season of autumn.  However, with the clever timing of changes to your menu, you have managed to convince Americans everywhere into thinking that fall indeed begins with the return of gloriously delicious the pumpkin latte.

This seasonal hot beverage manages to brainwash folks, who are sporting flip flops and sunglasses and even wiping sweat from their foreheads, that they absolutely must have a warm spiced beverage while it's 85 degrees outside.  (Seriously.  This is a true story.  I witnessed it today on my lunch break.) 

So, congratulations!  Mazel Tov!  Well done, Starbucks, well done.  You've got me and everyone else longing for colorful foliage, riding boots, apple-picking, and scarves.  And the always-addicting but only seasonably-available pumpkin spice latte.  I'll be doing my chilly rain dance this weekend, hoping for an opportunity to jump on the pumpkin spice bandwagon, too.  Even though summer doesn't end for another three weeks.

Love, Katy

Pumpkin ginger snaps

Well, hello there, comrades!  I've got a question for you.  Just one question.  So, dig deep within your souls and be prepared to answer honestly.  Ready?

Ready, Freddie.

Are you sick of pumpkin yet?

I ask this because I've got a mind-blowing recipe for pumpkin gingersnaps that will, um, blow your mind!  I mean, these cookies will cure whatever ails you.  Be it the first round of the flu, it's-only-Tuesday-itis, or a why-won't-the-weather-cooperate-for-my-friends'-wedding-on-Saturday worry.  I'm still working on a term for don't-want-to-work-just-want-to-exercise-and-bake-all-day-itis.  Any suggestions?

Oh!  The cookies.  Yes, the cookies.  They'll fix all of those problems.  I did promise that.  Aren't they pretty?  So, are you sick of pumpkin yet?

If you answered "yes" that you couldn't stand another pumpkin recipe... Tough cookies!  Trust me when I say that you aren't quite finished with all things pumpkin until you've had these cookies!  They aren't too pumpkin-y.  In fact, they taste more like a warm spiced cookie.  The kind that will play nicely with either a tall glass of cold milk or a steaming cup of herbal tea.  And the pumpkin added to the dough merely lends a chewy and moist texture to the delicately sugared cookie.  A perfect culinary transition from the sugary celebrations of Halloween to the warm and cozy season of giving thanks.

If you answered "no" because you are begging for more ghourdly good confections... My allies!  You who can't get enough of our favorite member of the squash family need no real convincing, but please permit me to harp just a bit.  These cookies have velvety pumpkin puree to thank for the oh-so-chewy texture with a tiny crunch on the outside from the bath in sugar.  As if that weren't enough to send your taste buds into a jealous fit, the portable treats are bursting with fall flavors of cinnamon, cloves, and yummy ginger.  Love!

Pumpkin gooey butter cakes

If you couldn't guess by now, I really love food and documenting my adventures with it!  The funny thing is this -- even if I didn't have a public outlet for sharing those things, I'd still take more pictures of food than some folks do of their children.  #sadbecauseitstrue

But, sometimes, it's really really fun!  I get a little carried away with the pictures and then go b-a-n-a-n-a-s over the subject of said photography.  Like, carrying a plate of dessert and a hacky sack pumpkin all around my apartment, using various props and lighting in different rooms.  Fiddling with my humble camera's settings and adding more specs to my fantasy someday-I'll-cough-up-the-serious-dough-to-buy-it camera.

Whatever the reasons, I suppose you can say that I'm really proud of my creations in the kitchen.  Especially when they look and taste like this: pumpkin gooey bars!

Note: Watchful florescent pumpkin is not for consumption.

It was like glamour shots, food edition, invaded my apartment the other night.  I couldn't stop! Before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you how it all began.

Autumn is brewing

Fall is almost here!  (Was I the first to wish you a happy autumn?  I bet I was...)  That means it's high time to kick back, relax, and enjoy a cold seasonal one:

There are plenty of pumpkin beers out right now for the sampling, and I tried two of them recently - Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (pictured above) and Southern Tier's Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale.  Both are yummy, and that's coming from a self-proclaimed indifferent beer drinker.

A serving suggestion from my coworker that will make your pumpkin-y beverage experience even better -- wet the rim of the glass and dip it into a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg.  Fall flavors abound!  Thanks for the tip, Julie!!

What is your favorite fall treat?  Are you a traditionalist with candy corn and pumpkin pie or do you prefer something a little more unique?  I need three things in order to be in the fall spirit: one serving of candy corn (just one will do), apple pie, and Halloween Oreos :)