pumpkin pie spice – The Pajama Chef

#Choctoberfest: Pumpkin Chocolate Cereal Treats

October 19, 2018October 18, 2018 Sarah

Chocolate. Sprinkles. Pumpkin. Marshmallows. What’s not to love?? These yummy cereal treats are made with Sprinkle Pop sprinkles for #Choctoberfest and are oh-so-fun!

Last winter I made some kicked up rice krispie cereal treats and I’ve been thinking of them ever since, dreaming up a bunch of different flavors and add ins. I mean, the classic version is good (my mom made a batch when we were visiting my parents’ house last month)… but it’s also fun to go a little crazy sometimes! I’ve been scheming about making a pumpkin chocolate version but was a little unsure about adding pumpkin puree to a crisp treat. What to do, what to do.

Enter SPRINKLE POP and their cute little sprinkles! As soon as I starting browsing their site in preparation for their sponsorship of #Choctoberfest, I knew how I could make pumpkin chocolate cereal treats. WITH PUMPKIN SPRINKLES!!! Sorry for the caps, but I am just SO excited. They have so many fun sprinkle options for each season. Their fall/Halloween section is so much fun, but I also am in loooove with their Christmas/holiday options. So cute. They have a ridiculous amount of beautiful, sparkly sprinkles as well as fun shapes and mixes for all occasions. They can also make custom blends! So fun.

To make these Pumpkin Chocolate Cereal Treats extra special, the cute little orange pumpkin sprinkles are pressed into the bottom and top of the pan. Sprinkle Pop’s sprinkles are water based, so the colors could bleed and I didn’t want to that to happen, even if orange and black are seasonally appropriate. 🙂 These cereal treats are filled with two types of chocolate–chocolate chips and cocoa powder, as well as two types of pumpkin flavor–pumpkin oats cereal (Aldi brand, woot!) and pumpkin pie spice. Double the fun, twice! These little treats are so addictive. They would be perfect at a Halloween party. Can you imagine them cut out into little pumpkin shapes?? Gah, why didn’t I think of that before? Now you can try that out and report back to me! You could even do that with your prizes if you win the awesome #Choctoberfest giveaway with lots of chocolate, cooking gear, and sugar for all your baking needs. Enter here if you haven’t yet!! 🙂 And happy Friday, friends!

one year ago: Chocolate Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake
two year ago: Old Fashioned Chocolate Cobbler
three years ago: Beef Stroganoff
four years ago: Homemade Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
five years ago: Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cake with Nutella Frosting
six years ago: Apple Peanut Butter Muffins
seven years ago: Pumpkin, Sausage, and Spinach Lasagna
eight years ago: Southwestern Pepperjack Baked Penne

Please check out more chocolate recipes here!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Cereal Treats

Servings: 16
Time: 10 minutes + time to cool
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Ingredients:

Pumpkin Confetti Sprinkles by Sprinkle Pop
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 1/2 cups (approximately 12-13 ounces) mini marshmallows, divided
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 cups crisp rice cereal
3 cups pumpkin flavored toasted oats cereal (like Cheerios–I used the Aldi brand!)

Directions:

Generously spray an 8×8 inch baking dish with cooking spray, then sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of Pumpkin Confetti Sprinkles into the bottom of the dish.

In a large pot, melt butter with 6 cups of the mini marshmallows over medium heat. When most of the marshmallows are melted, add the cocoa powder and pumpkin spice and stir vigorously to incorporate. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips. When melted, quickly fold in cereals and reserved marshmallows.

Using greased hands or a spatula, transfer cereal mixture to prepared pan and evenly press down. Sprinkle generously with Pumpkin Confetti Sprinkles, then gently smooth out. Cover and allow to set (at least two hours is best!) before cutting. Keeps in an air-tight container for about a week.

