Thanksgiving Recipe Round-Up

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is just a few days away! I can't wait to have a few relaxing days at home...and to eat TONS of delicious food.

While I didn't have time to recreate my family's Thanksgiving menu, I've pulled a few from around the web and compiled them here. If you haven't finished making your menu, you MUST try some of these dishes. I want every single one of them.

Veggies & Sides:

1. Green Beans with Almond & Bacon from The Girl Who Ate Everything

My family has never been a fan of traditional Green Bean Casserole. Weird, huh? We love serving green beans with slivered almonds, but I love that this recipe adds some more flavor with a touch of bacon. If you aren't a fan of a typical green bean casserole, give this dish a try!

2. Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar from Two Peas & Their Pod

Now, I know that brussel sprouts are hit or miss for most people. For me, they're a hit. I love that this recipe is super simple, but the roasting gives the sprouts a nice, caramelized texture and leaves them tender and flavorful. If you don't like brussel sprouts, give these guys a try and you'll surely change your mind!

3. Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes from How Sweet Eats

While I love brussel sprouts, I don't really like mashed potatoes. I'm crazy, I know. BUT, because I love you all and recognize that most people actually do like mashed potatoes, y'all need to try these. Brown Butter is incredible. And butter is the best part of mashed potatoes, right? Do this for yourself.

4. Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Walnut Streusel from Lauren's Latest

Is this a veggie or is it dessert? I vote veggie because I have a ton of desserts listed below that I'm saving room for. These look incredible. My favorite part of eating a sweet potato is loading it with butter and brown sugar. This takes things one step further with STREUSEL. I need.

5. Pumpkin Cornbread from Two Peas & Their Pod

I posted this recipe first on my Pumpkin Bucket List, but I think it would be the perfect addition to the bread basket this Thanksgiving. Everyone loves cornbread. Everyone loves pumpkin. Combine the two and everyone will love you for making this. Simple math, people.

6. Sausage Cornbread Stuffing from Lauren's Latest

Keeping up with the cornbread, this cornbread stuffing looks divine. I LOVE stuffing. It's definitely my favorite Thanksgiving dish. Like I said, everyone loves cornbread, so everyone will love this stuffing. I love that this dish takes my favorite Thanksgiving side and makes it even more heavenly.

7. Creamy Baked Macaroni & Cheese from Buns in My Oven

Every year, my sister Kelley makes macaroni and cheese for our Thanksgiving spread. This macaroni and cheese looks utterly divine. It's loaded with cheese, gooey, and topped with tomatoes. You should take the Southern root and add mac and cheese to your Thanksgiving menu this year!

Sweet Treats:

8. Apple Crisp from Lovin' from the Oven

I had my first taste of apple crisp a few weeks ago. Four HUGE pieces later, I was hooked. The stuff tastes like cinnamony, baked butter. I mean, c'mon. I am bringing this apple crisp to the table on Thursday and I am so excited. I love that the topping looks super crumbly and doesn't have any oats. I have to get rid of anything even remotely healthy from my desserts (hehe).

9. Ooey Gooey Caramel Pumpkin Blondies from Two Peas & Their Pod

I am a blondie lover. I love bar desserts and these Ooey Gooey Caramel Pumpkin Blondies look to die for. Loaded with caramel and chocolate chips, and topped with ice cream, these will please the entire crowd!

10. Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites from Eat, Live, Run

Every year, my mom makes an incredible pumpkin cheesecake. We look forward to it all year. These Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites are a more simple approach to the traditional pumpkin cheesecake. Plus, they're adorable and everyone loves bar desserts. It's a proven fact. Whip these up and enjoy!

11. Apple Cider Sangria from How Sweet Eats

Because no meal is complete without a fun drink, this Apple Cider Sangria is a perfect way to round out your Thanksgiving meal. It fits with the seasonal, fall theme and will impress anyone (over 21). It's a fun twist on the typical wine with dinner.

Lastly, Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy time with family and friends and remember to be grateful for all your many blessings!

Three Ingredient Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Y'all...this is revolutionary. I'm telling you.

THREE Ingredient Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Three ingredients. Total.

Three ingredients that lead to heaven in your mouth. Fally heaven at that (yes, I made up that word).

The pumpkin craze. I already mentioned it's taken me by storm (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C). It's taken the world by storm for that matter. And ya know what, I dig it. I absolutely dig it.

These muffins are delectable. And they probably take less time to make than it takes to type the word delectable.

They are light and airy, with a perfect pumpkin taste that is complemented by a slight crunch from the white chocolate chips. They are gooey and melt in your mouth. They are easy to make and they are divine.

I am almost positive you'll have everything you need to make these right in your pantry: yellow cake mix, a can of pumpkin, and some white chocolate chips. You could even sub in some different chips, perhaps milk chocolate or butterscotch??! Just a thought.

The possibilities are endless (I'm thinking a cream cheese frosting may fun!), but I urge you to take part in this pumpkin revolution...like now.

Three Ingredient Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe modified from Sweet Verbena

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 a bag of white chocolate chips (measurements are clearly not exact!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tray with liners (you'll need 20-24 depending on how full you like them).
2. In a bowl, blend the yellow cake mix and pumpkin puree until combined. (No oil/eggs needed! Yummy & healthy!)
3. Stir in white chocolate chips until incorporated.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.

Pumpkin Toffee Cookies

Hello, beautiful.

