Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies

We made a batch of these Pumpkin Roll-Out cookies to see if they were something Asher would want to take for his class Halloween party on Friday.  Asher and I made them together on Sunday afternoon while Fraser was napping and the boys had them for dessert after dinner!  The result was a nice soft not to sweet cookie (unless you add icing to it). 

Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

·         1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
·         1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
·         1/2 cup pumpkin puree
·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract
·         2 cups whole wheat flour
·         1/2 teaspoon baking powder
·         2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
·         1/4 teaspoon salt

• Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons milk or water

Preparation

• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking Powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer or with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and coconut palm sugar for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
• Turn the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Continue to mix until the dough comes together.
• Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. When the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325F.
• Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick, and use cookie cutters to cut into shapes.
• Transfer to a Parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Asher made the icing for the cookies

For the icing: combine the ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth.

These turned out great!  Recipe modified from weelicious. 

Guilt Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle

Guilt free HEALTHY - Pumpkin Spice "cheesecake" Trifle that is 21 Day Fix Friendly and super easy to create! Nobody will know you didn't even break a sweat making it🙊 (and you won't have to "break a sweat" to work off the calories either!)

I made this last night and I wasn't too sure at first, the pumpkin layer was a bit more runny that I thought it would be and there is very little sweetness added to it so I wasn't sure if hubby would like it or not.  I ended up deciding to try a new recipe "Maple Cream" to add to the top of it to add a little sweetness just in case but in the end it probably didn't need it although the maple cream added a very nice touch!  

As for this being 21 Day fix friendly it totally is, and it's Gluten free as well.  I would could this as 1 Red container, 1/2 green container, 1 orange container and 1 Spoon.  Because it's gluten free it has no yellow containers but it could also be counted as a treat so you could just count as one yellow treat.  For me I'd count it as what's in it since I hate to give up a yellow container and because it does have greek yogurt in it which counts as a red I think i should get credit for the red and 1/2 green containers!!  

This week I'm going back to the 21 Day fix workouts, and I have to say I totally thought that after doing 21 Day Fix Extreme the regular workouts would be easier but they really aren't. They are just different.  I'm actually enjoying going back to these workouts this week with my group and sharing how we did each day for accountability.  We have such an awesome group this round!!  

21 Day Fix is still on sale this month (October) so if you have been thinking about joining one of my accountability groups, this is a great time to get your kit.  

You can email me at crystalpfitnessfood@gmail.com for more information. 

Guilt Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour

2-3 Tbsp melted coconut oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg, cloves and ginger 

-

1st Layer:

Plain greek yogurt

-

2nd layer:

1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree

1/3 cup plain greek yogurt (or vegan alt.)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Dash of ginger, cloves and nutmeg

1 Tbsp honey

-

Topping:

Crushed pecans

1/2 tsp honey

* Extra treat Maple Cream 

Directions

Pulse all crust ingredients in a small food processor until well combined. Transfer to small bowls And Press crust into serving dish evenly and bake at 350 until lightly brown. 

Scoop out desired amount of yogurt and layer on top of crust inside serving dish. Place dish in refrigerator while preparing your 2nd layer.

In a blender, puree all 2nd layer ingredients until smooth. Remove dish from refrigerator and pour 2nd layer evenly over yogurt.

Pulse pecans with a drizzle of honey in food processor or magic bullet. 

Top 2nd layer with crushed pecans and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. *Option to drizzle a small amount of maple cream on the top before serving. 

Maple cream
Place the maple syrup in a saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Fill a large bowl with ice water and place another saucepan on top of the ice. Heat the maple syrup over medium heat until boiling (do not stir, but do not walk away because you don't want it to boil over! if it boils up, lower the heat.) and cook until it reaches 235 degrees F. Once at 235 degrees F, remove from the heat and pour the syrup into the saucepan that is sitting in the ice water bath. Let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Once slightly cooler, begin to stir the syrup with a wooden spoon until it's creamy. This can take about 15 minutes, so instead, I poured my syrup into my magic bullet and pulsed it. But I think next time I would put it into my stand mixer. Once it's a light colour and pourable, stop beating because it can thicken quickly.

[i used this tutorial for the maple cream]

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups water

2 cups oatmeal

3/4 cup pumpkin 

1/4 tsp cloves 

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg 

1 tsp cinnamon 

2 Tbsp maple syrup more or less to taste 

Directions

• Add water and oatmeal to a medium sized pot. 
• Once bubbling, turn it down and add in Pumpkin, spices and maple syrup stirring constantly. 
• Continue to stir until thick and oats are cooked through.  
• Remove from the heat, portion into bowls and top with your favourite toppings.  (I used pecans and maple sugar on mine) 

Triple Layer Coconut Treats

Triple Layer Coconut Treats

Ingredients

3/4 cup organic Coconut Oil

1 Scoop Chocolate shakeology ( OR 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1 tsp honey)

1/4 cup natural peanut butter, smooth or crunchy and honey to taste

Directions

Heat coconut oil until it is melted. Divide it among three bowls. 

In one bowl, stir in the shakeology until completely dissolved. Or if using cocoa powder stir in with honey to taste. 

