Last night I baked a batch of Cinnamon Pecan Raisin Scones. It was a variation on my recipe for Double Sunflower Seed Scones.

Instead of sunflower seed butter (I’m all out!), I used almond butter. I added 1 tsp cinnamon to the dry ingredients and instead of kneading in chocolate covered sunflower seeds, I used chopped pecans and raisins.

Same exact process…

…except this time I separated them after the 15 min. of baking and put them back in the [toaster] oven for a couple minutes to get them crunchy on the sides.

Once again, the nut butter gave them the crumbly, dense, and thick texture that is so wonderful about scones (but without all the butter!).

They may have been even better than the double sunflower seed version. Wait, hmm I need to think about that. Actually I need to eat them side by side to make that decision .

Cinnamon Raisin Pecan Scones

Adapted from Double Sunflower Seed Scones

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup while whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 TBSP cold butter, diced
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup milk (of any kind, I used almond milk)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 400*F. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon). Cut butter into small pieces and toss with dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (almond butter, milk, egg, vanilla). Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add pecans and raisins and knead a few times.

Form into a thick, circular patty and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cut into the dough (but do not separate) to make 8 triangular scones. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes. Cool and cut into scones.

***

Easter brunch also included fresh cut papaya, fried eggs and buttered toast.

Happy Easter! If you don’t celebrate, Happy Sunday!

Tell me…you favorite scone flavor!

I think I’m finally at the point where I don’t wake up the day after a run sore and waddling like a penguin. Every time I begin my running cycle it takes me about 2-3 weeks to build up my mileage, my endurance and my running muscles! I think I’ve reached the end up that stage now (thank goodness). Hopefully I can keep building up my mileage when the summer heat sets in. If you remember last summer, I had to take a long break from running due to some shin pain and super hot temps.

Soon, the days of perfect running weather will be few and far between…and then later, they’ll be long gone. Enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts, folks!

This afternoon, I ran 4.5 miles and walked 1 mile on my usual loop. It really felt like I ran 10!

~ ~ ~ ~ Crazy wind gusts!!! ~ ~ ~ ~

I know I say this every time but really, today was the craziest by far. I had to stop and walk for a good 1/2 mile because I was pretty much pushing against a wall with my forehead (!!).

I was tempted to quit and walk home but I repeated my new mantra and forged on. Running against the wind will only make you a stronger runner.

***

Post workout, I assembled a tacowrap. I was a little overzealous stuffing my wrap and it became a giant taco .

I was going to hold it together with two shot glasses from our collection (taco style), but I ended up using a toothpick instead.

The Las Vegas shot glass is one of my favorites!

I wanted to make an egg salad with hard-boiled eggs, but the yolks came out a little too runny [bunny]. My patience was dwindling and I took them off the stove early.

I knew it would happen but I just didn’t want to wait 3 more minutes!!

I ended eating a whole egg straight up…love runny yolk.

Then I used another whole egg and one white mixed with Nayonaise to make the egg salad. Stuffed in a habanero lime wrap with tomatoes and spring mix.

I heated the wrap directly on the stove. A trick I learned from my host family in Mexico. The first time I saw my “sister” do it, I thought she was going to burn the house down!

On the side, a banana and toasted pecans.

Soon after, I walked to Harris Teeter with my Uncle where I sampled some pineapple, cantaloupe, bread ‘n hummus and cinnamon buns!

Another 1.5 miles logged for the day.

I tried to hold out for dinner but the juiciest strawberries ever were staring me in the face and I had to eat them. Look at these beauties…

Just in case you think I’m cray cray, the thought process for my post title was…

Run + Runny Eggs –> Eggs –> Easter–> Bunny.

Runny Bunny

I’ve got lotsa work to do tonight! I’ll be back tomorrow with the winner of the Glass Dharma Giveaway to celebrate Earth Day <— Last chance to enter. Do it!

Also, be sure to check out my guest post on Little Bitty Bakes. Coconut Bird’s Nest Cookies just in time for Easter.

Last night I went to sleep excited to wake up this morning so I could eat, photograph and share all the ideas flowin’ through my head. I even cut off my workout a little early today because I just couldn’t wait to create. Talk about life before/after blogging .

