Petite Pumpkin Pancakes

Petite pumpkin pancakes. Say that five times fast! Today is the first day of October and a Saturday, so what better way to celebrate than with pumpkin pancakes? In keeping with my recent pumpkin obsession, I bought two more cans of pumpkin puree and was anxious to put them to good use. This recipe is a terrific fall pancake, perfect for brisk, lazy weekend mornings. You could always make up a big batch of the dry ingredient mixture to have on hand, which would make morning pancakes even easier.

Let’s make breakfast! Here’s the recipe.

German Chocolate Cake

In many respects, cooking and the traditions we have surrounding food shape our culture, our daily lives, certainly our health, and even how we see our personal identities. I read it in this month’s issue of Saveur highlighting the time-consuming challah and kibbeh made in celebration of the Jewish festival of Sukkot in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. I heard about it from my Vietnamese waiter as he explained how the me vit tiem I was enjoying, a soup of egg noodles, roast duck and shiitake mushrooms, was in his culture less an everyday food and more of a special occasion dish for birthdays or other celebrations. These foods were cultural expressions, part of a historical link that meant something more than sustenance to the people who spent time preparing and enjoying them.

So was my German Chocolate Cake a cultural expression in the same vein? Perhaps not. But, in a way, this German Chocolate Cake was my celebration dish. Two hours in, I was telling myself to think of it as a learning experience so I wasn’t putting that much time into making “just a cake.” I was thinking of my grandmother diligently whipping egg whites into stiff peaks or painstakingly stirring the very same sugary icing as it slowly thickened over the stove. This cake was not made by Betty Crocker, it was made by me. I committed to it, and I learned from it. It was my first cake made from scratch, my first attempt at icing that required cooking and my first three-layered cake to date. Was it worth it, and did it taste delicious? Yes and yes. Did I, a child of boxed cakes and brownies, feel a sense of pride at making a time-consuming from-scratch cake the exact way my grandmother made it? Definitely, yes. But will I be reserving this recipe as a special occasion dish from now on? You can bet on it.

Check out the time-honored recipe.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Pumpkin was never high on my list of favorites. Pumpkin brownies are an exception since they create a perfect blend of flavors, like chocolate and peanut butter. I was still skeptical about how much I actually liked pumpkin until I made these. These are magically delicious. They definitely taste pumpkin-y, but not in an overpowering way. The winning combination results from a moist and cake-like muffin, a crisp and sugary topping and a sweet cream cheese filling. I was worried the filling might seep out the top or poke through the sides, but they baked up perfectly without any filling mishaps. And the smell coming out of the oven was the best of anything I’ve baked yet. The blend of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice literally makes the entire house smell like fall. So do yourself a favor, bake some up and invite some friends over to share!

Check out the recipe!

Low-Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

Oh, banana bread. How I wish I had never discovered your goodness. My feelings toward bananas in life went something like this. First, I hated them. You couldn’t get me to eat one. Then, in college, I realized their inherent benefits: portable, easy to eat rushing to class and the taste wasn’t all that bad either. Now that I’m baking up delicious banana bread I love bananas even more. This recipe is adapted from Weight Watchers, and it has only 4 points (or 5 PointsPlus, if you prefer) per slice. And this is not some skimpy slice. This is a one-tenth of the loaf, huge helping of a holy banana bread slice. This is a slice made for champions. The reviewers on the Weight Watchers site said it didn’t even taste like a low-fat recipe. I agree. The smell wafting through my kitchen at about the 50-minute mark and the taste of the ample slice was divine. The best part? The bite with the pecan on it, which I saved for last.

Ready to bake up a guilt-free treat? Here’s the recipe!

Vegan Carrot Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Vegan Carrot Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Phew! That’s a mouthful. (No pun intended!) I first came across these vegan cookies in their Carrot Cherry Millet form on Joy the Baker’s blog before finding the original Carrot Oatmeal version on 101 Cookbooks. Healthy vegan oatmeal cookies that contain no eggs, no cane sugar, no butter, no animal by-products whatsoever? I was sold!The simple ingredients in these cookies make them so easy to throw together. While the original recipes contained nuts and dried cherries, I substituted raisins to create this carrot-cake-meets-oatmeal-raisin-cookie version in vegan form. And did I mention I snuck in a bit of flax seed for some omega-3 action? Oh yes I did! The fact that these cookies have no butter or eggs amazes me, as they hold together beautifully and bake up moist, exactly how a cookie should be. While I try not to think about the fat and calories in some of the baked goods I whip up, these healthy cookies piqued my curiosity and I went ahead and added it up. A few calculations later (1/2 cup = 8 tbsp and oh my does olive oil really have that many calories?!), omitting the cinnamon, ginger, baking powder and salt as negligible calories, I came up with a final answer… 58 calories and 3 grams of fat per cookie in a batch of 36! In Weight Watchers language, this translates to 1 point… one teensy point per cookie! In kitchen language, this translates to me eating two cookies and enough batter to count myself at three. But oh were they delicious! Just enough raisins to have some in every bite, with a touch of sweetness (but not too sweet) and a cinnamon-y smell perfect for the fall. Should I spring for a fourth point? The day is not yet up.

