Pumpkin Cupcakes

(I made these yesterday for my dorm’s Halloween progressive, but since I was too lazy to make frosting I passed them off as muffins).

I hope you all had as an exciting a Halloween as I did.  Our progressive was a smashing success – so much so that apparently it had to get broken up by the dorm staff.  At my school the highlight of Halloween is the Mausoleum Party, which is held at, you guessed it, the burial site of the school’s founders.  An irreverent tradition, yes, but nonetheless epic.  It was pretty chilly though so I didn’t stay too long.  I was sad when the night was over and the reality of imminent papers and midterms came crashing down Sunday morning (a weekly tradition, it seems).

Recipe (adapted from the Sweet Autumn Pumpkin Cake courtesy of Recipezaar):

• 1 C cane sugar
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1/2 C maple syrup
• 2 1/2 C all purpose flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a muffin tin with liners.

Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together oil, syrup, and sugar until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating between each, and beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in vanilla.

Fill liners 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Yields about 18 cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I got an interesting start to my Halloween weekend last night with a sneak preview of The Fourth Kind.  Going into it I had only the vaguest sense of what it was about, and afterward my first reaction was one of relief that the tickets were complimentary. To be fair, I guess it wasn’t all that bad; it’s just that aliens and docu-dramas aren’t really my scene.

I won’t delve too much into the plot, but the reason why it’s being hyped up so much is that it self-referentially combines dramatized reenactments of seemingly paranormal activity in Nome, Alaska, with [purportedly] actual footage from the archive of the real Dr. Tyler who was investigating said activity circa 2000. I was pretty skeptical of the whole thing, mostly because I simply don’t believe in extraterrestrials, and also due to the reality of the fact that doctoring “real” footage is pretty easy to do these days.  Aside from the film’s completely anticlimactic ending (I can’t even call it a conclusion), I felt that the dramatized portions were way over-the-top.  The viewing experience was highly reminiscent of sitting through a 2-hour ghost hunter special on the Travel Channel. Like I said – not my thing. But when the screenplay wasn’t being totally laughable, I do owe the director some credit for successfully building up considerable suspense and intensity – perhaps too much because the ending was such a let-down.

Anyways, I actually made these a few days ago for my RA’s birthday, but then I got caught up with homework (hence the late post).  Two of my tasters proclaimed them the “perfect cookie,” and I kind of have to agree.  They’re just sweet enough and have a nice, soft consistency that’s quite simply, well, perfect.

Recipe (credit to The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau):

• 1 1/4 C all purpose flour, sifted
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 3/4 t salt
• 1 1/2 t Ener-G egg replacer
• 2 T water
• 1 1/4 C light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3/4 C natural peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
• 1/2 C nondairy butter
• 3 T nondairy milk
• 1 T vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Whip the egg replacer and water together in a blender or food processor, until thick and creamy.

In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, peanut butter, butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed with an electric hand mixer until well blended. Add the egg replacer mixture. Bea until just blended. Add the flour. Do not overmix.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Do not overbake. Let cool on baking sheet for several minutes before removing to wire rack.

Yields about 2 dozen cookies.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’m happy to report that the weather here is finally beginning to cool down to an appreciable temperature.

Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy summery weather and all but seeing as it is now October I’m simply over it. All I want to do these days is sip hot tea, watch the leaves change, and wear layers, coats, and (most of all) rain boots.  So far there has only been one real bout of rain, which I find somewhat disappointing.

Anyways, to me pumpkin is the culinary hallmark of autumn.  And considering how much I love to use it in baking (pumpkin pie, pumpkin scones, pumpkin bread, etc.), I was shocked to find a complete lack of pumpkin cookies in my archives. Originally, I had intended to ship these off to a friend for her birthday, but they turned out so soft and cakey I decided that they probably wouldn’t survive the journey.  So while the birthday girl may be a little dismayed to have to make due with a belated gift, my friends here were pretty happy; together we consumed all 4 dozen in less than 24 hours.

The following recipe is adapted from one I found on All Recipes; at the suggestion of those who commented on the recipe, I added some additional spices. (I also doubled the recipe, but what you see below is the original). To make these vegan, just replace the egg with Ener-G and the milk with a non-dairy alternative.

