Back to School for Danger and some fun with Comfort Foods!

With Danger heading back to school today, I can't help but admit that fall season is quickly approaching.  Living in upstate NY, the snow follows the changing leaves very quickly.  It makes me crave comfy blankets, hooded sweatshirts and crock pot recipes that fill our bellies with warmth and goodness.  Of course we all have our fall favorites that we lean towards and I tend to incorporate as much pumpkin as possible into my life.  As I started thinking about this and making my shopping list, I had a brilliant moment of thought!  I would love to know all of your favorite fall recipes, the ones your whole family loves, the ones that you use to fuel your runs and their happiness, and the ones that take you back in time to your mother's kitchen.  What I would love to do is feature one runner/reader/blogger a week and have you answer a few questions about yourself and your recipe.  Its a fun way we can all get to know each other better and share something special with each other.  Please feel free to email me at:  Mom Running on Empty at gmail dot com to participate!

Since its a special day for Danger today, I figured I would surprise him with one of his very favorite treats.  Now you must know that when I first found this recipe (or when it first arrived in my inbox) I was a bit hesitant to make it since my boy hates everything.  He especially HATES things he has never tried before.  Having hosted au pairs for the past 9 years, we have had our share of picky eaters in the house and Danger detests (without trying) every single item they did not like.  It's a slow process but we are working on it!

Anyway, last November, one of my very favorite bloggers, Tracey, from Tracey's Culinary Adventures wrote a post and included a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares based on a recipe from Martha.  At the time I could not relate to her dilemma of keeping her blog separate from her real life but when I pulled it up today it rang all sorts of bells!  Isn't t funny how a year can change so very many things?  I pondered that for a bit while I gathered my ingredients.  I came to the conclusion that I was a blog extrovert.  I was hesitant for a few weeks to share my blog with others who know me but once I got used to the idea, I tell everyone!

For those of you who are salivating at the thought of pumpkin-chocolaty-goodness, Here is the recipe (modified a tiny bit from the original from Martha and Tracey):

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares
modified from Tracey's Culinary Adventure

Ingredients:

 2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
12 oz (about 2 cups) chocolate chips ( I used milk chocolate but you can choose any kind you like)

Technique:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Use a 13x9 baking pan (I prefer glass) and line it with aluminum foil.  Make sure to spray your foil with a cooking spray to avoid any sticking later on.  Leave enough overhang on the foil to be able to lift it out of the pan later (about 2-4 inches on both sides, depending on your gracefulness).  

Combine together in a medium bowl the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside once evenly blended  In your mixer, and using a paddle attachment (it's in bold for a reason folks...  don't doubt me on this) cream together your white and brown sugar with your butter.  Use medium speed and continue till it's a light fluffy mixture.  This shouldn't take more than 3 minutes.  Add your egg (if it came out of the fridge and isn't room temperature, a quick way to fix that is to place it in a warm cup of water for about 2 minutes while you are creaming the sugars and butter), and your vanilla.  Beat until thoroughly combines and the add pumpkin puree.  Your mixture is about to look curdled ( like bad milk only orange and tan) so don't freak out.  It's supposed to look like this and will come together after adding your dry ingredients.  

Because I'm messy, I stop the mixer and add half of the flour mixture to  my pumpkin mixture.  I let that blend, scrape the sides of the bowl and add the rest of my dry mixture.  Once it is fully combined, add your chocolate chips  and fold in by hand.  

Transfer this mixture into your prepped pan and spread evenly.  It's important to make sure it is even so they will bake all the way through.  Place in the oven for somewhere between 35-40 minutes ( my oven takes precisely 38 minutes) but you will know when it's ready when it starts to pull away from the foil.  Allow the bars to cool completely (if you are in a mad rush to beat the bus like I am today, use the help of your freezer).  Once totally cooled, use the excess foil edges to remove the bars from the pan and cut into squares.  

If you want to pretty these up, they can be served with either vanilla or cinnamon ice cream and garnished with a sprinkle of cinnamon as well!  Danger isn't so fancy so I'll just be serving his with some chocolate milk! 

Did you do something special for your children(s) first day back to school?  Do you want to be featured with your favorite family recipe?  

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