In another bowl, stir in peanut butter until smooth. Add honey to taste. 

In the last bowl, add to the coconut oil honey to taste.

To make individual candies, use a silicon form. I used a mini loaf pan, but mini muffin cups would work well,  as would candy molds. The pan I used it epicure. 

Divide the chocolate shakeology flavored oil among about 18 of the moulds just so it covers the bottom of each. 

Set the mixture into the refrigerator to set. Be sure the mold rests evenly. Chill for about 10 minutes. 

Once the first layer is set, Spoon or pour the peanut butter mixture over the chocolate layer. Return to the refrigerator to set. 

When firm, take out and pour the remaining clear layer over the peanut butter. Chill until ready to serve.

They Don't look all that great here but once you take them out they look awesome and taste amazing too!

Pumpkin Cake Cheese Cake

This is the second time I've made this recipe and both times it turned out great.  If you have ever made cheese cake you know that it can be hit and miss.  Just ask my sister who made one for my birthday a few weeks ago!  Even the same solid recipe used a second or third time can turn into a big flop.  But so far I've loved this recipe and I love the combination of cake and cheese cake together.  

The first time I made this Pumpkin Cake Cheese Cake was for my mom's Birthday last year and we had intended on doing a picnic so I cut the cheesecake out with mason jars and stored it in the mini jars for our picnic!  Sadly my photos of it weren't great so I was excited to make it again and take a few photos. 

It's funny everytime I make this recipe, I feel like there isn't enough cake batter to make it look 'good' but then I cut into it and it's perfect.  Funny how that works!  

Pumpkin Cake Cheese Cake

Ingredients:

CHEESECAKE

• 16 ounces (448g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) Organic Cane sugar
• 1/4 cup (60g) plain greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon (8g) all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs

PUMPKIN CAKE

• 3/4 cup (180ml) coconut oil
• 1 cup (200g) coconut palm sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/3 cups (318g) pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)*
• 1 cup (125g) whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Wrap aluminum foil on the bottom and tightly around the outside walls of the springform pan, as shown in photos on the How to Prevent Cheesecake Cracks page of Sally's Blog.  Set aside.

Make the cheesecake first. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar together on medium speed in a large bowl - about 3 full minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the greek yogurt, vanilla, and flour and beat until combined. On low speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. Do not overmix the filling after you have added the eggs. Set aside.

Make the pumpkin cake. In a medium bowl, whisk the coconut oil, coconut palm sugar, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin together until combined and uniform in texture. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, other spices, and salt together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until no large lumps remain. Avoid overmixing the pumpkin cake batter.

Spread 1 and 1/2 cups of the pumpkin cake batter over bottom of prepared pan. On top of the pumpkin batter, drop large spoonfuls of the cheesecake batter. Top with large spoonfuls of remaining pumpkin cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter. It does not have to be neat and perfect. Do not swirl with a knife. Just plop it all down and pour the cheese cake batter into the pan!  Trust me. 

Place the springform pan into a large roasting pan and place into the oven. Fill with about 1 inch of hot water. The foil wrapped around the pan will prevent water from leaking inside. 

Bake for 65-75 minutes or until the center is almost set. If you find the edges are browning, loosely place aluminum foil on top of the cake as it bakes. Once done, turn the oven off and open the door slightly. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight (preferred). Loosen the cheesecake from the rim of the pan and remove the rim.

On the Original recipe she also included a cream cheese icing but I felt that it wasn't likely necessary and because my mom and I both don't like super sweat desserts I figured we didn't need it and we didn't!  

MAKE AHEAD/FREEZE: This pumpkin cake cheesecake freezes well up to 2 months, covered tightly. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Thanksgiving Dessert!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

I had some left over Pumpkin Puree last weekend and decided to add it into my usual pancake recipe to make pumpkin pancakes.  The Boys LOVED them and ate more breakfast than I've seen them eat in months!  I froze the left overs and they ate them for breakfasts during the week happily!  

This week we started the 31 Day Spending Freeze challenge and I wrote down everything I had in our pantry yesterday which included one can of Organic Pumpkin Puree.... just one!  And Asher asked for Pumpkin Pancakes last night when we decided to do breakfast for dinner.  This time I spiced them up a little more and added my usual spice mixture that I use when I make pumpkin scones and guess what?  Everyone said they were even better this time than last time.  So I figured I better share the recipe on the blog.  

We add a little unsalted butter and some maple syrup to these and they are awesome!  But I'm sure you could come up with all kinds of yummy toppings!  A little Greek yogurt and pumpkin seeds would be lovely. 

Last weekend the boys helped me make the pancakes, it can get a little messy but the sure love it and it keeps them happy while I'm in the kitchen ;)  

Pumpkin Spice Pancake recipe

1 3/4 cups whole Wheat flour

1 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP Honey
1/2 Cup Pumpkin

2 eggs 

1 3/4 cups milk

Mix together flour, baking powder, sea salt and spices.

Wisk together Honey, Pumpkin, Eggs and milk.

Set aside two mixtures. 

Heat pan with a little Olive Oil.  

When the pan is hot stir together the two mixtures and spoon onto the pan and cook each side until golden brown. 

YUM!