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GRAS Pizza

“Generally Recognized as Safe”

November 4, 2012 Thank You For Saving Me From Sandy Pumpkin Recipes

Before I get into today’s post, how about some funnies courtesy of my parents? My mom has always been the best with care packages. I went to boarding school at age 15 and I averaged 3 per week during school. Seriously, she is the best. These days, as an “adult” I still get them for holidays. I LOVE them all. They usually include a bit of candy, some fun lotions, candles and the occasional festive pair of socks haha. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (in this post) I have an incredible family.

As I said in my Hurricane Sandy post, this past week has been a bit hectic. thankfully I am one of the fortunate residents of Stamford/CT to have power. I took full advantage of it on Wednesday night and thought of any way I could thank my cousin, her bf and dog for their hospitality. Seriously, I couldn’t be more grateful.

I decided to take a Fall approach and take on PUMPKIN! Originally I was going to make my ex-roomie Amanda’s famous pumpkin bread, but realized that it wasn’t the most ideal snack for those that were in a hotel. I transformed the recipe a bit and did this one for pumpkin muffins. I had a bit of leftover pumpkin after the muffins and decided that making homemade dog treats was so much better than a random dog bone I’d fine at the store. Dexter (my cousin/her bf’s dog) deserves better, after all.

These muffins are from Smitten Kitchen – her book just came out! (M&D: another hint). I’m terrible. Seriously. I’ve made other muffins from Smitten Kitchen and knew that she wouldn’t steer me the wrong way.

The dog treats I found from AllRecipes. I’ve never cooked any sort of animal treat before, so I was a bit nervous. I chose this recipe because I had all the ingredients on hand and there wasn’t anything weird in the ingredients list. And let’s face it, what dog doesn’t love peanut butter? (And it was also an excuse for me to open up the jar I’ve been hiding in the back of my pantry. The jar is already half empty in the refrigerator. There was a reason I was hiding it from myself.)

Let’s start with the people food. I made no alterations to the Smitten Kitchen recipe and I’m so glad that I didn’t. I messed up a few and got to keep the “mistakes” and dare I say it, they were just scrumptious. Don’t scrimp on the cinnamon-sugar topping! It made them extra delicious. I’m sure you could health-ify these a bit and perhaps even make them vegan with some flax egg, changing the oil to coconut, and going half and half on whole-wheat vs. regular flour. Maybe next time. Maybe.

Pumpkin Muffins

from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 c. canned pumpkin
  • 1/3 c. vegetable or canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. pumpkin-pie spice
  • 1 1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. sugar (for the cinnamon sugar topping)
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Either grease a muffin pan (s) (this recipe yields ~15 muffins) or put liners in.
  3. Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1 1/4 c. sugar, baking soda and salt.
  4. In a separate small dish, stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tbsp. sugar.
  5. Divide batter among muffin cups. I usually aim for 2/3 full. Tip: Use an ice cream scoop. So easy and prevents a mess!
  6. Top evenly with cinnamon sugar mixture.
  7. Bake 25-30 minutes (I think my oven did 27 minutes) until puffed and a wooden pick or fork inserted into the center comes out clean.
  8. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes…or until you can resist tasting!

So while these were baking, I mixed up the batter for the Dexter treats. With just six ingredients thrown in a bowl, it was pretty easy. However I do wish I had started with my Kitchenaid. The batter is pretty sticky and tough to mix. I eventually gave up with the spoon and just threw my hands in. (Don’t worry, Dex, I washed them) Whit said that he liked them, so I guess these were a hit! And yes, I did sneak a nibble of the batter because there wasn’t anything weird in it… not for me. Felt like a little truth or dare moment from my childhood when my girlfriends dared each other to eat a nugget of dog food haha.

Snuggly “Save me from Sandy” Dexter Treats

from All Recipes

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
  • 2 tbsp. peanut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 c. canned pumpkin (if you make these at the same time as the muffins, all you’ll need is a 15 oz. can of pumpkin)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together all ingredients with a wooden spoon and/or your hands! Add water as needed to help make the dough workable. The dough should be relatively dry and stiff.
  3. Roll portions of dough into logs, and cut into “nuggets.” Think appropriate size for a dog treat.
  4. Bake in oven on a cookie sheet for 40 minutes.
  5. Remove and store in an airtight container.

And these treats made this guy really happy :D

Question of the Day

What is your favorite PUMPKIN recipe!?

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