Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

I kept seeing this recipe in blog after blog...so being the pumpkin lover I am, I had to try it! Only 2 ingredients seemed too good to be true. But it's not! I was really pleased with how these turned out and I will totally make them again! You can't ask for a simpler recipe! I kind of turned them into 3 ingredient muffins by adding 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to them...mmm :)



Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:
15 oz. canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
18.25 oz. boxed spice cake mix

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and place paper liners in 2 muffin tins (24 total). In a bowl, combine the pumpkin and cake mix. Mix on medium/high for 30 seconds. Fill muffin papers 3/4 of the way full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Makes 2 dozen muffins.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

So I've never made bread pudding before...I've never even eaten bread pudding before! So this was a major first for me. I love all things pumpkin so I was excited to give this a try. I was really happy with it! It was really easy to throw together and had a great, cozy autumn taste. My grocery store sells great, fresh baked whole wheat french bread which I'll probably use whenever I make this again in the future :)


Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients:
2 c. low fat milk
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 loaf french bread, cut into 10-12 thick slices

Directions:Preheat oven to 350. In a toaster, toast each slice of bread until golden brown, cut into cubes and spread evenly in a 13x9 baking dish. Whisk together all the other ingredients until well combined pour over the bread cubes in the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until set. Serve immediately, topped with whipped cream if desired. Serves 6-8.


Recipe adapted from here

Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. flour
2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. milk
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tbsp. oil or melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 oz. chopped pecans
Cooking spray



Directions:
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin puree, egg, oil or butter and vanilla. Preheat a large skillet over medium/high heat and coat with cooking spray.
Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until moist...don't over mix! Ladle the batter in about 1/3 cup measurements onto the hot skillet. Once bubbles form and begin to pop, flip over and cook an additional minute or so, until golden brown. Spray pan again for each batch. Makes about 10 medium pancakes.

Notes: I know pumpkin season is technically over but I had to squeeze in one more recipe! And I'm so glad I did...these were delicious and super flavorful! We ate them for dinner :)

Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake

Cake Ingredients:
18.25 oz. yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 c. butter, melted


Filling Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
15 oz. can pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg


Cake Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9 baking dish and set aside. Combine the cake mix, egg and butter and mix until well combined. Press evenly into the prepared baking dish and set aside.


Filling and Baking Directions:
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, butter and beat until combined. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. Pour mixture over the cake batter (mixture will be thin) and bake 40-50 minutes. Do not over bake, the center should be a little gooey. Makes 12-15 squares.

Notes: I made this cake for Thanksgiving a couple years ago and it was a hit! I made again for an event at our church this evening. This is a Paula Dean recipe so you know it can't be good for you at all ;) But it's SO good! It's like a cross between pumpkin pie, custard and cheese cake with a really yummy, buttery crust. It's especially tasty with whipped cream and coffee.

Pumpkin Spice French Toast

Ingredients:
8 slices french bread (I used whole wheat)
3 eggs
1/3 c. pumpkin puree
3 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Butter for cooking 

Directions:
in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, milk, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla for about a minute. In a medium or large skillet, melt a little butter over medium/high heat and allow the pan to get nice an hot. Dip each piece of bread in the pumpkin mixture, flipping to coat both sides well. Place in the hot skillet and cook for about 3 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve hot with maple syrup over the top. Makes 3-4 servings.

Notes: Man, this stuff was amazing! I was hungry late last night and I threw this together and was really happy with how it turned out. French toast is my all time favorite breakfast food and adding pumpkin to it makes it even better :)

Pumkpin Spice Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
2 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
1 c. unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:
Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk again just until blended. Next, pour about a cup of the cream mixture into a separate bowl, add the pumpkin and spices and stir just until blended. Return to the rest of the cream mixture and stir well. Transfer the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions. Makes 8 cups of prepared ice cream, about 16 servings.

Notes: It's 2 1/2 weeks until fall so it feels like it's time to start eating pumpkin-y things. But it is still summer so ice cream is still allowed! Man, this stuff was/is delicious! I took some to my parents' house last night just as my mom had finished baking an apple crisp. So of course, we ate it with the ice cream on top :) Sooo yummy!

The Best Pumpkin Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:
2 1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients:
2 c. powdered sugar
3 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. melted buttter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease cookie sheets. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and set aside. Cream together butter, sugar, pumpkin, egg and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop onto prepared cookie sheets by tablespoonfuls. Bake for 12-15 minutes in preheated oven.
Once cookies are done prepare the glaze. Combine all the glaze ingredients until no clumps remain. If too thick for drizzling, add more milk. If too thin, add more powdered sugar. Drizzle over cooled cookies with a fork and allow to dry before serving.


Notes:
These cookies have more of a cake or muffin texture then your traditional cookie. They are absolutely delicious! I'm not kidding when I say they're "the best"! They would be just as yummy without the glaze if you want to skip it. 


Adapted from allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
15 oz. can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
2/3 c. water
3 c. sugar
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 c. dried cranberries (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease 3 7x3 loaf pans. In a large bowl mix together pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well mixed. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until blended, do not over mix or bread will turn out rubbery. Fold in the pecans and cranberries. Pour into the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.



Notes:
This is by far my favorite thing to bake during the fall! It makes a huge batch so its fun to give away a couple loaves and keep one for us.
I only have 2 loaf pans, so I use the rest of the batter to make muffins. Makes 9-12. Make sure you only bake them for 20-25 minutes.
This bread is equally yummy without the pecans and cranberries.
Be sure to get pumpkin puree...lots of people make the mistake of buying pumpkin pie mix instead.

Adapted from allrecipes.com