Recipe (adapted from Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies III submitted by Jennifer):

• 1 C canned pumpkin
• 1 C cane sugar
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 C all purpose flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 2 t ground cinnamon
• 1 t ground nutmeg
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1/2 t allspice
• 1/4 t ground ginger
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t milk
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 2 C semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In  a large bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg.  In a separate bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients except for the baking soda.

Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and add to flour mixture. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir well.

Fold in vanilla and chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet for several minutes before removing to wire rack.

Butterscotch Blondies

My friend, Chris, turned 20 today. The big 2-0. And while he’s not the first of our group to do so, I still can’t quite fathom just how, well, old that seems. (For the record I still have a good 11 months before I hit that particular milestone).

I mean, from a practical viewpoint, 20 really shouldn’t be that big a deal because nothing important happens. (18 means voting, 19 means drinking in Canada, and everyone knows that 21 is what people are really holding out for). But still, I guess 20 is intimidating because it marks the end of an era. If turning 18 is the beginning of the end of the awkward transition into adulthood, then 20 is really the end. In two short years we’ll be graduating from college and then abruptly thrust into the real world, where we’ll have to deal with real jobs and real problems.  Now that’s scary. Maybe Peter Pan had it right.

On a happier note, these blondies are the best I’ve ever had – vegan or non vegan. They’re moist, not too sweet, and if you underbake them like I did, you’ll end up with a nice caramel-like layer just under the crust. Yum.

Recipe (from Hannah Kaminsky’s “My Sweet Vegan”):

• 1/4 C margarine, melted
• 1 1/2 C dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 6 oz vanilla soy yogurt
• 1/3 C plain soy creamer (mine turned out fine using soy milk)
• 2 C all purpose flour
• 2 t baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch square baking pan.

Pour melted margarine over brown sugar in a medium bowl and stir to coat. Add vanilla, soy yogurt, and soy creamer, and stir until thoroughly mixed. In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder.

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until just smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until sides just begin to pull away from the pan and the top is fairly firm to the touch. Let cool completely before serving.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love San Francisco.

From the weather and the highway traffic to the crazed liberals and the indigents pan handling on the streets, it never ceases to remind me of home. Last night, I was fortunate enough to snag one of the discounted tickets my dorm had purchased to see Rent at the Curran Theatre. I was surprised to realize, given my love of musicals and of “Seasons of Love,” that I had never before seen it – neither in theatrical nor cinematic form. So unsurprisingly, I was pretty blown away.  Especially since the roles of Mark and Roger were reprised by the same actors who appeared in the original Broadway (off-Broadway?) show over ten years ago. Now, I was sitting too far back to be able to tell for certain, but they seemed like they were still in pretty good shape.

Even if I hadn’t enjoyed the show, it was refreshingly nice to be off campus.  It’s amazing how easy it is to become completely absorbed in the school dynamic.  You delude yourself into believing that leaving campus is just too much of a hassle, but it really is worth the extra effort and time. It’s almost as if you don’t become fully aware of all the stress and tension that builds up until you’re suddenly somewhere else, experiencing this great sense of release.

Tonight some friends and I are going to see Where the Wild Things Are. I’m not going to lie; I’m pretty stoked.

Anyways, I had been wanting to try out this recipe ever since I saw it on TasteSpotting.  While I initially thought about adding some cinnamon and nutmeg, I’m glad I didn’t because I really like how simple and pure the banana and chocolate flavors turned out…which is saying a lot because I’m typically not too big a fan of bananas.

Recipe (credit to Shortbread):

• 3 medium-large bananas, mashed
• 1 1/2 C cane sugar (the muffins turned out pretty sweet, so 1 C is probably sufficient)
• 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
• 3 t Ener-G egg substitute + 4 T warm water (or 2 egg whites if you’re not vegan)
• 1/4 C soy milk
• 1 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 C vegan chocolate chips (I used more like 1 C. What can I say? I love me some chocolate).

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with liners.

In a large bowl, stir bananas, sugar, and applesauce together until thoroughly combined. Add Ener-G mixture and soymilk, and then flour and baking soda. Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill liners (these don’t seem to rise much so you can make them pretty full). Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool, and enjoy.