Disclosure: I received free product from Sprinkle Pop to use in this recipe for #Choctoberfest. I was not required to review them or provide positive feedback. All opinions are my own. You can learn more about Sprinkle Pop and get great recipe ideas from them on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

This post for #Choctoberfest is sponsored by Barlean's. I have received sample products for writing this post. All content and opinions are mine. These Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites are a healthy sweet treat... and they pretty much taste like a brownie, so there's that too.

Breakfast, Granola, Recipes

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites #Choctoberfest

October 18, 2017October 20, 2017 Sarah

This post for #Choctoberfest is sponsored by Barlean’s. I have received sample products for writing this post. All content and opinions are mine. These Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites are a healthy sweet treat… and they pretty much taste like a brownie, so there’s that too.

Another day, another #Choctoberfest recipe! This one slightly healthier than the delectable cake from Monday. 🙂 Energy bites, granola bites, energy balls… whatever you call them… are SO tasty and SO fun to make. Just mix, roll, and chill, pretty much. They’re great to have on hand for a healthy yet filling snack option or even a quick breakfast on the go for busy mornings. Most recipes use nut butter as the base, so I was excited to find a version that used PUMPKIN as the binder. I always gotta do something different, haha.

Since we’re smack-dab in the midst of #Choctoberfest, I decided to try to make an uber chocolately energy bite recipe. Thanks to a healthy dose of dark chocolate cocoa powder AND dark chocolate chips, these Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites pretty much taste like a brownie. I’ve been keeping some in the fridge at work, and they are perfect for a mid-afternoon snack. Healthy, yet satisfying.

I’m so thankful that Barlean’s is a sponsor again this year for #Choctoberfest! They sent me a great package filled with Chocolate Silk Greens (think chocolate protein powder, but powdered greens instead–this stuff is great for smoothies!), Essential Women Omega-Swirl Chocolate Mint (mint-chocolate syrup that just so happens to be full of Omega-3s), and Butter-Flavored Coconut Oil, which I used in this recipe. It’s the perfect butter substitute with all the health benefits of coconut oil. I don’t use coconut oil for everything but I really like it in granola bars/energy bites. You can find out more about Barlean’s by following them on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or YouTube.

One of the best parts about these Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites (besides how chocolately they are!) is that it only uses 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree. Sooo it’s a perfect recipe to have on hand to when you have a little pumpkin puree to use up! Waste not, want not. And how could you not want these yummy chocolate energy bites??! Enjoy!

Find more chocolate recipes here today at the #Chocotoberfest linky! And don’t forget to enter this great giveaway before Saturday!

one year ago: Pumpkin & Sausage Pizza
three years ago: Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
four years ago: Funfetti Cookies
five years ago: Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce
six years ago: Roasted Vegetable Soup
seven years ago: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites

Servings: 32 bites
Time: 2 hours, including chilling
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slightly adapted from A Kitchen Addiction

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons Barlean’s Butter Flavored Organic Coconut Oil
generous 1/4 cup pepitas
generous 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together oats, flaxseed, cocoa, and pumpkin pie spice. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, whisk together honey, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, and coconut oil. Bring to a boil, and allow to boil for 4 minutes. Stir constantly so it doesn’t burn! Remove from heat.

Pour honey mixture over oats and stir until combined. At this point, you can stir in the pepitas and chocolate chips so the chocolate melts and gets all gooey OR you can wait for 5 minutes before stirring in the mixins. I stirred everything together right away.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for mixture to cool and chocolate to harden, then remove and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least an hour before transferring to an air-tight container. Store in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

Disclosure: Though I received products for free as part of my participation in #Choctoberfest, I was not compensated in any other way and was not asked to provide positive feedback.

Beverages, Recipes

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup + Cold Brew Coffee Method

October 11, 2017October 30, 2017 Sarah

My Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup recipe has been submitted for the Steviva Blogger Recipe Challenge. Product samples received in exchange for posting this recipe as part of the recipe challenge. #steviva #sweetandeasy

Pumpkin season. Just those two words make me superrr excited! I know, I know. Just like every other girl out there. #oops #sorrynotsorry But I’ve been a pumpkin (and pumpkin spice!) fan long before Starbucks made a fortune selling $6 sugar-laden pumpkin spice lattes. Though I love pumpkin spice lattes, iced coffees, and the like from a wide variety of chain and local coffee shops, I always have fun dabbling in similar coffee drinks at home. I don’t have an espresso maker (yet!) but my pumpkin spice creamer has been a fall staple the past few years. However, I think I’ve stumbled on something better.

