Autumn is here! My favorite season! And what’s not to love… Crisp air, falling leaves, apple cider, boots, changing colors, scarves, harvest…and pumpkins! As a baker, the pumpkin options are endless! This past weekend I was able to decorate the house for Autumn and bake up a few pumpkin goodies in the kitchen. It’s official… Autumn has arrived in the McCoy house!

Our Autumn Dècor

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I have found many recipes for Pumpkin Snickerdoodles via Pinterest over the years, but I chose to adapt mine using these two:

A Bitchin’ Kitchen Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Recipe

Annie’s Eats Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Recipe

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Bread has been an Autumn tradition in the Horvath home for as long as I can remember… so, it’s never officially Autumn until I bake these babies! Just like I prefer cupcakes to cakes, I prefer muffins to breads. Muffins cook more consistently (and quickly) and I find them to be a bit more moist than the bread. I adapted my family’s Pumpkin Bread recipe to make these bite sized muffins–Perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

[Leslie's little trick: After the muffins have cooled completely put them under a dome or in a cupcake carrier to store. The next day your muffins will be so soft and moist--definitely makes all the difference!]

Recipe:

Ingredients

3 cups sugar
1 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup water
1 15oz can pumpkin puree

Directions

Beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a separate bowl. Alternately add flour mixture and water to sugar mixture beating on low speed after each addition until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree. Scoop the batter into muffin pans. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 mins. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 mins. Remove muffins and cool completely on wire rack.