Three Seasonal Recipes-Includes A Festive and Flavorful Pumpkin Cookie

There are some memes floating around about how “no one eats until Thanksgiving” in the home, since the attention is likely on prepping for the dinner itself. I get that, because I have a list of things I’m trying to get done in the kitchen myself. Here are three easy recipes that I tried recently that are seasonal and quick!

First are cookies that look pretty and smell so nice - pumpkin, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon supply the flavor, but it's very light and not overwhelming. Next is a Dutch apple baby, which is like a giant pancake you can cut with a pizza cutter topped with soft, sweetened, baked apples. Finally, there are pumpkin pancakes which are quick to make, which might be nice for the kids as a late breakfast before the Thanksgiving meal.

1 - Dessert. If you have to pick just one thing to bring to someone’s house, these Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Pumpkin Browned Butter Frosting turn out perfectly every time. I made them last year and had them on my list, so just did it again. They are soft and cakey, with a very delicate flavor to the cookie and they don’t spread much, so if you have issues with cookies that are too thin, give this recipe a try. My husband and kids like traditional chocolate chip cookies, but were won over and said they love these even better. There are no weird ingredients to hunt for - I had everything on hand and just needed the pumpkin - 1 large can (29 oz was enough for a double batch). I was actually able to use the same can, which had just enough left over to make a batch of my #3 below, the pumpkin pancakes.

2 - Dessert/breakfast or brunch. These Dutch apple babies start with a pancake mixture in a hot, oven safe pan such as cast iron. The base/pancake turns out thick and pizza-like to where I literally cut it with a pizza cutter, but not before I added the apple-pie like topping. This recipe works out perfectly - the timing is right for cooking everything, and the apple topping seemed like it might be too much, but it covered it well.

3 - Breakfast. These pumpkin pancakes are easy and the added pumpkin is not overwhelming, so my kids liked it - pumpkin itself has 7 grams of fiber per one cup serving, and in terms of daily needs supplies 200+% of Vitamin A and almost 40% of Vitamin K, so it's a nice addition. I thought it was something different to try and rather than just a processed mix, you’re adding in fruit. I did not add in the pumpkin pie spices and mine came out very mild tasting, which I think my kids preferred.