Enter: Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup. I’ve made a simple pumpkin spice syrup before but something was missing… oh, that’s right: enough pumpkin! Not so in this coffee syrup. There’s half a cup of pumpkin puree in this syrup! Don’t be scared, guys… the puree melts together perfectly with the Nectevia Original and water to make a delicious syrup to stir into your coffee. For the “spice” part I added a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice and also infused some fresh rosemary in the syrup as it cooled. Perfection!

Serving possibilities for this syrup are endless! I enjoyed my Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup with cold brew coffee and almond milk (because the weather this fall in Nashville has been a little more reminiscent of summer, ahem…). But I think it would also be great with some espresso and cream if you can make that happen in your life, or just regular coffee. Or chai! Or heck, it could even be great drizzled over pancakes or ice cream. Pumpkin ice cream plus pumpkin spice coffee syrup?? Ohhhh yes, please! (Now I’m starting to question the name of this recipe.)

No matter how you serve it, this Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup is sure to make your fall a little tastier. Oh, and I did want to mention something real quick: I created this recipe as part of a recipe contest for Steviva. (If you want, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Pinterest, and Instagram.) I don’t have much experience cooking and baking with stevia products but it has been so fun experimenting with them. I totally understand though that dietary needs and preferences can vary, so I did include some other sweetener options in the recipe below… but check out Nectevia Original if you can–it’s a great blend of stevia and blue agave and has 1/4 the calories, carbs and sugars of regular agave, or table sugar. I was impressed with it! Hope you enjoy!!

one year ago: Banana Espresso Chocolate Crumb Cake
two years ago: Coconut Oil Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
three years ago: Asian Turkey Meatballs with Carrot Rice
four years ago: Cream of Broccoli Soup with Cheese
five years ago: No Bake Tropical Energy Bites
six years ago: Garlicky Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil
seven years ago: Pillow Cookies

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup

Servings: approximately 8 ounces
Time: 40 minutes
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Ingredients:

1/2 cup Nectevia Original
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2-1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I used a full tablespoon but some may prefer the spice to be a little less intense.)
2 sprigs rosemary

Directions:

Stir together Nectevia Original, water, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add rosemary, then continue to cook until mixture is bubbly but not quite boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 4-5 minutes until mixture reduces and thickens. Remove from heat, and then let rest for 20 minutes to to continue to infuse rosemary. After 20 minutes, remove rosemary sprigs and discard.

Transfer syrup into a glass jar, cover, and store in the refrigerator. Syrup should keep one to two weeks.

I enjoy stirring a couple tablespoons of Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup stirred into cold brew coffee (method below!) and unsweetened almond milk. Adjust the amount of syrup to taste!

Notes: Nectevia Original is a liquid blend of stevia and blue agave. If you don’t have any on hand, feel free to substitute regular sugar or brown sugar, as well as other sweeteners like honey, agave, stevia, or maple syrup. I’ve made simple syrups with white sugar, brown sugar, and honey all with great results in the past. I’ve also done a combination of those sweeteners plus agave or maple syrup. Your choice!

Cold Brew Coffee

Servings: 32 ounces
Time: up to 24 hours
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Ingredients:

1/2 cup coffee, medium-grind is best
4 cups cold water

Directions:

Stir together coffee and cold water. I like to do this in a large measuring cup, but a jar or French press would work too.

This ratio of coffee to water is not super concentrated but you can increase the amount of coffee while keeping the water amount constant if desired.

