It is fall, which means it is the perfect season to fill your kitchen with the smell of pumpkin inspired dishes/treats. The HUB READ team each made their own pumpkin inspired dish, and we are excited to share them with you. Starting off your morning, Valeriia made Pumpkin crepes, which can be either sweet or savory, totally up to you! Merel made pumpkin cookies that are easy to make and let’s be honest who doesn’t LOVE cookies? Staying in the category of sweet, Yasmin went for the pumpkin cinnamon rolls that might take a bit more time, but trust us, they are worth it. Enough baking, Annabelle made a pumpkin harvest bowl, which is not only seasonal but also perfect for busy students. Getting hungry? Well, we won’t hold you back any further, check out our recipes and let’s start cooking! 

1. Pumpkin Crêpes

Not a big fan of pumpkin or want something that can be both sweet AND salty? We have the best solution! These pumpkin crepes don’t taste anything like pumpkin, and you can serve them with anything you want. So come on, grab your knives and forks, and let's dig in! 

Ingredients (6-7 crepes): 

• 100g of pumpkin puree 
• 100ml of milk 
• 100g of flour  
• 150ml of water  
• 1 egg 
• 1 teaspoon of oil or some butter if you’re scared of the crepes sticking to your pan 

Add cinnamon and sugar if you want them on the sweeter side (if your pumpkin is ripe enough you can skip the sugar), and salt with seasonings of your liking if you want them salty.  

Cooking instructions: 

1. Cut your pumpkin into big pieces and take out the seeds. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius and roast some pumpkin for about an hour. After roasting, separate the skin and mash the pumpkin into a puree.  
2. If you want your crepes to be sweet – mix cinnamon, sugar, and flour together, but if you want to eat them salty – follow the same steps, but switch to seasonings of your choice. Don’t forget a tiny bit of salt!  
3. Add the eggs to your flour and mix it thoroughly, then add the milk and mix everything again.  
4. Add the pumpkin puree, mix it and add water.  
5. Preheat your pan on high heat and cover it with butter so the crepes don’t stick. You can skip this step if you have a good pan.   
6. Use a ladle to pour the dough onto the pan. We advise you to pour half of the ladle if you want your crepes to be thin. Flip the crepe once it fully changes colour.  
7. You can serve them with anything you want, from Nutella and caramel sauce to yogurt and hummus, be creative! 

2. Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:  

• 280 g of Butter  
• Flour 
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon  
• 2 teaspoons ginger spices  
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg  
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt 
• 2 eggs 
• Syrup 
• Vanilla extract  
• PUMPKIN PUREE  

• ¼ granulated sugar 

Cooking instructions:  

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (or 347°F for my metric-challenged friends). 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, butter, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Smells like autumn, right? 

3. Now, add in the egg yolk, syrup, and vanilla extract—mix it all for a minute. Add in the pumpkin puree and mix on low speed until everything just comes together in a dough. 
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper). On a separate plate, sprinkle about ¼ cup of granulated sugar. Roll the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon-sized balls (you can use a cookie scoop if you’re fancy like that), and then roll them in the sugar. Do this for 12 cookies and line them up on the baking sheet. 
5. Put that into the oven and bake for 12-13 minutes. 

Once baked, Let the cookies cool to room temperature (around 30 minutes). Or eat them immediately, I mean no judgement here, they look delicious.

3. Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Attention cinnamon rolls lovers, I have made cinnamon rolls that are perfect to eat and make during Halloween. So, grab your friends, light some candles and let’s start baking. 

Cooking instructions 

1. Grab a big mixing bowl and toss in 500g of flour, 65g of sugar, 14g of instant yeast, 7g of pumpkin spice, and a pinch of salt. Give it a good whisk to get everything mixed up. 

