Spiced Pumpkin Cornbread with Cinnamon Honey Butter Your New Thanksgiving Must-Have

  

I’ve baked my share of pumpkin cornbreads over the years, enough to know the pitfalls by heart. Some come out like dry bricks that crumble the second you touch them. Others taste more like spice cake pretending to be cornbread. A few go so heavy on the pumpkin they turn into orange mush.

 This version, though, lands exactly where it should. The pumpkin and sour cream keep every bite moist and cohesive—no more lap full of crumbs. The spices are warm and present but never steal the show; you still taste cornbread first, with fall flavors right behind. And the cinnamon honey butter? It’s sweet, airy, and so good you’ll catch yourself sneaking extra squares when no one’s looking.

A few things I’ve learned along the way: choose medium-grind cornmeal for texture without grit—stone-ground if you can find it. Let the eggs and sour cream come to room temperature so everything blends smoothly and you’re less tempted to overmix. Line the pan with a parchment sling; it makes clean squares effortless and saves the corners for late-night snacking. You can bake the cornbread a day ahead, wrap it well, and warm it at 300°F for ten minutes before serving. The butter keeps in the fridge for a week—just whip it again to bring back the fluff.

Want to switch it up? Skip the sugar and fold in shredded cheddar and diced jalapeño for a savory kick. Or trade the honey for maple syrup in the butter for a deeper autumn note.

Serve it warm alongside turkey and cranberry sauce, toast a piece for breakfast with a fried egg on top, or crumble it over vanilla ice cream and drizzle with extra butter for a quick dessert. Bottom line: if you try one new fall recipe this year, make it this pumpkin cornbread. It’s the side that quietly becomes the star.Pumpkin Cornbread with Cinnamon Honey Butter

 For the Cornbread

1 c. flour

1 c. cornmeal

1 t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

½ t. fine salt

½ t. ground cinnamon

½ t. ground ginger

¼ t. ground nutmeg

¼ t. ground cloves

½ c. light brown sugar, packed

¼ c. butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 c. pumpkin purée

½ c. sour cream

2 large eggs, room temperature

For the Whipped Cinnamon Honey Butter

½ c. butter, room temperature

⅓ c. honey

¼ c. powdered sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray an 8×8-inch baking dish with Baker’s Joy.

 In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves for 30 seconds. Make a wide well in the center.

 In a medium bowl, crumble the brown sugar with your fingertips to break up lumps. Add melted butter and pumpkin purée; whisk until silky. Whisk in sour cream and eggs until completely smooth.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry well. Using a rubber spatula, fold just until the flour disappears and no dry pockets remain. Do not overmix!!

 Scrape batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake on the center rack 25–30 minutes, until the edges are golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove from the pan cool another 5–10 minutes before slicing.

 While the cornbread bakes, whip softened butter with a hand mixer until creamy. Add honey, powdered sugar, and cinnamon. Mix on low to combine, then beat on high 2–3 minutes until pale, fluffy, and cloud-like. Scrape into a small bowl and serve at room temp.

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Spinach Casserole with Four Cheeses

 

If you’re looking for something different to serve for Thanksgiving, or for a holiday brunch, this easy, make-ahead casserole just might be the answer. It’s certainly more nutritious than popular favorites like green bean casserole or corn pudding, but despite the high nutritional value it’s not lacking in flavor. My guess is that if you make it once, it will soon become a family favorite. If you have a hard time moving away from the French fried onions, those bits of crispy deliciousness found atop green bean casserole, you can sprinkle some on top of this one before baking.Spinach Casserole with Four Cheeses

 3 large eggs, beaten

1 16-oz. container small curd cottage cheese

1 16-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 4-oz. container crumbled feta

½ c. shredded cheddar

½ c. shredded Parmesan

1 Melissa’s shallot, minced

¼ c. melted butter

⅛ tsp. garlic powder

⅛ t. freshly grated nutmeg

Freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges, if desired

 Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 1½-qt. casserole dish with PAM; set aside.

Place all ingredients into a large bowl, and mix with a wooden spoon until combined; transfer to prepared baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes or until the center is nearly set. If desired, sprinkle additional grated cheese on top during the last few minutes of baking, and bake until cheese has melted.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges. The freshly squeezed juice really brightens this dish.

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Bacon Mushroom Caps

 

These are wonderful appetizers, easy to make and delicious. I have served them both at brunches and cocktail parties with equal success, and I always get requests for the recipe. Recipients are continually surprised by one of the ingredients - corn chips!

