For this week’s installment of pumpkin goodness, we’re going to focus on breakfast. Which, coincidentally is my favorite meal of the day (followed by dinner and then lunch comes in a distant third, in case you were wondering).
Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
I found a recipe for baked pumpkin oatmeal. I love oatmeal and I love pumpkin, so it seemed like a natural fit. And while it was good, it wasn’t quite what I expected. I eat my oatmeal like I eat my grits, with butter and salt. So maybe it was the fact it was sweet oatmeal or maybe baked oatmeal isn’t my thing, but I just wasn’t ga-ga over this recipe. The consensus was that we preferred it warm and topped with whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin purée
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups milk
- 2½ cups dry old-fashioned oats
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking powder until smooth. Whisk in the milk .
Mix the dry oats into the pumpkin mixture. Coat an 8×8 (or similar sized) baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour in the pumpkin oat mixture. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, removing the foil after the first 30 minutes.
Serve hot right out of the oven or refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be eaten cold or reheated. Top with milk, maple syrup, whipped cream, or nuts.
Pumpkin Donuts
Next up I tried baked pumpkin donuts. Oh. My. Gosh. These are fantastic!!! I had a pumpkin donut from Dunkin’ Donuts last week and while it was good, it did not hold a candle to these little bites from heaven. For the ones we didn’t eat at breakfast, I stored without the cinnamon sugar coating. You can add before serving the leftover donuts, or, just eat without (they are equally as yummy and I don’t feel so bad for eating so many).
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin
- ½ cup milk
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray a donut pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and spices together, and set aside.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the*paddle attachment, whisk oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin, and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture and stir until just combined, do not over mix batter.
Fill each donut cup with the batter. They should be fairly full but not overflowing. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until donuts spring back when gently pressed. Turn donuts onto a wire each and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Cinnamon-Sugar Coating:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ½ – 1 tablespoon cinnamon
While the donuts are cooling, melt the butter in one bowl, and combine the sugar and cinnamon in anther. While donuts are still warm, brush each donut with butter and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve immediately.
*I don’t have a paddle attachment for a mixer. I just used my regular hand mixer and it worked fine.