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!

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes

To say I love pancakes may be an understatement. I adore them. I obsess over them. I could eat them all the time (wait, didn't I just say that about cereal?!). It's safe to say I'm a breakfast food fanatic.

I must admit that I usually just whip out a box of pancake mix, add some water, do some flippin', and devour. But, as I am currently recovering from surgery of my own, I have been on a baking spree. I hear it helps people heal more quickly...or something like that.

When I went grocery shopping for those Reese's Cheesecake Brownies, I picked up some Reese's Peanut Butter Chips (think chocolate chips but, well, peanut butter!) while I was at the store hoping I'd be inspired to create something fun.

Inspiration came in the form of these Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes. I have been craving a nice stack of pancakes for weeks now, and when I saw we had some quite ripe bananas, I knew these needed to be used to kick my traditional buttermilk pancakes up a notch.  THEN, it hit me. Banana Pancakes + Reese's Peanut Butter Chips = heaven in my mouth. I knew I had to experiment.

I love the banana/peanut butter combo (one of my fave snacks) and these pancakes are a wonderful mix of the two. The pancake recipe itself comes from the blog 100 Days of Real Food Blog (natural ingredients!) and is dense yet fluffy, and super moist. Then when you add the peanut butter chips, you essentially have peanut butter banana bread...in a pancake form...covered with syrup. You could substitute the chocolate chips for the peanut butter chips if you so desire, and these would still be amazing. I got 10 generously sized pancakes out of this recipe, so be prepared to feed a crowd (or freeze the leftovers).

Move over Jack Johnson, you've been upstaged. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes
Recipe adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup Reese's Peanut Butter Chips (like chocolate chips!)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the honey, eggs, milk, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Whisk together thoroughly, but do not overmix.
3. Gently fold the mashed bananas and Reese's Peanut Butter Chips into the batter with a spatula. 
4. Heat a griddle or saute pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray, or swirl enough butter around the pan until it is well coated. Add pancake batter using a soup ladle.
5. When the pancakes have begun to brown on the bottom, flip them over to cook the other side.
6. Serve with warm maple syrup and a side of fruit. Don't forget to freeze the leftovers!