By Andrea Meyers of Andrea’s Recipes

With a crispy snap in the air, I can feel the coming of autumn. The nights and mornings have been chilly, the summer garden is dying down, the mums are starting to bloom, and I find myself craving warm comfort foods. Pumpkins are an autumn favorite for us because there are so many things to make with them, but our favorites are soups, breads, and desserts. Here are some ideas to get you started on an autumn pumpkin cooking and baking adventure.

Soups

Pumpkin soup is popular around the world and acts as a palate for a variety of spices and flavors. Meeta’s Spiced Lamb Pumpkin Goulash is flavored with cloves, allspice, and chiles, a winning combination with a bit of a kick. Susan puts a Mexican twist on her pumpkin soup with jalapeno, cumin, cayenne, and some chili beans. Melissa’s experimental pumpkin soup with carrots and smoked paprika sounds perfect for autumn. Stephanie’s Jamaican pumpkin soup is flavored with ginger, garlic, allspice, turmeric, and nutmeg, a flavor combination sure to turn your thoughts to a sunny beach.

Breads

Pumpkin bread is one of my autumn favorites and food bloggers know how to create lovely flavor combinations. Karina’s Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chai Bread has apple cider (or juice or orange juice), chai spices, cranberries, raisins, and pecans, and you can even add chocolate chips if you feel adventurous. Maria’s Pumpkin Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel makes a perfect autumn breakfast that young and old will enjoy. Peabody’s Pumpkin Spice Bread with a Maple Cheesecake layer in the middle will keep the cheesecake lovers in your life very happy. Meeta’s Roasted Pumpkin and Chocolate Bread Pudding starts with a whole wheat challah base and adds pumpkin, chocolate, and spices, so even if it’s not technically pumpkin bread you still get full pumpkin goodness with bread.

Breakfast

We enjoy pumpkin at breakfast in all sorts of baked goods, but Kevin shows how he makes his oatmeal then stirs in pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and spices to make Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, surely a family pleaser. Kelly can’t decide if her Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding should be for breakfast or dessert, but with pumpkin bread, maple syrup, cream cheese, and pecans, I would probably vote for both. Sarahs’ Delicious Pumpkin Pancakes have mashed banana in the batter as well as pumpkin, surely giving them a wonderful moist texture. One of my family’s favorite autumn breakfasts is Pumpkin Scones with a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping, an easy breakfast you can even make ahead.

Pies & Tarts

Pumpkin pies and tarts are as classic as a little black dress for autumn parties and dinners, and it’s easy to come up with creative variations. Kalyn’s Reduced-Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake is sure to please anyone on a low-sugar diet, and even those who aren’t. Mango Power Girl has a gorgeous eggless Chocolate Spice Pumpkin Tart with a chocolate crust that will bring exclamations of delight. Karina’s vegan crustless gluten-free Pumpkin Pie will make everyone happy, and Meeta’s savory Pumpkin Feta Tart makes a beautiful brunch dish or even an appetizer. You can’t go wrong with any of these.

Cakes

Pumpkin cakes are easy to dress up or keep casual depending on what you want, but either way they are delicious. Our busy family enjoys simple cakes for dessert, and there is plenty of inspiration to share. Nicole spices her casual Bundt Pumpkin Spice Cake with pumpkin pie spice mix, but you can mix up your own with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. Barbara’s simple Pumpkin Fruit Cake has a mix of dried fruits with the pumpkin, a delicious cake to whip up when you need an easy dessert. Katrina makes her simple pumpkin loaf cake look beautiful with a clementine cream cheese frosting between the layers. Lori’s simple Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is perfect for potlucks since you can slice the oblong cake in any size pieces you need.

Cookies

Pumpkin cookies are another popular dessert, and they run the range from bar cookies to drop cookies and to whoopie pies. Julia’s Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars would capture any pumpkin lovers eye, with a snickerdoodle layer, a pumpkin pie layer, and white chocolate and pumpkin pie spice drizzle on top. Nicole combines pumpkin, chocolate, and pumpkin pie spice to make her memorable chewy Pumpkin Spice Fudge Cookies. Amy makes her mother’s recipe for Pumpkin Cookies, a beautiful way of sharing her mother with her own children. My own family likes Spicy Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, which are really cookies, with a decadent cream cheese filling and even crystallized ginger.

There are many things you can make with pumpkin, and you can find many more recipes in the FoodieView Recipe Search Engine.

Andrea Meyers enjoys the autumn harvest, including carving jack-o-lanterns, roasting pumpkin seeds, and making her family’s favorite pumpkin bread and pumpkin pancakes.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 10:38 am and is filed under Recipe Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.