Jack o'Lantern History

Flibberty sent me this email, and I'm glad she did--I love learning about where holiday traditions began. She did a little research on Jack o'lanterns for us.


She says, "The story of the Jack o'lantern comes from Irish folklore. Jack was a crafty farmer who tricked the Devil into climbing a tall tree. When the Devil reached the highest branch, Jack carved a large cross in the trunk, making it impossible for the Devil to climb down. In exchange for help getting out of the tree, the Devil promised never to tempt Jack with evil again. When Jack died, he was turned away from Heaven for his sins and turned away from Hell because of his trickery. Condemned to wander the Earth without rest, Jack carved out one of his turnips, took an ember from the devil, and used it for a lantern to light his way. He became known as 'Jack of the Lantern.'"

I also found some more stories here.

Speaking of Jack o'lanterns, if anyone has any tips for a) not cutting yourself or b) not making one that looks as if a hoofed mammal carved it, please send them to me, or share in the comments section. My history of awful pumpkin carving leads me to believe I have some room for improvement.

Want more Halloween history? Find it here!

Pumpkin Muffins

More pumpkin goodness, this time in muffin form, from Swistle! She sent two pumpkin muffin recipes. I like how these bring holiday/seasonal cheer to breakfast. We should all have some muffin goodness this weekend, yes? Sunday morning pumpkin, anyone? Sunday afternoon cheese eyeballs, anyone?

"Swistle's Chocolate-Chip Pumpkin Muffins

1 c. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
2-1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together salt, baking powder, cinnamon, flour, and chocolate chips. Combine contents of two bowls and mix. Spoon into 12 papered muffin tins. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
1 and 2/3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2-3 t. pumpkin pie spice (or, see below)
2 eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 T. grated lemon peel (or, see below)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
you can also put in 1/4-1/2 c. golden raisins, but I never have

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spice. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, lemon, butter, and walnuts. Add contents of medium bowl to large bowl and stir just until mixed. Spoon batter evenly into 12 greased or papered muffin cups, and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Pumpkin pie spice alternative: 1 and 1/2 t. cinnamon, and about 3/4 t. (I just do a well-rounded 1/2 t. so I don't have to screw around with a bunch of measuring spoons) each of ground ginger and ground cloves. The exact quantities don't seem to matter much.

Grated lemon peel alternative: I hate grating my own zest, so I put in a t. of lemon extract and maybe half a t. of dried lemon peel--but I think just the extract would be sufficient.

I always double the recipe because I love these muffins and they freeze so well."

Next week, we'll be exploring lots of costume ideas. (And other random goodness. But, also, tons of costumes.) So! If you're holding out on me, there's still time. I'm just saying.

Still time.

Pumpkin Potpourri Burner

Pumpkins, pumpkins, everywhere. I'm pretty excited by the recent grocery store pumpkin explosion.

Heather sent this idea in. It's a really cute way to make your house smell yummy.

She says,

"I just made these this morning and thought I'd share...I just love little tiny mini things!

I think I saw this on Martha Stewart once upon a time. I carved a few of the little tiny baking pumpkins, put cute polka dots "vents" in them with an apple corer, and then rubbed cinnamon and other spices onto the lid. I made one for my kitchen window with cloves stuck under the lid instead of rubbing the spices. Light a tea light candle, and you've got a little homemade incense burner. It really does smell good!"

She also included these cute photos. I particularly like the idea of using an apple corer to make tidy circles. If I tried it by hand, the results would be more "frightening" and less "adorable." If you are handy with the pumpkin carving, though, I'm sure you could also make some fancy, intricate vents.









































Cute! And easy! And nice-smelling!

Now, I need some help. I'm trying to put together a Halloween costume link/idea fest for an upcoming post. I'm feeling my ideas are pretty lame, so, it's your turn to dish. Email me at karamarie at gmail dot com to give me any ideas/links/instructions. I want to know anything and everything, got it? Think costumes.

Go!

Pumpkin Cookies

I've been on the lookout for a good pumpkin cookie recipe, because a) pumpkin is delicious and b) so are cookies. Last year I made some pumpkin cookies that were sketchy at best, but I knew the combination of pumpkin + cookie could be a magical thing. So! Heather sent this recipe in, and says, "These cookies are super yummy. We made them over and over and over again last fall. I searched high and low for egg free with my son's allergies and ended up finding the best pumpkin cookie recipe I've tasted:

Egg Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Yields: 48 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup shortening, butter, or margarine
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Cream the sugar, shortening, pumpkin and vanilla together. Mix until light and well combined.
3. Mix the flour, baking soda and ground cinnamon in separate bowl.
   
4. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes or until set. Let cookies cool on a rack.

Nutrition facts (per serving):Calories (kcal) 146 Protein 1.5g Cals from Protein 3% Total Fat 6.5g Cals from Fat 38% Carbohydrates 21.6g Cals from Carbohydrates 56% Fiber 1g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 75mg."

Original recipe possibly from allrecipes.com.

So, in the name of science (and this blog), I made the cookies Saturday evening. And lo, they were good. Special bonus: the lack of egg meant I didn't have to feel anxious about eating copious amounts of cookie dough. Therefore, I did. These cookies are good, did I say that? They're incredibly moist. And yummy.

Mmmm.

For the record, if you guys send me something without a photo, and then I make the item and post a photo of it and it looks ALL WRONG, and you think, "OH GEEZ, WHAT DID SHE DO?" then, um. Just let me know if I wrecked it, and then we can all make fun of my cooking skills.





Edit: If you're into cookies and ice cream, perhaps consider this. OH MY GOSH. So good.