More from the Pumpkin Patch

We had Trick or Treaters! Some may think that is not such a big deal, but we live 17 miles from town and in the 30+ years we've lived here, I think these were the first! It was fun to see them and share some goodies with them.
I'm glad that pumpkin flavored foods are popular for a couple of months so we can enjoy the favorite tasty treats for quite a while. Each year I try a few more recipes, and here are 2 new ones from this year.

Baked Pumpkin Donuts

 Ingredients:

doughnuts

•    1/2 cup vegetable oil

•    3 large eggs

•    1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

•    1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin)

•    1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger

•    1 1/2 teaspoons salt

•    1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

•    1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

coating

•    3 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don't have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won't be doughnuts.

2) Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth. 

3) Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.

4) Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well. If you're making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you'll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).

5) Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you're making muffins, they'll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.

 6) Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

 7) While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon-sugar. If you've made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon-sugar.

 8) Cool completely, and wrap airtight; store at room temperature for several days.

Yield: about 12 regular size doughnuts, or 4 1/2 dozen mini doughnuts

Soft Glazed Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

for the glaze:

3 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking sheed with parchment paper and set aside. In mixer bowl, cream softened butter and granulated sugar. Add following ingredients in this order, mixing after each addition: powdered sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin. Mix until smooth. Mix all dry ingredients together and add slowly to creamed mixture. Scoop into prepared baking sheet using 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass (press bottom of glass in granulated sugar before flattening to prevent sticking. Bake 10 minutes. 

When cookies are cool, mix glaze ingredients and spread over each cookie. (I add 2 Tablespoons meringue powder to the glaze to make it firmer)

Happy Halloween!