Pumpkin Waffles

Finally, I get to add a recipe from one of my favorite people, Renee H!  She and I worked together in a church calling for several years, and she's just about one of the sweetest women I know.  And a fabulous cook, to boot!  When she told me about these pumpkin waffles, I knew I wouldn't rest until I tried them myself.

Divine.  What better hot breakfast can you have on a cold October morning than one that makes your whole house smell like a bakery?  My kids loved 'em, too, and they've been permanently added to our Saturday morning breakfast choices.  Enjoy!

If only you could smell this picture: it's what heaven smells like . . .

I can't even stand the clipart I found to make this recipe card.  Isn't she the cutest little waffle you've ever seen?

{Mini} Pumpkin Doughnuts

The best Father's Day gift my husband ever received was a Babycakes mini-doughnut maker.  A gift for the whole family!  And whenever my nieces and nephews (there are twenty-eight grandkids on my side of the family, with one on the way as of this post) come for a visit, they beg Aunt Becca to get out the doughnut maker.  It's all you need to be the most popular aunt in town!

I've discovered that you can pretty much use any muffin recipe for the doughnut-maker--but some are more delectable than others.  Pumpkin doughnuts are my favorite so far. (In fact, I'm going to try to post nothing but pumpkin recipes this month.  Because there's no better flavor in October and November, as far as I'm concerned).

This recipe makes about 36 mini pumpkin doughnuts, and they are delightful with a cinnamon-sugar topping, but I'm betting they might be even better with cream cheese frosting . . . which I will try next time I whip up a batch.  One-and-a-half cups of pumpkin puree is the whole can (the regular-sized can, not the giant Thanksgiving one), so that makes it easy to make these in a hurry.

It only takes about four minutes to cook these sweet babies!

Miss Mollie, my favorite helper!

Welcome, October!  Don't mind if I do . . .

Pumpkin Bread

This is one of my favorite breads to make as a "gift."  I like to take mini loaves of this pumpkin bread when I go visiting teaching, to bake sales, or to add to a Christmas goody platter.  Plus, it makes your house smell like heaven when it's in the oven.

Bex Tip: I buy lots of small baskets at Deseret Industries (best local thrift store ever), clean them, then use them to take baked goods to people, lining each with a square of gingham fabric.  I tell them the basket is part of the gift: it's pretty, inexpensive, and no one has to worry about returning a plate or dish.

Pumpkin Bars

Mmmmmm . . . pumpkin. My frienda Brenda made these at book club and they were the perfect late-night comfort food. Or any time of day, really.

Pumpkin Scones

My friend Julie made these and brought them to a lunch meeting we were having.  Hello, scrumptious!  I am a sucker for pumpkiny baked goods, and these were such an unexpected and delightful treat.  They are super easy to make, too.  It's rainy and cold where I live today, so these were the perfect comfort food.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I made this cake for the first time earlier this week.  It's a favorite recipe of my sister Bonnie, and every time she talked about it, my mouth started to water.

Pumpkiny baked goods always remind me of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but since there's STILL a foot of snow in my back yard, a Winter dessert didn't seem inappropriate for the end of March.  I justified making this dessert with the idea that I'd take some slices to the women I visit-teach . . . but I also ate half the cake myself.

Since it was my first time to bake this cake, I don't feel too bad that I under-greased my Bundt pan.  But that's the beauty of frosting--you are able to disguise your mistakes.

It was delectable.  You can wait for the holidays to roll around at the end of the year . . . or go ahead and bake a "trial cake" to make sure you'll like it come Thanksgiving.  I'm sure you will.

PS- I had about 3/4 cup of frosting leftover, and I was as liberal with it as I could be.  I think you'd be totally safe to halve the frosting recipe and just drizzle it on the upper half of the cake instead of the whole thing.