Pumpkin Spice Granola

 

I wake up ravenous every single morning. My growling stomach at 6 am is way more reliable than any alarm clock my money can buy. The second I'm out of the shower in the morning, I'm in the kitchen scavenging for food. I'm definitely a creature of habit when it comes to my weekday breakfasts. 90% of the time I eat oatmeal, an egg and cheese sandwich, or Greek yogurt with granola. This is usually my granola of choice, but as you may have gathered given that I write a blog about cooking, I prefer to make things homemade whenever possible.

When I came across this pumpkin granola on Kristin's gorgeous blog earlier this fall, I immediately knew it would make it onto my fall cooking list. It was so simple to make that I think it's going to replace my normal store-bought brand of granola, unless a bout of extreme laziness hits. This makes an enormous batch - a little over 6 cups. I tend to use granola as more of a garnish - a small scoop on top of yogurt for some crunch, rather than eating it mixed with milk like cereal, so this should last me quite awhile!

This granola is totally customizable. Prefer walnuts to pecans? Throw 'em in. Dried apricots instead of raisins? Chop some up and toss them in too. This granola has a light pumpkin flavor, and a lot of fall spice. Make sure to let it cool completely before storing it, so that it doesn't get soggy! Added bonus? Your house will smell like you have about 50 pumpkin candles burning at once since this is so deliciously fragrant!

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Stir in brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.

Add the oats, cranberries, raisins, pecans, coconut, and pumpkin seeds to the bowl. Stir to evenly coat with the pumpkin mixture.

Spread evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, stirring well at the 20 minute mark. It will not be crisp when you remove it from the oven, but it will crisp up as it cools. Allow granola to cool for several hours before storing.

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Source: Adapted from Pastry Affair

Pasta Fagioli Soup

Soup isn't usually one of those foods where I lack self control. That unfortunate characteristic is usually reserved for foods like brownies, risotto, and macaroni and cheese. Ya know, health food. With soup I can usually have a small bowlful for dinner with a salad or some crusty bread, feel satisfied, and call it a night. However, with this soup I really just want to sit on the floor with the pot in my lap, and eat it straight from the ladle like a weirdo. It is SO good. With ingredients like bacon, garlic, pasta shells, and Parmesan cheese would you expect any less?

Little by little it's getting cooler here in Virginia, and this was a perfectly delicious, perfectly cozy fall dinner for the past couple nights. This was my first time making this soup, and I can already tell that it is going to become a fall and winter staple for me!

The original recipe called for either bacon or pancetta. I really wanted to use pancetta but my grocery store was regrettably out. Thanks a lot Whole Foods. I recommend using the pancetta over the bacon if you can find it, because it is extremely difficult to mince bacon. I never noticed how slippery it was until I attempted to cut it into tiny little pieces. There was a lot of cursing, and I almost threw a handful of bacon at the wall in a fit of rage, which really would have only been hurting myself.

This soup is very thick when it's leftover - it becomes more stew like. Feel free to add up to 2 cups more broth if you want it soupier.

Here's what you'll need: 

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 slices of bacon, minced
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
Large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and black pepper
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 1/4 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta shells
Parmesan cheese and finely chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the bacon and onions, and saute for 8 minutes. Add the garlic, and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low, and pour in the tomatoes (with their juices), sage, and spices. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the broth and beans, and simmer for an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pasta to the soup, and simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes, until the pasta is al dente. Garnish with cheese and parsley, and serve immediately.

Makes about 10 cups of soup.

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Source: Adapted from Shutterbean, originally from the Williams Sonoma Beans & Rice Cookbook

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

For those of you who are regular readers, you may remember that I made these delicious Pecan Turtle Black Cocoa Brownies to bring to my mom and sister up in NJ last month when I visited. Well, my mom informed me on that trip that she now prefers lemon desserts to chocolate ones. Since I'm such an awesome daughter, I made her these lemon ricotta cookies when I went up to visit this weekend. I don't bake with lemon very often during the fall or winter, but these actually really hit the spot among all of the heavy fall and pumpkin related baking I've been doing.

While the main reason for my visit to NJ was my sister Annie's 25th birthday, the weekend happened to coincide with a really fun event in my sister's town called Boozin' for Boobs. As the name suggests, it's a bar crawl that raises money for breast cancer charities. I'm not sure how healthy daytime drinking of hot pink-dyed Bud Light is for my own personal cancer risk, but it was a ton of fun, and raised money for an excellent cause. 

Annie and me at the bar crawl. Happy birthday darling seester! 

Before making these, I'd never made cookies that contained ricotta cheese, so I wasn't sure what to expect. These don't taste like ricotta, so I think it's probably there for the moisture and richness. The cookie portion of this recipe reminds me of one of those big black and white cookies you can get at an Italian deli or bakery. They are moist and soft, and almost like miniature cakes. The glaze has the perfect amount of lemon flavor and tartness, and turns these cookies from something ordinary into something delicious. 

As you can see, I couldn't wait until my cookie photo shoot was over to sample the goods. 

Here's what you'll need for about 4 dozen cookies:

For the cookies:
 
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 15-ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons

For the glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (Do not use organic or natural powdered sugar as it will turn the glaze gray)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt with a fork. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in ricotta, lemon juice, and lemon zest, and beat until combined.

Stir in dry ingredients with a spoon until just combined. Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop cookies onto the baking sheet, leaving a couple inches between each. Store the leftover dough in the refrigerator between batches.

Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes, until no longer wet on top and not yet golden around the edges. Mine took exactly 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

To make the glaze, stir together all ingredients until thoroughly combined. Pour a scant teaspoon of glaze on top of each cookie, and let the glaze harden for at least 2 hours before storing. Cake-like cookies like these have a tendency to get soggy if stored in an airtight container. I kept mine in a tupperware container with layers of waxed paper between each stack of cookies. I just rested the lid on top, and didn't press it shut it completely, which worked great. I recommend enjoying these within a day or two of baking them. 

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Source: Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis