Pumpkin Bagels
Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023

Have you ever had a Noah’s Bagels pumpkin bagel? I think it singlehandedly converted me into a bagel lover. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), it’s seasonal, so it’s only obtainable one fleeting time a year, making it limited edition and therefore that much more desirable (like those mint chocolate Kisses that they sell around Christmas, have you had them?) And after I graduated from college and moved out of my college town, I stopped going to Noah’s altogether. Which is a shame, because pumpkin bagels, you have been sorely missed!
Well, I’ve got news for you. Homemade pumpkin bagels are just as good. Or, nearly as good, because in my case, they turned out rather ugly. Knobby. Imperfect, through and through. But seriously, homemade bagels, where have you been all my life? Just floating around, a vague idea in my head, that I never pulled off because I’d mistakenly thought you were really hard to make.

That’s the thing: these bagels were not difficult to make at all. I know that there are lots of ways to complicate the process, resulting in Bronx-worthy (and better-looking) bagels, but besides the extra step of boiling them, which admittedly was rather tense because I was trying to brush the egg wash on the cooked bagels and top them at the same time, most of the work was performed by my Kitchenaid mixer.
The bagels are so delicious when they come out of the oven. Soft but springy from the extra long bath I gave them, and laced with pumpkin. I also incorporated whole wheat flour into the recipe, resulting in the perfect fall breakfast food alongside a steaming cup of coffee. But make sure to toast them, because we all know that bagels taste best lightly toasted with a thick smear of cream cheese (the sliced tomatoes are optional. And the lox is a splurge!) But please please please don’t eat them with low-fat cream cheese. (We usually avoid low-fat products, but our grocery store had run out of the regular whipped kind.) It’s no substitute.


PUMPKIN BAGELS
Adapted from Honest Cooking
Makes 8
Ingredients:
- 2-1/4 tsps. active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/2 cup unsweeted pumpkin puree
- 1 Tbsp baking soda
- 1 egg
- cornmeal for dusting baking pan
Toppings:
- 2:2:1 of poppy seeds
- sesame seeds
- sea salt
- poppy seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- black sesame seeds
- sesame seeds, etc.
Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, water, and brown sugar. Whisk together and set aside.
In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine flours, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. By now, the yeast mixture should be frothy and ready to go. Add the pumpkin puree and using the dough hook, start mixing on low speed. Slowly add the flour mixture until it’s completely combined, about 3 to 5 minutes. At this point, the dough should be smooth and elastic, but not too sticky. If it is, incorporate 1 to 2 more Tbsps of flour.
Place dough in a bowl coated with oil and cover, allowing it to rise in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 90 minutes.
Remove the dough and punch it down. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Cover and let rise about 20 minutes more.
At this point, using your thumb, punch a hole into the middle of the ball and widen it, taking care that the ring is even on all sides. Widen the hole more than you think necessary, because it will shrink. Set the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat with the other balls.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and get the egg wash ready.
Fill a large pot about halfway with water and bring it to a boil. When it’s started boiling, pour in the baking soda (. Then gently drop 2 to 3 bagels in and cook for 2 minutes. Flip them and cook for 2 minutes more (the longer you boil the bagels, the chewier they will turn out. I like my bagels chewy. You can boil them for 1 minute on each side if you’d like.) Once done, remove them with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels. Then brush them with the egg wash and top with whatever toppings you’d like. Sprinkle cornmeal on the baking pan you had set them on earlier. Place the bagels on top. Repeat the same procedure with the rest of the bagels.
Once all the bagels have been boiled, bake them in for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Let them cool before digging in.
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Cherry Cordial Brownie Cookies


Yet another rainy day. Kinda dreary. I don’t really feel like doing anything. I may just sit in front of the TV and eat the rest of these cookies I made yesterday. I used the Cherry Cordial M&M’s that were out during the Christmas season. They taste exactly like the Cherry M&M’s I used last year to make my Dark Chocolate Cherry M&M Cookies. Although I haven’t look for the Cherry ones this year, I know they are usually out for Valentine’s day. So either one you use is good. But you gotta have the cherry flavor in there.

