Libby's Pumpkin Pie

This is the traditional holiday pumpkin pie. This classic recipe has been on Libby's Pumpkin labels since 1950 and for a very good reason. This pie is easy to prepare and even easier to enjoy. Just mix, pour, and bake for a delicious homemade tradition. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

1. Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

2. Pour into pie shell.

3. Bake in preheated 425°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

A lot of pumpkin cookies, while very good, are very cakey. These pumpkin cookies, however, are moist and have the perfect texture. Because of the molasses, the pumpkin flavor isn't as pronounced as I would like it to be, but they are still delicious and very, very addicting.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
(Source: Beantown Baker)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1/3 canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

1. Beat the butter in a large bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, pumpkin, molasses, and egg and continue beating until well combined and fluffy.

2. Sift together remaining ingredients and gradually add to wet ingredients, beating on low speed until thoroughly incorporate. Refrigerate for up to one hour or until batter can be handled.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Place remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a pie dish. Form the batter into walnut-sized balls. Roll in sugar and arrange on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.

4. Cool for a few minutes on sheets and then remove to wire racks to continue cooling.

Pumpkin Spice Scones

I wish I would have baked an additional batch of these, because the first batch was gone in the blink of an eye. I think it's safe to conclude that these scones were pretty good. I opted to only make the cinnamon icing, but I definitely try these again with the ginger molasses icing. Unfortunately, because these disappeared so fast, the only photo I got was with my iPhone. I guess that gives me another reason to make these again!

Pumpkin Spice Scones
(Source: Pinch My Salt)

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup raisins (optional - I omitted)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup heavy cream
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refrigerator. In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine if you have no room in freezer).

2. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

3. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.

4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 minutes. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

Ginger Molasses Icing
1 Tbsp molasses
1-2 Tbsp milk
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ginger (to taste)

Stir ingredients together. Adjust the amount of sugar or milk to make the icing the consistency you want (It should be pretty thick).

Cinnamon Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together. Again, adjust amounts to change consistency. Icing can be brushed on or drizzled.

Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes

It's safe to say that this will the first of many pumpkin recipes I will be making over the course of the next month or two. I love pumpkin and can eat it any time of year, but it is especially appropriate in the fall. These cupcakes were a must from the first moment I laid eyes on them. And, believe me, they did not disappoint. They were moist and tender with the perfect pumpkin flavor.

While you normally wouldn't necessarily think to pair dulce de leche and pumpkin together, they perfectly complimented each other. While it is relatively easy to make your own dulce de leche, I opted to just buy it and cut out the extra time and energy. At some point I would like to try making my own, since 1) all of the methods of making it are relatively easy, 2) it is difficult to find at stores (I found it at Byerly's), and 3) because it is only found at "high end" grocery stores, it's quite expensive.

I am happy to report that my first attempt at filling cupcakes was a complete success! I was a little nervous going into it, but I studied Nicole's directions for the "Cone Method" very carefully and followed them to a T and I ended up with cupcakes with that little extra oomph. If I would have known that filling cupcakes was so easy, I would have tried it ages ago.

Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes
(Source: The Sweetest Kitchen)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
7.5 ounces pureed pumpkin

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.

3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

4. Once cooled, using the cone method, fill each cupcake with a dollop of dulce de leche and frost with dulce de leche buttercream.

Dulce de Leche Buttercream

(Adapted from the Oreo Buttercream recipe)

1 cup shortening (or butter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp water
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder
1/3 cup Dulce de Leche

1. In bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening, vanilla, and water.

2. Add confectioner's sugar, meringue powder, and Dulce de Leche. Mix until well combined.

3. Little by little, add more water until the frosting reaches the right consistency.

Pumpkin Muffins

While pumpkin is typically a flavor associated with autumn, the can of pumpkin in my cupboard has been calling to me for quite some time now. These muffins were the perfect way to satisfy my craving. The muffins are a beautiful orange-gold color and have a moist and tender cakey crumb, a gentle spiciness and are not overly sweet. And while they're luscious on their own, I bet they would be even better with a streusel topping, or even some kind of glaze.

Pumpkin Muffins
(Source: Bulbaric Gulp)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/4 cup buttermilk

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter or spray 12 cupcake molds in a regular-size pan or fit with paper cups.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.

3. Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft. Add both the sugars and continue to beat until light and smooth.

4. One by one, add the eggs, beating for a minute after they are incorporated, then beat in the vanilla.

5. Lower the mixer speed and mix in the pumpkin and buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients in a steady stream, mixing only until they disappear. To avoid overmixing, you can stop the machine early and stir in any remaining dry ingredients into the batter using a rubber spatula.

6. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. (I took mine out after about 17 minutes.)

7. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the pan, then carefully remove each one from its mold to finish cooling on the rack.