Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I'm in love. With a cookie. But what's new, you ask? This recipe is seriously incredible. Usually I'm a "this needs chocolate" type of girl, but these snickerdoodles were just as delicious (if not more) the next day as they were warm on Thanksgiving night. Please make these, they are totally worth it! The warm flavors of the pumpkin and cinnamon really shine through, but what is truly special is the fluffy yet dense texture. It was so amazing I can't do it justice with words.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

modified from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

2 sticks butter

1 large egg

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare cookie sheets with foil or cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. 

In another bowl (use stand mixer if you have one), cream butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar (brown and white) until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, then pumpkin puree and beat until well combined. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined.

Stir together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp cinnamon in a shallow bowl for rolling dough. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough in mixture and place on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking time, until cookies are just browning at the edges and the center is soft and puffy. Let cool about 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack. 

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups

This is a recipe from Skinny Taste, one of my favorite blogs for healthy recipes. I modified it just a bit to up the flavor and downsize the servings and it turned out really great! I added mushrooms because I had some I needed to use up. I don't actually like mushrooms at all - but I chop them up really small and put them in recipes where I won't notice them, just because they are so good for you.

I'll definitely be making these again.

Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups

serves 3 (one roll-up per serving)

3 lasagna noodles, cooked

3-4 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed

2 mushrooms, diced finely

5 oz part-skim ricotta cheese

1 1/2 Tbsp Egg Beaters

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning 

1/2 cup favorite pasta sauce (mine is Classico's Roasted Garlic)

3 Tbsp shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay out pre-cooked lasagna noodles onto wax paper - make sure they are completely dry. Prepare baking dish by spreading just enough pasta sauce to cover the bottom, reserve the rest for later.

Mix together thawed spinach, diced mushrooms, ricotta, Egg Beaters, Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning until well combined. Take large spoonfuls and spread mixture evenly across the length of each lasagna noodle. Roll noodles up carefully and place seam-side down in baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce and 1 Tbsp mozzarella per roll.

Cover baking dish with foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Cheese should be bubbly! Enjoy!