Easiest Cookies in the World

Mark my words: These are the easiest cookies to make in the entire world (apart from break-and-bake, that is).

You only need two ingredients:

Spice Cake Mix

and

Canned Pumpkin

That’s it! No butter, oil, sugar, eggs… nothin’!

The Goods

Ryan affectionately calls these “the best cookies in the world.” I call them pumpkin spice cookies.

I cooked up a batch to take to game night at my friend Laurel’s apartment tonight.

To make the cookies, simply combine the spice cake mix and the canned pumpkin until a thick dough forms.

Pumpkin and Spice Cake Mix

All Mixed Up

Place the cookies on a cookies sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake at 350 degrees for approximately ten minutes.

Dough Balls

Of course, be sure to lick the bowl clean and let hungry bystanders in on the goods.

"C'mon, Give Me a Lick, Dad!"

In less than 15 minutes from start to finish, you’ll have freshly baked low calorie pumpkin spice cookies!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

That’s it! Easy, peasy (and delicious), huh?

Yum, Yum

You can also add in numerous additions including raisins, chocolate chips, nuts and more! I added honey roasted sunflower seeds to some of my cookies.

Sunflower Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I’ve made these for several years now and they always receive rave reviews. The use of pumpkin with the cake mix keeps the calories down, so the cookies are a wonderful way to enjoy a lower-calorie dessert.

Examiner:

See this recipe and learn more about the benefits of pumpkin in my latest Examiner article: click here! 🙂

Redeeming My Chocolate-Covered Popcorn Indulgence

After eating my body weight in chocolate-covered popcorn (and pumpkin pie!) last night, I knew today’s lunch needed to step up the nutrition a notch.

What better way to get a lot of fresh, vitamin-rich veggies in your belly than a big salad?

Last night I prepped for my lunchtime salad by chopping up a sweet potato into little bite-size chunks and microwaving them for five minutes before flipping them and nuking them for another 90 seconds.

Sweet Potato

Not the best way to cook a sweet potato in my opinion, but it works!

Chunk-a-Chunks

The base for my salad was bright green leafy spinach topped with several handfuls of broccoli slaw.

In addition to the sweet potato chunks, I used freshly chopped zucchini and celery to add some crunch to the salad and incorporated steamed broccoli and cauliflower florets for additional color and flavor. Naturally I needed some cheese to make me happy, so I added a handful of feta for a protein kick.

Biiiig Salad

Close Up

I used a light raspberry vinaigrette as my dressing and wolfed the entire salad down in no time at all. I have a gift for fast eating. 😉

One Mo' Time

I’m fulllll.

Pumpkin, Popcorn and Chili – Oh My!

Though nearly every one (or every couple) brought a pumpkin to last night’s pumpkin carving hoopla, it seemed like food was even more prevalent than the lovely gourd!

A bunch of us gathered at our friends’ Pete and Merri’s apartment for their annual pumpkin carving party. Our fabulous hostess even cooked up a huge pot of homemade Cincinnati chili for the occasion.

Makin' the Chili

Apparently Cincinnati is quite famous for their chili! Wikipedia even has an entry for Cincinnati chili: Cincinnati chili is a regional style of chili characterized by the use of unusual ingredients such as cinnamon, cloves, or chocolate. Those Ohio folks know how to make a mean batch of chili!

Merri and Pete had a bunch of yummy toppings prepared to spruce up the already fantastic chili.

Toppings in Festive Bowls!

I was heavily addicted to the oyster crackers.

While we were waiting for my friend Laurel’s corn bread to heat up in the oven, we all snaked on copious amounts of chocolate-covered popcorn and candy corn.

Halloweenie Snacks

DANGER: This stuff is highly addicting and you will likely eat yourself sick once you start. Trust me. I know.

Notice how we've positioned ourselves right by the chocolate-covered popcorn...

Once the cornbread was nice and toasty, it was time to dig in!

Laurel's Fabulous Cornbread

I made myself a yummy bowl of chili, topped with cheese, oyster crackers and onion.

My Bowl

Delish! Great cookin’, Merri!

Enjoying the Chili

With full bellies, it was finally time to get carvin’ da pumpkins!

Me and My Friend Minda in the Pumpkin Patch

Everyone got down to business, cutting off the stems and removing lots of seeds!

Carvin' Away

My pumpkin didn’t turn out quite the way I’d hoped…

Poor Pumpkin

But I love him anyway!

In Love

Everyone’s pumpkins looked great, which made my poor guy (who we all named Grimace) look even more deformed. Don’t worry though, he’ll shine with a candle in his belly on our front porch for the world to enjoy!

The Pumpkin Carving Gang

I love fun nights with great friends and tasty food, even though I always seem to leave with that Thanksgiving-full feeling (i.e. sick!). Totally worth it! 🙂

Thanks again Merri & Pete for such a fun night!

Breakfast

This morning I woke up still slightly full from last night. That’s how you knoooow you ate too much! 🙂 Still, that didn’t stop me from makin’ a tasty breakfast.

Breakfast Ingredients

I topped a Chobani Greek yogurt cup with honey roasted sunflower seeds, an Almondina almond cookie and Brothers-All-Natural pear crisps.

Lots of Toppings

Friday Breakfast

It was a nice and simple breakfast and a great way to kick off a Friday. Happy weekend eve!