Pumpkin Extravaganza

Come the cool fall weather, I get a real hankering for pumpkin. A slice or two of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving isn’t nearly enough to satisfy my seasonal craving, so I’m always looking for alternative treats.

My friend, Linda, brought me an extravaganza of pumpkin goodies recently: cream cheese frosted pumpkin bars, muffins, cookies, and whoopie pies. To give proper credit, her daughter, Emma, did all the baking. Can you imagine how good their house must have smelled?

Now, am I the last person around to taste a whoopie pie? Where has this confection been all my life (wending it’s way westward from New England, according to this site). I had heard of the chocolate variety, but pumpkin? Let’s just say how pleased I am that it was my first!

There are plenty of recipes for pumpkin whoopie pies online. Emma used the one from King Arthur Flour (sans the xanthan gum and crystallized ginger). The pies were dense, creamy and really pumpkiny!

Here’s an autumn doll quilt or table topper with a pumpkin theme. The pattern is Pumpkin Seed, a slight variation of the popular Orange Peel design, with thinner appliquéd segments.


My friend Mary R. made the quilt top as a gift for me, using Cherrywood hand dyed cotton fabrics.

I hand quilted it, continuing the pumpkin seed design into the border. Although it turned the corners nicely at the top of the quilt, the bottom corners were unresolved. I filled the spaces with the date of completion.

© DJB, 1999
18” x 21”

If I don’t manage to post again before the holiday, let me wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. I’m very thankful for you!