Ready to get your vegan cookie on? Check out the recipe!

Cashew Maple Oatmeal Squares

This recipe caught my eye because it’s supposed to taste like oatmeal raisin cookie dough. Who wouldn’t go for that? Even in the reader reviews for “Raw Energy: 124 Raw Food Recipes for Energy Bars, Smoothies, and Other Snacks to Supercharge Your Body” on amazon.com, the Cashew Maple Oatmeal Squares are mentioned again and again as a favorite recipe. This was my first raw food recipe, and the inherent ease of it (no baking!) is immediately attractive. A little bit of chopping and a spin in the food processor, and after a wait while it sets in the freezer you’ve got Cashew Maple Oatmeal Squares. And the best part? They do taste like oatmeal raisin cookie dough!

Want to give it a try? Check out the recipe!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I have a confession: this was my first time trying a lemon poppy seed muffin. Ever. I imagined that they would be more of a savory muffin, and somehow that didn’t appeal to me. Finally, curiosity took over and I whipped up these muffins. The batter was so… pretty! So yellow! So pleasantly speckled with poppy seeds! It held together so handsomely, creating a cohesive batter that I transferred to the muffin cups in nice, neat spoonfuls instead of dripping all over the pan. And then, they were ready. They baked up so moist and fluffy, with the glaze setting up perfectly on top. And the taste… so sweet with a perfect hint of tangy, refreshing lemon. I know these are the ultimate spring muffin, but I don’t think I know a time–spring or fall, day or night–when I wouldn’t want to enjoy one of these.

As far as the recipe, I wouldn’t change a thing. I debated over which recipe to use–some call for sour cream while others call for yogurt. So often I bake something and wish it could have been sweeter, more moist or a different texture. These were perfect the first time, and I’ll be adding this recipe into my permanent rotation.

Let’s get baking. Take a look at the recipe!

“Big Crumb” Coffee Cake

I’ve been searching for a good coffee cake and/or crumb cake recipe, and this one seemed to combine the best of both. While I am no New Yorker, I can certainly appreciate a good crumb cake when I come across one. This recipe actually called for rhubarb filling, which I omitted for the sake of sticking to a classic. After tasting the end result, I do think some kind of filling (rhubarb or perhaps cherry?) would have added a moist and sweet component that was missing from this version. However, it did turn out delicious, and the crumb-to-cake ratio was right on, with a moist cake bottom and an ample crumb layer on the top. So go ahead, grab a cup of coffee and dig in.

Ready to make one of your own? Check out the recipe!

Tomato Artichoke Tortellini

Recently my pro-meat family was looking for a vegetarian recipe to share with guests, and this Tomato Artichoke Tortellini hit the spot. If you use store-bought tortellini and canned tomatoes it is a piece of cake, and it only uses one skillet in the process. The garlic and fresh basil create such a mouth-watering aroma that you’ll be staring at the bubbling pasta wondering when it’s time to eat, and it’s perfect for company because you can leave it simmering on the stove virtually unattended.

Ready for some carb-filled goodness? Check out the recipe.

Amazing Applesauce

Applesauce is pretty much a staple in my house. I throw it into a sack lunch for an easy snack or sneak it into baked goods when I want to cut the oil or butter. I have never thought of making applesauce myself until recently, and I had absolutely no idea how easy it was to make or how phenomenal it would taste. And if the taste alone isn’t enough, it is a breeze to make and it consists of ingredients you probably already have at ready in your kitchen. Twenty minutes later and presto! You have homemade applesauce that tastes ten times better than store-bought and only has a 1/4 cup of sugar. I coarsely mashed mine and ate it warm, and the effect was the equivalent of tucking into a warm apple pie without the crust. Heaven? I think so.

Have 20 minutes to spare? Check out the recipe!