Pumpkin Spice x 2

Mmmmmmmmm.......

This weekend I finally gave in to the Pumpkin Spice temptation this weekend. I came across a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cookies last week.  It had 3 ingredients, one of which was cream cheese icing, so I decided to give it a try for obvious reasons. I needed something sweet to take to our bonfire Saturday night so I whipped up a batch Saturday afternoon.  They were delicious! I added a little bit of Penzey's Cinnamon and some fresh ground nutmeg to give it a little more oomph.

The results were fantastic! When it comes to desserts, and cookies in general, I usually don't bother if it does not have chocolate because why waste calories on food that's bad for you if it's NOT chocolate.  These cookies are now the exception (although I did consider adding some chocolate chips). The fact that they were even easier than the cookies mixes that come out of a bag made them even better!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

1 box spice cake mix

1 15oz can pure pumpkin

1 container cream cheese icing

cinnamon (optional)

nutmeg (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and place cookie balls (about 1Tbsp) on a baking stone or cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins (the shorter the cook time the softer they will be). When they come out of the oven they were still somewhat rounded, so I pressed the tops down with a spoon to flatten them out.  Cool on a wire rack.  When cool, top with cream cheese icing and garnish with cinnamon.  

While I was baking these little gems I was perusing pinterest for some more pumpkin spice creations and came across this Pin from one of my favorite healthy cooking blogs. I have made several of her recipes and have yet to be disappointed, so I figured I'd give it a try.  The recipe was for Pumpkin Spice Muffins, and it used the EXACT SAME ingredients as the cookies I was baking.  The ONLY difference was you added 1 cup of water to the mixture.  Of course I had to try it!

Pumpkin Spice Cake

1 box spice cake mix

1 15oz can pure pumpkin

1 cup water

1 container cream cheese icing*

cinnamon for flavor and garnish (optional)

fresh ground nutmeg (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pour mixture into greased loaf pans (I decided to make mini bread loaves instead of muffins). Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. When cool, top with cream cheese icing and garnish with cinnamon.

This was probably one of the easiest breads/cakes I have ever made.  *She made her icing from scratch, but I still had 3/4 of a container of icing leftover from my cookies so I used it.

And the best part of these recipes?  They are not that bad for you!  I figured that each of my mini loaves had maybe 550 calories in the ENTIRE loaf, which means a big fat slice (like 1/4 of the loaf) might set you back 150 calories. There's no oil, no eggs, just cake mix, pumpkin, and water. As for the icing, I used one container for both recipes, had several spoonfuls by itself, and still have 1/4 of the container left in my fridge.  You can't beat it!