Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns

Source: Cooking Light

To make these year-round, substitute canned pumpkin puree and add an extra cup of all-purpose flour.

Buns:
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (I used about 5.5 cups due to pumpkin accident)
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree (I used one full can by accident)
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk (I used skim)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Glaze:
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon hot water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

To prepare the buns, dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add 2 cups flour, pumpkin, and next 5 ingredients (pumpkin through nutmeg); beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of the remaining 3/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into the dough. If an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)

Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Punch dough down; cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Roll up the rectangle tightly, starting with a long edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Cut roll into 12 (1-inch) slices. Place slices in a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 25 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Bake the rolls at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

To prepare the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and vanilla extract in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over buns. Serve warm.


Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 bun) (with the added pumpkin and flour, this recipe made about 16 rolls)

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 219(25% from fat); FAT 6.2g (sat 3.7g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 3.8g; CHOLESTEROL 16mg; CALCIUM 24mg; SODIUM 311mg; FIBER 1.2g; IRON 1.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 36.9g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2001

Make sure to read about my mistakes and successes with this recipe.

Pumpkin Streusel Cheesecake

Source: Cooking Light, September 1998

Crust:
3/4 cup gingersnap crumbs (about 12 cookies, finely crushed)
1 tablespoon light butter, melted
Cooking spray

Filling:
1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese
1 (8-ounce) tub light cream cheese
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin4 large egg whites
2 large eggs

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup gingersnap crumbs (about 8 cookies, finely crushed)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon light butter

Preheat oven to 375°.

To prepare piecrust, combine 3/4 cup crumbs and 1 tablespoon melted butter in a bowl, and toss with a fork until moist. Press into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 5 minutes; cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

To prepare filling, place cottage cheese in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Combine the cottage cheese and cream cheeses in a large bowl, and beat at high speed of a mixer until smooth. Add granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (granulated sugar through pumpkin); beat well. Add egg whites and eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour filling into prepared crust; bake at 325° for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

To prepare streusel topping, combine 1/2 cup crumbs, 1/4 cup flour, and brown sugar in a small bowl; cut in 1 tablespoon light butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over cheesecake, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until set. Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when the pan is jiggled. Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 287(28% from fat); FAT 8.8g (sat 4.3g,mono 3.1g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 11.2g; CHOLESTEROL 64mg; CALCIUM 142mg; SODIUM 361mg; FIBER 1.6g; IRON 1.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.7g

My notes: This cheesecake doesn't bake up as tall and as firm as the Pumpkin Cheesecake that I prefer overall, but it is still a very tasty cheesecake. I love the addition of the ginger snaps - gives it a nice little zing.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Pumpkin Streusel Bread

Source: Cooking Light, November 2000

Topping:
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare topping, combine first 4 ingredients until crumbly. Set the mixture aside.
To prepare bread, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 7 ingredients (flour through nutmeg) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine the pumpkin and next 5 ingredients (pumpkin through eggs) in a bowl; add to flour mixture. Stir just until moist. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 209(30% from fat); FAT 6.9g (sat 1.7g,mono 2.4g,poly 2.2g); PROTEIN 3.4g; CHOLESTEROL 31mg; CALCIUM 29mg; SODIUM 252mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.6g

Pumpkin-Pecan Coffee Cake

Source: Cooking Light, January 1999

1 teaspoon butter or stick margarine
1/4 cup regular oats
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
3 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°.

Melt 1 teaspoon butter in bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan. Combine oats, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, and pecans. Sprinkle oat mixture over bottom of pan, and set aside.

Beat 3 tablespoons butter, granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup brown sugar at medium speed of a mixer until mixture is well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add the egg, and beat well. Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, pumpkin-pie spice, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the pumpkin and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture
.
Spoon batter evenly over oat mixture. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, and invert cake onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 236(30% from fat); FAT 7.9g (sat 1.4g,mono 3.6g,poly 2.2g); PROTEIN 4.2g; CHOLESTEROL 41mg; CALCIUM 77mg; SODIUM 217mg; FIBER 1.6g; IRON 1.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 37.8g

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Source: A friend

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º.

Stir together first four dry ingredients (flour-baking soda). Mix pumpkin, oil, eggs, milk and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add walnuts and chocolate chips.

Pour into a well-buttered loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool on wire rack.

My notes: This is one of those fattening recipes that is worth every single delicious, moist bite. And well, it IS made with vegetable oil which is much lower in saturated fat than most of the buttery baked goods I make......and pumpkins and walnuts are good for you.....right? I like to make a double batch (you can get away with using 1 can of pumpkin puree for 2 batches) - sometimes making several small loaves to give as gifts. This bread freezes beautifully.

