Pumpkin spice, crisp leaves, apple pie — oh my!
Fall is my favorite season. Chunky outerwear, leggings, blanket scarves… you name it, I love it. Of course, here in VA we only get, like, two weeks of the season right before it turns blisteringly cold for the winter, but that doesn’t mean those two weeks aren’t my favorite time of the year.
One of the ways I get into the fall spirit is by baking delicious treats. We always have cans of pumpkin in my house (thanks to some super-picky felines), so I never have to go too far out of my way to get them. Check out some awesome recipes below!
1. Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Link to recipe: https://thenovicechefblog.com/2015/11/pumpkin-cream-cheese-swirl-muffins/
I made these last week, and let me TELL you, they were del-ic-ious! They warmed up really well in the microwave, too, and I have leftovers for three days! The only tricky part is isolating the egg yolk — I hate wasting, but I had no time to use the leftover egg whites. Make sure you bake these on a day you have a lot of time, though. The recipe says it’ll only take 12 minutes to prep them, but it took me closer to twenty (and I am pretty much a pro at baking muffins).
2. Pumpkin French Toast
Link to recipe: https://damndelicious.net/2016/09/19/slow-cooker-pumpkin-french-toast/
What I love about this recipe is that it’s made in the slow cooker! I make a lot of my regular recipes from this site (check out the Honey Asian Chicken and the Sweet & Sour Chicken recipes there, too!), but this is awesome because you can get up early, prep it, and then go back to snuggle in your bed until it’s ready to go. It also calls for King’s Hawaiian rolls, which are literally LIFE.
3. Creamy Tortellini Soup
Link to recipe: https://www.galonamission.com/one-pot-creamy-tomato-tortellini-soup/
This soup is one of my go-tos, no front. Everything is super easy; you pretty much just dump the ingredients into the crockpot and go! I absolutely detest onions, so I leave those out. And, if you’re a non-dairy or vegan consumer, you can substitute the heavy cream with coconut milk and change out the chicken stock for a vegetable one ! (Be advised, though, I am only going off what I Googled, so it’s best for you to do your own research to verify that.) Every time I make this, the smell of tomato and basil fills my apartment, and it’s probably what I’d eat every day in Heaven if I could.
4. Apple Oatmeal Bread
Link to recipe: https://lovelylittlekitchen.com/glazed-apple-cinnamon-oatmeal-bread/
There’s this huge debate all over social media over which is the fall-er: apple cinnamon or pumpkin spice? I know my mom used to burn apple-cinnamon scented candles when I was younger, but she also goes crazy for a PSL. Personally, I prefer the taste of pumpkin things, but I can’t pass up a good cinnamon flavored thing. What I love about this recipe, though, is that the apple chunks are super tiny (thanks to using applesauce in it)! I detest the texture of baked apples, so that’s what makes this recipe so great: you get the apple flavor, just not the grinding of mushy apple between your teeth.
Give these recipes a try and let us know what you think of them in the comments! Have a favorite Fall recipe you want to share? Let us know that, too! Happy Fall, y’all!