 Bacon Mushroom Caps

40 medium button mushrooms

½ lb. bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. butter, softened

½ c. finely crushed corn chips

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 T. finely chopped onion

1 T. dry red wine

 Remove stems from cleaned mushrooms; chop stems. Combine stems with remaining ingredients. Fill mushroom caps. Place an inch apart on baking sheets and broil 5 to 7 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly. Serve hot.

 

Crush corn chips very fine. I used an ice cream scoop.The recipe calls for Monterrey Jack, but I used Fontina.Cook bacon until well done and crispy, and then chop with a sharp knife.Stir ingredients together well. I cubed the butter in order to allow it to more quickly incorporate.Rolling the filling into loose ball shapes makes it easy to fill each cap.

These are a MUST TRY!

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Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake

 

I know that what I am about to reveal is going to stir controversy, but I am who I am, and I make no apologies when I say that the worst part of Thanksgiving dinner, for me, is dessert. I am not a particular fan of pies, but I find pumpkin and pecan (the former in particular) to be totally uninspired. As a consequence, I am always looking for something different, yet seasonably appropriate to serve for dessert.  I found this recipe on the Eagle Brand website, was intrigued, and decided to give it a try. It’s quite good! In fact, I think this would be equally good at a brunch as it would at dinner. If you’re looking for something different yet appropriate, the answer just may be right here.

Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake

1 c. vegetable oil

3 large eggs

½ c. sugar

1 14-oz. can of Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 t. vanilla extract

1 15-oz. can pumpkin purée

2½ c. all-purpose flour

2 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. cinnamon

1/8 t. cloves

1 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

½ c. buttermilk

 Glaze:

1 stick butter

1 c. sugar

¼ c. rum

½ c. chopped pecans

 Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a decorative 12-cup Bundt pan with Baker’s Joy.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer beat oil, eggs, and sugar together until well blended. Add milk, extract, and pumpkin purée, and beat until combined.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add it to the liquid mixture, in increments, with mixer running. When the wet and dry ingredients are combined, slowly add buttermilk, beating until just combined.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes until cake tests done. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and continue cooling for another 10 minutes. Transfer cake to serving plate.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and sugar together. When better has fully melted, stir in rum, and cook for five minutes. Remove from heat, add pecans, and spoon over top of cake.

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Christmas Cheese Ball

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Back in the 70s, cheese balls were the thing. No matter the decade, I love them, always have. They were not, however, as full of flavor as the cheese ball concoctions of today. I was thinking about the red and green colors of Christmas, and came up with this one. Festive and delicious, it’s good with crackers, of course, but it’s also wonderful spread on slices of crisp apple, or in the crevices of celery. If you’re making social distancing appetizers, this cheese ball can be turned into four mini cheese balls for individual plates.

 Christmas Cheese Ball

1 large green onion
1 small clove garlic
⅓ c. Melissa’s dried cranberries

3 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled
Pinch cayenne
1 t. freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Pinch garlic salt

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
½ c. shredded white cheddar cheese

¼ c. chopped pecans, roasted
3 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled
½ t. dried parsley

Crackers, apples, or crudités, for serving

In the work bowl of your food processor, place first eight ingredients. Pulse until finely chopped. Empty mixture into a medium mixing bowl. With a hand mixer beat in cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Place roasted pecans, crumbled bacon, and dried parsley into a bowl. Stir together. Form the cheese mixture into a ball, and roll in the pecan/bacon/parsley mixture until covered. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

 

 

 

Creamed Pearl Onions with Spinach

Last week in my posting about how to peel pearl onions, I mentioned a delicious recipe for using them, promising that I'd share. Initially, I was reluctant to do so because, as does occasionally happen, the picture that I took of the finished dish did not turn out well. What can I say? It was Thanksgiving, I was frazzled, and it was dark and gloomy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I can show you that it is here on the Thanksgiving dinner plate, and tell you that it is my own creation based upon a simple longing to add pearl onions to creamed spinach. Never before have I had people rave about an onion dish as they did about this one. 

Peel your onions and make the topping the day before; thaw the spinach overnight in the fridge and it goes together fairly quickly. You can also make it a day ahead of when you plan to bake it, but save the topping in a separate container and sprinkle over the top just prior to baking. It’s a wonderful holiday dish.

Creamed Pearl Onions with Spinach

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup flour
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon tablespoon kosher salt
Few gratings freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces Melissa’s Assorted Pearl Onions, blanched and peeled

Topping

1 cup panko

½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter

Preheat the oven to 425º F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium heat. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and milk and cook until thickened. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and add the spinach to the sauce. Add Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Stir in pearl onions.

Meanwhile mix together topping ingredients.

Transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle with topping. Bake until breadcrumbs are deep golden brown and cream is bubbling around the edges, 25–30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

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