Pumpkin Cinnamon Bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25-35 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur Flour

This recipe can be made with pumpkin butter or apple butter. I had to make pumpkin butter since I only had canned pumpkin on had. That is not included in the prep time, because next time I'll probably use apple or pumpkin butter already made to keep things simple.

These were absolutely delicious. They were very moist but dense, sort of like a brownie. The flavor was great. I made these 3 months ago so I don't remember why, but I know I didn't drizzle the frosting but instead spread it over the top. Maybe because there was a lot. It was a very thin layer though, so not too much.

I probably won't make these again until next Fall, but this is a great quick bar cookie recipe. On second thought if I saw some apple or pumpkin butter at the store I would probably make them soon because I am remember now how good they were.

Harvest Pumpkin Scones

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 22-25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur Flour

These are good. Really good.

I have struggled making scones, which is a seemingly simple thing to make. I always have trouble getting the dough together. It is either too wet or too dry. This time it was leaning towards too dry. I decided to get my hands dirty and just try to knead it all together until it wasn't dry anymore. I worried that it would make too much gluten develop and make tough scones, but that did not happen.

I used cinnamon chips in these, which thankfully I have seen recently at the grocery store. Perhaps because it is Fall? Not sure why, but I should go buy some more, because they are hard to find. I only used 1/2 c. though so I have still have some left for something else.

There is only 2/3 c. of pumpkin in these, so the pumpkin flavor is subtle, especially with the other spices and cinnamon chips. They tasted perfect to me.

Pumpkin Prailine Pie

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Chill Time: 50 minutes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 35 minutes
Topping Time: 10 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Probably not

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (October 2006)
Recipe Source: Best of ATK 2008

This recipe is currently available on the Cooks Country website, but probably won't be forever, so print it out if you want to try it. 

This tasted good, but I guess pumpkin pie is not my favorite. The biggest complaint I have with the recipe was I could not make it as pretty as it should have been. The sugar on top didn't caramelize and after sitting in the fridge all day (which they said was OK) the outside topping liquified a bit. The topping did taste very nice though and I liked that in combo with the pumpkin.

Also, I'm not great at pie crusts, so mine ended up a bit tough, although I thought it tasted quite good.


If I wanted to make a pumpkin pie again, I might try this once more. However, if I was just going to make a pie, I would go with another type. I would like to get better at pies someday.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting

Prep: 9 minutes
Bake: 40-45 minutes (start checking at 25 for half recipe)
Cool: 1+ hour
Frosting: 5 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (November 2005)

This cake is good. My version was a little bit dry. I made a half recipe in a bread pan and it ended up being done quickly, but that was my fault. I froze the cake then frosted it a day or two later. I didn't love the frosting at first. It was not very sweet. Perhaps a better honey would have worked better. I ended up adding a Tablespoon or so of powdered sugar to sweeten a little, which helped. Still not terribly sweet, but it worked well with the cake. My picky eater liked it, probably because the frosting wasn't too sweet. The combo of spice cake plus the frosting ends up being good and a little bit unique, since it is different than other cream cheese frosting.

I made this a month ago and we just finished the frozen leftovers this week. The cake froze nicely. It is a nice not too sweet dessert. 

Ginger Pumpkin Bread

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Bake Time: 50 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes


Recipe Source: Everyday Food (October 2006)

This quick bread recipe is of course easy. But it is also very yummy. I made a half recipe since I only have 1 8x4 pan. The only thing that didn't halve properly was the eggs, and I just used one. It leaves some pumpkin for another recipe to try and review in the future.

It has been a few years since I made pumpkin bread, so I can't necessarily compare this recipe. I really liked that it cooked all the way through and wasn't too moist in the middle, which is problem I have sometimes with my quick breads. I think the smaller pan size helped with this.

I loved the crust. It was a little bit crunchy and sweet. I almost wish I hadn't halved the recipe, but hopefully I'll find another good use for the rest of my pumpkin puree. It also has a nice ginger flavor.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Mini)

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Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Cool Time: 7-8 hours total

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (Nov 2003)

Recipe Source: Baking Illustrated

I made this recipe when it was first published and really liked it, but I haven't made it again since. It was for Thanksgiving dessert this year, and dinner was just for two. So, I made a half recipe and used my (previously unused) mini-cheesecake pan. Using the mini pan was a great timesaver, because the cakes cooked and cooled faster. They were done in under 25 minutes instead of the 90 minutes it would have taken in a 9" pan.

The only problem I had was that a half recipe can fill the 12 mini pans with crust, but there was a lot of extra filling after filling all 12. The crust amount was probably perfect, although I only filled 9, because I wanted a really thick crust. I filled all 12 with filling and still had another cup of filling at least. I ended up saving and making a bar cookie out of it (which was not that great) because I didn't like the idea of throwing it away. Next time I would probably make a 1/3 of the filling and 1/2 of the crust. (Or more crust and 1/2 filling.) I have some 4" pans also, so I could maybe do one mini pan and one 4".

Golden Cinnamon-Pumpkin Bars

Prep Time: 21 minutes
Cook Time: 30-45 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

I wasn't sure if I liked these right away, but I did end up really liking them, after they cooled completely. The pumpkin flavor was more subtle by then, and the cinnamon became more pronounced.

Pumpkin Bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

This is a nice simple recipe for pumpkin bread and I will definitely make again. It was very good.