I’m freezing. Are you freezing?! I know I’m being sort of a child when I say I’m freezing. And yes, I do realize that 50˙F is amateur freezing weather. But it’s cold. I’m cold.

I got the sniffles this past weekend. I ran into Jeff Goldblum (my childhood crush) as I was sniffling…with no make-up…in sweats…as I was walking through Whole Foods. This happens in Los Angeles from time to time. It’s usually famous people I could care less about. But this time…whoa. It was Jeff Goldblum. As I walked past him, he said hello to me (!!!), probably because I couldn’t stop smiling. I tried. I just couldn’t. So I said hi back and then promptly did one of those run-walks to hide in the flour aisle.

And then I just imagined him getting eaten by that T-Rex as he was sitting on the toilet…chanting. I’ve had a crush on him ever since. I do realize that I’m now on an official tangent..and I do understand that my “crushes” are confusing and random. But…back to being cold!!

So yeah, when we’re cold…soup is in order.

I’ve been making renditions of this soup for years. It comes from one of my favorite Ina Garten books, Barefoot In Paris. It’s full of beautiful simple, French recipes that are perfect for the cold chilly weather.

Wrap a blanket around yourself, put on some cute socks and let’s make some soup!

I’ve made this soup a million times…a million different ways. I’ve made it with all pumpkin…making it pumpkin soup.

I’ve made it with all butternut squash…and all acorn squash.

My favorite combo–hands down–is the combo of acorn squash and pumpkin. The flavors don’t compete one bit.

And while I love creamy soups, I don’t like ones that make me feel like I’m eating a bowl of warm milk with a spoon. Just no. No. This has just the perfect amount.

The second best part about this soup is the cheesy croutons. I sliced up a French baguette, toasted them with butter in a pan, topped them with a bit of cheese and then finished them up in the oven.

A perfect bowl of soup for when you’re kinda chilly with the sniffles.

Acorn Squash Soup with Cheesy Croutons

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Soup:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion (1 onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 1/2 pounds acorn squash, peeled and cut into chunks
3 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half

Croutons:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 French baguette, sliced into 1-inch pieces
3 ounces Gruyére, grated

1. Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed stockpot, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add minced garlic to the top of the onions and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add the pumpkin purée, acorn squash, chicken stock, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, until the acorn squash is very tender. Process the mixture, in batches, using a blender. Be sure to let the hot air to escape so you don’t have an explosions on your hands. Return to the pot, add the half-and-half, and heat slowly.

3. Salt to taste. The soup might need the remaining teaspoon of salt, or it might not, depending on the chicken stock you’ve used.

4. For croutons, pre-heat oven to 350F. Melt the butter in a medium-skillet over medium heat. Add sliced bread to skillet. When toasted on one side, flip and toast for a minute or two, or until golden brown. Take off the heat, top pieces of bread with cheese and transfer to oven for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve soup hot with melty, cheesy croutons.

Recipe adapted from Barefoot In Paris

Food exists for every occasion. Birthday cakes for birthdays (obvi). Casseroles for cold nights. Chicken soup to rid a cold. Bacon wrapped jalapeños for pot lucks. Cookies for the holidays. Salads for getting cute and healthy…and then…and then there’s heartbreak food.

You know…food for when your heart actually hurts. And you need something to hug you and tell you it’s gonna be okay. And tell you that it’s actually for the best. And that despite life being hard, good things are on their way. Because they are.

So yeah…there’s food for this occasion, too.

Chocolate pudding is pretty popular for this type of situation, as is a pint of ice cream while calling home to mom. Or the first row in a package of oreos. And maybe the second.

But I…I personally recommend pancakes. These specifically.

There’s carbs (requirement!), chocolate (double-requirement!), pumpkin (it’s fall), all while swimming in a pool of warm maple syrup (triple-requirement!).

From the time I’ve spent on this earth, I’ve learned a thing or two about heartbreak; it’s quite simple, really.

It usually happens when two people aren’t on the same page. When one person makes plans for the other (or for the “us”), and when that one person finds out their plan isn’t going to work…it hurts. And that person (a.k.a. me) feels like an idiot for ever thinking that plan was going to work in the first place.

For this special life occasion, I recommend a new purchase of fancy shoes…paired with a stack of delicious pancakes.

Please make them. Eat them. Enjoy them. And even if you aren’t sad, share them…they’re delightful regardless of what’s going on in your heart/brain.

They can really service any type of predicament or celebration–they’re versatile!

Today, though–for me–they’re serving as a pep-talk, from me to myself (and maybe from me to you).

