Fall Harvest Trifle

Gingerbread cookies
Pumpkin Roll
Cardamom cake
Heath pieces sprinkled over first layer

Filling: (Pumpkin Mousse)
Take one small box (not instant) vanilla pudding
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups milk
1/4 tsp. ginger
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.
Mix in 1 cup pumpkin.
Allow to cool and set.

Topping:
Heavy whipping cream, whipped
I like to add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/3 cup sugar once it starts to stiffen.

From the bottom up:
Layer: 1 inch pieces of pumpkin cake, cardamom cake and thumb size pieces of gingerbread cookie,
Sprinkle Heath Chips over this layer
Add a dollop of pumpkin mousse
Layer cake again: pumpkin cake, cardamom cake, and gingerbread cookies.
Top with cream

I make all these in advance and freeze until the day of the party. That way, all I have to do is assemble and whip my cream, and make my mousse. You could probably buy all of this at the store as well, or get something close, if you wanted to make it really easy.

Pumpkin Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 ripe banana
1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs lightly beaten
1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 cups (16oz.) pumpkin
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
 3 and a 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners. Bake 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together butter, pumpkin sugars, yogurt, sour cream, and eggs until well combined. Add spices: salt, soda, and baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Add flours last, mixing well.
 Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly between cups. Bake until tops spring back and a toothpick comes out clean.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Yield: 30 muffins

There is a beautiful pumpkin cupcake recipe out there, called Pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes.  They turned out gorgeous. But, with a whole cup of butter, I just felt like it was too much.  My challenge was, could I cut the butter in half and come up with a decent muffin.  I think I did.  If you don't care about calories try hers, but if you do, try these.  Yes, they do have a lot of ingredients but when you are trying to reduce fat, you gotta make up for it somewhere, and it is mainly just spices that require some sprinkling, so it's not that bad.  
Just made these again and they are so incredibly moist. I'm thrilled with the finished product.

Want to make them even more moist? Add 2 heaping cups pumpkin.
 I've tinkered with it so long, I think it's perfect. Made them without the banana and it made a huge difference. Please use your banana.

Michele’s Pumpkin Roll

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup pumpkin
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup flour

Filling:
8 ounces soft cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons soft butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a standing mixer, beat eggs for a full 5 minutes on speed 3 or high. Gradually add pumpkin, lemon juice and sugar. This would be on speed 2. Add spices and baking powder. Add flour last, (speed 1)  mixing flour as little as possible.

Pour into well-greased and floured jelly roll pan, 10-inches-by-15-inches. Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes.

Sprinkle granulated sugar on terry dishcloth. Plop cake onto towel, roll with towel and let cool in towel. Mix filling, Unroll cake carefully and spread filling on cake. Re-roll, wrap and chill.

Pumpkin Ice Cream Roll

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup flour

Beat eggs in a Bosch mixer for 5 minutes on high. (Speed 3)
Gradually add sugar, pumpkin, and lemon juice.
Add spices and baking powder.
Add flour last, mixing as little as possible.
Pour into well greased and floured jelly pan, 15" by 10".
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle granulated sugar on a terry cloth dish towel. Plop hot cake onto towel, roll and let cool inside towel.

Unroll Pumpkin Roll carefully and spread on Ice cream.
Reroll, wrap and freeze.

Filling:
Softened (not melted) pumpkin pie ice cream.,

Just before serving, drizzle with Mrs. Richardson's butterscotch caramel.

This can be wrapped in saran wrap, then foil. 
Freeze for at least 3 to 4  hours so you can cut this easily. Makes a festive fall dessert. This may be made a day in advance.

Pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting (low fat)

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup plain yogurt
Beat until lemon colored (5 minutes)

Add and mix
2 cups cooked pumpkin

Sift together:
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups flour
Mix until blended

Bake in a 10"x15" jelly roll pan at 350 for 20 minutes. Pan should be greased and floured.
Cool in pan.

Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 Tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Blend cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over top. Cut into bars.

I think everyone probably has a version of this recipe. It turns out great everytime, but I doubled the frosting. It never seemed like enough to cover the cake. If you are traveling you may want to refrigerate this, just to keep the frosting firm. Doesn't it get you excited for fall, to see pumpkin recipes? It does me.

I've taken the fat out of the cake, but I guess I put it back in the frosting.  I tried though, I really tried.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 large (32oz.) can of pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
3 cups sugar
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup plain yogurt or applesauce
Cream very well.

Add:
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
A sprinkling of nutmeg
A sprinkling of cloves

Mix again then add:
6 and 1/2 cups of flour
Mix until flour is incorporated.

Add 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Yes, you heard it right. This recipe is low-fat! These are spongy cookies that freeze very well and make for a great treat for a school lunch. You can feel good about eating two, three, maybe even four of these babies.

The original recipe calls for 5 cups of flour but with the extra yogurt and banana it is just too wet. I bumped it up to six but seven is way too much, so be careful you don't over-do your flour. I've done it many times and they get a bit too chewy.
This makes 80 cookies.