I don’t know if you know this – Halloween just happened. Though you may have also thought we were way closer to Christmas because as of October 1st, this display was up in my local Target:

However, it was just Halloween, and October, and as any loyal Starbucks patron knows – that means pumpkin spice lattes all day long. It seems a recent development (perhaps due to social media as well?) that October has become the month of #psl, but my obsession with pumpkin spans decades – long before the appearance of this seasonal delight.

My love of pumpkin started with pumpkin pie – that Thanksgiving treat that used to only come once a year. When my god-sister and I were old enough, my mama used to allow us to bake our own pie, the day after Thanksgiving, to “practice.” This really meant an enormous mess of flour, pumpkin, and shortening all over the kitchen, but resulted in our very own pie. Sure, it was burnt in places, the sugar had crystallized on top where we hadn’t properly mixed the filling, but it was all ours. The day after Thanksgiving was always the best day – fresh made pumpkin pie, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathons on television. Oh to be be young again.

Now, my love of all things pumpkin has expanded into, well, everything pumpkin. This pumpkin soup from Trader Joe’s is delightful –

And yes, this coffeemate pumpkin spice creamer goes in my coffee every morning. It’s kind of gross, but also wholly delicious. I just try not to focus on the ingredient list too much. It’s just for a month… so that makes it okay. Right?

My roommate and I decided that since I’d gone a little crazy with Halloween decorations, we should probably have some people over and provide a reason for my holiday overload. I obviously I jumped on the party as my opportunity to bake way too much under the guise of “cooking for the masses.” After some serious searching I decided on pumpkin oatmeal cookies with a maple glaze, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and a pumpkin pie martini. Nothing too crazy, just enough. Right?

Well, it would have been just enough pumpkin, except I ran into my dear friend Adam two days prior to Halloween, and realized (because I’m a horribly forgetful person) that it was his birthday and I hadn’t gotten him anything. So to make up for my memory lapse, I invited myself over on Halloween morning to make pumpkin waffles for him and his roommates. Let’s be honest – getting to use my waffle maker is pretty much just my own present to myself. I really am a terrible person. So without further ado, please enjoy.

October Pumpkin Recipes:

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (as adapted from http://krystalschlegel.com/)

• 2 cups oats (Trader Joes rolled oats here worked great)
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bourbon extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (again, I used Trader Joes here – it’s a little soupier than Libby’s. If you’re using a soupier consistency puree, I’d add a couple more spoonfuls of oats, my cookies were just a little too sticky)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Maple Glaze –

This is just a really basic guide – go ahead and mix the sugar and maple syrup and milk in varying amounts until you’re satisfied with the flavor/consistency/color. It’s all about your preferences, as the baker, you get to decide what is most delicious and everyone else just has to eat them!

• 2 cups powered sugar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• splash of milk (about 1 to 2 tablespoons)

To make:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, if you want, for easy cleanup.

In a large bowl, combine egg, oil, vanilla honey. Mix until consistent. Then add in the oats, spices, baking powder, and pumpkin puree. Combine, and chill for 1/2 hr.

Scoop spoonfuls onto baking sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes (depending on your oven – I tend to need to bake on the longer side, these cookies went in for about 14 minutes).

Glaze, if you desire. You should desire.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini – Muffins (as adapted from http://www.skinnytaste.com/)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white whole wheat pastry flour (it’s lighter than regular whole wheat flour, which I find sometimes makes my baked goods a little too tough)
• 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose unbleached flour
• 3/4 cup raw sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree (again, I used Trader Joe’s, you can use whatever you prefer)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bourbon extract
• baking spray (for the muffin cups)
• 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

To make:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a mini muffin tin with paper liners and lightly spray liners with oil for easy removal (I learned my lesson the hard way with the Target liners – so cute, but they’ll stick like glue to your baked goods).

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients: flours, sugar, baking soda, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and salt.

In a large bowl mix pumpkin puree, oil, egg whites and vanilla. Using stand or hand mixer, beat at medium (on my kitchenaid hand mixer I use a “2”) until consistency is thick.

Add the dry ingredients a third at a time to the wet ingredients – mixing in between each addition, and making sure to get the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Fold in (gently add with a spatula, not the mixer!) the chocolate chips at the end.

Scoop a spoonful of batter into each mini-muffin liner. One regular tablespoon full should be sufficient. Bake for 22-25 minutes (mine go in again for about 24 minutes).

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Martini (as adapted from http://www.eatdrinkandbeskinny.com/)

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Vanilla Vodka (Whole Foods has a really delicious Madagscar Vanilla variety)
• 1 oz Torani Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie Syrup
• 4 oz Light Almond Milk (again, light soy, light coconut, flax, you’ve got options)
• 2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Puree

To make:

Combine ingredients in shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously (no one wants lumpy pumpkin puree in their drink).

Pour.

Enjoy!

(picture from source blog because ours looked pretty unappealing – but tasted delicious!)

Pumpkin Waffles (as adapted from gourmet magazine, recipe found on http://www.epicurious.com/)

*Note: You will need a waffle iron for this. It’s the worth investment – it’s one of my prized possessions.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk (or almond milk, or soy, or coconut, they’ve all got thicker consistencies than non-fat milk, which is good for these waffles)
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

To make:

Set your waffle iron to medium hot.

Combine all wet ingredients – eggs, milk, buttermilk, butter, and pumpkin – into a large bowl. Whisk until the consistency is smooth.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients – spices, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. I normally just use a large fork to combine the dry ingredients, a few brisk beats should do the trick.

Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, whisking until just combined. The mixture can be a little lumpy, you don’t definitely want to over-mix!

Using a 1/2 cup measure for each of the waffle squares, pour batter on the liberally oil-sprayed waffle maker.

Closer waffle maker. Wait for epic waffles.

Be notified of epic waffle-completion by pleasant beep of waffle maker. Nom all the waffles!!

Feel better because you did in fact manage to do something nice for your friends.