Pumpkin Bars

Is it too late for pumpkiny treats?

Is pumpkiny a word?

Either way, these pumpkin bars are delicious. To be totally honest, I didn't really like pumpkiny things before I made these. (Didn't I just say that about blueberries? This has been a life-changing month, I suppose!) I even worked at a pumpkin patch, and I didn't like pumpkin treats!

All of that has changed. These pumpkin bars are superfacil (also not a word, but Spanglish for "super easy"!) and superdelicious! I originally got these from my pastor's wife, Christie (who is an amazing cook - I wish she had time to blog!).

I teamed up with my dear friends Rachel and Erin for a baking extravaganza about a month ago and we made these and some darling owl cookies that I'll show you soon.

This first recipe starts with butter. Unsalted, of course.


Mix together sugar, butter, eggs...

flour, cinnamon, milk, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and

pumpkin!

After you've tossed all the ingredients in one bowl (how awesome is that?!), mix it until smooth...

and pour it in a 9x13 baking pan.

Gorgeous!

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. While it's in the oven, whip up some frosting! Powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and butter....delish. :-)

Frost the pumpkin bars after they've cooled for a few minutes (if you can stand it!). These are seriously so easy, and they'll make a believer out of any pumpkin-hater. :-)

Here's the link to the original recipe on the Land O' Lakes website.

Blue. Berry. Muffins.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The last month has been crazy busy, so although I've been baking, I haven't been sharing it with you!

I'm thankful for a lot of things today, primarily my dear grandma, who's in the hospital with a lot of pain today. Our family Thanksgiving meal has been postponed, so I made blueberry muffins to take to the nurses and my parents.

In all honesty, I don't really like blueberry muffins. Um, let me rephrase that - I didn't like blueberry muffins UNTIL today. Mercy! These are delicious!

The blueberries came all the way from Canada via my dear friends Daniel and Victoria Meade. :-) Thanks again, you too!!


These beauties start with browned butter. I first experimented with browned butter when I made this plum cobbler back in August, and I decided it wasn't as scary as it sounded. Just heat butter over medium heat - it'll crackle for a few minutes and then little brown specks will appear in the bottom of the skillet. This is what you want!




Mix that with flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, vanilla, and blueberries.

Grab the most plain muffin pan liners you can find (it'll make me feel better about myself).....

And use an ice cream scoop to divvy out the batter.

Mix together cold butter, sugar, and flour to make a streusel topping and sprinkle some on each muffin.

Twenty minutes later, these gorgeous babies are ready!

This is a crummy picture of the inside, but it was delightful! Fluffy, moist, and not too sweet. This is a perfect lazy morning recipe. :-)

Here's the link to the original recipe (from Joy the Baker, of course!).