Ann's Pumpkin-Apple Muffins

Source: ncredbird on CLBB

For those interested in putting a streusel topping or in how to convert these to a vegan recipe using a flaxseed mixture, be sure to click on the link above for the full recipe. I have only posted here what we did.

1 1/2 white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cloves, ground
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned unseasoned)
2 apples -- shredded, granny smith or gala
1/2 cup pecans

Mix dry ingredients excluding sugars. Mix wet ingredients together with sugars, stirring with a whisk. Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture. Add apples. Place muffin papers in muffin cups and spray with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes about 18.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Whole Grain Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

Source: based on a recipe from recipelink.com

1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup mild molasses
1 eggs, well beaten
1/2 can pumpkin (Libby’s) (16 oz)
1 cups flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of any combination of the following: wheat bran, flaxmeal, oatbrean, wheat germ
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup of chopped pecans (increase to 1/2 cup or more)
raisins

For bread (yields 2 loaves): Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans.Beat oil, brown sugar, and molasses until well blended. Blend in egg and pumpkin. Stir flours, bran, wheat germ, soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt into mixture just until moistened. Fold in nuts.Fill pans and bake about 1 hour, until pick comes out clean. Cool on rack. Better if served the day after cooking.This bread freezes well.

For mini-muffins (yields 48): Bake at 375º for 12 minutes.

My notes: I halved the original recipe and made a few other minor adjustments. Halving the whole grains was a little trickier (trying to halve 1/3 cup), so I added up the wheat bran, oat bran and wheat germ amounts, which equaled one cup and reduced it by half, to 1/2 cup. I did not play around with the fat in this recipe since many whole grain recipes can come out quite dry. The crumb was moist and very tender. In order to keep it a bit healthier, I used canola oil instead of butter - at least this way the fat is not saturated. I think this could use more pecans - I'd increase it to 1/2 cup next time, maybe more.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Alysha's Pumpkin Waffles

1 cup all-purpose white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons (1/2 a stick) butter, melted
3 egg whites, stiffly beaten

In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg) and stir with a whisk. In a large bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, vanilla, egg yolks and melted butter; whisk together. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Carefully fold in egg whites.

This recipe made 9 6½-inch waffles.

My notes: See this post for information on how I came up with this recipe....

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Source: Cooking Light, December 2000

Cheesecakes are best when they're made ahead of time. You can prepare this one up to three days before the party; just cover and chill it until time to serve.

Crust:
56 reduced-fat vanilla wafers (about 8 ounces)
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted
Cooking spray

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 (8-ounce) blocks
1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of allspice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare crust, place wafers in a food processor; pulse 2 to 3 times or until finely ground. Add butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

To prepare filling, beat cheeses with a mixer at high speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (granulated sugar through vanilla), beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin; beat well.

Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust; bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours or until almost set. (Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when pan is touched.) Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature; cover and chill at least 8 hours.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 256(34% from fat); FAT 9.8g (sat 5.3g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 11.4g; CHOLESTEROL 86mg; CALCIUM 172mg; SODIUM 479mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.3g

My notes: I like to combine this recipe with the topping and crust of this other cheesecake from Cooking Light: Pumpkin-Streusel Cheesecake. I like the filling of this cheesecake best (it creates a thicker and denser filling, more like a full-fat cheesecake), but I like the addition of ginger snaps in the streusel cheesecake. Another nice thing about the gingersnap topping is that it hides the unsightly cracks in the cheesecake that are hard to avoid.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Pumpkin Pie

Filling:

I follow the recipe from the back of the Libby's can. Nothing else I've tried tastes as good to me!

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) CARNATION Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

Crust:

This year I used a recipe from Cook's Illustrated. The crust comes out nice and flaky and gets nicely browned on the bottom. I still haven't mastered how to keep the crust around the edges from overcooking (even with pie shields), but this is a great crust. This is a double-crust pie, so you'll have leftover or you can try to cut it in half.

Pie Dough:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
8 tablespoons vegetable shortening (chilled)
6 to 8 tablespoons water (iced)

For the crust:
1. Mix flour, salt and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with some flour. cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl. (I think that using a food processor is an excellent way to make crust. The key to a flaky crust is to not over-handle the dough. It always takes me much longer to get the dough to the right consistency if I use a pastry cutter than if I use the processor.)

2. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if dough will not come together. Shape dough into two balls with your hands, one slightly larger than the other. Flatten into 4-inch-wide disks. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.

