Welcome to my Pumpkin Obsession

     As I sit here this morning drinking my Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Spice coffee, reading my devotion, and smelling my Tailgate candle from Bath & Body Works (If your football tailgate has a smell-this is it! A must have candle this year), I can't help but think of this picture that keeps popping up on social media. Most people have seen it on Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook by now, but I am convinced it was designed for me.

    I know according to the calendar it isn't technically fall, but in my mind, September 1st means fall. Although I am waiting until "real fall" to put up my decorations, the long awaited time has come where I can drink Pumpkin Spice Lattes, fill my house with the smell of pumpkin scented candles and Glade Plug-in's, and bake everything on my "Pumpkin Obsession" Pinterest page. If you come to my house, in each room is a fall-scented candle and in each bathroom you wash your hands with pumpkin soap and moisturize with pumpkin lotion.

     I have always had a love for fall, pumpkins, hiking, football season, and cuddling up on the couch with apple cider, but over the past few years as the pumpkin industry has expanded, I have become more obsessed than the average white girl. (I have a feeling my friends would agree and are probably shaking their heads at the fact that I've even started a blog about this- but I bet they aren't surprised). 

    Over the course of this fall, I am going to make one (some weeks more than one) pumpkin inspired recipe per week. My KitchenAid (one of the best Christmas presents my adult self has ever received from mom and dad) is going to be put to serious use over the next few months! I will post the recipes on here for my fellow pumpkin lovers :) I am also in the beginning of training for my next half marathon, so I am going to need test dummies for these goodies! Now accepting applications.

Sooo... here goes my first recipe! 

Oatmeal Pumpkin Creme Pies (recipe below) 

 The final product. It made two platefuls! And yes, I saved one for myself! 

Ingredients:

OATMEAL SANDWICH COOKIES

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 and 2/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg(or 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice)- I used 3/4tsp pumpkin pie spice. 
• 2 – 2.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted- I used 2 cups and it was sweet enough! 
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (to thicken, as needed)
• salt, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer, cream the softened butter and sugars until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Slowly stir in the baking soda, cinnamon, oats, and flour. Mix together until just combined. Do not overmix.
2. Chill the dough for at least one hour in the fridge. Cookies will be very flat if the dough is not cold.
3. Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Roll 2 teaspoons of dough into a ball and place onto prepared sheet. Bake for 9 minutes and let cool on cookie sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack.
4. While the cookies are cooling, prepare the pumpkin frosting. Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese, butter, pumpkin, and spices on medium speed until creamy. Add 2-2.5 cups of sifted powdered sugar depending how sweet you’d like it. If frosting is much too thin, add in the flour to thicken it. Add salt to cut the sweetness, if you prefer.
5. Spread a generous amount of frosting on the underside of a cooled cookie and sandwich another cookie on top. Cookies stay fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

ENJOY!! Next week.... A breakfast item!