Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

When it comes to Sesame Street, Cookie Monster is by far my favorite character.  I think he's a hoot, and the fact that he and I share an extreme love of cookies doesn't hurt!  When Nick and I were heading up to Lake Winnipesaukee for the weekend, I thought some delicious fall cookies would make a great addition.  When I stumbled on Pumpkin Snickerdoodles I knew these would be perfect!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

The Necessities (adapted from Pennies on a Platter)

Pumpkin Muffins

When weekends morning happen here and we don't have plans, we like to be super lazy and catch up on the DVR, but we still like to make a yummy breakfast.  This past fall there was discussion of another great pumpkin shortage, so whenever I saw pumpkin in the store I bought at least 2 cans of it.  After only making pumpkin blondies and a pasta dish, we had a whole lot of canned pumpkin sitting in our cabinets!  So, on a recent Saturday morning I decided pumpkin muffins would make the perfect breakfast - who said pumpkin was just a fall food!

Pumpkin Muffins!

Using my mom's trusty 70's edition of the Joy of Cooking, I found a recipe for Quick Pumpkin Bread, which turned into muffins (because they are so much better then bread!)

Pumpkin Blondies with Salted Caramel

My brother lives in Charlotte and basically had to work for most of the Thanksgiving holiday (and pay his dues) because he will be home for Christmas and my wedding!  I wanted to send him something homemade because I was not sure how well he would fend for himself.  That, and I wanted him to have a bit of a taste of his New England home.  When trying to come up with something to make I was at a bit of a loss, but my recent obsession in Pinterest really helped me search for just the right fall dessert.  Finally, I settled on a Salted Caramel Pumpkin Blondies recipe from Sing for your Supper.

YUM!

This recipe calls for caramel sauce, and while store-bought is good enough, I thought I would challenge myself and make some homemade salted caramel.  After scouring a bit more on Pinterest I stumbled upon a Salted Caramel Sauce from a A Twist of Kate.  The caramel sauce seemed easy enough so off I went.

Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta

Nick was in charge of making dinner last week, which is great for two reasons: 1) I can relax, watch TV and blog a bit, and 2) he is a good cook!  Nick wanted to capitalize on the available fall flavors, and after a bit of searching came across an Autumn Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage that sounded delicious.  So, while I was lounging, Nick got to work!

Dinner is Served!

Whoopie Pie Class at the BCAE

A couple of weeks ago a friend emailed me about getting together for drinks as it had been way too long since we had last seen each other.  However, after a couple of emails she suggested going to a Whoopie Pie making class at the BCAE.  Having never been there, I was not really sure what to expect, but for whoopie pies I probably would do most anything!  Plus, the promise of having whoopie pies to take home made this prospect sound even better!

My to-go pastry box!