Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

When the air becomes crisp and the burnt orange leaves begin to fall from the trees, I can already taste the pumpkin spice. I love pumpkin: ice cream, soup, lattes, candles, body cream, bagels, and pie (although as far as pie goes, pumpkin is my second favorite. The tangy sweet strawberry rhubarb just can’t be beat, especially with a creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream).

I came across this recipe for a cream cheese layered pumpkin bread in a Kraft Food and Family magazine and I can’t wait to bake it this week. If you have some time for holiday baking, give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Layered Pumpkin Loaf

Prep: 20 minutes Total: 1 hour 25 minutes

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 egg whites divided

½ cup fat free milk

¼ cup canola oil

2 cups flour

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

¼ tsp. salt

1 pkg, (8oz) Philadelphia Neufchatel Cheese 1/3 less fat than cream cheese, softened.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a nonstick 9 x 5 inch loaf pan; set aside. Mix pumpkin, 1 cup granulated sugar, 3 of the egg whites, mild and oil in large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, pie spice, and salt; stir just until moistened. Set aside. Beat Neufchatel cheese, remaining 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar and the remaining egg white with a wire whisk until well blended.

Spoon half of the pumpkin batter into prepared pan; spoon Neufchatel cheese mixture evenly over batter. Cover with remaining pumpkin batter.

Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 5 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Run knife or thin spatula around edges of pan to loosen bread; cool in pan on wire rack 10 min. Remove bread from pan to wire rack; cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf, or 16 servings, 1 slice each.

Cal 220, fat 7g, chol 10 mg, sodium 220 mg, carb 35 g, fiber <1g,>

Yum.

For those of you who love pumpkin as much as I do, check out these wonderful looking items from pumpkin loving Etsy shops

The first shop I would like to feature is A Breath of French Air, which is a bath and body shop that looks fantastic (in fact, I am waiting for a shipment of soaps to come right now. I can’t wait. You will see more of this shop in future blog posts, I guarantee it!). These Pumpkin Spice items look creamy delicious, and I’m sure they smell amazing too! Animal lovers, don’t worry. None of these products are tested on animals!

Here is a sugar scrub which exfoliates and moisturizes skin with a blend of pure white sugar, Pumpkin Spice Essential Oils, and Jojoba Oil, leaving your skin looking radiant, smooth and renewed. I love the feel skin after a great sugar scrub!

This Pumpkin Spice Body Butter is skin nourishing with shea butter and cocoa butter, infused with calming, pumpkin essential oils to soften and protect the skin. It looks so lush!

You can find this shop at www.abreathoffrenchair.etsy.com

I would also like to feature the shop Sweet Rush. My goodness (as two year old Gracie would say)! These candles look AMAZING!! At Sweet Rush, you will find soy candles and melts that are sure to smell as good as they look. All of their candles are made with 100% pure soy wax and the highest quality essential and fragrance oils. I would love to sit down and drink their Spicy Pumpkin Latte candle, it looks so good! And for those of you who prefer traditional jar candles, you can also find Spicy Pumpkin in a jar without the coffee!

You can find this shop at www.sweetrush.etsy.com.

If the smell of pumpkin spice just isn't your thing, don't feel down! Just grab this Jack Pin by Pea Soup and I'm sure your mood will lift instantly. This little brooch captures all that is happy about Halloween. This pin is made from wool felt and is about 1 ½ inches square-maybe a little larger, because all pins are slightly different from each other-- the beauty behind handcrafted items, if you ask me!

You can find this pin and dozens more at www.peasoup.etsy.com

Indulge your senses and your taste buds, everyone!