Happy Halloween!

Every Fall I get in the mood to devour all things pumpkin and these did not disappoint! I found the adorable pumpkin and owl decorations at the grocery store last year and totally forgot about them. I discovered them hiding in the back of the cabinet and instead of my original idea to make pumpkin cupcakes I found this amazing recipe for iced pumpkin cookies.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners’ sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, October 2007

I made a few of my own adaptations to this, using only milk and no cream (to me, it makes no difference to me in dishes like this, so I figure I’ll give my arteries a break), and doubling almost all of the spices. Oh, and I added bourbon, but you probably anticipated that.

1 1/2 cups whole milk (Or 1 cup heavy cream plus 1/2 cup whole milk)
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of ground cloves
2 tablespoons bourbon (optional)
5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted* (can skip this step if using the second set of instructions)

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Gourmet’s Instructions: Whisk together pumpkin, cream, milk, sugar, eggs, yolk, salt, spices and bourbon, if using, in a bowl.

Toss bread cubes with butter in another bowl, then add pumpkin mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish and bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.

via Smitten Kitchen

Black Bean-Mango Salad
via Maria Menounos’s EveryGirl’s Guide To Life

Ingredients:

* 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
* 1/2 cup Italian dressing
* Two 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1/2 cup chopped red onion
* 1 small green pepper, seeded and chopped
* 1 small red pepper, seeded and chopped
* Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a food processor or blender, take 1/4 cup of the mango with the Italian dressing until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the remaining mango with the beans, red onion, and peppers. To the bean mixture, add the mango puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and chill until ready to serve.

Turkey Burgers with Zucchini
via Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

* 1.25 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
* 1 small zucchini, grated
* 1/4 cup seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
* 1 clove garlic, grated
* 1 tbsp red onion, grated
* salt and fresh pepper
* oil spray

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, zucchini, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Make 5 equal patties. Heat a large skillet on high heat. When hot, lightly spray oil. Add burgers to the pan and reduce the heat to low. Cook on one side until browned, then flip. Flip over a few times to prevent burning and to make sure the burgers are cooked all the way through.

Banana Whoopie Pies

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups mashed banana (2 medium)

Preheat oven 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vegetable oil, followed by vanilla and mashed banana. Add flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Drop 2 tablespoon balls (approx 1 1/2-inch balls) and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges and “set” in the center. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies (1 dozen sandwich cookies).

Filling

1 unbeaten egg white
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. milk
3/4 c. Crisco
1/2 lb. Confectioner’s sugar

Combine egg whites, vanilla, flour, milk and Crisco. Beat until smooth. Beat in confectioners sugar. Spread ½ inch of filling between two cookies. Wrap individually with plastic wrap.