Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Every year for Thanksgiving I always make Pumpkin Bread and Cornbread.  This year though, I wanted to make pumpkin cupcakes instead.  I wanted to do something a little different than typical Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing.  I decided on makes Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream and Cranberry Syrup.  I also wanted a crunchy element so I added Candied Pepitas as well.  The tartness of the cranberry sauce contrasts the sweetness of the white chocolate buttercream.  The pepitas are sweet and crunchy and full of spices.  The cake is full of pumpkin flavor and warm spices like cinnamon and cloves.  They're the perfect pumpkin treat.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes 2 dozen cupcakes
Print Recipe

Ingredients

- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

- 4 large eggs

- 1 cup light brown sugar

- 1 cup granulated sugar

- 2/3 cup brown rice flour

- 2/3 cup sorghum flour

- 1/3 cup white rice flour

- 1/3 cup tapioca flour

- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp ginger

- 1/2 tsp cloves

- 1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)

Say Goodbye to Fall with Pumpkin Flan

This Thanksgiving I wanted to go a little nontraditional while still having the dessert feel like it fit the theme.  I recently celebrated my five year anniversary with my boyfriend Justin in Puerto Rico, and the entire time I was searching for good flan.  Still not sick of it, I decided to take a stab at making my own flan, having only ever made it once before over ten years ago for class when I was in 6th grade (so I probably had lots of help from a parent...and it leaked all over my mother's car...but that's a story for another time).  Originally I planned on making Queso Flan, since it was my favourite we had on our trip, but in honor of Thanksgiving I wanted to find a recipe with Pumpkin too.  This time my flan came out perfectly!  It was silky and creamy, full of spices from the ginger, cloves and cinnamon.  It had the perfect touch of sweetness from the caramel and the pumpkin, and tartness from the cream cheese.  This recipe is sure to impress anyone, and it was just as delicious, yet more complex, than the flan we had in Puerto Rico.  Justin brought it to his office and said it was a huge hit amongst his colleagues.  So if you have some cans of pumpkin still lingering in your cabinet, make sure you try this recipe!

Pumpkin Flan

Recipe adapted from Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes 1 10'' pyrex dish, or 4 2-4 cup pyrex dishes

Ingredients for the Caramel

- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup of water

Ingredients for the Custard

- 12 oz can of evaporated milk (I used 2%)
- 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 5 eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp white rice flour*
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp gluten free vanilla
- Boiling Water**

*I used white rice flour because it's mild and ground finely.  Brown rice would probably be okay but possibly affect the texture a bit.  You can also use 1 Tbsp of cornstarch (I just didn't have any)
**You will need a larger container to place your pyrex dishes in.  The flan bakes in a water bath.  I just used a large, disposable aluminum tin.

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Loaf Two Ways

When I was in Kindergarten we were all given two Thanksgiving recipes: one for Corn Bread and one for Pumpkin Bread.  Every year since then, it's been a tradition to make both for Thanksgiving.  Even when we do "nontraditional" dinners (in a family of half vegetarians there is never a turkey), these two dishes are always on the table.  Over the years my mom and I had tweaked with the recipe here and there, and the last few times I've changed a few minor components, but this last time I made it completely gluten free without really altering the flavor.  Also, this recipe doesn't require a mixer or anything.  And after all it was given to me in Kindergarten, so it's so easy a five year old could follow along.  This loaf is irresistible...it never lasts more than a few days.  While eating a little piece of it earlier tonight, I decided next time I want to make cupcakes, I'm going to try using this recipe.  It's moist, but still a bit cakey and not too dense.  It's filled with warm cinnamon and sweet bites of either cranberries or raisins.  And of course the star of the loaf is the pumpkin.

I'd recommend making it one of two ways (or well, three if you count my desire to make them cupcakes!).  The first is as slices as a side dish for your Thanksgiving meal.  It's also great this way year round as a snack or breakfast.  In this version, either cranberries or raisins are good but I think I prefer it with the raisins.  The second is as squares, topped with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting as a dessert.  In this preparation I prefer it with cranberries, and I sprinkle the top with some cranberries as well.  Or if you're like me, you pick one of the two dried fruits, and make half the loaf sliced and uniced, and ice the other half the of loaf for dessert squares!  Either way I promise it you and your guests will be taking seconds! 

Pumpkin Loaf: Two Ways

Recipe a Jesicakes original
Makes 1 Loaf in a 8'' X 4'' load pan

Ingredients

- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs slightly beaten
- 2 cups 100% pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon

- 1 cup of raisins or dried cranberries
*Since this recipe was originally made with flour, if you and/or your guests are not gluten free, just substitute 2 cups of all purpose flour for all the other flours and the xanthan gum.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

 One of my favorite things about fall is how everything becomes pumpkin flavored.  I've been making pumpkin bread every year since I was in kindergarten, but up until a few years ago I had never made pumpkin cookies.  Justin and I were throwing a spiked cider fall party and I needed a dessert to go with it.  I looked up a few oatmeal cookie recipes and wound up concocting what is now my famous Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries and White Chocolate Chips (okay well, famous at least among my friends and family).  So this year, going gluten free, I decided to work at the recipe some more and make it fit for my new diet.  They taste exactly like the ones with all purpose flour.  The tart little bites of cranberry, smooth sweetness of the white chocolate chips, warmth from the cinnamon, and burst of pumpkin flavor make these my absolute favorite cookie.  It is nearly impossible to eat just one. 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries and White Chocolate Chips

Recipe a Jesicakes original
Makes 36-40 cookies

Ingredients

- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1 tsp gluten free vanilla
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup white chocolate chips