Cover and let rest at least overnight, but optimally 12-24 hours. This can be done at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Strain mixture in one of the following ways:

pour into a French press and press as usual to strain.
a cheesecloth or coffee filter set inside a mesh sieve, with coffee draining into a measuring cup, jar, etc. You may need to strain coffee twice using this method to remove all grounds and silt.

I find it easiest to use my French press but either way works!

Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Serve with milk, half and half, sweetener, etc. as desired.

Desserts, Other, Recipes

Cranberry Dessert Pizza

December 31, 2016 Sarah

Dessert pizza just like your local Pizza Hut used to make… except dressed up for the holidays with a honeyed cranberry sauce! There’s crumb topping and vanilla glaze too. Each bite of this sweet treat is better than the last!

Disclaimer: This recipe was created for the Cape Cod Select Holiday Blogger Recipe Challenge. Please follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. I was sent free cranberries for recipe development purposes, but was in any other way compensated for my time, ingredients, etc.

Dessert pizza just like your local Pizza Hut used to make... except dressed up for the holidays with a honeyed cranberry sauce! There's crumb topping and vanilla glaze too. Each bite of this sweet treat is better than the last!

I have fond memories of the Pizza Hut buffet. My family used to go after church sometimes when I was a kid and it was a TREAT to get my choice of pizza slices, breadsticks, salad… in the amounts I wanted. Which, let’s face it, probably created a lot of waste because kids take a few bites of something before moving on to something else. Oops. It was so fun to run up to the buffet when they brought out a new pizza… and when it was one of their dessert pizzas, watch out! Everyone in the restaurant headed up in en masse to grab a slice of dessert pizza–some ridiculously sweet fruit topping out of a can: cherries or apples, usually covered with a crumb topping and drizzled to death with vanilla icing. So. Good. I haven’t been to a Pizza Hut buffet in years and I don’t think they even make these dessert pizzas anymore… so I decided to make my own!

As you can probably guess, my dessert pizza is a little fresher, a little fancier than ye olde Pizza Hut’s was… but that’s okay, the original version was great in its own way! But let’s talk today’s version. Instead of a canned fruit topping, I made a cranberry sauce using Cape Cod Select Premium Frozen Cranberries. Check ’em out at a store near you. I can’t find fresh cranberries at my local grocery store anymore, so it’s great to have a frozen option to help with those cranberry cravings in July. 🙂 They’ll even ship them from their website. How cool! But back to this pizza. My cranberry sauce is sweetened with honey and scented with grapefruit… and I would have eaten it by the spoonful had I not needed it for this recipe. In fact, I might make another batch soon so I can do just that! I know it’s pretty typical for cranberries and oranges to be paired together, but I personally love grapefruit and the aromatic bittersweetness it adds to dishes. The smell of the cranberries as they cooked in a mixture of grapefruit zest, juice, and water was fantastic! This sauce easily is the star of the dessert pizza… but it can’t be all by itself. In true Pizza Hut style, I also made a quick crumb topping with lots of brown sugar, oats, and pumpkin pie spice to layer on top of the sauce and crust. After baking, an easy vanilla glaze drizzled on top adds just the sweetness you need to contrast with the sweet-tart goodness of the cranberry sauce. Everything was absolutely delicious together–perfect for dessert or even breakfast. 🙂 I hope you enjoy this pizza as much as we did! Happy New Year! 2017!

one year ago: Cheesy Southwest Farro
two years ago: Spiced Biscotti with Eggnog Glaze
three years ago: Baked Fish Tacos with Cranberry Salsa
four years ago: White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies
five years ago: Classic Sugar Cookies
six years ago: Sweet-Spicy Pretzel Mix

Cranberry Dessert Pizza

Servings: 8
Time: 45 minutes
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Ingredients:

1 batch pizza dough – I used my favorite but storebought or another recipe would work too!

for cranberry “sauce”

1 1/2 cups Cape Cod Select Premium Frozen Cranberries
zest and juice of 1 grapefruit – approximately 3 tablespoons zest and 6 ounces juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

for crumb topping

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into chunks

for vanilla glaze

1 2/3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons half and half [or milk]
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine cranberries, grapefruit zest and juice, and water. Cook until cranberries burst, approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in honey and the tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water. Allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, press pizza dough into a pizza pan [mine is 14 inches].