So:

Adrianna (and maybe you), stop listening to sappy music, stop sulking, eat some pancakes, put on some eyeliner and know there’s better days ahead. Because there so is…

(Right? RIGHT?!)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes

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1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 ground cloves
1/8 ground ginger
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1 egg
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 200˚F.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. In a measuring cup (or small bowl), measure out the buttermilk. Add the egg and lightly beat. Next, mix in the pumpkin puree until completely blended. Pour in the slightly cooled melted butter and mix some more. Lots of mixin’!

In two batches, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter should have some small to medium lumps.

Heat up your griddle or cast iron skillet over medium low-heat and brush with 1 tablespoon of butter. Scoop the batter, using a 1/4 cup measure, to the warm skillet. Top each pancake with desired amount of chocolate chips. I added about 6-7 chips per pancake. Cook until small bubbles form on the surface of the pancake and then flip. Cook on opposite side for about 40 seconds, or until golden brown.

Transfer done pancakes to a baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm. Proceed with the rest of the pancakes until you’ve gone through all of the batter. Serve with warm maple syrup.

Yields about 8 pancakes

Hi there! I have a request. Actually…it’s more like a favor.

I know this weekend you probably have some important things to do like errands or laundry or studying or organizing some closet you’ve been putting off.

I think you should blow it off. Yes, I’m telling you to be irresponsible.

Here’s the thing: we work too much, we run too many errands, we have too many to-do lists. Me included. But sometimes we have to put our foot down and choose fun. We gotta show our responsibilities who’s in charge in this relationship. And guess what…you are.

So I say choose fun. Just this once.

There are simply too many parks to visit, meals to share, books to quietly read, new friends to meet…and memories to make.

There’s too much life to live. Laundry can wait. It’ll get done…sometime.

And that bill that needs to get paid…it can wait, too. Nothing that bad will happen. Sure you’re lights might turn off…but how fun would it be to have dinner by candlelight?!

Mainly, I just want you to take a break in your busy lives and make these cookies.

Aaaannnd I like advocating rebelliousness. Because sometimes it’s fun.

Can I tell you about these cookies?

These cookies are also sort of rebellious because they’re not like normal cookies at all. They’re actually more like cakes.

Mini cake sandwiches with cream cheese icing in the middle. The consistency is more like a moist carrot cake situation…but with pumpkin!! Whaaaa!!!

Sure, I guess someone could call them whoopie pies…but I hate that word whoopie. So that’s not happening here. I’m sticking with mini cake sandwiches.

They’re soft and delightful. Not overly sweet. And those little pumpkin seeds that I added on top, thinking they’d only just make them a little cuter, actually added a nice little crunch.

So ignore your stupid to-do list and make some cookies…and share ‘em with someone you like.

Love,

The girl with lots of laundry to do

Soft Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies

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Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of pure pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cups butter, softened
4 ounces, cream cheese, softened
1 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cookies:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamon, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix and set aside.

In another medium bowl, beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar and softened butter until combined and blended. Add the egg, vanilla extract, pumpkin and beat until smooth.

Grab a spatula or wooden spoon, and in two batches, gradually mix in flour mixture, until thoroughly combined.

Using a stainless-steel ice cream scoop (with one of those hand releases), drop the cookie dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet, being sure to leave room for the dough to spread. If you don’t have an ice cream scooper, you could also drop the dough using two teaspoons.

Sprinkle 3 or 4 pumpkin seeds on the top of the cookies for decoration. I tried to put them in a trio just for appearance purposes. (This is totally optional.)

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown. They should still be soft to the touch. Carefully transfer to a rack to cool completely.

For the icing:

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until completely smooth.

Assembly:

Flip half of the cookies upside down. Using a butter knife, dollop one teaspoon of the icing in the center of each upside down cookie. Smooth it around with your knife until the icing just reaches the edges. Top with another cookie and gently press the two cookies together.

Cookies should be stores in an airtight container and will be moist and delicious for up to 2 days.

Yields about 12 sandwich cookies

Umm…that picture up there is me totally jumping the gun on Fall.

But I need you to understand something. It’s serious. Are you ready? Okay, this is the thing: this entire blog has been built on the love for “cozy” food. Soooo….Fall is a huge deal for me. HUUUUGE. Think of it like the olympics of food blogging, for me. MA-JOR. Major.

It’s totally the most charming season.

There’s pea coats, trips to the apple orchard, pumpkin spice lattes, warm ciders, scarves, fluffy biscuits and cuddling. LET’S ALL CUDDLE!!!

Wait, let’s NOT do that together. That’d be kinda gross. Just cuddle in your respective homes with your dude or lady, and keep it classy. That’s cuter.

Like all proper quick-breads, this one is super easy to throw together.

It’s prepped and ready to enter the oven in 15 minutes.

There’s pure pumpkin puree, a few eggs, some sugar, and some legit pumpkin pie spice.

