Pumpkin Everything Season

Name: Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix
Prep time: 2 min
Total time: 2 min
Yield: 7.5 tsp
Ingredients: 4 tsp ground cinnamon; 2 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp ground cloves; 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

September 3, 2019 by laurenpacek Leave a Comment

This spice mix will help you bake your way through the Fall!

I have a feeling that you’ll be making good use of this Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix all season long. I know that I will! The warm, fragrant spices are perfect for all of your Fall baking needs (and then some).

FYI – this post contains affiliate links

It’s that time of year again!

You know what time of year I’m talking about. Love it or hate it, it’s here. Please don’t fight it.

(And yeah, yeah, I know that Fall doesn’t actually start until September 23rd this year. But it’s September. It’s time. Sue me.)

It’s time for PUMPKIN SEASON!

During this time of year, I fully embrace my inner Basic Bitch by sipping Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks and baking up lots of pumpkin-based treats. This spice mix has our backs when it comes to all of the baking.

How do I use this spice mix?

Hoo boy. Where do I start?

Basically any pumpkin-based baked good is going to require pumpkin pie spices. Check out these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Pumpkin Waffles, for starters. But really, search “pumpkin” on this site for many more.

I’ve even shared a pumpkin-based cocktail in the past! While this Pumpkin Bourbon Shrub (as currently written) doesn’t call for all of the spices included in this spice mix… you could totally add this pumpkin pie spice to the shrub and things would be delicious.

How does this spice mix come together?

It really could not be simpler. It’s kind of silly to even call this a “recipe”, really.

But, basically, you mix a variety of spices together, use them immediately, and/or store them for later in an airtight jar.

That’s it. You got this.

So, what inspired this recipe?

It’s not like ready-made pumpkin pie spice mixes are a new idea, by any means. But, basically, Fall baking was the impetus for finally mixing up my own spice mix. If you’re planning to bake anything that involves pumpkin, you’ll be using pumpkin pie spices.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

Yield: 7.5 tsp

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 2 minutes

I have a feeling that you'll be making good use of this Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix all season long. I know that I will! The warm, fragrant spices are perfect for all of your Fall baking needs (and then some).

Ingredients

4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions

Mix all of the spices together.
Use immediately or store in an airtight container for later.

Notes

Scale the amount of spices up if you'd like to make a big batch of Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix.

Will I need anything special to make this spice mix?

Truthfully, not much. But check these out:

I’m storing my spice mix in one of these cute Weck jars
Measuring spoons to measure out the spices
You’ll also need ground cinnamon;
Some ground ginger;
Some ground cloves;
And some ground nutmeg

Pin this recipe for later!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies

February 6, 2018 by laurenpacek 5 Comments

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Pumpkin and chocolate were meant to be together, especially in these pumpkin chocolate chip blondies!

When asked which recipe you would like to see next, and given the choice between these blondies and some buffalo chicken dip in informal polls on Facebook and Instagram, these blondies were the clear winner.

I can’t really blame you. Look at them.

I know that “pumpkin season” has come and gone. But I maintain that pumpkin should be consumed year-round. In addition to that, pumpkin and chocolate should be consumed together, year-round. Need more proof? Take a look at these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. How about these Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Chocolate Sauce, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins? I think you see what I’m talking about.

I made these blondies for the first time going on 6 years ago and felt like they deserved a face lift. The original blog post can be found here.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

55 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
15 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 cups white chocolate chips, plus more for topping the blondies
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for topping the blondies

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, making sure to leave some overhang on the long sides. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth.
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until combined.
Add the pumpkin puree and beat until combined.
Reduce the speed to low, and, little by little, add the dry ingredients.
Add the chocolate chips and mix until they are distributed throughout the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted into the center, comes out clean.
Allow the blondies to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Recipe Notes

Note: Once you beat in the pumpkin puree, the mixture will look kind of curdled, and that this is completely normal. You're doing just fine.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

November 5, 2017 by laurenpacek 5 Comments

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are chewy, sweet, and full of pumpkin and Fall spices.

So, it’s been a minute.

