It’s pumpkin season y’all! A few weeks ago, I held a poll on my Instagram stories asking if y’all preferred apples or pumpkin and the reaction was split 50/50. Personally, I love both, but do favor pumpkin slightly over apples (apples are also hard to eat with GP!). In the spirit of celebrating the fall season, today I wanted to share a round-up of some of my favorite pumpkin recipes, as well as a few I’d like to try!

One of the things I most look forward to about fall is baking. I love to put my Kitchen Aid mixer to work, however, I tend not to use it as much in the warmer months. I have tons of holiday cookie recipes that my family has been baking for several decades, but we never had a go-to fall cookie. Enter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. I found this recipe when I first lived on my own after college, and look forward to baking it every fall since. These cookies are all the best things of fall, baked into one little sweet bite – sugary, pumpkiny, with a hint of spice.

These cookies are so good though, I do limit how often I will make them – I never bake them before October 1st, and usually won’t make them within a week of Thanksgiving. Last year was the only exception – I baked them as party favors for my grandfather’s 50th anniversary of owning his barber shop!

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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Adapted from A Bitchin’ Kitchen

FOR THE COOKIES:

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 sticks unsalted butter ; room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 – 1.5 cup pumpkin puree (Note: I prefer to add more pumpkin puree to make the flavor a little bolder, but just be aware it can make them stickier to roll!)

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FOR THE COATING:

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Dash of allspice

Instructions:

1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl and blend.
2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars on medium speed until well combined. Beat in pumpkin. Then, add egg and vanilla extract.
3. Add in the dry ingredients. Beat to combine but do not over mix. Cover dough and refrigerate for one hour, or until firm.
4. While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the sugar coating. Roll dough into a ball (about 2 tablespoons – I like bite sized cookies!) and then roll in the sugar mixture. Line sugar-coated dough balls on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten dough balls with the bottom of a glass before placing in oven.
6. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet and then transfer to wire cooling racks.

Other Favorite Pumpkin Recieps:

I whipped up this Pumpkin Pie Dip for our last housewarming party and it was a hit! We enjoyed dipping apple slices into it, but I imagine gingersnaps would also be a great combination. Likewise, these Pumpkin Butterscotch Bars are also incredible. They aren’t as light as the dip, but are perfect if you are looking for a fall-themed dessert. They are even drizzled with chocolate, which apparently makes it even more delectable, but I wouldn’t know. 🙂

Jody and I just made these Pumpkin Pancakes last Saturday morning and wow, do I now understand the hype behind pumpkin pancakes. They were just the amount of savory, with a little sweetness sprinkled on top. They also kept well in the fridge – Jody ate them for breakfast all week! Another easy recipe for breakfast are these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins – pairs nicely with a cup of hot coffee, might I add!

Pumpkin Recipes to Try:

Pumpkin Ravioli

Pumpkin + Apple Grilled Cheese

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe? I’d love to hear, if you do! Otherwise, I hope this inspires you to spend a little time in the kitchen this fall using the best produce this season has to offer. Happy baking!