Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

Is it wrong that I can't fit all of my pumpkin recipes into 3 months worth of blog posts?  Here it is early December and I still have pumpkin recipes left to blog.  I cannot promise that this will be the last one of the season but I fully intend to move onto more holiday recipes and less Fall inspired baking ideas for the remainder of the year. 

I must admit that it's hard for me to leave the pumpkin behind and if it weren't for the fact that I was so excited about baking gingerbread and making eggnog cupcakes and peppermint snowflakes, I'm not sure that I would be able to break out of my pumpkin baking addiction.  (In case you were wondering, I am the president of the PLA - pumpkin lovers anonymous.)

So it is with some sadness that I leave you with one last pumpkin recipe for 2014.  (Maybe)  This one is a doosey too.  A spiced pumpkin cheesecake stuffed cupcake topped with vanilla buttercream and graham cracker crumbs.  Delicious. 



Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
For the filling
• 4 ounces Cream Cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
For the vanilla buttercream frosting
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, sugar and pumpkin pie spice on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.






In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugars, vegetable oil and eggs.

Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.

Scoop a spoonful of batter evenly into the muffin tray.

Drop 2 teaspoons cream cheese filling into the center of each cup.

Top with remaining batter to completely cover the filling.

Place into oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

It's never too late to make pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes - right?  So don't think of this post as late - just think of it as my final farewell to Fall. 

 Ciao!

Pumpkin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

It seems to me that the "pumpkin craze" grows more and more every year.  Trust me - I am not complaining - I jumped on the pumpkin bandwagon long before it was popular.  

Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin breads, pumpkin beer, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cakes, pumpkin cereal, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin everything.  It seems like pumpkin has made it's way into nearly every supermarket isle.  As much as I love pumpkin - even I will admit that there are some foods that you should NOT add pumpkin to.  (Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses???)

One place that I do not mind pumpkin though is desserts - cookies and cupcakes.  I love the flavor of pumpkin.  I like that it can be used in place of or to reduce the amount of fat that is added to baked goods.  I also appreciate the fact that it boosts the nutritional content - therefore justifying eating more. :)

Pumpkin-Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups quick oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 1/3 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger for 30 seconds, set aside.






In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy (occasionally stop and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl throughout entire mixing process).

Blend in egg then blend in vanilla extract and pumpkin puree.

With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Mix in pecans.











Let batter rest 5 - 10 minutes (this just gives the oats some time to absorb the liquids so batter isn't so sticky and cookies don't spread so much).
Scoop dough out 2 Tbsp at a time (I used a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop, which I recommend using for evenly shaped cookies and fill it heaping), and drop onto Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-inches apart.

Bake in preheated oven 12 - 14 minutes.  Allow to cool on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

As an added bonus - these yummy little cookies are lactose free! 

For those of you who are trying to avoid dairy during the holidays - these are a great option. 

Ciao!

Pumpkin Gingersnaps

Here we are in the middle of November - the heart of a very busy season for a lot of us.  With Thanksgiving right around the corner and Christmas right on its heels.  Everyone's to-do list is longer than normal these days. 

I'm finding myself attempting to cram a little more into each day and sleeping a little less just to try and keep my head above water.  Fortunately, I do have a few little tricks up my sleeve that get me through my busiest cooking days.  One of my favorite not-so-secret tricks that gets me through the holiday season?  - frozen cookie dough.

Having cookie dough balls in the freezer has literally saved me from a mental breakdown - more than once.  Christmas parties at the kids school, work parties at Ben's office, last minute gifts for teachers and neighbors, etc.  I am doing my best to be super chef this month and those little balls of butter and sugar in my freezer are my cryptonite.  

I freeze almost all of my cookie dough and most of it I don't even thaw before I bake.  (I do add a couple of extra minutes to baking time though.)  These pumpkin gingersnap cookies from twopeasandtheirpod.com is especially festive and super freezer friendly. 

Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies

½ cup of butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
½ cup of pure pumpkin
¼ cup of molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

 In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth.

 
Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.



In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Place sugar in a small bowl. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in sugar until well coated and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

You may want to make a double batch of these delicious little treats.  When you smell the dough - it will make you want to bake some right away. 

 

I want to know what your tricks are for surviving the busy holiday season.  Send them to me in a comment.

Ciao!