keeps gettin' better

I've made this cake twice in the past month because it's that good. It's a cake that just gets more moist and flavorful over a couple of days, unlike a typical cake which gets dry and drier.

And that's why this is a perfect cake to serve during the holiday season. I mean, how wonderful would your life be if you knew guests were coming, you whipped this up the night before, knowing that you could serve this the next day with confidence? Or what if you are attending a pot luck, or giving some as a gift? It travels beautifully because the icing hardens, so it's not like a smear-able buttercream frosting.

turn it over

Well, here's another pumpkin recipe, as promised. I hope you're not getting too sick of apple and pumpkin yet because there's more to come... although Ruby just turned 3 last Saturday, so I'll have her birthday recap coming up soon.

Sometimes I have a lone sheet of puff pastry begging to be used, and when I had some leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge (I hate to toss that...) I knew turnovers were destined to be in my near future.

Pumpkin and cream cheese are a wonderful pairing and I just love puff pastry. It's so easy to work with and yields such a wonderful, flaky, buttery result (that is so much better than pie crust, in my opinion), and the best part? It's store bought. Yup, homemade puff pastry dough may be on my list of things to make someday when I have tons of butter and tons of time, but for now, the grocery store wins.

chocolate addition

I love pumpkin-flavored baked goods so much, that when I was organizing my recipes, I devoted an entire section to all things pumpkin. It's so convenient having them grouped together, so when I flipped to the pumpkin tab and came across these cookies, I knew I had to showcase them here.

These delicious, cake-like, cinnamon pumpkin chocolate chip cookies contain some of my favorite flavors. I don't know where this recipe originated, just that I had copied it from my mom's recipe box when I was a teenager.

These cookies make four dozen, so they'd be perfect for a bake sale or a Halloween party, and believe me they go fast.