P.S. I don’t own pumpkin pie spice since it’s not multi-functional. So I just tossed in every spice which makes up that spice mix. I included the measurements below. #protips2011

The bright orange hue is pretty, isn’t it? Gosh. That just screams Fall. I could totally marry that bowl of batter.

For some texture I threw in some loosely chopped walnuts. There was some lovely crunch going on. I recommend it.

And then for some additional cuteness, I topped it with a handful of sunflower seeds and a tablespoon of sugar.

Tastes like pumpkin. Check. It’s orange. Check. There’s nuts. Check. And goes amazing with coffee. Check.

I kinda wanna start a blog all about coffee accompaniments. Like coffee cake, biscotti, scones, biscuits, doughnuts, etc. I think it’d be a hit. Thoughts?!

P.S. Ummm…do you like the recipe’s double entendre?! NUTTY (crazy!!) SEEDY (scary!!) PUMPKIN BREAD. Get it? GET IT?!

Sometimes I think I think I’m super clever. #sorry

Nutty Seedy Pumpkin Bread

Yields 1 loaf

Adapted from this muffin recipe

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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
*1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
1 1/4 cups of sugar
1/2 of a cup of chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon of sugar (for the topping)
1 handful of sunflower seeds, unsalted

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Start by lightly greasing a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with softened butter and flour.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In another large bowl, whisk, using a stand-up mixer, pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, *pumpkin-pie spice, 1 1/4 cups of sugar until smooth.
5. Using a spatula, fold in flour mixture until just combined, making sure to not overmix the batter.
6. Fold in walnuts and sprinkle a handful of sunflower seeds on top.
7. Add the batter to the greased/floured loaf pan.
8. Transfer to oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then invert. You can serve warm or room temperature.

*If you don’t have pumpkin-pie spice you can simply add 1/8 of nutmeg, cloves, ginger and allspice. And then 1/4 of a teaspoon of cinnamon.

It took me a long time to come around to pumpkin pie. I’ve always been much more attracted to pecan pies during the holidays, especially if they’re loaded down wit extra goodies like chocolate chips. Maybe it was the texture, maybe it was the fact that this pie is made from a vegetable, or maybe it’s just the the lack of chocolate, but I almost never feel that hankering for pumpkin that most do around this time of year.

However, the times have totally changed. Although there is no way I will ever be able to turn down a piece of chocolate chip pecan pie, I now will always hope it is accompanied by a sliver of pumpkin pie. Here’s the issue with developing a love of something: I really don’t want to share. Now that I’ve finally caught on to pumpkin pie, I feel like I should get to hog it all to myself. After all, everyone else has been enjoying this stuff for years and I need to catch up!

These little pies are the perfect solution – I can pick up my own little pies and have them all to myself, without any slicing or dividing involved. Even better, their small size make it easy to think of excuses to have pumpkin pie throughout the day. As a snack, an after-dinner treat or as a early morning breakfast on the go. Who knew whipped cream would taste so good at 7am?

Mini Pumpkin Pies with Spiced Whipped Cream

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Crust and filling recipes adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Makes 12 small pies

Pie Crust:
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, cut into pieces
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Filling:
1 15oz can pumpkin
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon shaved nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup half and half or milk

Spiced Whipped Cream:
½ cup heavy or whipping cream
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crust:
In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and butter. Pulse until the flour begins to look like course bread crumbs (there should still be pea-size chunks of butter in the dough).

Transfer the flour mixture into a mixing bowl and slowly add in the water, mixing it as you go until the all of the flour is moistened. I use my hands for this step but you can also use a fork to distribute the water.

Pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 30 seconds. Form the dough into a small round disk, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and roll out until it is roughly a 9×13 rectangle. It should be pretty thin. Using a large glass or cup (roughly 4-5 inches in diameter), cut out circles of dough and mold them into the muffin cups. You will probably need to re-roll the dough out once or twice in order to use it all up. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the filling:

Meanwhile, Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Beat in the eggs until just combined and then stir in the milk or cream.

Remove the refrigerated muffin baking sheet. Carefully pour filling into the pastry shells, until they are almost full but don’t go above the top of the crust. Cover the sheet lightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a pie comes out clean.

Remove the pies from the oven and gently transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool. You may share if you like, or hog them all to yourself.
For the whipped cream:

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl. Beat on high with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form in the cream. Spoon as much as you wish over baked pies.

 

I first learned to make beer bread in college, and if you know any college students that want to cook more, I suggest you tell them about it. Beer bread is that ideal college recipe for a few reasons:

1) One of the main ingredients is beer – duh.
2) There are only 3 other ingredients, and all of them are cheap and don’t go bad when left in your cabinet for 9 months.
3) There’s minimal dishwashing required after making this – this is helpful when you’re roommate has left so many dirty dishes that you can’t actually reach your sink.
4) This bread is perfect for breakfast or a snack between meals, which is great when things are so busy you’ve started to forget what time of day it is.