I don’t think I’ve ever gone this long without posting something. I’m pretty sure I baked these cookies back in September… I even missed out on A Nerd Cooks’ birthday in August (the blog turned 6!!). In my defense, lots of things have been happening! To give you a little taste:

I/we have been doing a bit of traveling and have had friends and family visiting us.
I was promoted to Assistant Professor at Duke!
We bought a house!!

We moved in last weekend, and are so happy here already. I’ll likely share some photos of the kitchen at some point, because it is GORGEOUS. But only after the inside of the house stops looking like a tornado passed through.

As for the cookies? Well, they’re pretty fantastic. Unlike many pumpkin cookies (like these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies), these are chewy, not cakey. You have the oats and drained/blotted pumpkin (see instructions below) to thank for that. Beyond that, these cookies are full of pumpkin spice flavor as well as chocolate chips.

This recipe comes from the blog Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

13 mins

Total Time

28 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups + 1 tbs all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
3 tbs pure maple syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for pressing into the top

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Line a medium-sized bowl with paper towels. Add the pumpkin puree to the lined bowl. Using the paper towels, squeeze a bit of the moisture out of the canned pumpkin. Check out Sally's blog for a visual. Removing some of the moisture from the pumpkin helps produce a less cake-like cookie. Which is what we're going for here.
In another medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, salt, and oats together. Set this aside.
In yet another medium-sized bowl, whisk the melted butter, maple syrup, sugars, egg yolk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop ~1.5 tbs-sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Smoosh the dough balls down slightly with your fingers. They don't spread much on their own, so they need some help in this department. Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges.
Remove the baking sheets from the oven. Press a few chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies while they are still warm. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Bourbon Pumpkin Shrub Cocktail

October 13, 2016 by laurenpacek 8 Comments

These cocktails are unique and delicious!

This Bourbon Pumpkin Shrub Cocktail is pretty much Fall in a glass. Always fabulous bourbon, a tart pumpkin shrub, and fizzy ginger beer were meant to be together.

Products were provided to me free of charge by Drizly. As always, all opinions are my own.

FYI – this post also contains affiliate links

You know Drizly

We talked about Drizly in this post about Caramel Apple Moscow Mules. Drizly is a company that makes buying booze super easy. Just head to their website, order online, and they’ll deliver it to you in about an hour!

In case you missed those mules, do yourself a favor and go check them out. I’ll wait.

Back to this cocktail…

Alright now that you’re back, let’s talk about this Bourbon Pumpkin Shrub.

A shrub is basically fruit, sugar, and vinegar. Way back when, shrubs were used to preserve fruit after the harvest was over. In this case, our fruit of choice is pumpkin (puree), and rather than preservation of produce, we’re using this shrub as a vessel for bourbon.

The shrub itself is sweet and sour, and full of pumpkin spice flavor. The ginger beer brings some effervescence and a little spice. If you’re into sour flavors, like me, this cocktail is for you. It’s not too sour, though, thanks to the maple syrup and bourbon.

The shrub recipe comes from Swooned Magazine. The rest of the cocktail comes from my foodbrain.

Bourbon Pumpkin Shrub Cocktail

Prep Time

5 mins

Chill time for pumpkin shrub

1 d

Course: Beverage, Cocktail

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 cocktail

Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

For the shrub

15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

For the cocktail (makes 1 cocktail) -

1.5 oz bourbon
1.5 oz pumpkin shrub
1 tsp real maple syrup
ginger beer

Instructions

To make the shrub
Add all ingredients to a glass container (I used a mason jar), seal, and shake to combine.
Put the jar into the fridge for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, shake to recombine and strain the solids through a sieve (it's okay if some of the puree makes its way through). The shrub will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

To make the cocktail

Add bourbon, pumpkin shrub, and maple syrup to a rocks glass.
Stir to combine.
Add ice and top with ginger beer.

Recipe Notes

Notes:

The bourbon is available here
The ginger beer is available here

What gear should I have on hand to make these drinks?

Pin this recipe for later!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

September 22, 2016 by laurenpacek 6 Comments

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are moist and tender, full of pumpkin flavor, and studded with mini chocolate chips.

Though I generally use pumpkin in my cooking and baking year-round, it’s now officially Fall. It’s that time of year where we all turn into basic bitches. Pumpkin recipes are fully acceptable. Prepare yourselves.

