Pumpkin Pudding Cake

Wow. This not-so-sweet dessert is like a cross between pumpkin pie, pudding, and soufflé. The flavor of pumpkin and spices combine so well with the buttery goodness of the cake mix—I think you might even like this light treat as much as I do.

Ingredients:

2 eggs, separated—whites in one mixing bowl, yolks in another

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 cup milk

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup cake mix (I used Duncan Hines® Butter Golden cake mix)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Whipped cream for topping

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a casserole or deep pie dish (mine is a 9 inch plate, 2 inches deep) with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, pumpkin puree, milk, melted butter, vanilla, cake mix and the spices.

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form and then fold them into the pumpkin mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top appears dry (the middle will still jiggle). Let cool for 15 minutes and then spoon out into individual bowls. Top with whipped cream

Peanut Butter Granola

I firmly believe that granola should come in great big chunks for snacking. This version tastes like a giant peanut butter cookie and has lots of good-for-you ingredients: oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit; but the real reason to make it is the taste. It hits the perfect spot-it’s not too sweet and there are lots of different flavors and textures going on. The hit of salt really pulls this one over the top.

Ingredients:

Dry:

3 ½ cups rolled oats

¼ cup ground flax seed

¼ cup toasted oat bran (or toasted wheat germ)

1 cup roasted and salted peanuts

½ cup roasted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

1 cup raisins

½ cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup almond or garbanzo bean flour

½ teaspoon salt

Wet:

1 cup natural peanut butter

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg white

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients (using a whisk really helps here). Stir the wet into the dry until all of the dry ingredients are well coated. It takes a few minutes of stirring, but trust me, it coats the dry ingredients perfectly.

Spread the granola evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth to an even layer. Bake for 50-60 minutes, stirring and patting back down to a single layer, halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool completely-like 1 or 2 hours. Break into large clusters. 

Pumpkin and Pecan Bars

It’s very fall like here today and I wanted to do something pumpkin-related, but I knew that making a full pan of pumpkin bars would be too much for me. I would need to take some into work tomorrow. At this particular work site, we have a great diversity among the employees, including a variety of food tolerances and preferences. If I was going to take something into work, I wanted to please as many people as possible.

This recipe is (from what little I know about various eating plans) vegan and vegetarian friendly, gluten-free, low fat, high in fiber and has very little (if any?) cholesterol.

Having said all that, I LOVE these bars. I was licking the spoon and I don’t readily do that. The finished bars are even more luscious. I have a feeling I will be making a lot of these.

Ingredients (makes 16 bars):

4 Tablespoons ground flax seed

12 Tablespoons water

2 cups oat flour (just pulse some oatmeal in the food processor for about 30 seconds and boom--oat flour)

1 cup rolled oats

2 cups chopped pecans

1 stick (1/2 cup) 100% vegetable oil margarine (Earth Balance® is good), melted and slightly cooled

¼ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

4 ounces silken tofu, drained

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Maple syrup as garnish

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together the ground flax seed and water. Stir and let sit for at least 15 minutes. This mixture acts as your eggs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9 pan with vegetable oil cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the oat flour, oats, pecans, melted margarine, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Mix with a fork until combined. Put ¾ of this mixture into the bottom of your baking dish and press down to make a thin crust. Set the remainder aside to use as your topping.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, tofu, flax seed mixture, vanilla, granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon gently over the crust in your baking dish and smooth the top to cover the whole base of the pan. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the top and bake for 20 minutes more. Remove and let cool before cutting into squares and drizzling maple syrup over each square.

Pumpkin Filled Cream Puffs with Caramel Syrup

(Makes between 20 and 25 cream puffs)

If you have never made your own cream puffs, please try them. They really are easy and almost foolproof. This recipe is so great--it's like little clouds stuffed with airy pumpkin pie.  PS-if you don’t feel like doing the caramel syrup, just used jarred salted caramel sauce…yum!

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Cream:
½ cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1¼ cup milk
4 egg yolks
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream Puffs:

½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup water
Pinch of salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Caramel Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Directions

Pumpkin Cream:
In a large saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Whisk in the milk and then the egg yolks. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and drop to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and add in the vanilla. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly on the surface of the cream. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cream Puffs:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, bring the butter and water to a full boil. Stir in the flour and salt. Remove from heat and add in the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition until each egg is fully incorporated before adding another. You should see the mixture forming a ball. Drop by tablespoons full onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Once the puffs are slightly cool, cut off the top third of each puff with a sharp knife (save those tops, you will want them later).

Caramel Syrup:

In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar and water together on medium. Cook, stirring often until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Keep a cup of water and a brush nearby and brush down the sides of the pan often with the wet brush. After the mixture comes to a boil, continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup is well... caramel colored. Be patient, this took me about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let the caramel syrup cool completely before you use it.

Assembly: Fill each cream puff with some of the pumpkin pastry cream. Put the tops back on and drizzle with caramel syrup. Try not to eat them all in one sitting. Hey, I just said ‘try’.

Pumped Up Pumpkin Pancakes

I’d love to tell you that I made this up for the health factors: lots of vitamin E, folic acid, antioxidants, fiber and additional protein. Fact is, I just wanted all these flavors put together and to feel somewhat virtuous about eating pancakes for dinner.

  

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups baking mix (light is fine)

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

¼ cup wheat germ

1/8 cup flax meal

½ cup roasted, lightly crushed pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)- Optional

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 ¼`x   cups milk (lowfat is fine)

1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus a little additional to grease the griddle

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger powder

¼ teaspoon allspice

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

 Directions:

In medium bowl, stir all ingredients until well blended. Let rest for 10 minutes. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat.  Grease griddle with additional vegetable oil , using a balled up paper towel. You want just enough to coat, not too much.   For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle.

Cook until edges are dry. Turn; cook other sides until golden brown. Serve with Butter Pecan & Maple Spread with additional syrup as desired, or with butter and maple syrup. This made me 24 pancakes.
Note: these keep very well in a container with a tight fitting lid (in the fridge), with each layer separated by wax paper.

Get Creative on me: Spread a leftover pancake with Butter Pecan and Maple Spread and a little apple jelly—roll up for a quick snack! Note: My brothers and I often had pancakes rolled with peanut butter and jelly as dinner-life was darn good! Hey, peanut butter would be great on these pancakes, too.

Butter Pecan & Maple Spread

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened, divided

1 cup chopped pecans

Pinch of salt-to taste

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 TB maple syrup

Directions:

Melt 1 TB butter over low heat in a large, heavy skillet. When melted, add pecans and salt and toss well. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes or until turning golden and fragrant. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Mix well and allow to cool to room temperature.

While the pecans are toasting, place the remaining softened butter in a dish and stir in the maple syrup. When the pecans are at room temperature, stir those into the dish and mix well. Refrigerate for at least one hour to firm up.

Get Creative on me: This is wonderful with Pumped Up Pumpkin Pancakes, stuffed into celery (maybe with a little softened cream cheese and a few raisins?), tossed with warm, roasted butternut or acorn squash, or thinned with a little water and served as a dip with sweet potato chips or fries. Try this spread on fresh apple slices!