2. In a microwave-safe cup, add 240g of milk and 55g of sliced butter. Pop it in the microwave for 60-90 seconds until it’s warm, but not too hot. 
3. Pour that warm milk-butter mix into the dry stuff and stir it up with a wooden spoon. 
4. Time for the pumpkin! Add 115g of pumpkin puree and 1 large egg. Stir until it’s all mixed together and looking smooth. 
5. Now, throw in 375g of flour and start mixing again. When it gets too thick for the spoon, dive in with your hands it’s time to get messy! 
6. Keep kneading until the dough forms a nice, soft ball that doesn’t stick. Pro tip: if you poke it and it bounces back slowly, you’ve nailed it!  
7. Let the dough take a 10-minute nap while you prep the filling. 
8. Scoop 58g of pumpkin puree onto a paper towel. Squeeze out all the extra moisture. Do it again with a fresh paper towel until the pumpkin is dry. 
9. In a small dish, mash together 55g of softened butter and your squeezed-out pumpkin. Keep mashing until it’s nice and smooth. 
10. Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle.  
11. Spread your pumpkin butter over the dough, leaving a tiny border (about 1 cm) around the edges. 
12. Sprinkle 135g of brown sugar and 8g of cinnamon evenly over the buttered dough. Use your hands to get it nice and even. 
13. Roll the dough into a log, starting from the long side. You’re basically making a doughy cinnamon snake. 
14. Now grab some flavorless floss (yes, floss!) and slide it under your dough snake to cut it. First, slice off the ugly ends. Then, cut the rest into 12 equal pieces by halving the log and then cutting each half into more sections. 
15. Place your rolls into a buttered dish, cover them, and let them rise for about an hour. 
16. Close to the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 180°C. 
17. Bake your rolls for 20-25 minutes. If you press the center of a middle roll and it feels a little firm, you’re good to go. If not bake for another 3-5 minutes. 
18. Let them cool for about 15 minutes (this is hard, but trust us, it's worth it) while we make the icing. 
19. Grab a fork and mash together 55g of softened butter and 113g of softened cream cheese until smooth. 
20. Slowly mix in 100g of powdered sugar (half at a time) and then add 5g of vanilla paste (or extract). Switch to a whisk and get rid of any lumps. 
21. Spread a spoonful of icing on each warm roll. The icing will melt into a delicious glaze! 
22. Serve your pumpkin cinnamon rolls while they’re still warm. Enjoy the sugar rush! 

4. Pumpkin Harvest Bowl

A cozy fall meal packed with pumpkin, crispy potatoes, sweet corn and bacon bits, all topped with melted cheese. Served in a hollowed-out pumpkin. Perfect for a halloween hangout, or friendsgiving! 

• Ingredients: 
• 1 pumpkin 
• 1-2 medium potatoes 
• 1 cup of corn 
• 4-6 bacon slices (chopped) 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 1 tsp paprika 
• ½ tsp cumin powder 
• ½ tsp garlic powder 
• ½ tsp dried thyme 
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• Shredded cheese 

Cooking instructions: 

1. Hollow out the pumpkin: slice of the top of the pumpkin, and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and flesh, but leave enough to keep the pumpkin sturdy. Set this aside, so don’t throw it away! We will be using the hollowed out pumpkin for serving. 

2. Prep the vegetables: slice the pumpkin and potatoes into cubes. 

3. Cook the bacon: fry the bacon in a pan until it’s crispy. Then set this aside, leave the bacon fat in the pan! We will be using this for the vegetables. 

4. Cook the vegetables: in the same pan with the bacon fat, add the pumpkin, potatoes and corn with olive oil, paprika, cumin, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook this for 15 to 20 minutes, keep stirring, until they are golden brown. 

5. Assemble: mix the bacon back together with the vegetables. Once it is all done, put everything into the hollowed pumpkin, then add the shredded cheese on top of it. You can put the top back on the pumpkin for presentation. 

And that’s it! Get cooking and enjoy this delicious fall dish! 

We hope these recipes encouraged you to experiment in the kitchen. These four recipes give the ideal balance of flavor and celebration to add a little seasonal magic to your kitchen as Halloween season is here. There is a dish for any Halloween event, whether you're enjoying the delicious pumpkin crepes, making a dozen of pumpkin cookies, enjoying the pumpkin harvest bowl, or adding some pumpkin cinnamon rolls to the festivities. So, get your Halloween ingredients together, embrace the fall vibes, and give your loved ones a taste of pumpkin perfection!