Mmmmm...Pumpkin!

My favorite season is easily Fall. With fall comes the leaves turning into a technicolor living masterpiece, the weather getting cool enough for jeans and maybe a sweatshirt but not yet singing your extremities with cold, and most importantly everything is pumpkin flavored. I looooooove pumpkin. I decided to get a jump start on the pumpkin and hope that maybe the Texas weather would follow my lead (fingers crossed!) My good friend Anders is leaving us for cooler weather and greener pastures in Seattle. So, since he will miss my fall baking this year, I baked chocolate pumpkin cupcakes for his going away party this past Saturday. They were pretty delicious but I think just full on pumpkin cupcakes with the chocolate chips would have been tastier (but then I'm a pumpkin-aholic). Here's a pic of one of these beauties:


I also made chocolate chunker cookies that I read about on The Cookie Scoop, but i forgot to take pictures of those. They were practically gone by the time I left the party, so I guess they were delicious. I'll post the recipe for these as well in case you want to try without first seeing pictures, be daring!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes (from The Cupcake Project)

1 1/2 c flour
1t cinnamon
2t pumpkin pie spice
1t baking soda
1/2t salt
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4c pumpkin puree (stock up now, it's already hard to find!)
2 lg eggs
1/2c vegetable oil
1/2c orange juice
4oz bittersweet chocolate, melted (I used 70% cocoa Ghirardelli)
1 1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat to 350F

Whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Mix in the oil, orange juice, and melted chocolate. Slowly add the flour mixture until fully incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. fill cupcake foils 3/4 full, bake for 20-25 minutes.

Spiced Cream Cheese Icing

1 (8oz) brick cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1t vanilla
1T pumpkin pie spice
powdered sugar to preferred consistency

Beak cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in vanilla and pumpkin pie spice to taste. Add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.


Chocolate Chunker Cookies (from The Cookie Scoop)

1/3c flour
1/4c cooca
1/2t salt
1/4t baking powder
3T unsalted butter
6oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 70% cocoa Ghirardelli)
1oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I skipped this)
2 lg eggs
2/3c sugar
1t vanilla
6oz semisweet chocolate chips
6oz white chocolate chips
anything else you wanna throw in, nuts, raisins, etc

Preheat to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.
Melt butter, bittersweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate, stirring frequently. In large bowl beat eggs and sugar on high speed until they are pale and foamy. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, add melted chocolate/butter mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure the mixture is homogeneous. On low speed mix in the dry ingredients. Dough should be thick and shiny. Stir in your chocolate chips and any other add-ins. Drop generous tablespoons onto baking sheet, about 1" apart. Bake 10-13 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.