Ok, so a couple weeks back I confessed my undying love for pumpkin. I can't get enough. Seriously.

From pumpkin muffins to pumpkin bread, pumpkin coffee to pumpkin waffles, and everything in between, I have probably consumed an entire pumpkin patch. And I'm lovin' every minute of it.

Now, while these cookies weren't on my Pumpkin Bucket List, the second I saw this recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod, I knew I had to eat them IMMEDIATELY. So, I went to the store and got everything. Best. Decision. Ever.

While Maria over at Two Peas and Their Pod topped her cookies with a Salted Caramel Glaze, I opted not to because I wanted my cookies sans glaze on this particular day. It was just one of those days. BUT, head over to her site to get the recipe for the glaze so you can fully deck out your cookies if you so please!

These cookies were super moist, with a texture more similar to pumpkin bread than your traditional cookie. The toffee bits added an extra richness, and these pair so incredibly well with a cup o' joe I can't even handle it.

I made my cookies more "bite size" than the original recipe, but feel free to make them any size you please.

Enjoy the goodness of fall with these cookies and tons of other pumpkin treats!

It's always a glorious day when you bust out a can of pumpkin.

Batter time (plus I like the olive/orange color combo goin' on) 

How fun is this plate?!

Right before I licked this plate clean.

Pumpkin Toffee Cookies
Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground all-spice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup Heath Toffee Bits or chopped Heath bars

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add in the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in Heath Toffee Bits.
4. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges and set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

My Pumpkin Bucket List

Where have I been? Ugh. Real life has officially taken over and let's just say that real life often makes it IMPOSSIBLE to do the things you want to do, like bake and blog. And for that, I am sorry.

First and foremost, while at school, I don't have a kitchen at my disposal - sigh. This makes it extremely difficult to bake (duh) which means I am a sad, sad undergrad (like my poem?). Also, school requires a lot of work. Who knew? And all this work is making it very hard to attend to my blogging duties.

With fall rapidly approaching (tomorrow!!) and  in an effort to return to my Tar Heel Taste Bud friends, I have been hounding Pinterest for recipes for fall! I am a pumpkin lover so I compiled a few recipes here that I am DYING to make!!!!!

Here's my Pumpkin Bucket List for this fall (in no particular order)...

1. Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Muffins from Two Peas and Their Pod

Not only are these muffins topped with cinnamon streusel, but they have a cinnamon sugar filling. Basically I need to eat these every morning this fall.

2. 4 Ingredient Homemade Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt from The Naptime Chef

Chilly weather does not mean you can't eat a frozen treat. This homemade pumpkin frozen yogurt is easy to make and a fun (and relatively healthy?) alternative to typical pumpkin treats!

3.Pumpkin Pull-Apart Monkey Bread with Maple Glaze from Lauren's Latest

In my humble opinion, you can't go wrong with Monkey Bread. It's a well-known fact, people. But add pumpkin puree AND a maple glaze - DONE. Give me.

4. Pumpkin Cornbread from Two Peas and Their Pod on Tasty Kitchen

I love cornbread (nom) and I feel like it is the perfect addition to every warm, hearty meal. I am dying to try this PUMPKIN cornbread with my favorite fall meals (i.e. Chili while watching NFL) and/or smothered in honey.

5. Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake from Picky Palate

Ever since this recipe popped up on my Pinterest page, I knew I needed to try it. First of all, I love cake mix recipes because they are super easy and always yield surprisingly wonderful results. Second, I love cinnamon rolls, so I know I won't be able to resist cinnamon rolls with pumpkin in sheet cake form. Count me in.

6. Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Muffins from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

This is a bold statement but I may love white chocolate more than milk or dark. Eek - I said it! There is just something about it that I can't get enough of. I blame it on the fact the fact that I am not a die-hard chocolate fan; I'm definitely a vanilla girl. These muffins look so moist and delicious and I know that the white chocolate will perfectly complement the pumpkin flavor. Definitely looking forward to testing these out!

7. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie from How Sweet Eats

Oh my. I must admit I hate pumpkin pie, but I love cookies and I love pie crust. Combine the two and I'll be in heaven. I cannot wait to enjoy a pumpkin chocolate cookie, surrounded by pie crust, and topped with vanilla ice cream. Yes.

8. Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes from Cookie and Kate

Um, yes. As I mentioned this summer, I love pancakes. LOVE. I want these pumpkin pancakes right now, preferably covered in butter and maple syrup. Waking up to whole wheat pumpkin pancakes this fall sounds pretty darn good to me.

9. Ooey Gooey Caramel Pumpkin Blondies from Two Peas and Their Pod on Tasty Kitchen

It wouldn't be right if I made this bucket list and didn't include a recipe with caramel. Caramel is a fall staple, trust me. I am a bar/blondie dessert fan all the way. I am dying to make these blondies, but may switch the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips - yum!

10. Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies with a Maple Cream Cheese Glaze from Sweet Treats & More

Pumpkin cheese makes an annual appearance at my house every Thanksgiving and my family cannot get enough of it. I love that this recipe is a simplified spin on one of my all-time favorite desserts. I'm positive that the addition of the maple cream cheese glaze will only add more excitement for my taste buds. Yumz.

For more pumpkin recipes, check out Two Peas and Their Pod's 50 Pumpkin Recipes for Fall and visit my Pumpkin Pinterest Board for additional inspiration!