'Tis the Season for Pumpkins!

So fall has arrived and with it pumpkins flavored everything's have arrived with it. So of course I absolutely had to make something with pumpkin in it. I even decided to be a bit more ambitious and I made two different treats. Yup! Two!

The first is a new recipe I decided to try. My Mum decided we shouldn't do a traditional pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving so I offered to make a cheesecake. And of course I once again trolled pinterest in search of a recipe to try. And I found one that looked absolutely amazing.

Say hello to Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars!

I didn't take tons of pictures this time around. Partly because I almost forgot and partly because there aren't too many steps to take pictures of.



Now, the credit for this recipe belongs to roxanashomebaking.com and so do plenty of other yummy recipes I'm sure.

The crust is a basic graham cracker and melted butter crust. You'll need 1 1/2 cups of the graham crackers and 1/4 cup melted butter. Mix these two ingredients together in a medium bowl and press into the bottom of a greased or lined 13X9 baking pan.

The ingredients for the filling are:
- 4 packages of cream cheese (softened)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 tsps pumpkin pie spice

I accidentally bought pumpkin pie filling so I omitted the spices from mine. I was lucky I even got the one can I did what with it being the time of year for pumpkin pie.

Now, your cream cheese and eggs should be room temperature. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Then you'll start by mixing your cream cheese and sugar together in your mixer with a paddle attachment  until nice and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs one at a time until just incorporated.

Pour half the mixture over the crust and spread it evenly. And once done with that you add your pumpkin and spices to what's left of the mixture. Switch to a whisk attachment and stir until it's smooth. Carefully pour your pumpkin mixture over the first layer and spread evenly.

Bake the cheesecake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn off the oven and open the door just a bit to let the cheesecake cool off slowly. The recipe recommends that it sit there for an hour or so and that the cheesecake be cooled in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before cutting into bars.

And lastly, top the bars with some whipped cream and a light sprinkling of pumpkin pie spices.


And now for our second treat! Pumpkin Sugar Cookies. Yummy! They even have cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Double yummy!

This is another recipe I found on pinterest. But it's not the first time I've made it. These sugar cookies are so perfectly flavored that they're hard to resist. Credit for this recipe goes to: www.cookingclassy.com

Let's get started!

Our ingredients are:
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 1/3 cup unflavored veggie shortening
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2/3 canned pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla

Since I'm making these while my cheesecake is baking my oven is already warm. But for you guys, you'll need to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Alright, we need to start by creaming together the butter, shortening and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the yolks one at a time. And then we mix in the pumpkin and vanilla. With your mixer on low speed slowly add the dry ingredients.

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. As you know by now I swear by this stuff. Keeps cookies from sticking and means you have fewer things to wash when you're done. And since I hate washing dishes it's the best thing ever. Ha ha!

Scoop out the dough into 1 tbsp and shape into balls. Place on your lined baking sheet and carefully flatten until they are slightly under 1/2 inches thick. The recipe says to make the balls about 3 tbsps. But I find that to be a bit excessive. You're welcome to do whatever size you'd like though.

Bake your cookies in the preheated oven for 11-12 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Once they're cool frost with the cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Aaaaand then you eat them!!


Quick fast, here's the frosting: whip together 3 Oz softened cream cheese and 3 tbsps softened butter until smooth and fluffy. Mix in 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Then mix in enough milk (approx 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp) until you've reached the desired consistency. Mix everything until smooth and just slightly fluffy.

 

Enjoy these treats and have a Happy Thanksgiving!