pumpkin

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

September 25, 2014 by Tiffany King 15 Comments

Fall has always been my favorite season. Probably because my birthday month is September.

But also because the weather gets so nice and there are so many fun things to do outside. This year, I’m determined to finally go to a corn maze. I’ve wanted to do that for years, but we’ve never followed through.

I found one nearby that has a more reasonable price than some of the others I’ve seen. They even offer a “matinee” price for Saturday afternoon. Going in the afternoon could be a little hot, but that’s okay.

We can come back to this Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream! Pumpkin Piescream. Pumpkin Spicecream.

I love all kinds of ice cream, especially if it’s homemade. If you’ve never tried Pumpkin Ice Cream, make this your year to do it! If you like pumpkin things, you’ll love this.

It’s perfect for early fall, when the weather’s still warm.

We had scoops of the ice cream with my birthday cake. And I’ve eaten it in a bowl by itself.

I’ve also dolloped a small scoop into coffee to make a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

And it goes great with chocolate, so bake up a pan of brownies and top them with Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream.

The recipe is so simple, with just a few ingredients and no cooking required. McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice makes it really easy to get great flavor in this recipe. Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more…] about Homemade Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

Pumpkin Spice Eclair Cake w/Chocolate Frosting {No Bake}

October 3, 2013 by KimM 7 Comments

Eclair Cake is one of those desserts I see often at potlucks, family gatherings, and is a personal favorite of mine. If you are not familiar, it’s a no bake dessert that is made up of just a few simple ingredients: graham crackers, vanilla pudding, cool whip, and usually chocolate frosting (but I’ve also seen it with chocolate pudding on top).

I decided to make this dessert for a church dinner, and as I was getting my supplies from the grocery store, I spied this…

HOLD THE PHONE! Pumpkin Spice pudding?! I immediately scooped up several packages, and then the idea of substituting the pumpkin spice pudding for the vanilla pudding, and using cinnamon graham crackers instead of regular in the eclair cake came to me. It sounded seasonal and delicious…and it was!

I realized too late that the milk was left out of the picture, but I used skim. You could use any kind you like, and I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t use almond, soy, etc., but I’ve never tried it.

As I mentioned, I made this to take to church, so I couldn’t get a picture of the inside of the cake after I made it. However, I assumed I would be able to quickly (and discreetly) take a phone pic after people started cutting into it. Well, that didn’t go according to plan. When I got to the dessert table, it was gone! Only some crumbs of frosting remained, and someone even came along and licked the spoon before taking it to the kitchen 🙂 Luckily, I had snagged a few bites from one of my children’s plates, so I can attest that it was very tasty.

I usually make this in a 9 x 13 pan, but on this occasion, I made 2 8 x 8’s – one pumpkin spice and one regular eclair cake. (The regular cake was also eaten before I got to the dessert table!) The following recipe is for the 9 x 13 size.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Pumpkin Spice Eclair Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

1 box Cinnamon Graham Crackers you will have some leftover
2 boxes Instant Pumpkin Spice Pudding mix
3 cups milk
1 container Cool Whip
1/2 tsp. cinnamon optional
1/4 tsp. allspice optional

For Frosting -

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Mix 2 boxes of instant pudding with 3 cups milk. Stir until it begins to thicken.
Fold in container of Cool Whip.
Line a 9 x 13 pan with single layer of graham crackers.
Spread 1/3 of pudding mixture on top of crackers.
Place another layer of graham crackers on top of pudding.
Repeat layers, ending with pudding mixture.
Place in refrigerator to chill while making frosting*

For the Frosting

Mix sugar, cocoa and milk in a medium size pot.
Bring to a boil over medium heat - stirring the entire time with a wooden spoon.
Boil for one minute (still stirring!)
Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.
Mix until it just starts to thicken - don't let it thicken too much or it is difficult to spread over cake. Pour over pudding layer of cake. Icing will 'set' on cake.

Time Saving Tip - If you do not want to make homemade icing/frosting, you can take a store-bought can of frosting, heat in the microwave, and pour over cake.

