Halloween is nearing, and with it the holiday spirit. While this often means a time to celebrate with loved ones, it also is the perfect time for baking. And there’s so many options to choose from, like the classic chocolate chip cookie or goods of your own creation. Here at US Storage Centers, we like to infuse our recipes with pumpkin. Not only is it delicious and perfect for the holiday season, it also has many great health benefits – such as reducing your risk for cancer or heart disease, and delaying the aging process. And best of all, it can be added to nearly every recipe! While it can be tricky to decide which recipe to bake, we decided to help you figure out the best pumpkin baked good to bake this year. We baked several popular pumpkin recipes and held a contest to determine which is the favorite among our office colleagues. The winner was Iced Pumpkin Bars with White Chocolate Chips. Read on for the winning recipe, as well as the recipe for the runner up, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins! And don't forget about your dog - we put together a dog friendly recipe at the end of this post. Iced Pumpkin Bars Ingredients (Bar): Eggs: 4 Vanilla: 1 tsp Granulated Sugar: 1 1/3 cup Brown Sugar: 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil: 1 cup Pumpkin: 1 can (15 oz) All-Purpose Flour: 2 cups Baking Powder: 2 teaspoons Baking Soda: 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon: 2 teaspoons Nutmeg: 0.5 tsp Salt: 1 teaspoon (Optional) White Chocolate Chips, Raisins, or Nuts: 1 cup Ingredients (Icing) *Optional*: Cream Cheese: 8 oz Butter: 1/2 cup Confectioners’ Sugar: 2 cups Vanilla Extract: 1 teaspoon Whole Milk: 1 – 2 tbsp (Optional) White Chocolate Chips: ¼ cup *warmed, but not melted Supplies/Prep: 2 Medium Bowls Cookie Tray with high edges Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F In one mixing bowl, combine eggs, vanilla extract, brown sugar, cane sugar, veggie oil, and pumpkin. Mix. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Stir. Combine ingredients from both bowls. Mix until all ingredients are evenly distributed. *Optional: Add white chocolate chips, raisins, or nuts as desired. Spread the batter evenly onto a cookie tray, ensuring that the batter does not exceed a thickness of 1/2 - 3/4 in. Bake in heated oven for 25-35 minutes. Then let it cool for 2 hours. If you are planning to add icing, take out the butter and cream cheese once the bars are out of the oven. Whip cream cheese and butter in a medium mixing bowl. Add in vanilla, sugar, and milk. If a sweeter icing is preferred, add in white chocolate chips. Once the ingredients are properly whipped, spread gently onto the cooled bars. Add on any toppings of your choice (chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, sprinkles, etc.) Slice evenly and serve! Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins Ingredients: ¾ cup light brown sugar ¼ cup vegetable oil 2 eggs 1 cup of canned pumpkin ¼ cup water 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon ground cloves 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips Supplies/Prep: Preheat your oven to 375°. 2 medium-sized bowls Muffin Tray Whisk Spatula Measuring cups Optional: Muffin Liners Instructions: Once you preheat the oven to 375°, either grease and flour your muffin tin or use fall inspired muffin liners. Mix together the brown sugar, oil, and eggs in a medium sized bowl. Once it is just combined, pour in your pumpkin puree and water. In a separate medium to large bowl, add in the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt then mix. With the addition of the mixture of pumpkin spice, muffins will really carry a fall flavor and bring out the natural pumpkin that much more. Pour in the wet mixture and stir in mini chocolate chips or your choice of chocolate chips. When filling the muffin tin with the batter, only fill it 2/3 of the way. Place them in the oven to bake for 18 – 20 minutes. If you’re making mini muffins, we recommend baking at 15 minutes but checking a minute or two before with a toothpick. Dog-Friendly Pumpkin Treats Mix together an egg, ¼ can of pumpkin, a dash of cinnamon and salt, and 1.25 cups of flour. Add in water if the dough is too stiff, but keep it as hard and dry as you can. Roll it out to your desired thickness (big dogs can probably go as large as ½-inch thick, but small dogs should not exceed ¼-inch thickness). Use cookie cutters if you’d like the treats in a specific shape, otherwise, just cut into squares or circles. Bake in the oven (at 350 degrees) for about 40 minutes, switching sides halfway though.
