happy back to the future day, everyone!!! on a scale from monday to birthday, i am registering at thanksgiving-level excitement right now because the back to the future trilogy have long been my favorite movies. i have even been rooting for the cubs this year because how crazy would that be if they won the world series after the movie predicted it?!?1?!!! i made a list of ways to celebrate back to the future day and here is another list about my favorite back to the future food scenes because they are my favorite food scenes in the history of movies. i'm probably going to have huey lewis and the news on repeat today. how are you celebrating?!

i've just returned from my quick trip to austin where i crammed in so many social situations that i barely recognized myself. or maybe that was because of the fake eyelashes that were glued onto my face (that i very clumsily yanked off at the dinner table in front of jeanine and jack because i left my tact in minnesota). i had surprise drinks accompanied by very intense cookie conversation with kristen and sarah, the most amazing vegetables and sprinkle ice cream sandwiches at launderette with jeanine and jack, brisket bourbon (!!!) with amy, and the loveliest breakfast at texas french bread with landen. and a bunch of chocolate on set for the super secret chocolatey video that i made with whole foods that'll be on the internet soon!

now that i'm back, i am ready to think about halloween. i am ready to plan our costumes, take advantage of the pumpkins that magically appeared on their own in our garden, and pick all of the apples from our trees which are bursting with glee! i have lots of excitement.

i recently developed two halloweeny recipes for le creuset and their line of metal bakeware. the first is a little savory twist on a caramel apple that involves candied bacon because caramel should always be salted (right?) and bacon is a great way to eat salt (right??). you can find that recipe over on le creuset's site.

and the second recipe is pumpkin slice and bake cookies! they make me wanna put on footie pajamas and turn on full house because slice and bake cookies were the cookies of my michelle tanner-ed youth. you too? excellent. 

these take a little bit of added effort to make, but they are so much fun. essentially you make one long orange oval with a stem on top and then wrap it in chocolate dough, so when you slice a cross section of it, you've got a pumpkin shape! the orange dough in this recipe is vanilla flavored, but if you'd like to throw some pumpkin spice in the mix, that would be super tasty too.

pumpkin slice and bake cookies

makes 16-18

ingredients

For the orange center:

1 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
20 drops red liquid food coloring
20 drops yellow liquid food coloring

For the outer chocolate section:

3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla

clues

First, make the dough for the orange pumpkin center. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, powdered sugar and salt. Add the butter and continue to pulse until it is a mealy texture.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, vanilla and food coloring. With the food processor running, drizzle in the egg yolk mixture and process until it becomes a dough. Turn it out onto a clean work surface.

Shape the dough into a 9-inch long round log, then flatten slightly so it becomes an oval shape. Slice off a small bit of the dough on the end, and roll it out into a long skinny snake. Place this on top of the oval so that in a cross section, it becomes the pumpkin’s stem. Place the dough in the freezer while you make the chocolate dough.

To make the chocolate dough, pulse together the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and salt. Add the butter and continue to pulse until it is a mealy texture.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and vanilla. With the food processor running, drizzle in the egg yolk mixture and process until it becomes a dough. Turn it out onto a clean work surface.

Roll the dough into 9-inch long skinny snakes. Stick these snakes around the perimeter of the orange dough, then roll the entire log a bit to smooth it out. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and freeze 20 – 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Slice the log into 1/2-inch-thick disks, and place them on a baking sheet one inch apart. Bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. enjoy!

this recipe is part of sara's virtual pumpkin party!!! check out her blog for all of the other good lookin pumpkin recipes that populated the internet today! i am especially excited about the savory recipes, like steph's pumpkin and pork stuffed shells and sarah's harissa pumpkin gnocchi.

-yeh!

thank you for sponsoring this post, le creuset!!!!