12 Weeks of Christmas Treats–Week 7 Easy Pumpkin Muffins

 

Welcome to Week 7 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog event hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic! Check out the links in the hop below and head over to Meal Planning Magic to learn more about joining in the fun!

So I’m pretty sure this is the easiest recipe I’ve ever made. Two ingredients. That’s it. But these are so good. These would be a great treat to have out for people who gather together earlier in the day on Christmas (these would be fantastic on Thanksgiving too). I think they’d be a hit during our Christmas morning celebrations.

These would also be a fantastic addition to a gift basket with hot chocolate mix or coffee. Just wrap them up and stick them in the basket. You could also add the two ingredients to a gift basket with a muffin pan and oven mitt. That would be a gift I’d love to get!

 

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

As seen on SprinkleBakes

1 Box Spice Cake Mix

1 15 Ounce Can of Pumpkin, plain not pie filling

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Spray a muffin pan or place liners in each cup.

Combine the cake mix and pumpkin until well combined. The mixture will be very thick.

Spoon the filling into the muffin pan.

Bake for 20 minutes.

I got 16 medium sized muffins from this.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats Week 3–Pumpkin Bread

Welcome to Week 3 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog event hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic! Check out the links in the hop below and head over to Meal Planning Magic to learn more about joining in the fun! I love pumpkin treats. Pumpkin is such a fantastic flavor and can be made so much more complex with seasoning and additions. Pumpkin bread is one of my favorite things to make. So easy to throw together, stick in the oven, and just walk away. It makes the house smell fantastic and makes a great gift. Quick breads are great because they can be frozen and pulled out to give away or grace a sweets table. To freeze just wrap the loaf thoroughly in plastic wrap and place in a zip top bag. Loaves thaw wonderfully and taste just as great as they did fresh. This recipe is great because it is low-fat but full of flavor. The original recipe covers the top with pepitas but I didn’t have any so I left them off. This bread is really moist and has a great deep flavor from the spices. I will definitely be making this again and again. Low Fat Pumpkin Bread From Skinnytaste 1 1/2 Cups Pumpkin Puree
1 1/4 Cups AP Flour
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
T1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 Egg Whites (large egg)
1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x5 inch bread pan. In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, pumpkin spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
In another bowl combine oil, egg whites, pumpkin, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer until thick.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Do not over mix.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Top with 2 tablespoons pepitas if desired.
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the loaf.

Pumpkin Bread

 

This is one of my favorite recipes and I cannot believe I’ve never blogged this before. I’ve been making this for a few years now – actually from before I even had this blog. That’s how good this recipe is. This pumpkin bread is moist and flavorful. The spices in this are perfect, I think, though you could easily back the amounts off a bit or add a touch more depending on how much spice you like. Even Doug really loves this bread and he isn’t a big pumpkin fan. This would be an awesome item to make and have around over the Thanksgiving weekend. It would be a great small breakfast on Thanksgiving or a yummy treat to stuff in your face after a morning of fighting the crowds for a deal.

The one bad thing about how long I’ve been making this recipe is that I printed it off before I learned about citing. I’ve searched google reader and every blog I could think of and I cannot find the source of this anywhere. So, if you recognize this can you please let me know so I can give proper dues to the original blogger?

Pumpkin Bread

1/2 Cup Oil (vegetable or canola)

1 1/4 Cups Canned Pumpkin (not pie filling)

1 Cup Sugar

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 1/2 Cups and 1 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bread pan with non-stick spray.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.

In a separate bowl mix the oil, pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, and eggs.

Mix the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until well mixed. Pour into the bread pan.

Bake for 40-60 minutes or until top of loaf springs back slightly from light pressure. Cool for 10-20 minutes and remove from pan.

Makin' Whoopie.... pies that is

So for Thanksgiving D and I went to my parents house and then did a second round of sweets and snacks with his parents. So I decided to make something pumpkin to go along with my pecan pie. Well, my mom makes the pumpkin pie every year, so no need to do that. So when my fall issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray came I was interested by the Pumpkin Whoopie Pie recipe. So after the food goddess on the WC board deemed them yummy, I decided those would be my pumpkin-y contribution to Turkey Day.

They were really easy to make, which is saying something since this was only the second time I had ever made icing. And everyone really loved them, which is always a good sign. I doubled this recipe, since it was going to more than one house, and it made more than enough pies.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

From Everyday with Rachael Ray

Makes 12

Prep Time: 35 min

Bake Time: 10 min

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1 2/3 cups flour
4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

3. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

5. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.