Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. The leaves change, school starts, the weather cools off, pumpkins ripen on the vine and cinnamon, nutmeg and sweaters are once again in fashion. Fall is the anticipatory time period before the holidays kick into full swing. It's the space between sweating and freezing and it's so full of beauty it makes me want to sing through the hills.

The other thing it makes me want to do is make pumpkin flavored food. Last year I made my own pumpkin puree and froze it in zip-lock bags. It wasn't hard and since canned pumpkin has gone up in price (like everything else at the grocery store) it saved me a lot of money for my baking. Since I'm the only one I know who does that, I figured this recipe for Pumpkin Bundt Cake with canned pumpkin. I know you're going to love it and since your family will too, you'd better stock up on pumpkin!

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Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Serves 10-16

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 stick of butter at room temperature

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

Cream cheese frosting

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and flour a large bundt cake pan or two small bundt cake pans. (I divided mine into two because I intended to freeze one for Sunday dinner - didn't happen.)

3. In a stand mixer, combine the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between.

4. Add the vanilla and the pumpkin and mix well.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

6. In a small cup, combine the milk and melted butter. 

7. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the pumpkin. 

8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

9. If baking one large bunt cake, bake for 45-50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. If baking two smaller pans, bake for 35-40 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 

10. Allow cake(s) to cool for ten minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling. 

11. Drizzle with cream cheese frosting. (Just heat the frosting in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to loosen enough to make a drizzle.) Then sprinkle with nuts if desired.

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

So, since I'd been so focused on writing recipes for my children's cook book (due out next summer - I'll keep you posted) I decided to look one up on the good ol' Internet for pumpkin sugar cookies. I googled "pumpkin sugar cookies." Instead of getting a bunch of cookie recipes, all I got were sugar cookies shaped like pumpkins - unacceptable! I wanted sugar cookies made with pumpkin not just made to look like pumpkins. So, I took it as a challenge and viola!

Aren't they cute? I did make a couple that looked like pumpkins because it's close to Halloween and I let the kids pick the cookie cutters. I frosted them with a cream cheese frosting with a twists. I added 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon to the frosting for an extra special flavor. It was really good and I think I might do the same thing on a pumpkin bunt cake recipe I've been playing with. Hope you like these!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies 

Makes 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup pumpkin

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon all spice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup sour cream

5 cups flour

Directions:

1.  Cream together the butter and sugar.

2. Add the eggs and the vanilla, beat well.

3. Add the baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and sour cream. Beat until smooth.

4. Add the flour one cup at a time until the dough is thick and smooth. It will be sticky but it should not be runny.

5. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Wrap them in saran wrap and chill in the fridge overnight. This is an important step as it allows the flavors to mature and the dough to firm up for rolling.

6. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

7. Lightly dust the counter with flour and coat your rolling pin. Leave one half the dough in the fridge while you work with the other half. Roll the dough to a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Cut out with cookie cutters. Place cookie dough cut outs on cookie sheets.

8. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cookies are cooked through. If you rolled your dough out thicker, it will take longer for the cookies to cook.

9. remove cookies form cookie sheet to wire racks to cool.

10. Once cool, frost with cream cheese/cinnamon frosting and decorate.