8 Pumpkin Recipes for Fall

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins // Black Bottom Pumpkin Pie // Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

Pumpkin Cornbread // Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars // Pumpkin Apple Bread // White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

One of my favorite things to do in the fall is spend time in the kitchen baking pumpkin treats. There are so many pumpkin recipes out there! But these 8 recipes are some of my absolute favorites. If you're looking to bake a fall treat this weekend, try out one of these recipes! Happy Friday!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Now that fall has arrived, I am all about baking with pumpkin. I am not a fan of the pumpkin spice latte, but pumpkin muffins and breads are welcome in my kitchen any time. I'm pretty sure I've made these pumpkin cream cheese muffins before, but I couldn't find them on the blog anywhere. While these take a bit of time to assemble, they are well worth it for a perfect fall treat.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
for the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar

for the muffins:
3 cups flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

for the topping:
1/2 cup sugar
5 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around hte log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl. combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan or liner (1-2 Tbsp). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (Note: the cream cheese filling gets very hot). Makes 24 muffins

source: slightly adapted from annie's eats, originally from bakespace

7 Ways to Decorate Pumpkins

I have loved all of the decorated pumpkins that I've seen floating around Pinterest and blogs lately. I'm not very good at carving pumpkins, and I don't even think they are all that pretty, so I really like these alternate ways to decorate pumpkins. Some of these are even simple enough for not-so-crafty me to attempt :) Have a great weekend!

Gold Leaf Pumpkin

Pushpin Pumpkin

Yarn-Bombed Pumpkin

Dip-Dye Glitter Pumpkin

Painted Pumpkins

Golden Doily Pumpkin

Gilded Ombre Pumpkin

Pumpkin Bread

Can you believe it's already October?!  I thought it would be fitting to start of this month with my newest favorite pumpkin recipe.  This recipe is from Joy the Baker, which means it's delicious, but it also is actually a vegan recipe. I'm not vegan by any means, but I think it's good to know a few good recipes of the vegan or gluten-free type when baking or cooking for others with those dietary preferences.  This recipe makes two loaves so I stuck one in the freezer to have on hand when we have company later this month.  Happy Monday!

Vegan Pumpkin Bread
3 1/4 cups flour
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water
1 cup pecans or chocolate chips (optional)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 8x4x3-inch loan pans and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  In a medium bowl, carefully whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, maple syrup, and water.

Add the oil mixture all at once to the flour mixture.  Use a spatula to fold the ingredients together.  Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl well, finding any stray bits of flour and sugar that might have been left behind.  Fold in the chopped pecans or chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans.  Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean.  Remove from the oven.  Let rest in the pans for 20 minutes on a wire rack, then remove loaves from pan.

Loaves can be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 5 days.  This bread also freezes well; leave at room temperature to thaw.

source: slightly adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook