I heart pumpkin

My new favorite pumpkin recipe is actually a vegan pumpkin muffin, courtesy of my cousin Rebecca, whose family has been eating vegan for over a year now. She and her husband have both lost weight, and most impressively, vastly improved their cholesterol scores. More on being vegan later.

Here's the recipe:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil (I used applesauce instead, and also add about 2 T extra flour to keep them from being too sticky from the applesauce)
2 T ground flax seed
1 tsp vanilla
1 2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I've also made with regular unbleached flour)
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/3 cup chocolate chips (or vegan carob chips if you want to be seriously vegan)

I also add a dash of ginger and a dash of cloves. Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tin(s) - this makes 12 muffins or 24 mini-muffins. Mix together pumpkin, water, oil, flax seed and vanilla in a mixer. Add in flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Fold in the chocolate chips. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean (slightly less baking time for mini-muffins).

I love any recipe that doesn't use the entire can of pumpkin because that gives me a great excuse to make pumpkin dip. Now, as I've said before, I don't really believe in measuring ... I had about half a can of pumpkin left after making these muffins. I added about 4 oz of cream cheese and then powdered sugar (probably a quarter to a third of a cup) and pumpkin pie spices to taste (about 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 nutmeg and 1/8 each of ginger and cloves). I serve with gingersnaps.

Another favorite of mine is a pumpkin cookie with cream cheese icing, courtesy of either my friend Brenda or Paula ... or maybe both.
2 cups flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 T pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil (I use applesauce here, too, adding in more flour to cut the stickiness)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices together. In an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until smooth. On low speed, mix in the oil, pumpkin and vanilla until blended. Add in flour mixture. Bake cookies about 15 minutes. When cooled, top with cream cheese frosting (or just dust with powdered sugar instead). The frosting is 8 oz cream cheese, powdered sugar to taste (recipe calls for a small box) and milk to thin to consistency you want. These remind me of City Bite's pumpkin cookies. Yum.

Next on my pumpkin to-do list is BrownEyedBaker's Pumpkin Scones - can't wait!