7 Spectacular Pumpkin Recipes for Fall! - Wildflour's Cottage Kitchen

As fall approaches, leaves begin to turn their brilliant colors, there’s enough of a chill in the air to enjoy mugs of hot chocolate, favorite comfy sweatshirts are a welcome wardrobe to hide those last few pounds we wanted to lose this summer that never came off, there’s one thing that I look forward to every year. Pumpkin!!! I love everything there is to love about them! Carving the giant squashes into jack-o-lanterns, roasting the coveted seeds, and simple to exquisite pumpkin dishes and desserts galore!

So, I thought to put together a small collection of some of my favorite recipes for you! I hope that you find new pumpkin delights to make, and that you continue to follow my blog, as I’m going to be making a few new ones this year, too! So get comfy, sit back and relax, and simply click on any recipe title or photo, and that will take you straight to the recipe!

Enjoy!! And Happy Fall, Y’All!!

First up, as already predicted, is my “famous” Pumpkin Pie!! When my hubby lived in California, he used to drive MILES to get his favorite pie, and swore that this place he used to go to every year made the best. Then he tried mine. Glad he doesn’t have to drive all the way across the country to get one now! 😉 Seriously friends, everyone who has tried my pie, even those who swear that they don’t even like pumpkin pie, have said that they liked it for the first time in their lives! No better compliment than that! We actually enjoy this one year round! 😉

~ Best Ever Pumpkin Pie ~

Pancakes are one of my specialties! I used to run a pancake breakfast raising money for charity, and for 6 years, along with the all of the regular array of “AYCE pancake breakfast items” you find at every local club in Smalltown, USA, we had a specialty pancake of the month to draw in the crowds! Every month, I came up with a new flavor!! (I have a collection of over 100 flavored pancake recipes, and back in the mid nineties, was offered to do a cookbook. We couldn’t afford it, and I regret every single day that I didn’t somehow find a way to finance it. Hindsight just plain sucks. Anyways, here is one of the pancakes that everyone lined up for come fall time!

~ Autumn Spice Pumpkin Pancakes
with Chocolate Chips & Golden Raisins ~

I don’t know how you decide and plan meals, but I usually start by pulling a package of meat out of the freezer. And that always seems to be the easy part. It’s the, “but, what am I going to make with it??” part that always has me stumped and searching through the pantry! You, too? Just me?? Well, if you’re planning on roasting anything from a turkey, cornish hens, chicken, capon, pork tenderloin or even a pristine Prime Rib, these colorful and autumn-style mashed potatoes will rival the main dish for the spotlight!

~ Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes
with Caramelized Red Onions & Crispy Bacon ~

Now, this next dish actually isn’t made of pumpkin, but a close relative, a “cousin” if you will! Though this dish starts with an acorn squash, I designed this recipe to taste just like a streusel topped pumpkin pie! I don’t care for acorn squash that much, and had made this as a treat and surprise for my hubby who happens to LOVE it! He said that it was the best-tasting stuffed squash he’d ever had! And really did taste like pumpkin pie! Mission accomplished! I think that you’ll love this, too!

~ Streusel Top “Pumpkin Pie” Stuffed Acorn Squash
Drizzled with Honey ~

Next is something that I actually enjoy doing every fall! Along with spring cleaning, I do a fall cleaning, too. Mostly any place that I store food. It’s amazing how many odds and ends of goodies I end up finding! And I like to make sure that they all get used up, before they go stale, and make room for all of the fresh goodies I’ll soon need for holiday baking! And that’s exactly how this wonderful sweet bread came to be! Along with ripe bananas and pumpkin, it’s also filled with delicious golden raisins, chopped pecans and mini chocolate chips! Great for the family, but also makes for nice gifts, too!

~ Clean Out the Cupboard Pumpkin Banana Bread ~

I really had a blast making this next one! And it really had the “WOW” factor going on, too!! And not just in the presentation, which I thought came out pretty spectacular, but in the flavor as well! And guess what? It’s actually easy to make! The cinnamon and vanilla eclairs are a breeze and so much fun! And the easy, spicy, pumpkin-banana cream filling was fantastic! (And started with a mis-purchased box of instant banana pudding mix!!) It then gets a drizzling of milk chocolate ganache, chopped pecans and a dollop of whipped cream! I know, right?? You’ll wow your guests and look like a rock star!

~ Cinnamon Eclairs with Spiced Pumpkin-Banana Cream Filling, Milk Chocolate Ganache & Pecans ~

Saving the best pumpkin dessert ever to grace the table for last! (Ok, besides the pumpkin pie and eclairs!!) This cheesecake….omg this cheesecake…was truly DIVINE. I had a box of gingersnaps on hand, along with a can of pumpkin that day, and the magic all started right there! The cookie and nut crust itself is nothing short of amazing. But the cheesecake? I really nailed it!! Spicy enough to resemble my pumpkin pie, but has all of the flavor of my decadent cheesecakes as well! Not too hard and dry, and not airy and fluffy, either. A rich, decadent cheesecake that dreams are made of! Make THIS for your next Halloween party or even Thanksgiving! Humbly, THE BEST Pumpkin Cheesecake. Period. It just doesn’t get any better than this.