Luckily, making this bread is one of the few things I still remember from college. Except now that I’m a super awesome career woman (sort of) I’ve dressed it up a little. As in, I’ve added some spices, nuts, and…wait for it…pumpkin ale! I know, I’ve grown up a lot since my college days.

Pumpkin Spiced Beer Bread

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For this recipe I used pecans, but I would also recommend walnuts, sliced almonds or even pistachios. For pumpkin ale I used Blue Moon, but any brand you prefer would work just fine.

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 12 oz bottle of Pumpkin Ale

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9”x5” loaf pan.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and all the spices. Stir together until well combined. Stir in the nuts as well. Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the beer. The beer will foam up –this is good. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the center of the well to incorporate. Mix only until just combined – do not over mix or it will destroy the bubbles and the bread will be dense.

Pour the dough into loaf pan gently smooth out the top with a spatula (I actually don’t do this step, but if you want a prettier loaf you can choose to do it.) Bake in the oven for 50 – 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the dough comes out clean.

It’s finally starting to feel like fall here in LA. Well, kind of. For a few brief days a cold front will settle in and I actually have to reach into the back of my closet to find a jacket to wear. Then, the summer heat will come back with a vengeance and I immediately trade in the jacket for a tank top and flip flops. However, on those few brisk days I’ve finally found myself with the desire to embrace the autumn season in my recipe choices.

During such a period of chilly weather I found myself wanting to re-make a long-favorite appetizer.  It’s one of my best kept secrets: you take 8oz of cream cheese and just pour any type of jam over it, then serve with crackers. I guarantee you everyone will be raving about it, and you’ll be laughing inside with the knowledge that it took approximately 30 seconds to make. However, after watching my heroine Ina Garten make a savory version of Coeur a la Crème, I thought to try and make a similar version with pumpkin butter, and take my stand-by recipe to a new level. Coeur a la Creme translates literally to mean “cream heart” and is a typically sweet cream cheese spread molded into the shape of a heart. I didn’t have a heart mold on hand, but it tasted just fine in a circular shape, so don’t sweat it.

Mmmmm… this was good, and worth the extra effort required to get to the finished product. The flavors of lemon, cinnamon and nutmeg really complement the pumpkin butter, and, I now have a great fall appetizer to bring to any party or gathering. If you ever wished you could have pumpkin pie both before AND after dinner, (and seriously, who doesn’t think this?) then this is something for you to try.

Pumpkin Coeur a la Creme

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I used pumpkin butter obviously, but I honestly can’t think of any jam or jelly that wouldn’t work with this. However, if you go with another spread I would consider cutting back or eliminating altogether the cinnamon and/or nutmeg, as the flavors may not go together as well.

8oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup half & half
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon zest
Pumpkin butter

Blend together all ingredients except for the pumpkin butter.

Line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the sieve, fold the paper towels over it and place over a bowl so it can drain. Leave in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator and unfold the paper towels. Place a plate over the sieve and flip the cream cheese onto the plate. Pour pumpkin butter over top and serve with crackers. Prepare yourself to make new friends.

Fall is officially here and pumpkin has recently become my new best friend.  It sucks for pumpkin because I know myself and I’ll soon trade him/her in for peppermint come December…or chocolate. Who knows what the future holds, but for now, pumpkin is my pal.  It all started last week when fall set in and I put on my first sweater of the season.  It was a glorious morning:  it was crisp, cool and the feeling of putting on a soft sweater in the early morning had me giddy.

I was ordered by Ryan to head to Noah’s Bagel to get a pumpkin muffin–he swore by them.  So I followed orders and man, am I glad I did.  It was sort of a surprise to me because Noah’s isn’t, well, the best known place for pastries, muffins, etc.–it’s an unpretentious bagel shop, so the fact that they had mastered the art of the muffin was a bit of a shock.  Good for them! If they could do it so could I, right?  And now you can, too.  So go put on a sweet, cozy sweater and bake these up!

Pumpkin Muffins

Recipe by Gourmet Magazine 2006

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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
1 1/4 cups of sugar
1 Tbsp sugar (for the topping)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon (for the topping, which of course you can skip)

Place muffin liners inside the muffin cups. I prefer to have all of them one color, but I’m a little neurotic so do as you please. Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Note: Here’s the deal with pumpkin-pie spice: they sell it at most grocery stores right now.  But I’m not a fan of a one purpose type spice so I put in 1/8 of a teaspoon of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice.  So if you don’t have pumpkin-pie spice you can do what I did.

Whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1.25 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then spinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wodden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.