A pumpkin a day makes for a very happy Fall.

I am obsessed with Fall baking especially when it comes to pumpkins. If there is a Pumpkin's Anonymous I should probably join. Ever since the air got slightly brisk, I have been a maniac in the kitchen. Last year we had the luxury of having a very good pumpkin and squash crop. We kept saying to ourselves, "What in the world are we going to do with all this pumpkin.?" Well I'll tell you what you do, you freeze it because the next year you might not have any. And that's exactly what happened. We didn't have any pumpkins or squash out of our garden this year due to a bad growing season and some very pesky bugs. Luckily we still have some frozen and I have been warned by the Househusband to use it sparingly. I mean it isn't even October yet and we are going to need some for squash pie at Thanksgiving!

One pumpkin recipe that I absolutely love is for pumpkin pancakes. We use our frozen pumpkin but you can use canned as well. The recipe makes a ton and for Paul and I, I usually cut the recipe in half and we still have some leftover.

Pumpkin Waffles
1 1/2 cups pumpkin
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs separated
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons melted butter

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks in a separate bowl, then whisk in pumpkin, yogurt, and milk. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until combined. Beat the egg whites with a mixer until stiff, then gently fold into the batter. Cook the pancakes!
The second thing I have made this year is pumpkin ice cream sandwiches. I have been told this is some of my best work and I can't argue  :) I got the idea from Food Network's October issue. They have  a calender at the beginning of the magazine that suggests a different pumpkin recipe for each day of the month. The sandwiches are made up of Ben & Jerry's recipe for pumpkin ice cream and ginger cookies. The ginger cookies are the perfect compliment to the pumpkin. Below are the recipes for both!

Ginger Cookies
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moms-ginger-snaps/detail.aspx

Pumpkin Ice Cream
For this recipe, use canned pumpkin.
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream. Pour 1 cup of the base into another bowl, add the pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and stir until blended. Return the pumpkin mixture to the remaining cream base and blend. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

Blog to you soon!
Lucy