Pumpkin Cookie Bars with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these pumpkin bars for 100% unselfish reasons.

I made them for Michael's boss, my brother, and you.

See....I may have mentioned it before but Michael and I pretty much despise all things fall. We do not like this season. And one of those things includes people pumpkin-ing all the things. Mind you, I enjoy a nice piece of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving but aside from that...no pumpkin for me, thanks.

But then Michael's new boss made a request. And my brother (who is leeeaving for the airforce in a couple months!) was all "oooh yeah!" and I thought to myself..."The readers will want this."

So I did it.

I made these. You're welcome everybody.

First let me explain what I made. These are a spiced pumpkin sugar cookie bar (which I made even more pumpkin-y with the addition of pumpkin spice flavored butter that I had) that are then frosted with a brown sugar cream cheese frosting (which I, again, amped up with that pumpkin butter).

Since-like I mentioned-these bars weren't really up mine or Michael's alleys I'll give you the impressions from other people (although I will confess that I tried-and liked-the frosting. It was a nice amount of sweet without being too much):

Josh: "I was expecting them to be gooey but I really like them-the pumpkin flavor is just enough."

Michael's coworkers: Well....they disappeared in like 5 minutes flat. And one of them said he really liked the texture and flavor and that the ratio of frosting to bar was perfect-nothing overpowered anything else. (I will note that Michael's coworker Angela said the frosting was too "cream cheesy" but the aforementioned fellow told her she was insane. So...do with that as you will.)

You (probably): OMG I LOVE THEM YAYYY PUMPKIN ALL THE THINGS!

I dunno, just guessing :P

Pumpkin Pie with Whole Wheat Crust and Cinnamon Caramel Whipped Cream-Stahlbush Farms Review

Pumpkin pie is the first pie I can remember loving. Every Thanksgiving, without fail, my mom would make 2 pies and fill the whole house with that delicious, pumpkin-spice smell. And then I would have to wait, patiently*, for them to cool. My reward was a gorgeous slice of pie with a big dollop of Cool Whip that I would then proceed to scrape out of the crust (because I didn't like pie crust at that time...my theory on this is because I had yet to try a HOMEMADE pie crust at that point.) 

Now I'm grown up. And I made a grown up version of my beloved pumpkin pie.

*(not so patiently)

As a "grown up" I've really gotten into eating food from scratch: real, natural, and oft-times organic food. So when I was approached by Stahlbush Farms, I jumped at the chance to review some of their product.

"Stahlbush Island Farms is an environmentally friendly farm and food processor committed to sustainable agriculture and exceptional quality. Stahlbush has been family-owned since 1985."

Check out all the amazing products Stahlbush offers (plus the products from their Farmer's Market brand!) 

Stahlbush Farms sent me some super tasty frozen grapes to try AND-dun dun dun duuuun!- their Farmer's market brand Organic Pumpkin! And obviously I knew what I had to do: make a healthier pumpkin pie (after all, when dealing with an organic pumpkin puree with no additives, I couldn't ruin it with a bunch of other gunk). So I made a whole wheat pie crust, and topped it off with a just slightly sinful cinnamon caramel whipped cream. Mmmm yes.

I'm gonna be straight with you right now: when I was making this pie I felt like everything was going wrong. I had some issues with the pie crust being too sticky (I had to throw half of it out! Ugh, don't worry though-just follow the instructions below and you should be good. I've updated them so you hopefully won't have my problems) and THEN I was a big old idiot and poured the pie filling into the crust....before I'd mixed the evaporated milk in. *sigh* I only had a minor conniption, eased by the Michael playing "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls (he thought it might help calm me down, he was right). End of the day, everything turned out fine. I fixed all the problemos. And still ended up with a tasty tasty pie. 

Crisp, flaky, hearty pie crust. Creamy, dreamy, spiced to perfection pumpkin filling. And a sweet whipped cream with just a hint of spice on top. Oh little Kayle, you had no idea what heights pumpkin pie could reach.

Make this for Thanksgiving. Impress everyone. You're welcome.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies-Guest Post with Jennie of The Messy Baker

EEE! Ok, so, today is Vince (Michael's cousin)'s rehearsal dinner, so I'm of course busy busy busy. But guys, I have a TREAT for you today: my girl Jennie from The Messy Baker is here to share one of her FABULOUS recipes with you guys! AREN'T YOU EXCITED??! I love Jennie. Like oodles. Bunches and bunches. We need to meet asap. And you wanna see something adorable? 

This is the very first comment she left on here, (in response to a comment I had left on her blog after stumbling upon it), and thusly began our friendship. Cute as crap, right?

Ok, enough from me, on to Jennie and cookies!

Hello, Cooking Actress fans! I’m Jennie. Nice to meet ya. I’m the baker, spatula licker, and taste tester over at The Messy Baker. Today I’m filling in for my gal Kayle. She’s off doing her thang, so I’m here to provide you with mucho deliciousness today.

I’m a frequent flyer here at The Cooking Actress. I just can’t get enough of Kayle’s cookies, pies, cakes, and savory eats. The girl knows how to cook some tasty grub. Her beau Michael is one lucky guy.

Kayle and I met over the interweb almost 2 years ago through our blogs. It was love at first sight. One look at her list of cookies, and I was in it for the long haul. After that first day, there was no keeping me away.

So, in the spirit of good cookies and in honor of Kayle, I decided to keep up with the tradition and make a cookie recipe to add to her ever-growing cookie list.

Enter pumpkin cheesecake cookies. Go ahead, I’ll wait while you read that again.

Yup, pumpkin cheesecake cookies—a soft, spicy cookie that combines the flavors of fall and the rich, creaminess of cheesecake in portable form. Say what!

You’ve heard of that slightly famous roll that makes an appearance during the fall and winter holidays—pumpkin roll. Yeah, these cookies taste just like that…all soft and creamy with hints of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger.

These cookies are so moist that they melt in your mouth as you eat them. They have a delicate, tender crumb that will keep you coming back for more. One, two, three cookies, gone!

A big thank you to Kayle for inviting me to post on her behalf, and a big thank you to you, her readers, for having me. I hope you guys enjoy the cookies as much as my family and I enjoyed them.