Pumpkin Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

I love pumpkin-flavored foods! These cookies had the right amount of pumpkin and sweetness. I've made two batches since Friday and probably will make another later this week...they are that good! I got the recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. She used butterscotch chips. I am not a butterscotch fan so substituted cinnamon chips. It was a great swap out!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups cinnamon chips

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

 

Whisk flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

 

Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Add egg and vanilla extract. Next, add in pumpkin and mix until combined.

 

Slowly add in flour mixture. Stir in oats and cinnamon chips.

 

Drop dough by the tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are set and golden. Remove cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Halloween Festivities

Today we had our annual pumpkin carving bash. Jim and I have been throwing this since we first started dating. Over the years the majority of the guests have stayed the same but the whole vibe has definitely changed. We drink less beer, make less elaborate pumpkins and it's centered primarily around the kids.

The kiddos wear costumes.

Some of the big kids too! (Maddie and Sam doing their best Greek statue impersonations)

We ate some pumpkin carving day staples like veggie pumpkin chili and Holly's pumpkin biscuits with orange honey butter but also had some new snacks: pumpkin oatmeal cookies, pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon frosting and these funny little guys. I'll be posting recipes in the next few days!

Art Project #1

One of my goals is to have only original artwork in the house. When you are on a budget, you have to get creative. Here is the first of 3 most recent art endeavors: Scrabble.

Nate and I simply assembled our names on a Scrabble board and took a picture. I then had the picture printed by Winkflash on their laminated black Gator board. Here are the specs on the Gator board:

Laminated and Gator Board Mounted PosterThe best way to add strength, durability, and protection for your poster. Your poster is mounted on black gator board and then covered with 0.002" clear UV protective laminate. Your image goes all the way to the edges.

» 99-year acid free archival paper
» High color gamut produces vivid colors
» Epson UltraChrome HDR Pigment based inks
» 10mil (260 g/m²) paper thickness
» Printed at 2880x1440dpi

We glued a bracket hanger onto some styrofoam and glued that onto the back of the picture.

And here's the finished product. Simple and customized. I've had friends request that I make customized ones for them. Can't wait to get started!

Pumpkin Patch for the Preschool

 

On Thursday we went to the pumpkin patch with Nate's preschool. The pumpkin patch was at his teacher's house. It was amazing how much thought and work went into it! She grew pumpkins for the entire preschool, had animals to feed and pet, activity stations to explore, a tractor to climb on, and the biggest, best surprise...

 

 a pony to ride! Nate loved every minute and didn't want to leave.

Our little pumpkin loved it too. Here she is trying to abscond with a guard from one of the activity stations.

 

Apple Brownies

I got this recipe out of the most recent Martha Stewart Living magazine. I'm a sucker for baked goods especially if they have apples. These were tasty though why they are called brownies I am not so sure. They are very much like many apple cake recipes out there.

 

You would think that with a recipe called Apple Brownies you would start by preparing the apples...wrong. Instead melt one stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl. Set aside to cool.

Now it's time to prepare the apples: peel, core and cut into 1/2" cubes.

Next up chop the walnuts. I didn't have walnuts so used pecans. Turned out to be a great substitute!

Take the now cool butter and beat with sugar and egg. See how yellow this is, it's too yellow. Keep mixing!

Now it is ready! Pale yellow, fluffy and creamy.

Mix in the chopped nuts and apples.

Sift the dry ingredients right on top of the apple mixture. (Or you can use two bowls like the recipe. I don't like to have to do more dishes than necessary)

Stir until well combined.

   
Spread apple mixture into a well buttered dish. I used a 9"x13" and it worked great.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cut into bars and serve.

They were sweet but not overly so. The edges were chewy like brownies. I will be making these again. Nate loved them too!

Apple Brownies

Ingredients:

1 stick salted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for dish
1 c. flour
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1 c. sugar
1 large egg
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
2 large firm-sweet apples (about 1 pound total), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 3/4 cups)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with rack in center position. Generously butter an 8-by-11-inch baking dish.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and egg with a mixer until pale, about 2 minutes. Add walnuts and apples, and stir by hand until combined. Add flour mixture, and stir until combined, about 30 seconds more.

Spread batter in pan, and bake until golden brown and slightly firm, about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 30 minutes, then cut into 12 bars. Bars can be stored in an airtight container up to 5 days. (Though the moisture from the apples will make the bars lose they're chewiness)

Cyclocross

We went to watch our friend Keith in a Cyclocross race. It was a crazy sport. It is like motocross on a bicycle. My very fit hubby took a turn on the course during the practice session. He said it was one of the hardest things he's done in a while. You go up steep inclines and down almost cliffs.

You are required to jump off your bike and carry it over hurdles.

And up stair cases.

It was so much fun to watch and cheer on our friend!

Pigtails

Our little Gabry's hair is getting long enough that it completely covers her eyes. The other day I put her hair in two pigtails. It was cute and she seemed to think having her hair that way was fun. The only problem is that the extent of my hair styling capabilities are pigtails. I am completely clueless how to french braid, curl, etc. In fact the whole hair styling-thing is completely intimidating to me. I wish they had little girl hair styling classes!