Happy Thanksgiving Weekend everyone! The Eat to the Beat team is taking a well-deserved break to cozy up by the fire and catch  the smell and taste of apples, pumpkins and turkey. Join us in making this Thanksgiving an amazing time with these fun recipes featured on our Falling for Food Pinterest board.

 To really get those familiar fall scents wafting through the house, try these Spiced Up Apple Chips! Recipe courtesy of uTry.it

Spiced Up Apple Chips

Ingredients

1/3 cup vanilla sugar (or white sugar)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 small Gala Apples

Directions

Preheat oven to 200F degree.

Place the sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom in a shallow dish. Stir until it’s well combined. Slice the apples as thin as you can, about 1/8-inch. Remove the core with a small cookie cutter. If you have an apple corer, remove the core before slicing.

Gently pat dry the apple slices with a paper towel. Drench the apple slices in the spiced sugar, shake of excess and place them on a parchment paper lined sheet pan in a single layer.

Bake for one hour, flip the apple chips up side down to dry the over side. Return to the oven and bake for another one hour. You can leave the apple chips in the oven overnight with the oven off. The chips crisp up while they cool.

Pumpkin is a must have ingredient when it comes to fall cooking, and this Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread brings that favourite flavour to life! Recipe courtesy of Sunny Side Up. 

Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

Bread
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 cup white sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 tbsp unsalted butter

Buttered Rum Glaze
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp to 1 tbsp rum (depending on taste) or substitute a teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, brown 2 tablespoons of butter, letting it bubble up and turn a dark golden brown but being careful not to allow it burn. Once browned, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the milk, return to stove and heat through. Pour the milk and butter into the bowl of standing mixer (fitted with a dough hook) and allow to cool so it is no longer hot but also not cool (about 100-110 degrees F). Once it has reached a warm but not hot temperature add the yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar and allow to proof (this can take up to 8 minutes, the top will look foamy and the liquid cloudy). Then add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Stir until combined then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. If the dough is too moist, add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time.

Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.

While dough is rising, brown another 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well. Making sure sugar evenly absorbs the butter. Set aside. Next, grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan and set aside.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and flip out onto a clean floured surface and knead with hands for 1-2 minutes. Roll dough into a 20×12 inch rectangle. Evenly sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture and press into dough with palms of the hand. Cut the rectangle into 6 strips. Lay strips on top of each other and cut each strip into 6 even squares (cut in half then each half into thirds). Stack strips vertically into the loaf pan. Cover the pan with a clean towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.

In the meantime preheat an oven to 350 degrees. After rising in the pan bake for 30-40 minutes, or until top is a very deep golden brown.

To prepare the glaze, heat the butter, milk, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil then immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum and powdered sugar. Brush over the bread and let it cool to set.

Lastly, for a delicious cocktail to sip on as you watch the fire, try a Pumpkin Pineapple Cocktail! Recipe courtesy of Cookie + kate 

Pumpkin Pineapple Cocktail

Ingredients

7 ounces pineapple juice (I like R.W. Knudsen)

3 tablespoons pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon honey (more or less to taste)

1 big lemon, juiced

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ginger

dash nutmeg

dash allspice or cloves

3 ounces dark rum

Directions

Pour all ingredients into a blender and blend well.

Fill two double old fashioned glasses with ice.

Pour the mixture over ice and garnish with a dash of cinnamon.

 All of us on the Eat to the Beat team wish you the happiest Thanksgiving, and hope you get the chance to enjoy these fun recipes with your family and friends!