My Great Aunt Mary was a meticulous and brilliant woman, who also happened to have a stellar repertoire of holiday baked goods. She passed her recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Bars down to my mother years ago. I returned to Aunt Mary's recipe after a run of failed pumpkin bar experiments. Aunt Mary's Spiced Pumpkin Bars are a homey old-fashioned bar, with a soft texture, warm spices and gooey cream cheese icing. With only a few minor tweaks from the original, I present to you, the best pumpkin bars you will ever eat. 

Jet lag brings out the worst in me, and after 36 hours of travel to reach Paul in Cambodia, I was tipsy with sleep deprivation and drooping with hunger. Ignoring my desperate mutterings about going to sleep, Paul grabbed a moto driver and whisked us across town to Friends, a non-profit restaurant and job training center for at risk youth. I ordered half the menu in my hunger, and recall finding it all delicious with one exception...the pumpkin soup was outstanding! The flavor was deep with a warming blend of spices set off by a rich coconut and pumpkin base. I begged the cooks for the recipe, and they rattled off a long list of spices. I have been obsessively trying to recreate that soup for many years. This Cambodian Spiced Pumpkin Soup is a Westernized version that brings me back.

We made this Pumpkin Praline Waffle recipe for our good friends from Philadelphia who are visiting this weekend. These waffles are not your classic crisp crusted Belgian waffle. Pumpkin Praline Waffles bring both fall flavor and color to the brunch table, and have a soft and custardy texture that tastes like pumpkin pie. A quick homemade riff on pecan praline puts these waffles over the top. Check out our Overnight Sourdough Waffles for a classic Belgian style waffle. And stay tuned for a savory cornmeal waffle recipe coming up soon!