My family’s sweet pumpkin picks

Pumpkin picking, 2021

My daughter Pamela sighs as a photo memory pops up displaying photos of a fun apple-picking outing that we had enjoyed several years ago soon after we moved back to New York, which is home  to the apple as its official fruit. As soon as the fall season begins, so does excitement for apple picking and various recipes for sweet and savory dishes that can be made with the bounty of apples. Our family used to share in the excitement, and we all loved trying lots of recipes using those fresh apples from pies, to fritters, muffins, cake and more.

But our autumnal appetites changed when Pamela, 13, developed Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) a few years ago. It started with cherries and peaches, then apples came along shortly after. When she first felt the tingly mouth sensation while eating a bowl of fresh cherries, I had a feeling OAS was the culprit. My oldest child, Joseph, now 18, developed OAS to strawberries, watermelon and cantaloupe at about the same age Pamela was. Joseph also is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, egg, soy, sesame and mustard. Little did I know when I was writing this story about OAS, that I would soon become even more familiar with the condition with both of my children now reacting to different fruits from each other.

Thankfully both of my kids love to eat pumpkin creations! And Pamela loves everything about the season, including our annual pumpkin picking outing at Dykeman Farm. So my autumn baking focuses on the popular orange fruit, instead of red. 

Here are some of our favorite pumpkin recipes. For all of these, I use a gluten-free flour mix that I make using the recipe from Cybele Pascal; and I substitute ingredients in the recipes as needed (i.e. using egg replacer, and my homemade oat milk). Whatever  popular fall flavor is your favorite, I hope you enjoy some fall baking this season!

Some of our favorite pumpkin recipes:

🎃Pumpkin pie I use the crust recipe from Cybele Pascal’s cookbook “The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook”; and the pie filling from the recipe for Vegan Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie from Minimalist Baker.

🎃Pumpkin bread Recipe for One-Bowl Vegan Pumpkin Bread from Allergylicious.

🎃Pumpkin bars Recipe for Pumpkin Bars with Brown Sugar Frosting from Handle the Heat.

🎃Pumpkin chocolate chip skillet cookie Recipe for Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie from Gluten Free Palate.

🎃Pumpkin waffles and pancakes - I use the recipes for Gluten-Free Pumpkin Waffles and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes from Mama Knows Gluten Free I usually add Enjoy Life chocolate chips to the pancakes.

🎃Pumpkin cupcakes with maple frosting I use a recipe from a 2013 mini cookbook that you get in the checkout line. The cover is missing, so I don’t even  know the name of it, and the page of the recipe is ripped right through the ingredients since I’ve made these so much. But I substitute ingredients for most of the recipe and these cupcakes come out moist and delicious every time (I don’t always add the nutmeg and ginger and they’re still so good). I’ve included the recipe below. Since the recipe makes 24 cupcakes, I often freeze half of them unfrosted so they’re ready to use when I don’t have fresh pumpkin puree on hand. 

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup dairy-free butter (I use soy-free/dairy-free Earth Balance margarine)

3 egg substitutes

15 oz pumpkin puree

1 cup dairy-free milk

3 cups GF flour

1 tsp xanthan gum (if not in your GF flour)

1 Tbl baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

(Maple Frosting recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake wrappers.

Beat sugar and butter at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs substitute, beating well.

Combine pumpkin and milk.

Whisk dry ingredients. Alternately add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture, beating well after each addition, ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling about two-thirds full.

Bake 20 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Maple frosting

Beat 3/4 cup dairy-free butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 3 Tbl maple syrup and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Gradually add 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy, adding 2 or more Tbl dairy-free milk to reach desired consistency.