Local experts share fall dessert recipes for your family and your pets
FOR YOU
The Spicy Olive Pumpkin Cupcakes
Nothing says fall quite like the smell of a fresh-baked pumpkin dessert. This delicious recipe from The Spicy Olive has all the flavors we love about pumpkin pie, packed into a personal cupcake.
INGREDIENTS:
Icing
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Cupcakes
- 16 oz. pumpkin pie filling
- 4 eggs beaten
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup The Spicy Olive’s Ultra Premium extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. cloves
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1 tsp. baking soda
DIRECTIONS:
Mix icing ingredients together with a mixer until smooth. Set aside.
Mix together the wet cupcake ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool and then frost with the cream cheese icing. Optional: sprinkle with sugar in the raw for a fall look.
+ Meet the Owner
Melanie Cedargren recently celebrated her sixth anniversary of opening The Spicy Olive in West Chester. Her shop carries dozens of flavors of olive oil, balsamic vinegars, spices, wine and more. Stop in to browse through hundreds of recipes you can make using their healthy oils and vinegars. TheSpicyOlive.com
FOR FIDO
Spiced Pumpkin Dog Treats
Our four-legged family members deserve a treat at the Thanksgiving table, too! This tasty dog treat from the MaiRo & Co Dog Treat Bakery smells just like pumpkin pie when it’s baking—but is safe for our furry friends to enjoy.
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup rye flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 Tbsp. dry milk
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1 can pumpkin puree, 15 oz.
- 1 tsp. allspice
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup water
DIRECTIONS:
Stir dry ingredients until blended. Mix in pumpkin, egg, coconut oil and half the water. Gradually add in more water 1 teaspoon at a time, stopping when the dough reaches a firm but semi-sticky consistency. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle your work surface with flour. Kneed a tennis-ball size amount of dough on the surface until it’s no longer sticky. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut your dough into shapes. Repeat this step with the remaining dough.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-30 minutes, turning the treats over halfway and rotating the sheet for even baking. When done, cool treats on a cooling rack and turn off the oven. Once treats have cooled, return all the treats to the still-warm oven. Allow treats to remain the oven overnight to harden. Store treats in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place.
+ Meet the Baker
Stephen Drace started MaiRo & Co Dog Treat Bakery in 2011 because of his love of dogs, cooking and a desire to provide his pets with natural foods, fresh from the oven. You can find them around town at fairs and farmers markets—including the West Chester Farmers Market—or visit them online. MaiRoAndCo.com