Hi, my name is Piper, and I am a card-carrying pumpkin-aholic. From late August through January every year, I don’t need any excuse to bake with pumpkin. Waffles, creme brûlée, cake, cheesecake, cookies, what-have-you, if it’s a sweet treat, I always think, “But wouldn’t it be better if it were pumpkin?”
Pumpkin is one of those ingredients that we go absolutely nuts for during the few months of the year when it’s available. These delectable, tender, buttery pancakes make excellent use of this seasonal specialty. The spiced maple syrup is just the icing on the (pan)cake! These are perfect for making a holiday breakfast truly special.
Sometimes there’s nothing better than a simple, buttery, tender sugar cookie. And no bakery can replicate the pure perfection of these delicate, flaky cookies. Flavorful and sweet from the addition of both vanilla and almond extracts, a little bit soft and a little bit crunchy from the decorating sugar on top, these are a cinch to whip up. But you don’t have to tell your sweetheart that. Place a cooled stack of these cookies in a celophane bag and tie with a ribbon to present to your loved one (or your girlfriends if you’re boycotting Valentine’s Day this year — it happens, and it doesn’t mean that you should be deprived of cookies this good and so addictive that yours truly recently downed eight in the course of a single evening… in the name of research, of course.)
Happy Valentine’s Day.