Allow cake to chill in refrigerator for about 4 hours or overnight before serving so the graham crackers can soften and create a cake like texture.

I like to divide my pudding into thirds when layering my eclair cake, but if you want a thicker pudding layer, you can just divide it in half, ending with graham crackers on top. I’ve made it both ways, I just prefer a thinner pudding layer. It’s an easy dessert that always goes over well! What do you like to bring to potluck/cover dish dinners?

KimM is a contributing writer for Eat at Home. She lives in NC with her husband, three children, and 2 fur babies. You can find her blogging about her kitchen adventures at Makin’ it Mo’Betta.

Butter Pecan Pumpkin Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting

September 24, 2013 by Tiffany King 4 Comments

Sometimes I buy a cake mix as an inspiration ingredient. That was the case with this butter pecan cake mix. I didn’t know what I would make with it when I bought it, but after I got it home it seemed like a great idea to pair it up with pumpkin.

And then I spied the can of coconut-pecan frosting and decided that would make the perfect topping.

This is a nice change from spiced cakes, but it still has a lot of fall flavor. The butter pecan cake hold its own with the pumpkin, the tastes melding together perfectly. It’s a moist cake that isn’t too sweet.

I did try to trick my dad into thinking that it didn’t have any pumpkin in it. That didn’t work though! The pumpkin color and flavor are both pronounced. If you’ve got someone in your family who doesn’t like pumpkin, this isn’t the dessert to sneak it in.

The ingredients for this cake are so simple. Just 4 items, including the frosting. It doesn’t get easier than that!

Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more…] about Butter Pecan Pumpkin Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Sauce in the Slow Cooker

September 3, 2013 by KateS 20 Comments

Note from Tiffany: This is Kate’s recipe and post, but I couldn’t wait to make this cake! So I’ve added a few notes and photos of my own here too.

It doesn’t really feel like fall here yet, but I figure that as soon as kids are back in school, all things fall are fair game. Including pumpkin! I’ve been playing with pumpkin recipes for a while, and this was by far my favorite creation. I’d been trying to nail down a recipe for pumpkin cake to try, but when I couldn’t find one that included everything I wanted, I just went ahead and created my own. I love that it only needed a few ingredients and I loved that since it’s made in the slow cooker, I could set it up before company came and then serve a nice warm dessert after we’d all finished dinner.

If you wrapped all the goodness of fall up in one dessert, you’d get this cake. It’s a super moist chocolate pumpkin cake that’s cooked with a creamy caramel sauce. The caramel starts out onto and as it cooks it works its way to the bottom, creating a deliciously sticky layer. Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it’s fall heaven!

Tiffany’s note: I think you can see in the photos that Kate’s caramel sauce was more saucy and mine turned out more gooey (it set up more). I think that’s because mine cooked for 3 hours on high and in a pretty big crockpot. If I’d used a smaller crock, I think that would have kept the sauce from setting up. I think a 4 quart crock is a better size for this recipe. Even though the caramel set up a bit, it was still delicious.

If you want to make this (and I know you do!), here’s what you’ll need: [Read more…] about Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Sauce in the Slow Cooker

Pumpkin Biscoff Monster Cookies

October 25, 2012 by Tiffany King 6 Comments

It’s no secret that I love oats. I recently confessed to having 6 boxes of quick oats in the pantry, because I’m apparently afraid of running out.

But I didn’t realize until recently that we as a country actually have a National Oatmeal Day – October 29.

These cookies are perfect for celebrating National Oatmeal Day or any day, for that matter.

These are an adaptation of the traditional monster cookie. Instead of peanut butter, which I don’t think would be good with pumpkin, I used Biscoff. The consistency is about the same as peanut butter, but it’s made with mildly spiced ginger cookies so it pairs nicely with the pumpkin.

This version of monster cookies is softer than the traditional monsters. But they are every bit as delicious. It also makes a monster-sized batch of cookies. You will be at the oven, baking for quite a while.

The good news is that the cookies freeze well. Because they are soft, I recommend freezing them in a single layer or in layers separated with wax paper.

Here’s what you’ll need to make them: [Read more…] about Pumpkin Biscoff Monster Cookies