Today, I recreated the 2 min. Microwave Pumpkin Pie I’ve been making for years. I topped it with some pecans and a delicious ‘icing’ made with Greek yogurt and hazelnut cream cheese.

I ate this several times a week when I studied abroad in London. Perhaps it stemmed from my disappointment about not being able to celebrate my favorite holiday that year (Thanksgiving). Not only did I miss out on green bean casserole and cranberry sauce, I worked from 5 AM to 9 PM that day!!

Although, celebrating Thanksgiving in the UK would be a little awkward, no?

I first came across this quick snack/dessert on Kath’s blog, almost 3 years ago. Did you catch that? 3 years ago! I have been following KERF for what feels like a lifetime….well about 1/7th of my life to be exact .

2 min. Microwave Pumpkin Pie

Mix together:

• 1/2 pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup egg whites (from an egg or carton)
• sweetener
• cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Microwave for 2 min. and voila! you’ve got pumpkin pie.

Note: If you add more pumpkin, it’s more like flan. If you add more egg whites, it’s more like cake. The recipe is pretty flexible.

For the icing, I used a mix of Greek yogurt, hazelnut cream cheese, and pumpkin pie spice. Topped with toasted pecans.

Mmmm!!

As for the hazelnut cream cheese (HCC)? I’ve been putting that sh*t on everything!!

(Catch that from the Frank’s Red Hot commercials? Ha!)

HCC Slathered on medjool dates.

I’ve been scraping off the cream in my Newman’s O’s and replacing it with HCC. Much better if you ask me!

That rhymed.

***

I also got the idea from Tina last night to make a quick pumpkin soup.

2 min. Microwave Pumpkin Soup

• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup veggie stock
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• Salt and Pepper

Stir together and microwave for, you guessed it…2 minutes!

Paired with my new favorite way to eat [cinnaraisin Ezekiel] bread…topped with buttery avocado!

Just chop, mash and spread around.

Healthy meals and snax do not have to take more than 2 minutes!

Photographing and blogging about them is a WHOLE ‘nother story .

Alrighty peeps, I hope you have a fabulous [Halloween] weekend. Peace out Girl/Boy Scout!

Tell me: What is one super quick meal/snack you enjoy making and eating?

8 MILES!!!

I ran 8 miles today—crazy! I’ve only run 8 miles once before and that was exactly 3 years ago. It was the last run before my stress fracture creeped in. That run happened after a month of running without a day of rest. As I describe in my story, I went from running 0 mi/wk to 40 mi/wk in 4 weeks and then found myself sidelined for several months thereafter.

Major yikes.

I’d like to think I’ve come a loooooong way since then.

Today, I ran ~8.2 miles in 82 minutes (it took about 0.2 mi. for my Garmin to pick up the satellites!).

This run was actually supposed to happen yesterday but I never made it outside. I even procrastinated some more this morning by putting together a shelf in my room…ha!

The ‘long’ run came out of nowhere, really. I didn’t expect to run more than 4 miles or so. I was huffing and puffing at the 1 mile mark (!!) but somehow I just kept chugging along. I definitely had more to give at the end but my hips were starting to hurt so I called it a day. Better safe than sorry.

All made possible thanks to copious amounts of granola, chips, cereal and cookies. I went a little crazy with the carbs yesterday.

Probably not the greatest fuel choices but it did fill up my glycogen stores, I suppose.

***

Post run, I immediately made a protein Green Smoothie.

Protein powder, spinach, strawberries, almond milk, water, ice and stevia. Oh and my favorite Amazing Grass flavor–the lemon lime energy blend.

Then it was time for an ICE BATH! I depleted our entire supply of ice and threw in some ice packs as well. I lasted 20 freezing cold minutes!

Post steamy hot shower, I had some leftover salad (see below) and Cinnaraisin Ezekiel toast with Hazelnut Cream Cheese.

This hazelnut cream cheese from Panera is the bomb! I can surely eat it by the spoonful.

Now for the salad…

Last night, I made a big ol’ salad for myself and the ‘rents.

