Pumpkin This, Pumpkin That

It's my favorite time of year. Here in north central Florida it doesn't quite feel like fall yet, except for in the evening where there's not necessarily a chill in the air, but rather a brief moment of reprieve where you're not drenched in sweat simply from stepping outside. In fact, I am able to complete most barn chores after work without feeling the immediate need to chug three Gatorades. To me, that means fall is well on its way.

Starbucks would tell you fall began on August 26th, which is when they brought back their infamous pumpkin spice this year. Although, this time Dunkin' beat them to it and started their autumn season on August 20th, gracing us with a whole six extra days of orange food dye and fake-pumpkin-flavored cold foam. I won't lie, my Starbucks order does tend to drift into PSL territory this time of a year. There is nothing quite like an iced pumpkin cream chai paired with a warm pumpkin cream cheese muffin. It's intoxicating. Mostly due to the entire cup of sugar it contains, I'm sure.

Universal Studios Orlando hosted their Premium Scream Night for Halloween Horror Nights on August 28th, so I guess you could say that was the first day of Halloween this year. (By the way, the houses at HHN are 10/10 this year, especially Terrifier and Friday the 13th).

In my heart of hearts, though, fall starts the same time every year. It's the day after the Fourth of July. Yup. That's when the Memorial Day/Fourth of July/Summer decor comes down, and Halloween goes up. It's the first day of fall. July 5th. You can't usually find much pumpkin around that time of year, but this is America and consumerism always wins. This year many a retailer caught up and hopped on the new bandwagon known as "Summerween." Colorful pumpkins, pool-floating skeletons, pink disco ghosts, and floral-y ghouls were everywhere this summer. Target, Michael's, HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, and Marshall's all shared some type of summerween products. I loved it. My home office is already an odd blend of baby pink and macabre decor, so all of this fit right in with the vibe. If I had it my way Halloween and fall would be year round. It's just better. The colors, the fragrances, the weather, the holidays, the farmer's markets, and - oh, yeah. The pumpkins.

This time of year is when I really get to baking. It's only September, I know, and all the baking holidays still await but I've already begun. I started this season with my famous mini pumpkin pies. They are always a hit, and super simple to make. I'll include the recipe below. Pumpkin pancakes are also an early entry for fall baking since I can use the left over pumpkin pie filling. I have also already started on my Halloween themed horse cookies, and pumpkin flavored horse and dog treats. Honestly, my house smells the best this time of year. If I'm not baking chances are there's a Marshmallow Fireside or Fall Farmhouse candle lit somewhere. Soon enough Cannon Farm will open for their fall season and my husband will be roasting his pumpkin seeds in a variety of flavors while I pick sunflowers and dig up more pumpkin recipes.

Aside from pumpkin-themed food and drink, let's not forget about Jack-O-Lanterns. Fall and Halloween are synonymous in my mind. Every year I try to carve a ridiculously complicated villain or horror movie character and every year I am reminded that my artistic abilities fall short. The first year I can remember I did DC's Venom which was complex, but turned out decently. I also did Jason from Friday the 13th, and Sam from Trick 'r Treat. Nevertheless, pumpkins remind me of spooky season and that means horror movie marathons, haunted trails, and over-the-top Halloween decor. I refuse to see it as a child's holiday - tainted with sticky caramel apples, candy-filled pumpkin buckets, and cheap Spirit Halloween costumes. It is a season in itself marked by shorter days, darker nights, and spooky themes all around.

I got married on Friday the 13th and getting to plan a Halloween-themed wedding was nothing short of a fairytale (straight from the Brothers Grimm). But, it also meant that entire season was spent missing out on the regularly scheduled Halloween programming: Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld, excessive inflatable Halloween decorations, homemade apple cider, shopping for costumes for our dogs and cats, and finding a new horror book to read. So, now I am extra infatuated with soaking up spooky season in all the ways I can. Pumpkin this, pumpkin that, pumpkin everything! Even if that means succumbing to the PSL craze. You'll never catch me in Uggs again, though.

So far this Halloween season I've attended HHN, picked up some cranberry orange sour dough at the Hello Fall Festival at Heritage Park, switched out my summer perfumes for fall scents, begun a rewatch of Peacock's original series Hysteria, replaced all of our normal farmhouse decor with skulls and pumpkins (including my favorite new addition, black plates with bats on them - thanks HomeGoods!), hung up the horses' stall decorations, planted sunflowers, and made one too many trips to the spooky section at the Dollar Tree. I'm sure there will be many more spooky times to document this year, but it's still early!

If you're in north central Florida, you probably also jump the gun at fall since summer is an extra few months long here, and frankly, it gets tiring. So what are you doing this September to get into the autumn spirit?

Talk soon,

Rhys

Mini Pumpkin Pie Recipe

2 large eggs

2/3 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon black pepper (optional)

2 unbaked premade Pillsbury pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. Grease muffin tins (24ea)

3. Roll out pie crust dough and cut circles with a glass then form the mini pie crusts in the muffin tins

4. Beat eggs separately then add in heavy cream and brown sugar

5. Stir in pumpkin puree

6. Add in salt, pumpkin pie spice, and black pepper

7. Bake for 22-26 minutes or until edges are slightly brown and the center begins to set

8. Let cool 15 minutes and gently remove with a spoon

9. Top with whipped cream and serve!

   

   My Mini Pumpkin Pies

BONUS: Pumpkin Pie Spice Pancakes Recipe

Whenever I make my mini pumpkin pies, I tend to have some batter left over. This can be refrigerated for a couple days and easily made into some delicious pumpkin pie spice pancakes.

1. Heat pan or griddle and spray with non-stick spray

2. Add pancake mix to thicken batter, along with a dash of milk

   1. Instead of premade pancake mix, I like to add flour a sprinkle at a time along with about 1/2 tsp of baking soda, and a dash of milk

3. Drop pancakes on pan or griddle and gently flip after a few minutes. Remove from pan once cooked through.

4. Serve with maple syrup, or my personal favorite, chocolate chips and a dollop of whipped cream!

This about the proportion of baking soda-to-pumpkin pie batter that I add

These never turn out quite as beautiful as my normal homemade pancakes, but they taste way better!