Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

To round out this week of pumpkin recipes, I leave you with  Sweet and Spicy Toasted Pumpkin Seeds.  I was able to make all these recipes with 1 fresh pumpkin, and of course I couldn't waste the seeds!

Sweet and Spicy Toasted Pumpkin SeedsRecipe from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds
1 egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl whisk together egg white, sugar, pepper, and salt. Add pumpkin seeds and toss to coat. Drain off excess egg whites with a strainer. 
Line a baking sheet with foil and pour coated seeds onto pan. Spread into a single layer.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until golden. Sprinkle with a little more sugar and pepper right when they come out of the oven.  Allow to cool and enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Continuing with Pumpkin-licious recipes this week, I tested out a recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. They were a hit at the work party I brought them to. Delicious! Im tempted to make another pan all for myself!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients:
2 cups pumpkin (or one 15 oz can)
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp half and half (cream, or whole milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2, blocks of cream cheese, softened
Whipped cream (for topping---optional)

For the graham cracker crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix graham crackers, melted butter and sugar to create crust. Combine until moistened, and press into a 9x13 pan, pressing slightly up the sides of the pan.
Bake for 5 minutes, remove and reduce oven temp to 325.
Mix pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cream and vanilla in a large bowl.
In your mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Beat until light and fluffy, then slowly add in pumpkin mixture.
Mix until combined and smooth.
Pour over prepared crust and bake for 50 minutes. Let cool completely.  Cut into squares. Pipe whipped cream on top of each square.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

There is nothing like waking up in the morning, pouring a cup of coffee and having a sweet, warm, and gooey cinnamon roll. Its even better when its pumpkin!! So start with your cup of Salted Caramel Pumpkin Coffee and whip up a batch of cinnamon rolls. I'll admit, there is a little effort involved in these. I was intimidated by them. But now that I've done it, its kind of fun and there is something satisfying about having all that deliciousness and knowing you made it yourself!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe from: The Girl Who Ate Everything
Ingredients:

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup pumpkin(fresh or canned)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast

2 cups bread flour (you can use regular all purpose flour but bread flour makes them lighter)

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
In a small sauce pan, heat milk and butter until warm.
In a large mixer bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Add the milk mixture and beat until well combined.
Beat in eggs and yeast.
Add half of the flour to the mixture and beat on low, scraping the sides of the bowl until well combined.  Add remaining flour and combine.
Lightly grease a bowl and put the soft dough into the bowl, turn to cover with oil.
Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm place and allow to rise. This should take about 1 hour.
Punch dough down and turn over onto a floured surface.  Knead a few times to smooth out the dough.
Roll into a rectangle, approximately 12x10 inches.
In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle the sugar mix over the dough.
Starting at the long end of the dough, roll up jelly roll style.  Using a sharp knife cut into 1 inch slices (approximately 12 total)
Place rolls, cut side up into a pan (I used a 9x13).  Cover again and let rise for about 45 minutes.  The rolls should double in size.

Bake rolls at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden. Cool for a few minutes and top with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing
Recipe From: Food.com

Ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat until well combined. Spread over warm rolls.

Now go and enjoy your pumpkin deliciousness and bask in your cinnamon roll making accomplishment!

Pumpkin Pie Hot Chocolate

Yesterday I posted a recipe for a Salted Caramel Pumpkin Coffee.  Today I have a recipe for something you can drink in the evening! Pumpkin Pie Hot Chocolate!

Pumpkin Pie Hot Chocolate
Original Source: Rachael Ray
Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1/2 cup hot chocolate mix
3 tbsp pumpkin (fresh or canned)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Whipped cream

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except the whipped cream in a sauce pan.  Heat until it warm and steamy.  Do not boil. Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream. Serves 2. 

I love the chocolate and pumpkin combination! Yum! Great for these chilly autumn nights!

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Coffee

Last week in my CSA box there was a baking pumpkin. I had never actually baked a fresh pumpkin before. I was pretty shocked at how easy it was, not to mention all of the delicious possibilities!!! So to kick off my pumpkin experience, lets start with some good ol' caffeine!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vanilla creamer
1 tbsp pumpkin (fresh or canned)
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 Tbsp Caramel Sauce
Cool whip
Sea Salt (or regular salt if you don't have any sea salt!)

Directions:
In a small sauce pan combine milk, creamer, pumpkin and spice.  Bring to a low boil. Remove from heat and pour into a blender. Pulse the blender a few times making it frothy (this step is optional, but I liked the frothiness) Pour frothy milk into your coffee mug and fill rest with coffee. Put a spoonful of cool whip on top an drizzle with caramel sauce. Sprinkle on sea salt and enjoy.

Stay tuned for more pumpkin goodness!

DIY Mason Jar Cup

The leaves are turning, the air is getting cooler and that means its autumn! This is the time of year where we have friends over for fires, make smores, and get cozy in our hooded sweatshirts. Its also a great time to bust out some mason jar cups!! Here's how you can make some of your own.  Lets gather your supplies...

You will need:
Clean mason jars with rings and lids
Crop-a-dile Big Bite Punch (or hammer and nail will work)
#14 Finishing Washers (I found these at Menards in the nuts/bolts/screws section)
E6000 Glue
Straws

Here is a close up of those washers.  It took me a little while to find them.  At my Menards they were hanging above the screws and washers.

The next step is to remove the lids from your jars and punch a hole with your punch. You will need to punch a few holes to get your straw to fit.  I used the washer as a guide to determine where I needed to expand the hole.

After your holes are punched, you will glue a washer on top of the lid.  Once dry, also glue one on the bottom of the lid.

After all is dried, you can then enjoy your favorite drink in your jar!

If you've been following along on my posts about drinks on the patio you'll remember the beer bottle holder I made.  It just so happens to be a perfect fit for a mason jar too.

Enjoy your patio drinks this autumn!

Drinks on the Patio Part III: Stake Holder

Last week I showed you how to make wine glass holders and beer holders both of which work great in the ground. However, if you're like me, you have a brick or concrete patio and stakes just don't really cut it. To solve this problem, I constructed these....

I wanted my drink stakes to sit basically at arms level so I picked up 2 terra cotta pots of the same size.

I have bright colors on my patio, so I painted the pots and then glued the bottoms together with E6000 Glue. I also glued 4 of those plastic furniture sliders to the bottom of the base pot. I found them at Target, and instead of using the foam stickers, I just glued them on.  This way, I can move the pots around without it scraping up my patio.
I filled the top pot with potting soil and in addition to adding in the stakes I planted some potato vine in it. To cover the dirt I used white dried kidney beans.

I do have another pot on my patio that's a bit larger and just a single one.  I used this for 2 wine glass holders and the wine bottle holder that came with my original purchased set (read about that here)
If you don't want the height of the stacked pots, the same principle applies to just using a single pot.  I filled that with potting soil and covered with kidney beans. 

Now you have a fun unique spot to hold all of your drinks while entertaining on your patio!