How to Make Pumpkin Puree

Fall means pumpkin everything! If you're a pumpkin fan, why not make your own pumpkin puree at home? It's simple, easy, and you can use it the same way as you would the stuff from the can.

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Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients

1 or more whole pumpkins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Remove stem from pumpkin and cut pumpkin in half.
3. Removes seeds and pulp from pumpkin with a spoon, ice cream scoop, your hands, etc. Set seeds aside to clean and roast later.
4. Slice pumpkin into smaller sections for roasting. If using a small pumpkin, slice into quarters.
5. Place pumpkin sections skin-side down on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until done. Depending on how thick your pumpkin is, it might take a little longer. You'll know the pumpkin is done when you can easily pierce the pumpkin flesh with a fork.
6. Remove pumpkin from the oven and allow to cool.
7. Once cooled, removed pumpkin flesh from the skin with a spoon (or your hands) and place in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

October 2013 Favorites

1. Pumpkin Muffins.
2. Covergirl Nail Polish In Lingering Spice.
3. Covergirl Nail Polish in Timeless Rubies.
4. Unreal Candy.
5. Numi Organic Tea in Orange Spice.
6. Numi Organic Tea in Gunpowder Green.

If you want to hear more about my favorite things for October, be sure to watch the video below!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/rZCPrqMhGLc]

What are your favorite things from October? Share in the comments below!

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats

You guys might think I'm pumpkin spice crazy, but, be honest, you like it! I got a few requests for instructions on how to make this so here you go! [youtube=http://youtu.be/ZRsyn8Dh674]

Ingredients

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1-2 tablespoon apple butter

1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon*

1/16 teaspoon ground ginger*

1/32 teaspoon ground nutmeg*

1/32 teaspoon ground clove*

1/32 teaspoon ground cardamom*

Almonds and raisins to taste

*This is more to show how little I use rather than as a true measurement. I never actually measure the spices. Basically, I do a little sprinkle, especially with the ginger, nutmeg, clove, and cardamom. You just don't want to overdo it.

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Today's post is in keeping with the typical fall theme of pumpkin spice.  When making these cookies, I made sure to work with real ingredients, as usual. One thing I can't stand is those recipes (that you often see on Pinterest) where the image says something like "Easy Recipe With Only 2 Ingredients." It sounds interesting until you click and realize that one of the "ingredients" is a box of cake mix. Cake mix is not an ingredient people! I mean, it actually confuses me a bit. How hard is it to measure out flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices? The boxed stuff just doesn't seem that much more convenient to me, especially when you consider the quality of ingredients that are typically used.

Now that that's out of the way, on to the good stuff! These cookies are almost like baby cakes, as they have a delicate, fluffy texture. They're like soft, pillow-y clouds of pumpkin spice goodness. They're dessert, but not sickly sweet, and they are going fast at our house. :)

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

makes 36 cookies

Ingredients

2.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup butter

1.25 cups unrefined can sugar, such as Sucanat

1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream together butter and sugar with a mixer.
4. Add maple syrup to butter and sugar mixture and mix until incorporated. Then add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
5. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until fully incorporated.
6. Drop batter in heaping tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Baked for 15-18 minutes, or until done.

What kind of cookies do you prefer? Soft, chewy, or crunchy? Share in the comments below!