Fall=pumpkins

For those of you that read yesterday's post, you know that I'm a fan of fall and all the cozy goodness that accompanies it.

Pumpkin is one of my most favorite foods and I love it in just about anything as long as it's on my plate between the days of October 1-December 1. None before, none after.

To welcome the arrival of fall temperatures, we went a little pumpkin crazy today. I have two WONDERFUL recipes to share and I can assure you they will be made multiple times before our December 1st deadline, in which I switch to solely mint chocolate recipes.

We started our morning with drum roll please....Whole Wheat Pumpkin Waffles with Cinnamon Cream Syrup. Yes, it was as good as it sounds, maybe better. You can find the recipe that inspired me here. But, I changed things up a bit so we didn't have heart attacks before 9am and so the hubs would actually eat them. Basically, I substituted the flour for whole wheat, omitted the butter altogether, and only used the egg whites, no yolks. The recipe also says to separate your dry and wet ingredients and do crazy things like beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Well, I have children and don't have time for stiff peaks, so I piled it all in the bowl, mixed it, and put in on the waffle iron. It was still TO DIE FOR. Perhaps the extra steps would have changed the texture, but I didn't have time for that today.

My recipe is as follows:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice.
2 egg whites
1 cup milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tablespoons oil ( I used smart balance)


Mix and pour into a hot waffle iron.


You can follow the syrup directions as stated on the website. But please, use a 5oz can of evaporated  milk. I only had a 12oz can and didn't realize it until it was too late, so I had to go back and add more corn syrup, etc. and the syrup part ended up being an epic fail. But, I can tell that it would've been divine if I had followed instructions. :)

I also made a two-ingredient cake today that was equally as grand as the waffles. I use the same two ingredients when making the best pumpkin muffins that my friend Beth first introduced me to. I found the inspiration for this recipe here, but adapted it just a bit by using spice cake instead of yellow.


Apple Cider Pumpkin Cake:
1 box spice cake mix
1 can of pumpkin


Mix together, pour in cake pan, muffin tin, bundt pan, whatever suits your fancy!
Bake as instructed on the box.


Apple Cider Glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons apple juice/cider
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice


Mix until well blended and drizzle over cake. Let it set before serving. I took this cake to a family get together tonight and it was a BIG hit!!! 

 (please ignore the over-pouring of glaze) :)


I leave you with some pics of my cuties playing outside in this wonderful weather.

Happy Fall Ya'll!