Mexican Wedding Cookies With A Little Fall Flavor

Pumpkin spice lattes. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin spice coffee creamer, yogurt, cereal bars, granola...'tis the season for pumpkin...stuff. And, I love it. My favorite is probably just plain old pumpkin pie, but I must admit, Trader Joe's Pumpkin Ice Cream has my heart this year too.

You can imagine then, how excited I was when I saw {this recipe} on Cookie + Kate's website. Well, maybe I should have told you how I really like things covered in powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar. Like donuts. Mmm. I'm getting off track...

Anyway, I found this recipe on a Thursday and I was determined to make them over that weekend. I thought I had run out of pecans, but I decided to do one last search through my pantry, and sure enough, I found a bag of glazed pecans (meant to top a salad). I knew I had some pumpkin puree from a fresh pumpkin in the freezer, and just enough whole wheat pastry flour (one of my staples) for one batch.

The dough is a little sticky, but forms perfect little 1.5 inch balls, which don't spread when baking, so you can place them pretty close together on a baking sheet.

After they bake, let them cool for 5 minutes, then while they are still warm, but cool enough to handle, you roll them in powdered sugar. Mmmm.

 



They need to cool for another 10-15 minutes, then you can serve them or store them for a couple of days. They are best either on the day-of or the day after. If you wait too long, the sugar may evaporate depending on how moist the air is.

These were easy to make and a great autumn twist on a classic treat. Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, pumpkin spiced, of course!

This week, my son will be born (he's already 3 days late today) - my doctor has given us an induction date...we are so excited to meet our little one. My guess is that I will be away from blogland for a few weeks, so I will wish you a blessed Thanksgiving and start to the holiday season now. Don't forget to keep cookin' with whatcha got!

xoxo,
Lea

Prepping for Baby - Freezer Burritos

Our baby is due in 5 days. He doesn't seem too concerned about time. He's comfortable and kicking away at my ribs...and at this rate, he'll be baking in there so long, I'm sure he will be a tall baby, even though I'm just over 5 feet tall myself.

 

I've been trying to use my waiting time wisely. I thought it would be smart to have some ready-to-eat food in the freezer for the days when we don't have time for more than a microwaved, one-hand-held meal. I had seen this idea on a facebook friend's page: homemade frozen burritos!

 



I had some rotisserie chicken left over as well as some pulled pork in the freezer. I bought a package of whole wheat tortillas, some taco seasoning, olives, shredded cheese, and green chiles. I had a can of refried beans in my pantry.

 

I warmed up the tortillas in the microwave to make them pliable enough to fold up.

I mixed a little bit of taco seasoning into the two different types of meats. I topped the meat with a little bit of beans, olives, chiles, and cheese.

 In the pork burritos, I also added some of my Mexican pickled carrots.

 

After I had used all of the meat, I had 8 burritos. I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap, then put all eight burritos in a resealable freezer bag. Now I've got a quick meal that only needs to be thrown in the microwave for a few minutes! This nesting thing is kind of fun!