Pumpkin Spice and Brown Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds for Samhain
Samhain is, among other things, the witches new year. We look back on the previous year, let go of what no longer serves us, let go of the phases in our lives/versions of ourselves that have reached their death, and look forward to/plan for what is to come. That’s why I decided to make some roasted pumpkin seeds for the New Year aspect of Samhain!
Seeds carry so much potential. Potential for life, rebirth, and abundance. Seeds, to me, represent the natural cycles that we must connect with and live by. Seeds contain the life of next year’s abundant spiritual harvest. And all of this potential is well protected inside the seed shell, waiting to sprout. These were made with seasonally corresponding spices that align with my intent.
On Samhain, I’ll cast my intent on the seeds I eat, as I invision my goals for the coming year
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You’ll need:
1 cup of pumpkin seeds- potential, prosperity, abundance, protection, manifestation and attraction of wishes, rebirth.
3 tablespoons of butter- fulfillment, emotional richness, happiness, nurturing energy.
2 tablespoons of brown sugar- sweetness in life, love, happiness.
The spices don’t have measurements because they’re all to-taste :) add plenty!
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1. I washed the seeds after gutting the pumpkin and let them dry for a day. If you decide not to do that, make sure you wash off any pumpkin gunk and pat the seeds dry well.
2. Preheat the oven at 350°F. Cleanse your space as you choose.
3. Melt the butter, and add to it the sugar, salt, and spices. Keep in mind the magical properties of these ingredients as you add them, and how those proprieties will serve your intent for the year to come. Stir counterclockwise as you invision all that you’ll be releasing from the past year, imagine it dissipating. Take a deep breath. Then stir clockwise as you focus on attracting all that you want for the coming year.
4. Pour the spiced melted butter over your seeds in a bowl. Mix the seeds to make sure they all get coated.
5. Place the seeds on a baking sheet or a nonstick baking pan, you want enough space for the seeds to be spaced out from each other. Doesn’t have to be perfect, just make sure they’re not all clumped together.
6. If you had let the seeds dry out, they will be done in about 10-15 minutes. Stir them every 5 minutes. If you didn’t let them dry out, they’ll be done in about 25 minutes, and still stir them every 5-10 minutes or so. They’ll be done when they look caramelized and are slightly crispy.
Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, maple syrup and pumpkin spice.
Unroll crescent dough on a cutting board. Cut the dough in half so you have two identical rectangles and lay them beside each other.
Evenly spread the pumpkin mixture over one of the rectangles of dough.
Place the second rectangle of dough on top of the first rectangle of dough (so the pumpkin mixture is sandwiched between them). Make sure you line up all the edges.
Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips approximately ¾ inch wide.
Transfer the strips to the parchment lined baking sheet.
Twist each strip by picking up one end and twisting it twice, then picking up the other end and twisting it another 2 or 3 times.
Brush melted butter generously over each twist.
Mix together the sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle evenly over each twist.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes, onion, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the wine and then the broth and bring to a boil. Add the chicken, parsley and nutmeg. Divide the mixture among the prepared ramekins (about ¾ cup each). Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet.
Using a 3 ¾-in. pumpkin cookie cutter and a ¾-in. triangle cookie cutter, cut out pumpkins and their faces from the puff pastry. Place a jack-o’-lantern on each ramekin, brush with the egg and bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
Pumpkin cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting recipe
INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
12 oz (1 ½ packages) cream cheese, softened
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 cups powdered sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease 3, 8-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl/stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla, pumpkin and vegetable oil. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk.
Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and immediately place in freezer for 45 minutes. (This keeps the cake moist by immediately stopping the baking so the cake does not continue to bake when you remove it form the oven.)
For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth.
Assemble the 3 layers with a thick layer of frosting in between each layer. Then apply a thin crumb coat on the top and sides. Pop back in the freezer to harden the crumb coat for about 10 minutes.
Apply one final thick and even layer around the outside of the cake. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Baked pumpkin spice donuts with pumpkin spice glaze recipe
Equipment
Donut baking pan
Cake pop or donut hole baking mold
Whisk
Ingredients
2 ⅓ cup flour
2-3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree
⅔ cup milk
⅔ cup brown sugar
½ cup oil
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 Tablespoons heavy cream may need a bit more to thin glaze
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease donut pans (with spray, oil, or butter).
