Tag: Fall

Pumpkin Mousse

The Holidays are officially upon us, and I for one am pumped. We kicked off the season with our annual Friendsgiving this past weekend. It was filled with some of my favorite people, LOTS and LOTS of food, and plenty of wine to go around.

I’ll be sharing some of my favorite recipes from the night over the next week or so in preparations for Thanksgiving. Starting with this pumpkin mousse.

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So, some fun facts about me. I have a massive sweet tooth, but also am pretty health conscious and try to really limit the amount of sugar in my diet.

Normally if I’m going to eat a dessert, I’m going to eat a dessert with all the butter and sugar and goodness it has to offer, but entering the holiday season I know we’re going to be a bit overindulgent more frequently than usual so when I was making the menu for Friendsgiving, I tried to take a healthier approach to dessert.

This pumpkin mousse gets it sweetness from maple syrup, not refined sugar, and is…wait for it….vegan (gasp!)

This lightened up dessert still packs a punch on flavor from the homemade pumpkin butter, but could also totally be eaten for breakfast in good conscience.

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Pumpkin Mousse

YIELD: 8-9 Servings

PREP TIME: 5-10 Minutes

COOK TIME: 20 Minutes

TOTAL TIME: 2-3.5 Hours (includes chilling)

INGREDIENTS

Pumpkin Butter:

  • 1 Can (15 ounce) pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup real maple syrup, plus more if needed to sweeten
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mouse:

  • 1 1/2 Cups pumpkin butter
  • 3 1/4 Cups almond milk
  • 8 Tablespoons chia seeds

DIRECTIONS

To Make the Pumpkin Butter:

  1. In a medium sauce pan, combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat slightly and cook, stirring frequently until the mixture thickens a bit, but is still spreadable (about 20 minutes).
  2. Taste, add more maple syrup if you desire a sweeter pumpkin butter
  3. Set aside to cool, while you gather your other ingredients for the mousse*
    • If making in advance, transfer to a glass jar(s) and store in the refrigerator for up to a month

To Make the Pumpkin Mousse:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk to combine pumpkin butter, almond milk, and chia seeds. Refrigerate until thick and pudding-like, about 2 to 3 hours or overnight if you’re making the day before
  2. Next pour the mixture into a high-speed blender (I used a Vitamix) and blend until a smooth mousse like texture is achieved
  3. Transfer to individual serving bowls and chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve
  4. Optional: Top with homemade whipped cream (or coconut cream to keep it vegan) and pepita seeds

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Apple Butter Waffles

Fall has finally arrived in Philadelphia or at least I hope. We’ve basically living in a rain forest for the last 3+ months so I’m keeping my fingers crossed we’ve finally turned a corner into sweater weather (and some sunshine).

I’m in the midst of a Whole30, but to kick off the season, I wanted to make something that felt warm and cozy but wasn’t in your face FALL (i.e pumpkin spice everything).

Since these are very off-limits on Whole30 (boo), I recruited Nika and her boyfriend to be my taste testers for a Saturday brunch and received their stamp of approval to share the recipe.

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These waffles require just one bowl, are light and crispy, and deliver on Fall flavor with the addition of the apple butter. I also made some (whole30 approved) sautéed apples to top the waffles with because why not?

True Life: I have 6 of these bad boys in my freezer for the moment I finish up this Whole30

Apple Butter Waffles

YIELD: 4- 6 Servings

PREP TIME: 10 -15 Minutes

COOK TIME: 15 Minutes

TOTAL TIME: 25 -30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Waffles:

  •  2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/4 Cup apple butter
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/2 Teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 Milk (I used coconut milk)
  • 1 1/2 Cup all purpose flour
  • 2 Teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/8 Teaspoon cinnamon

Sautéed Apples:

  • 1 Large apples
  • 1 Tablespoon clarified butter (regular butter is totally fine for this as well)
  • Sprinkling of cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Waffles:

  1. Preheat waffle iron
  2. Combine oil, apple butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk in a large bowl
  3. Whisk in flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (Note: this should be a pretty thick batter, but you may need to add a splash of milk if you’re having difficultly combining ingredients)
  4. Use 1/4 cup to pour batter into waffle iron; cook on medium heat until waffles are lightly golden brown (3-4 minutes)
  5. Freeze extras and reheat in the toaster  when you’re ready for another

Sautéed Apples

  1. Slice apples into uniform sized pieces
  2. Heat one tablespoon of clarified butter in a cast iron
  3. Add apples and cinnamon and stir until all pieces are evenly coated in butter and cinnamon
  4. Let apples sauté for a few minutes, stirring occasionally
    • Note: You can sauté apples for as little as 2-3 minutes or until apples soften depending on your desired texture