When I was scouring the web for a soft, chewy chocolate cookie recipe to use with these Cherry Cordial M&M’s, I came upon this recipe for Soft and Chewy Brownie Cookies from Averie Cooks. Averie has some fabulous cookie recipes and her food photography always leaves me drooling.

Now I know she says not to use chocolate chips in this recipe because they do not melt well in the microwave, but I used Ghirardelli Baking Chips which I already know melt very well in the microwave. And they taste amazing. Since I needed 12 oz. of chocolate and the baking chips come in a 10 oz. bag, I added some mini chocolate chips to make up the difference and bridge the way between the dark chocolate baking chips and the milk chocolate M&M’s. What intrigued me about this recipe besides the minimal amount of flour, was the fact that you need to leave the batter out at room temperature for 1-2 hours prior to baking. I though this was odd. Usually you put it in the fridge. But, hey, I am always up for something new. I left the covered batter out for about 1 1/2 hours to set.

The result is a batter that has the consistency of a very thick mousse. If it hadn’t been for the raw eggs, I would have stuck me head in the bowl and devoured the batter raw. It’s unlike any batter I have worked with before. I did take a tiny taste and it was INCREDIBLE! I couldn’t wait to bake it. You can just scoop it onto a cookie sheet and gently press in the M&M’s. I choose to make them into heart shapes. I drop an almost full large scoop of the dough into each cavity of my Wilton Heart Shaped Whoopie Pie Pan. The same one I used for my Sugar Cookie Rice Krispie Treats. The round shaped whoopie pie pan works just as well. I just flattened out the dough with a spatula to fit the shape and gently pressed in the Cherry Cordial M&M’s

You have to let the cookies cool completely before trying to remove them from the pan or they will fall apart on you (and you will have to eat them). I think I may have overfilled my pan a bit, but they still came out heart shaped. I tasted one while is was still warm and the gooey chocolate was to die for.

Once cooled, the cookies have a slightly crispy outside with a soft, chewy inside just like a brownie. Since I used the baking chips which are larger than regular chocolate chips, you also get some nice chunks of dark chocolate when you bite into the cookie. The Cherry Cordial M&M’s just heighten the chocolate experience. I may try just mixing them right in the batter next time to add even more cherry flavor.

I have never made brownies from scratch before, never mind brownie cookies. I am so excited they came out right. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Cherry Cordial Brownie Cookies

by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert snack dark chocolate Cherry Cordial M&M’s brownies cookie American
Ingredients (15 cookies)
- 1 bag (10 oz.) Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate baking chips, divided
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 bag (9.90 oz.) Cherry Cordial or Cherry M&M’s
Instructions
Place 5 oz. of the Ghirardelli baking chips in a small microwave safe bowl or measuring cup with the butter. Microwave at 30 second intervals until completely melted and smooth when stirred. Set aside to cool.
In a stand mixer add eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium for about 8 minutes or until mixture is a pale, creamy texture.
Add the flour, baking powder, melted chocolate, remaining 5 oz. of baking chips, and the mini chocolate chips to the egg mixture. Mix on medium for about 1 minute until fully combined.
Remove bowl from mixer, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for about 1 hour until set. (The consistency should be that of a very thick mousse after set.)
Once mixture is set, preheat oven to 350°F.
With a large scoop (a little less than full), fill each cavity of the whoopie pie pan. With a spatula, spread the batter out to fill the shape of the cavity.
Gently press 3-5 M&M’s into each shape.
Bake for 10 minutes each batch. Do not remove from pan. Leave in pan until completely cooled, then gently remove with a clean spatula.
Grab yourself a cup of coffee or milk and sit down with your cookie. You are going to want to savor each minute of this dark chocolate and cherry bliss!
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