Actually, I take that back. Sort of. I’m going to try to exercise some amount of restraint this year. If I can’t limit the overall quantity, I’ll at least make an effort to scatter non pumpkin recipes throughout the coming months.

Pumpkin and chocolate really do play well together, though, and are perfect in these muffins.

See this pumpkin cheesecake (with an Oreo crust and chocolate bourbon sauce!) and these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for more examples.

This recipe is slightly adapted from Sweet and Savoury Pursuits.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

40 mins

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable/canola oil or apple sauce
15 oz can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for on top of muffins

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together. Set aside.
In another medium-sized bowl, combine the sugars, eggs, oil, and pumpkin puree until smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
Divide the batter between the muffin cups (they will be pretty full). Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.
Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Pumpkin Beer Bread

September 16, 2016 by laurenpacek Leave a Comment

This Pumpkin Beer Bread comes together quickly, is easy, and full of pumpkin and beer-y flavor. This bread is perfect for slathering with butter and dunking into some soup or chili.

It’s the middle of September. It is officially okay to blog about pumpkin recipes. So says I.

After being sick for more than a week, I finally felt better last Sunday and went on a bit of a baking spree. This beer bread was one of the recipes I tried.

The pumpkin flavor is pretty subtle, as are sort of traditional pumpkin spices. It definitely predominantly has the flavors of the beer bread that we all know and love.

Though I’ve just been eating it warm with some butter, it would be great dunked in some Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili or Chicken Pumpkin Soup. Or, you know, any non-pumpkin-based chili or soup. Take this Slow Cooker Turkey Chili, for instance.

This recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven.

Pumpkin Beer Bread

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 10 mins

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 tbs honey
1 cup pumpkin puree
12 oz. bottle of beer, see notes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves together.
Add the honey and pumpkin puree, stirring until combined.
Slowly add the beer and stir until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick/knife comes out clean when inserted into the center. Allow the bread to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing in.

Recipe Notes

Notes: I recommend using a pumpkin beer. I used Sam Adams' 20 Pounds of Pumpkin. But use whatever you like.

Pumpkin Thyme Macaroni and Cheese

September 30, 2013 by laurenpacek 5 Comments

It’s pumpkin season, y’all! Don’t fight it.

This Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese (with thyme!) is cheesy and pleasantly pumpkin-y. Earthy thyme complements the slightly sweet pumpkin. It’s exactly what you need to feel festive and celebrate the season.

FYI – this post contains affiliate links

This pumpkin macaroni and cheese is a modern day classic

This recipe is an oldie, but a goodie. I first blogged about it way back in 2013. But the photos were… not the best. And given how much I love this recipe, and just how delicious it is, I felt that it deserved a facelift.

I updated the recipe a bit, increasing the amount of milk and cheese that it calls for. And really, how could more cheese be a bad thing?

The result is a very creamy, pleasantly pumpkin-y macaroni and cheese.

Delicious enough for company, easy enough for a weeknight

I’d be perfectly content to make this pumpkin macaroni and cheese for friends and family. Pair it with a green salad, and you’re in business. It’s delicious, plus the pumpkin and thyme make it feel special.

Even though it looks fancier than your average mac ‘n’ cheese, it comes together really quickly since it’s made on the stovetop. There’s no baking required. If you boil the pasta while you start the sauce, you can have dinner on the table in about half an hour!

Looking for other savory pumpkin recipes?

Pumpkin Thyme Macaroni and Cheese

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb elbow macaroni
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
2 3/4 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (see notes)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tbs fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
12 oz shredded cheese (see notes)
kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk, forming a roux.
While whisking continuously, slowly add the milk.
Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and thyme. Whisk to combine.
Allow this pumpkin-y sauce to cook for a few minutes, whisking occasionally. It will thicken slightly.
To the sauce, add the cheese, whisking to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce, and eat!

Notes

You want to use pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling
I used half aged gouda and half gruyere

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 464 Total Fat: 26g Saturated Fat: 15g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 8g Cholesterol: 75mg Sodium: 511mg Carbohydrates: 36g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 3g Sugar: 2g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 22g

What kind of equipment will I need to make this recipe?

Pumpkin puree!
Silicone whisk
Colander to drain your pasta