Pumpkin Baking Fest

Unexpected day off from school today and I don’t feel like studying any more for my peds final than I had planned to so... time to catch up on blogging lol My friend Jenny had a bunch of pumpkins leftover from Halloween so we decided to do a pumpkin themed baking fest. Obviously I didn’t want to study for my final and baking is always the answer to procrastination haha  So we decided on pumpkin snickerdoodles and pumpkin cheesecake brownies...yumm

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles- recipe adapted from baked perfection

3 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (i just mixed together a 1:1 ratio of cinnamon and nutmeg)
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1.5 cups sugar
1 egg
¾ cup pumpkin puree (can either be fresh or canned pumpkin)

¼ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

-combine dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice) in a bowl and set aside
-cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
-add egg and pumpkin puree; mix until combined
-add dry ingredients in portions, mixing well after each addition
-chill dough for at least an hour before using it

-mix together remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl
-roll dough into one inch ball and coat with cinnamon sugar mixture
-space them about 2 inches apart on baking sheet
-bake at 350 for 12-15 min
-cool for 5 min before removing from baking sheet

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies- recipe adapted from cookie madness

For the pumpkin cheesecake filling:
12 oz cream cheese, softened
6 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
¾ cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tbsp flour

For the brownie:
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
¼ tsp salt
1.5 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 cup flour

-make the filling first
-cream together cream cheese and both sugars
-add eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin puree
-stir in flour and set aside

-melt chocolate chips, set aside to cool
-cream together butter, salt, and sugar until light and fluffy
-add eggs and vanilla
-stir in melted chocolate
-add flour

-pour ¾ of the brownie batter into a greased 9 inch square pan
-pour pumpkin mixture evenly over the brownie batter
-drop leftover brownie batter in spoonfuls over the pumpkin layer
-swirl with a knife if desired
-bake at 350 for 45-50 min or until a toothpick comes out clean
-cool for a couple hours at room temp and then chill overnight