In the bowl:

• ~8 cups spring mix
• 10 mini peppers
• 1/2 large tomato
• 2 oz. crumbled herbed goat cheese
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans
• 6 [forgotten] medjool dates

I was trying to create something similar to the Santa Monica Salad I had at Eppie’s in Cville but I completely forgot to add the medjool dates! Oops.

I made sure to throw in some dates with my leftover portion today. There ain’t nothin’ better than dates, goat cheese and pecans, y’all!

***

Time to go munch an AllieBar and get ready for dinner! Running always seems to take over my entire day somehow.

Tell me…your best job interview tip! I’ve got a job meeting (interview?) tomorrow afternoon! Wish me luck .

After our daytime adventures in Cville (lunch + dessert and then wine tasting), we headed back to the KERF house to uhh eat s’more!

Kath’s 26(+2)th birthday party was a casual potluck—perfect for mixing ‘n’ mingling while drinking ‘n’ eating. I think there were about 20 people in attendance: half bloggers and half readers/spouses/civilians .

The Spread:

Matt cracks. Pita Chips.

Goat cheese (Mmmm). Hummus.

Root veggies. Brittany’s Kale Waldorf Salad.

The Booze: Oatmeal stout, pumpkin ale, and Irish red.

All supplied by Matt’s beer station in the basement.

I had some of the Pumpkin Ale.

More food:

Andrea’s empanadas!

Bread, more cheese and lamb salami. Bacon wrapped dates.

I tried a bacon wrapped date. It was one of those gotta-try-it instances and it was out-of-this-world delicious!

Butternut squash soup.

And then I owned the pita chip bowl.

My favorite item of the night? Pumpkin Goat Cheese from Feast!

It tasted like a classy pumpkin cream cheese. ‘Twas sweet, creamy, and goooaty.

Dessert: Kath’s gingerbread cookies and Heather’s caramel filled chocolate chip pecan cookies!

I had one (maybe 2) of each.

After dessert, the hosts broke out 4 different pumpkin ales for a beer tasting.

We even got a quick history lesson from the brew master himself!

This was our ‘birthday cake’ for the night .

Then I sent everyone home with some AllieBars! What a fun night.

If I learned anything this weekend it is that I am the slowest blogger on the face of the earth. I am determined to wrap up my Cville adventures tonight so stay tuned!

Tell me: Do you like pumpkin ale? Got a favorite?

Guess where I ended up today? Yep, DC…again! It’s funny, now that we live farther away from DC, I find myself going back more often. I’m making up for lost time, I suppose. There are actually quite a few things I have yet to see [in my own backyard] including the inside of the White House and Julia Child’s kitchen.

Anywho, today I ventured into the city to meet up with my brother and the ‘in laws’ for lunch. They are all getting together with my parents tomorrow night but I’ll be in Charlottesville. Since they are only in town for a few days, this was my one opportunity to meet up with them!

We ate lunch at Met Cafe, a charge-by-the-pound deli.

I was delighted to find that they had sushi! The best part was that since it was charge-by-the-pound I could get as little or as much as I wanted. I didn’t have to commit to a full roll and I could mix and match.

They also had a large salad + hot food bar.

I got a little bit of everything that appealed to me. Salad with avocado and other veggies.

A triangle of tofu.

Plus some sushi: a piece of the tuna avocado roll, a piece of the sweet potato noodle and rapini roll, and eel nigiri (my favorite!).

Then it was time to explore DC by foot! It was the perfect day for strolling around–sunny yet cool and breezy.

Amos, the native Wisconsin, was informing me about the buildings I’ve grown up seeing for all of my life .

The leaves were practically changing colors before our eyes!

Amos had his heart set on visiting The Supreme Court. I was eager to go as well because I had NEVER been! I probably wouldn’t have been able to find it on a map before today. I know I KNOW.

Check out this spiral staircase–there is nothing supporting it from the underside. It’s just jammed into the wall…really well . They are held in place by fit and pressure.

I was impressed.

There was an option to hear a lecture inside the courtroom but we passed.

Here’s a model of the courtroom.

***

So I go into DC by driving 1/3 of the way, taking a bus another 1/3 of the way and riding the metro the last 1/3 of the way. On the way back before I hopped into my car, I stopped by a brand new cupcake shop (2 blocks from my old house!!) just to take a peek.