Prepare crumb topping by combining brown sugar, oats, flour, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut cold butter into the mixture until coarse crumbs are formed.

Spread cranberry sauce over uncooked pizza crust, then sprinkle on crumb topping.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until crust and topping are both golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make vanilla glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, half and half, and vanilla. Add extra powdered sugar or half and half to reach desired consistency.

Drizzle glaze on cooled pizza. I had extra… perfect for dipping! For best results, wait until the pizza is mostly cool before cutting to allow the cranberry sauce to set. It’s a little messier if you cut it while warm, but still delicious either way!

Hearty and savory pumpkin bread... this is a recipe you don't want to miss!

Breads, Recipes

SRC: Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread

September 18, 2016September 19, 2016 Sarah

Hearty and savory pumpkin bread… this is a recipe you don’t want to miss!

Hey everyone! Welcome to another SRC post! This month I was assigned to Smruti’s blog, Herbivore Cucina. As with most food bloggers, Smruti loves to cook–and the more unconventional the recipe, the better! Though she lives in the US now, she is originally from India so she has a wide variety of Indian and international recipes on her blog. Everything sounded SO good that I had a tough time deciding between Indian dishes like Layered Vegetable Biryani, Cilantro Coconut Chutney, and Oats and Dry Fruit Chikki… or Pizza Buns… or finally, Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread. I had to go with the seasonal favorite, ya know? 🙂

This bread is so simple to make, and so delicious. Though there are a lot of steps involved with making a yeast bread, every time I make one I wonder why I don’t do this very often. It’s just mix, knead, rise, shape, rise, and bake. And then enjoy! If you have a stand mixer, it’s even easier because the mixer does the kneading for you. 🙂 This bread is way different from your average sweet pumpkin bread… but yummy in its own unique way. Of course, there is pumpkin pie spice to liven things up, yay! I served this hearty pumpkin bread with one of my favorite soups that has yet to make the blog [SOON! I promise]–Curried Lentil Soup. And if you’re waffling between adding the seed topping or not–DO it! It’s well worth the extra effort, even if you have a baby you’re trying to entertain in the meantime. Enjoy! Thanks, Smruti for the great recipe. 🙂

two years ago: Sausage and Ranch Potato Skillet with Fried Eggs
four years ago: Peach Ginger Pie
five years ago: Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad
six years ago: Chili Burgers

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread

Servings: 8
Time: 3 hours
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from Herbivore Cucina

Ingredients:

1 packet yeast [2 1/4 teaspoon]
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/4 cup water, heated to 110-115 degrees F
3 cups whole wheat flour [I used 1.5 cups whole wheat and 1.5 cups white whole wheat]
3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup pumpkin
3 tablespoons olive oil
toasted sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and flax seeds, optional

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, honey, 1 teaspoon salt, and water. Stir together and then let rest for 5 minutes or so until yeast is frothy. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together flour, vital wheat gluten, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin and olive oil.

When yeast is frothy, add flour and pumpkin mixtures alternately, stirring with paddle attachment until combined. Then, use the dough hook to knead bread dough for 7-8 minutes, until a soft dough forms. Remove dough and place in a greased bowl. Cover and place in a warm spot to rise for about an hour until, doubled in size.

Punch dough down and let rest for 5 minutes. Grease a 9×5 inch bread pan with cooking spray, then shape dough into a log and place in bread pan. Sprinkle seeds on top, if desired, gently pressing in. Flip dough and sprinkle the other side with seeds too. Cover bread pan and place in a warm spot to rise for another hour.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes, until top is golden brown. Place pan on cooling rack to cool completely before cutting, about 3 hours.

Be sure to check out all the other SRC recipes today at the link below: