Pumpkin Spice Cookies Made with 3 ingredients

Yes, you read that right, Pumpkin Spice cookies made with 3 ingredients! These are some of my favorite fall cookies (and my kids' favorite all time cookies) and they are SUPER easy to make.  All you need are these 3 ingredients:

 

1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cake mix

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 C chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semi-sweet, what ever you prefer)

OR you can skip the chocolate chips all together and frost the baked and cooled cookie with cream cheese frosting.

My picture is a little deceiving, I used a 29oz can of pumpkin and doubled my recipe, because apparently you can never find a small can of pumpkin in our small town. (well, that and the cookies disappear so fast that doubling the recipe is NEVER a bad thing at our house)

You literally just dump the ingredients into your mixer and mix until it is combined.  I usually start with the cake mix and the pumpkin, mix until all the cake mix is wet, then stir in the chocolate chips.

 

With most cookies you don't grease the cookie sheet because they already have a lot of fat in them (butter, shortnening, etc.) but since these cookies do not have any added fat you NEED to grease your cookie sheet, don't forget to!!  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto your greased cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.  The cookies don't spread a lot, and you want them to be soft, you can check to see if they are done by poking them with a tooth pick if you are not sure.

Here is the finished product:

And here is one of my little monkeys enjoying her cookie:

Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin

Last Thursday we had the missionaries over for dinner.  I wanted to do something fun and fall like, but also something that would be yummy.  I found this recipe online for Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin, and it looked really yummy to me.  Mike was skeptical, he said that pumpkin soup didn't even sound appealing at all, but I decided to be adventurous and try it anyway.  Luckily for me, (and the missionaries!) it turned out really yummy!!  I made some homemade crescent rolls to go with it, and pumpkin bars for dessert.  Everyone ended up eating way too much food because it was so good!!  Here are some pictures of how it turned out, and the recipe in case anyone is interested! :)

1 7-lb. Cinderella pumpkin, with a 2" stem

7 tbsp. butter
Salt
1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 1⁄2 cups fresh white bread crumbs, toasted
1⁄2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1⁄2 tsp. ground sage
Freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 cup grated Swiss cheese
4 cups Chicken Stock
2 bay leaves
1⁄2 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut a lid about 4" in diameter out of top of pumpkin and set lid aside. Remove and discard seeds and strings. Rub inside of pumpkin and lid with 1 tbsp. softened butter, season with salt, and place on a baking pan. Melt remaining 6 tbsp. butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs and cook for 2 minutes, then add nutmeg and sage and season generously with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, stir in cheese, then spoon mixture into pumpkin. Pour enough stock into pumpkin to come within 1⁄2" of the rim. Lay bay leaves on top, then fit lid onto pumpkin. Bake until pumpkin begins to soften and brown on the outside and the stock bubbles on the inside, about 1 1⁄2 hours. Carefully remove from oven and transfer to a serving platter. With a long-handled spoon, scrape flesh from bottom and sides of pumpkin and, just before serving, stir in heavy cream if using.

Pumpkin-Spice Bars

I think I have a new favorite here!! :)  I am really not a big pumpkin fan (I don't really care for pumpkin pie, or pumpkin bread) but these are so very yummy!! I could eat the whole pan myself!! :)

4 large eggs
2 C granulated sugar
1 C vegetable oil
1 15oz can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 C flour
2 t baking powder
2 t ground cinnamon
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease bottom and sides of a 15x10x1 pan.  (I have a 15x10 inch jelly roll pan I used)  In mixer beat together eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves.  Spread into pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely.  Frost with Cream Cheese frosting.  (you can either buy it from the store like I did :P or make it)

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 3oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 C butter (softened)
1 t vanilla
2 C powdered sugar

Beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth, gradually stir in powdered sugar until smooth and spreadable.