Red Velvet Cupcakery. I’ve seen their listings on Craigslist so I knew they were opening up but I didn’t know today was the grand opening…

SCORE!!!!

I got a FREE carrot cupcake. I probably should have gotten the red velvet flavor considering the name of the bakery but you know I can’t ever ever ever pass up carrot.

I tried to save half for my mom but the whole thing got gobbled up! I was hungry .

***

Finally, I made it home and whipped up dinner in 5 min. flat for me and my mom.

I picked up this TJ’s Organic Vegetarian Chili the other day to try out.

SO GOOD!! Thick ‘n’ hearty.The texture of the tofu was very similar to beef—I could hardly tell it was vegetarian. I am definitely picking up a few more cans next time I visit TJ’s.

I ate it with Ezekiel bread.

Plus a salad.

Then it was time to give my oven some lovin’.

Enough AllieBars to feed an army and Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Blondies, but made with sweet potato puree this time.

Since I won’t be there with everyone tomorrow, I made them dessert. You know, so they’ll think of me .

My mom loved these blondies from my Project Food Blog dinner party and suggested I bake them for tomorrow.

As you can see above, there was plenty of taste testing for quality control purposes. I think I like the sweet potato better than the pumpkin in this recipe!

***

Alright, I gotta go pack for tomorrow and then sleep! See you from Charlottesville .

A few months ago, I came across a recipe in Self Magazine for protein scones. I immediately added it to my must-bake list, a list that could easily stretch from here to the moon…and back. I finally got a chance yesterday to give them a shot. Due to my untamable sweet tooth and overall love for carbs, protein sometimes gets overshadowed by bread, pastries, and baked goods in my daily diet.

Well? Why not make sweet carby goodness high in protein at the same time?

I adapted the recipe by switching out the Splenda for honey and subbing some of the almond flour for oat flour. I also used dried cranberries and chopped pecans as my mix-ins. You could potentially use whatever mix-ins you want–chocolate chips, raisins, walnuts…the possibilities are endless.

What makes these scones high in protein is the use of almond meal (just ground almonds), egg whites, and protein powder. The oats, oat flour, and pecans add some protein as well. With a quick calculation, found that each small scone has ~10g of protein. A regular sized scone would have ~15-18g of protein!

The combination of whole grain carbs and protein make this a great post-workout snack or a quick on-the-go breakfast item.

I used almond meal from TJ’s but you could easily make this in a food processor too. Also, If you use gluten-free oats, these scones would be gluten-free!

The recipe is simple and quick. Just mix together the dry ingredients.

Stir in the egg whites and honey.

Then stir in your desired mix-ins.

Be careful not to overmix.

Transfer the dough onto a greased cookie sheet (or foil covered upside down pan).

Form into a flat mound.

Cut into triangle scone shapes and separate them just a little bit.

Bake! I made these in the toaster oven (as usual) and they came out great.

Serve warm.

These are not your typical rich, buttery scones. They are what my mom likes to describe as ‘healthy tasting’. They’re really more like dense cakey muffin-like cookies. I suppose that would make them scuffinookies!

Cranberry Pecan Protein Scones (Scuffinookies)

Adapted from Self Magazine

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
• 1/2 cup oat flour (ground oats)
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup whey protein powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (almond flour, oat flour, rolled oats, protein powder, cinnamon). In a separate bowl, whisk honey and egg whites. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until fully incorporated. Be careful not to overmix. Stir in dried cranberries and chopped pecans (or desired mix-ins) until evenly distributed.

Transfer the dough to a greased cookie sheet and form a flat mound. Cut mound into triangle scone shapes. Leave a space between scones (~1 cm). Bake at 350*F for 12-15 min.

*Makes 5 small scones or 3 medium scones. Recipe can be doubled or tripled.

I once babysat a 7-month old boy who was infatuated with Dora the Explorer. We watched the same exact episode of Dora several times a day, every day of the week. As a result, I knew the Dora song, played at the beginning of every show, by heart. I had that song stuck in my head for weeks (err…years) thereafter.

