Even though Halloween is over, the month of November is synonymous with pumpkin-flavored treats. Whether it’s traditional pumpkin pie on the table at Thanksgiving, or leftover pumpkin seeds after carving pumpkins– here are some great recipes to get your pumpkin-fix in the comfort of your own home.

Pumpkin Seeds

When carving a pumpkin, put aside the seeds. Once all the seeds have been collected, place them in a sieve and wash the residual pumpkin threads and juices off them. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Pat dry with a paper towel and let sit for several minutes in the paper towel until all excess moisture has been removed from the outside. Once your oven has reached 350 degrees, spread the seeds evenly across a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes (this is to dry them out before you add seasoning to them.) Once the half hour is up, you can add spices to them to make them tasty. Here are two different spice options I tried and found enjoyable:

1- 2 parts granulated sugar to 1 part pumpkin spice (or cinnamon, if no pumpkin spice is on hand)
2- Seasoning salt only, for a more savory alternative.

Pumpkin Pancakes  (from Allrecipes.com)

Pancakes are a perfect breakfast for chilly fall mornings. This recipe is fantastic and will give you all the pumpkin flavor you could want. To make these, you will need:

1 ½ cups milk
1 cup pumpkin filling
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp vinegar
2 cups flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp allspice (ground)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground salt

If preferred, you can mix dry and wet ingredients separately, but I have found this to have minimal change on the pancakes. Combine all ingredients until just combined, heat a griddle to medium high heat and cook pancakes. They are delicious when served with maple syrup and bacon.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies are from a recipe my mother likes to make during fall and they have become my favorite. They are moist and chocolatey, with just enough pumpkin to make your mouth water thinking about them. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:

1 cup pumpkin filling
1 cup white sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon (ground)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or to taste)
Nuts, if preferred

Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil and egg in one bowl. In another mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Dissolve the baking soda in the milk (this is easier when it has been slightly warmed) and slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet to create your cookie dough. Once combined, add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts if you’ve added them to your recipe.

Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake the cookies on a greased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes until light brown and firm to the touch.