Pumpkin Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened

15 oz can of pumpkin

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

The recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of pumpkin spice, but that was not even close to enough for me.  I stopped measuring and just started dumping the pumpkin spice, and some cinnamon, until it satisfied my own taste buds.  I also added a small splash of almond extract, just because I love the stuff and can't get enough of it!

Recommended dippers are apples, graham crackers, ginger snaps, or vanilla wafers.  I bet it would be good on a bagel too!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

I'm not really sure you can count this is a "recipe", but I love it so much that I'm blogging it so that I will never forget about these pancakes.  I love pancakes because they are sweet, easy, and cheap.  I can't think of any meal that cost less to make than pancakes and that is why we eat them often when our budget it tight.  Including the creamer ($1.50) the cost of all the ingredients is right around $4.00 and I can make many many pancake dinners for the 2 of us with one box of pancake mix.  

Our pancakes are almost always flavored with whatever I have in the kitchen.  I usually add a little bit of vanilla or (mmmmmmm) almond extract.  Since we do not drink a lot of coffee I rarely have liquid creamers in the fridge, but on those special occassions that I splurge and buy flavored creamers we have some mighty good pancakes!

These pancakes are flavored with Pumpkin Spice creamer from Coffee Mate.  I just substitue some of the water with creamer until I get the taste I'm looking for.  There is no measuring at all when it comes to pancakes!  I just dump stuff together until it looks good.  I would guess I used about 2 tablespoons of creamer to make these 6 small pancakes.  You can use powdered creamer too, but the liquid creamer gives it a richer flavor (and usually comes in a wider variety of flavors). 

What an easy way to turn regular pancakes into "gourmet" pancakes!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 large can pumpkin
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp baking soda
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 7 1/2 cups flour
• 1 (12oz) bag mini chocolate chips



Mix the butter, sugar, eggs, and pumpin for a few minutes. 

Add the baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg and mix until well incorporated. 

Add the flour a few cups at a time and slowly mix so that it doesn't go flying everywhere!  The batter will be very stiff and you may have to finish mixing it by hand if it becomes too hard on your mixer. 

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet.  The cookies will not spread out during baking so you can place them close together on the pan.  I would normally bake 12 cookies a time on my cookie sheet and I was baking aprox 30 at a time of these cookies.

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. 

This makes about 12 dozen cookies, so you will have plenty to share! 

I got this recipe from my mom.  She uses shortening, but I didn't have any so I replaced it with butter.  I can't tell a difference in the cookies, so feel free to use which ever you prefer.  These are one of my all time favorite cookies because they are so moist; however they are not for everyone.  They never lasted long at our house growing up (even though it makes 7 dozen), but they are not always a hit with outsiders.  Some people love them and some people hate them (those people just don't realize a what a good cookie taste like).  If you like pumpkin pie and chocolate chips I think you will like these cookies. 

They are a moist cake like cookie that I think is a perfect fit for a fall day.