To bake the pie:
Combine filling ingredients in order given; pour into pie crust. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees, reduce temperature to 350 degrees, and bake an additional 30 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool; garnish if desired with whipped topping. (My pies take a lot longer to cook because I use stoneware. Plan on at least an hour if you use a heavy stoneware-type dish.)

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger Snap Streusel

Photo by Cooking Light

Source: Combo of Cooking Light's Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pumpkin-Streusel Cheesecake

Cheesecakes are best when they're made ahead of time. You can prepare this one up to three days before the party; just cover and chill it until time to serve.

Crust:
3/4 cup gingersnap crumbs (about 12 cookies, finely crushed)
1 tablespoon light butter, melted
Cooking spray

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of allspice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup gingersnap crumbs (about 8 cookies, finely crushed)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon light butter

Preheat oven to 375°.

To prepare piecrust, combine 3/4 cup crumbs and 1 tablespoon melted butter in a bowl, and toss with a fork until moist. Press into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 5 minutes; cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

To prepare filling, beat cheeses with a mixer at high speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (granulated sugar through vanilla), beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin; beat well. Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust. (I do all of this in the food processor. I turn it out into a bowl before pouring into the crust so that I can make sure everything is mixed thoroughly. I find that the food processor is much better at getting out all the lumps.)

Bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours or until almost set. (Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when pan is touched.) I mistakenly put the streusel on at the beginning of the baking time which actually worked quite well. However, it covers up any cracks better if you put it on later.

To prepare streusel topping, combine 1/2 cup crumbs, 1/4 cup flour, and brown sugar in a small bowl; cut in 1 tablespoon light butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over cheesecake. and bake an additional 10 minutes or until set.

When cheesecake is set, remove from oven and cool to room temperature; cover and chill at least 8 hours. (Overnight or a day or two in advance it best - the flavors really come together over time.)

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 256(34% from fat); FAT 9.8g (sat 5.3g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 11.4g; CHOLESTEROL 86mg; CALCIUM 172mg; SODIUM 479mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.3g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2000

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage and Wild Mushrooms

Source: Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats

2 tablespoons of EVOO (I did not use any oil at all)
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
1/4 pound shiitake mushroom caps (I used 1/2 pound), sliced
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced (I used about 5 ounces of white button)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 14-ounce can pumpkin puree (I used 2 cups of butternut squash puree)
1/2 cup (2 turns around the pan) heavy cream
pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated (I used more like a pinch)
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmigiano, for grating
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives (I didn't have any)

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic, onions and mushrooms. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender and mushrooms are browned. Season with salt and pepper.

Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add chicken stock and heat for one minute. Stir in pumpkin and incorporate - it will be thick. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Top with cheese and chives.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Pumpkin Muffins with Crystallized Ginger

Source: Adapted from Epicurious

Yield: 19 regular-sized muffins

2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teasopon ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup chopped walnuts

In a small bowl, combine flours, spices, baking soda and salt - whisk to combine and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and canola oil. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in pumpkin, molasses and buttermilk.

Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, folding in gently. Fold in crystallized ginger and walnuts.

Evenly divide batter among muffin tins that have been lined with paper cups or lightly oiled. Bake at 350º for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs.

According to Mastercook:

With Walnuts: Per Muffin: 251 Calories; 11g Fat (36.4% calories from fat, 1g of saturated fat); 5g Protein; 36g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 30mg Cholesterol; 235mg Sodium

Without Walnuts: Per Muffin: 212 Calories; 7g Fat (28.3% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 36g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 30mg Cholesterol; 235mg Sodium.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Pumpkin Waffles

Source: Cooking Light, October 2001

Top with maple syrup and chopped walnuts for a breakfast treat that tastes like pumpkin bread.

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup 1% low-fat milk (I used skim)
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree (I used canned Libby's)
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (flour through cloves) in a large bowl, and make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (milk through egg) in a bowl, and add to flour mixture. Stir just until moist.

Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray; preheat. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter per waffle onto hot waffle iron, spreading the batter to the edges. Cook 5 to 7 minutes or until steaming stops; repeat procedure with remaining batter.

Yield: 8 waffles (serving size: 2 waffles)

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 255(20% from fat); FAT 5.7g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.5g,poly 2.3g); PROTEIN 7.4g; CHOLESTEROL 57mg; CALCIUM 237mg; SODIUM 372mg; FIBER 2g; IRON 2.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.1g

My notes: These were easy to throw together and quite tasty. I have a hard time getting pumpkin waffles to cook completely in my Belgian waffle maker - the outside tends to get too browned before the inside cooks completely. I think a regular waffle maker would be better for pumpkin waffles - something to place on my wish list. We topped our waffles with chopped pecans and real maple syrup.

I talked about this recipe HERE.