Why I just told you that I have no idea besides the fact that the title of this post was inspired by Dora and I did a lot of exploring on Saturday. I didn’t have a backpack or a monkey friend though…alright I’ve gone too far.

***

Moving on…

The Farmers’ Market at Old Town Alexandria’s Market Square (in front of City Hall) is open from 5:00-10:30 AM on Saturdays (who wakes up at 5 AM on a Saturday?!). I wanted to check it out since the chances of me waking up early on a Sat. to drive to another city’s farmers’ market is slim to none. However, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it that early.

As you can see, I did.

I had dogs as alarm clocks on Saturday morning, remember? Dogs don’t have snooze buttons.

I saw a bunch of similar stands as the ones at the Reston Farmers’ Market, but there were new to me ones as well.

One thing that every Farmers’ Market has is delicious samples. Wahoo!

Afterwards, I sipped a half caf grande coffee while people watching.

When do the RED Starbucks holiday cups come out!?!?

Saturday was the peak of my sickness so I could barely taste anything. This made food rather unappealing. I knew I needed something of substance to help me fight off my cold though so I opened a can of TJ’s Organic Split Pea Soup.

For some odd reason, I don’t normally crave soup but all I wanted on Saturday was a bowl of hot salty soup. It was probably the sodium I wanted/needed.

It was good, from what I could taste!

I had a slice of Cinna-raisin Ezekiel toast on the side.

Indy wanted a piece of the action but he had to settle for a small doggie treat instead. Sorry, little guy .

I had my own treat afterwards: Chocolate Almond Biscotti and Justin’s Maple Almond Butter. Even though I couldn’t really taste, I still needed something sweet to end my meal.

Clearly, my must-end-every-meal-with-something-sweet is all mental.

Before I left to continue exploring, I walked and fed the dogs. This little guy devours his food in about 12 seconds flat! He should partake in an eating contest someday.

The dogs broke the plastic child lock (NO idea how!!!) so I had to find an alternative way to lock them in the kitchen. I may have gone a bit too far but better safe than sorry right?

And I was OFF!! Check out this view from the Metro station. I’m assuming it’s some church. I should probably Google it.

I took the Metro to Georgetown to walk around and do some window shopping.

Not only was the weather beautiful, it was Parents’ Weekend at Georgetown University so the streets were packed with people.

Check out this line at Georgetown Cupcake!!! A line out the door and around the corner just for cupcakes. My brother says this is an every day occurrence. Wow!

After strolling for a few hours, I started to get hungry again. I really wanted some veggie juice to get plenty of vitamins in my body. After a quick search on my phone, I found there was a Whole Foods about 2 miles away with a juice bar. Cha-ching!

The 2 mile trek was up a STEEP slope but it was totally worth it. There were a couple cake + bread pudding samples which I had before sitting down with some juice.

I ordered a kale, cucumber, beet, ginger, and lemon juice. Mmmmmmm!!!!! The juicer guy thought it was an intereeeesting combo .

I also got some hot bar items–curry tempeh, veggie burger, hearts of palm and spring mix.

Plus some chocolate covered pecans from the bulk section for dessert.

Then I walked the 2 miles back to the water.

John F. Kennedy Center on the right!

Later, my parents swung by and we did a little bit of walking around Old Town Alexandria. We stopped at Starbucks where I got a Venti Passion Tea. Just what I needed for my sinuses.

Then it was time to go back and give the dogs some exercise in the form of a long neighborhood walk. I think all in all I walked about 10 miles on Saturday just exploring!

Watch out, Dora! You’ve got some competition .

***

Tell me: What is your ideal form of ‘exploring’?

a. shopping

b. hiking

c. eating/dining/drinking

d. historical stuff–monuments, museums, etc.

e. other

***

P.S. Voting is now open for the Blogger Mushroom Recipe Challenge. Vote for my Mushroom Feta Cornbread Muffins please!! Click HERE to vote (no registration needed, just a click).

Thank you!

Three days ago, I broke out Honeycomb the space heater. Today, it was in the mid 70s and I think I may have gotten sunburned! I don’t know what’s going on but I’m really enjoying it! This flip-flopping weather is perfect for a grass-is-always-greener girl like me. When it’s warm, I want it to be cooler. When it’s cool, I want it to be warmer….and the weather is listening to me .

