Pumpkiny Goodness

Hi friends!

Did I really just take three-months off of blogging? No wonder I haven’t felt complete lately. I am not sure what exactly happened, but I can tell you that I have been extra busy lately. Surprise, surprise.

Although some really fun and awesome things happened in the last three months, I won’t be recapping. That would just take too long. If you are curious where I have been and what we have been up to, visit me on Instagram @bettybshaw.

With that said, I am going to jump in and provide you with two yummy recipes. Since fall is now in full swing, pumpkin products are EVERYWHERE. I think I have almost reached my full capacity of pumpkin treats, but I don’t seem to be turning any away quite yet. So here goes:

The first recipe was found online at chow.com. I had tried cookies like this at a family event not too long ago and wanted to recreate them.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup canola or corn oil
• 1 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pie filling)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Instructions:

• Heat the oven to 325°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
• Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl, and set aside.
• Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Stop the mixer and using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle. Turn the mixer to low-speed, add the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla, and mix until evenly blended. Add the flour mixture, and mix until just incorporated. Add in the butterscotch chips and mix until evenly distributed.
• Using an ice cream scoop (this actually worked really well!) scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2 inches apart. Using a thin metal spatula, smooth the tops of the mounds.
• Bake the cookies until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

They looked a little different from the ones I tried previously, but turned out just as tasty!!! They are almost like cake cookies and super easy to whip up.

Next up: Award Winning Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Bars. If I haven’t blogged about this before, I probably should start. My 12-year-old neighbor and I often find ourselves in a bake-off. It is a friendly competition and she gets to set the terms of what we are going to make. In the past we have made banana bread and something lemon (we both ended up making a cake, but they were completely different). Although she is only 12, she is quite the skilled baker and beat me the first two rounds. When she text me and said we were on for Pumpkin Bars, I knew I had to bring my A game. Therefore, I went with a Paula Deen inspired (a.k.a. LOADS OF BUTTER) recipe.

Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture (this will take some effort to cover bottom of pan, but it can be done!) into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
• To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.
• Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Mmm…Pumpkin.

The Competitors: Erica and Me.

Don’t mind the way I look, or the not so female strong sweatshirt I am wearing, but those were the finished product. Erica made a more pie like bar that included a yummy crusted bottom.

After judging (our engineer neighbor on the other side of our house judges) he announced the winner and the reason why I can now call them Award Winning.

I may have felt a little shamed from the 12-year-old covering her face and the 28-year-old rejoicing, but I was coming off of two losses already. Cut me some slack.

Do you have a favorite pumpkin treat or recipe for this time of year?