what to do with leftover pumpkin, and other dessert adventures

One of my favorite things about cooking with pumpkin (and buying a big can of pumpkin) is having leftovers to play with. As you'll come to see when the fall rolls around, I love pumpkin and squash, and I love cooking with them. I think pumpkin is such a delicious ingredient, as well as a great one to work with. Pumpkin adds a lot of moistness and flavor to baked goods, and is a great ingredient to add multiple other layers of flavor to. With half a can of pumpkin sitting in my fridge waiting for me, after making the pumpkin bread recipe below, I knew I had to get creative. My boyfriend and his best friend were cooking dinner for a bunch of our friends on Friday night. While the two of them are amazing cooks, they generally stick with the savory. I decided I would take on the sweet, and make dessert for everyone. Often if I bring a dessert to a dinner, I like to have two different desserts. People have different palates, and different likes, and plus- I like to bake, so why wouldn't I make two?

I decided to make a version of a cookie I had made before, and try my hand at a coffee cake as well. Both, I have to say, turned out deliciously. They were a big hit with everyone, and for me as well; I will definitely be making these again. Both I have to say, were made even better by my wonderful gf flour mix (mentioned in the post below). Neither baked any differently, or tasted any differently, than they would if they were made with regular flour- and that is certainly a success. A great website that I draw a lot of inspiration from is Smitten Kitchen, which is where I got the idea for this coffee cake as well (check it out for wonderful recipes, not gf, but easy to adapt)! Definitely try out these recipes, you will not be disappointed.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

so many delicious flavors, all rolled into one

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened, unsalted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups gf rolled oats
1 1/2 cups gf flour mix (flour+xanthum gum)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt
Add in the butter and mix until the batter starts to crumble
Stir in the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin
Once combined, add the rolled oats, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips
Mix until just combined
Roll into large balls and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper- these cookies will not expand a bit, however the size and shape that they are when they go in the oven will remain relatively the same
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes and put on a cooling rack- you might want to snag one of these right out of the oven though!
enjoy!!

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

simply delicious.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sour cream (I used low-fat, but either will work)
3 cups gf flour mix (with xanthum gum)
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

2 cups dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar
One at a time, beat in the egg yolks, followed by the vanilla
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
Once combined, alternately add the dry ingredients and sour cream into the butter mixture (starting and ending with dry ingredients)
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they are still, and then fold into the batter
In a small blow, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the filling
In a parchment lined 9x9 dish, spread half of the cake batter evenly along the bottom
Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter, and sprinkle with half of the chocolate chips
Repeat these layers again
Once the chocolate chips are sprinkled on, press them lightly into the top of the cake
Bake the cake for 45 minutes
enjoy!