I ran a steamy 6 miles today. It was so so so windy! It seemed liked I was always running against the wind and never with it. At times, I felt like I was running in place with the wind pushing me back. It turned out to be a good run though, despite the crazy wind.

***

Post workout, I had a giant Pumpkin Pie Smoothie sans banana (we were out). I discovered that bananas are a key ingredient! I added more almond milk but it didn’t have the same creaminess to it.

Then it was time for this….

Oatmeal patty topped with pumpkin Greek yogurt, cinnamon apples and pecans.

I made a bowl of oats and pan fried it to form a patty. Of course, not without a mini-explosion in the microwave first.

Guff. This has happened to me more times than I can count. I had the power level at 4 too. Apparently, our new microwave is much more powerful than our old one.

***

New Ginger Snax

Last night, I picked up a bag of Ginger Chews from Trader Joe’s. I’m not really sure why. I’m not a huge straight up ginger fan. I love gingersnaps. I like eating ginger at sushi restaurants. I like gingerbread. But straight up ginger doesn’t do much for me.

I like these though…in a weird sorta way. Although, I can only eat 1/2 a piece at a time or else my mouth starts to burn! These are h-o-t-t.

Ginger-O’s

These are not nearly as gingery as the chews. They are like a Ginger flavored Oreo, but with a better ingredients list. I want to make a pumpkin ‘n’ cream smoothie with these. Like cookies ‘n’ cream with Oreos but using pumpkin and Ginger O’s instead.

Oh. My. Goodness.

***

Dinner involved this crazy looking creature.

Romaine salad with pan-roasted salmon, brussels sprouts, onions, green peppers, and avocado.

Plus a side of potato bread. We used to buy potato bread all the time when I was little. It’s not exactly whole grain bread but you don’t always have to eat whole grain bread. Sometimes you just wanna have white fluffy bread.

Side of leftover beets.

Dessert: more Ginger O’s and Ginger Chews.

***

I’m still waiting (im)patiently for the Geniuses at the Apple Store to call me. I hope my Macbook made it out alive! I apologize if my email responses are delayed. All my flagged emails got lost with the hard drive. If I don’t respond soon, please resend the email!

Alright, time to twiddle my thumbs and wait by my phone.

***

Tell me: Are you a ginger fan? What is your favorite ginger food/snack?

I made these Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Blondies for the first time this past weekend as the dessert for my Project Food Blog Dinner Party (<–have you voted yet?).

It is no secret that pumpkin and pecans are two of my favorite foods. If you take a look my recipes page, you’ll find that I love to combine these two ingredients…a lot.

• Pumpkin Pecan Butter
• Pumpkin Pecan Coconut Granola
• Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Pecan Pumpkin Butter Patties

Given the amount of requests I got for this recipe, I think it’s safe to say that many of y’all are big pumpkin + pecan fans too.

The original recipe called for fresh sweet potato puree. While I had canned sweet potato puree on hand, I opted for canned pumpkin instead. I also cut back on the sugar just a smidge and used pumpkin pie spice to go along with the pumpkin switcheroo.

I usually find that when I bake with pumpkin, I get a very moist end product. These blondies, however, were thick, dense and slightly cakey. Thus, you can wrap them up and eat them on the go without having to worry about smushing them.

I used a 9×5 loaf pan instead of an 8×8 square baking dish and believe it or not, I baked these in the toaster oven! I found that I had to lower the temperature by about 20-30 degrees and decrease the cooking time by 2-3 minutes as a result.

These are incredibly scrumptious on their own but next time, I think I’m going to serve them with a side of butter pecan and/or pumpkin ice cream. Perhaps for Thanksgiving dessert?

Or…tonight .

Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Blondies

Adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375*F. In a large bowl, combine wet ingredients (pumpkin, oil, sugar, brown sugar, almond milk, vanilla) and stir well. Sift in dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, spices) and stir to combine. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in chopped pecans and chocolate chips (optional). Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and even out the top with a spatula. Bake for 25-28 min. or until toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool before slicing.