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, mix together pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla.
Add about one third of the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix well. Add remaining flour mixture, starting with the whisk, and once partially combined, mix with a spatula until well mixed.
Divide the batter between the pans, filling half way. I add to a large zip top bag, cut a hole in the corner and squeeze it in to the mold to keep things easy and neat (or use a piping bag).
Bake for 12-14 minutes or until donut springs back when touched.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently turn out onto wire rack. Cool completely.
Glaze
Whisk together sugar, pumpkin pie spice and 2 ½ Tablespoons of the heavy cream. Add the remaining cream if the mixture needs to be a bit thinner.
Dip the top of each donut in the glaze and flip over. Touch up glaze if desired
Heat the milk and butter. This first step is the only picky one in the recipe, because the temperature of the milk and melted butter needs to be heated to around 110°F, in order to properly activate the yeast. It should feel warm but not hot to the touch, but I recommend measuring the temperature with a cooking thermometer just to be sure. (If the mixture overheats, just wait a few minutes for it to cool!)
Combine dry ingredients. Meanwhile, whisk together 3 cups of the flour (not all of the flour), granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a separate medium bowl until combined.
Mix the dough. I’ve included instructions below for how to either mix and knead the dough in a stand mixer or completely by hand. We will combine the dough ingredients in steps, stir until smooth (adding extra flour if needed), and knead either by hand or with the mixture for about 5 minutes. Then we will transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 10.
Mix the cinnamon-sugar filling. While the dough rests, we’ll whisk all of the filling dry ingredients (everything minus the butter) together until combined.
Roll out the dough. Then once the dough is ready, it’s time to form these cinnamon rolls! First, we will roll out the dough evenly into a rectangle. (I typically make mine about 10 x 15-inches, but you can make yours larger or smaller depending on how many twists you prefer.) Next we’ll spread the butter evenly over the dough, sprinkle the cinnamon filling evenly on top, and give it a little pat so that it’s pressed down into the butter.
Roll up the dough. Then beginning at the 15-inch edge, we will rightly roll up the dough until it is completely sealed. Then as you can see above, I always like to use a piece of dental floss to slice the dough into rounds because it cuts so much more cleanly than a knife (and doesn’t smoosh the rolls or smear the filling). I recommend slicing off and discarding the half or so inch of dough on each end first, since the ends typically don’t have much filling. Then from there, slice the dough into a dozen rounds.
Let the dough rise. Place each of the cut cinnamon rolls into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish, cover and let rise for about 25 minutes while your oven preheats.
Make the frosting. And while the dough is rising, I recommend going ahead and making your maple cream cheese frosting, which can be done by simply whisking all of the ingredients together.
Bake. Once the rolls have risen, we’ll uncover the dish and bake for 15-20 minutes, followed by a brief 5 minutes of cooling on a wire rack.
Frost. Then finally, drizzle the rolls with lots of that heavenly frosting, serve and enjoy!
Plant-based eating made simple. This hearty, veggie-packed recipe is perfect for a chilly fall night.
Veggie Spaghetti with Oyster Mushrooms, Butternut Squash And Mustard Sprouts
Ingredients 1 box Veggie Spaghetti 1 onion chopped 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 lb. oyster mushrooms 2 cups butternut squash diced 1 cup mustard sprouts ½ cup Parmigiano cheese TT red pepper flakes
Directions 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook veggie spaghetti according to directions 2. Meanwhile in a hot skillet sauté onion with 2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil 3. Add red pepper flakes to taste, oyster mushrooms and butternut squash, cook over high heat until slightly caramelized and thoroughly cooked 4. Next, add 1 cup of pasta cooking water. 5. Drain spaghetti and toss with the veggies, 1 cup mustard sprouts and ½ cup Parmigiano
ONE-POT CREAMY MUSHROOM SOUP (VEGAN) - Enjoy a heartwarming bowl of deliciousness with this creamy mushroom soup recipe. You won’t miss the heavy cream in this easy one-pot vegan soup.
SWEET POTATO ORANGE SPINACH SALAD - A colourful and delicious fall salad recipe featuring a combination of tender sweet potato, sweet oranges, and green spinach. It’s paired with a tasty homemade maple orange vinaigrette.
