Pumpkin Pie Bars

I love/adore/go completely crazy over fall. It's my absolute favorite season. I love the holidays, the colors, the smells, the flavors, the crisp air, the cozy days and nights. Fall is gorgeous and tastes amazing.
I just bought Eric and I tickets the Elysian Brewing's 7th Annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival in Seattle. I am SO stoked! Pumpkin beers (some of them actually brewed INSIDE of a pumpkin), local food trucks (major YUM!), adorable souvenir pumpkin glasses, and everyone dresses in pumpkin attire! I need to go find something orange, stat!




(Photos courtesy of Beer Festival website - Elysian Brewing)

On another exciting fall note, my two favorite cupcake places in Seattle have some fantastic-sounding flavors of the month I can't wait to try. Trophy Cupcakes: "We're celebrating Washington's Apple Harvest and National Caramel Month with our newest seasonal flavor, Caramel Apple! The cake boasts local, organic granny smith apples and warm fall spices topped with housemade caramel infused buttercream, toasted pecans, and a drizzle more of homemade caramel." I'm kind of freaking out that sounds so amazing.
I'm sitting on the couch right now all bundled up in a blanket, drinking hot spiced tea and thinking about gorging on the PUMPKIN PIE BARS that I just pulled out of the oven. Does it get any more fall than that? Oh, did I mention a pumpkin spice candle is burning on the coffee table in front of me? Told you I'm obsessed.
Back to pumpkin pie bars.
Um, yummy heaven, right?
Growing up, pumpkin desserts, especially pumpkin pie, never really appealed to me. I think it's because I have vivid memories of my mother baking a pumpkin pie every year for Thanksgiving, taking big bites and chewing a few times, and then before swallowing, she'd show me her lovely colored mouthful of chewed up pumpkin pie and say, "Look! Baby poop!" Yup...
Well, I believe enough time has passed now for me to get over that trauma, because I can never wait until pumpkin season arrives. Bring me a pumpkin dessert and we'll be best friends for life. Thank you.
This recipe is, once again, from my homegirl Joy the Baker..and she's done it again. Total success. AND! I used my new and beautiful standup mixer! Double success!

Pumpkin Pie Bars

1-1/3 cups flour (I use unbleached all purpose white flour)
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided (organic, brown granulated sugar)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter or margarine (unsalted)
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened (I used fat free)
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)

HEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides; grease foil. Mix flour, 1/4 granulated sugar and brown sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and nuts.

RESERVE 1 cup oat mixture; press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, bourbon, pumpkin and spice with mixer until well blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

BAKE 25 min.; cool 10 min. Use foil to transfer dessert from pan to wire rack; cool completely.

Ballard stole my heart

I love Ballard for many, many reasons, but one of the main reasons this old Scandinavian fishing town stole my heart is the food. Plain and simple.
It seems as if the entire community is in agreement that there needs to be a food revolution in our country, and this massive movement is already well underway, and thriving here. Whether it's community kitchens and gardens, a booming local/organic farmers market, restaurant rooftop and backyard gardens, local beekeeping/honey making, breweries...you name it, Ballard has it! I am so unbelievably fortunate to be a part of all it. I am constantly discovering and on the lookout for new restaurants, stores and activities weekly; at times its hard to keep up! Thus, it's safe to say I will be blogging about Ballard continually.
One of the very first places I spotted upon moving here was a cute cafe called Verite Coffee/Cupcake Royale. As if a cafe selling endless amazingly delicious-sounding cupcakes wasn't enough(Salted Caramel! Lemon Drop! Lavender!), what drew me in even more was the fact that these are "cupcakes with a conscience!" The flour comes from local Shepherds Grain no-till co-op, fruit from local farmers, local eggs, hormone free milk and butter from Medowsweet Dairy, AND organic sugar! AAAAAND each month they come out with a new flavor made with local, seasonal ingredients. SOLD!
Today is June 1, and I just walked down to get the new cupcake of the month: RASPBERRY RHUBARB! A 'tart n sweet' combination made with rhubarb cake and and raspberry cream cheese frosting.
Now that's what I call a cupcake! Raspberry? Rhubarb? Cream cheese? Why, those are three of my favorite things. Thank you Jesus!
Excuse me while I go stuff my face with a piece of heaven...