Ingredients: mini-graham cracker crusts, pumpkin pudding, some sort of brown sugar-based, crumbly topping, lots of love!
Results: simple, but delicious pumpkin dessert that made this particular pumpkin fanatic elated
Flavor: In a word – awesome. I had originally intended these shells to go with a Pumpkin Mousse recipe that I’d found on the outside of the pudding box, but this ended up working just as well. The graham cracker crust really lends itself to the pumpkin flavor, just as it would with your traditional pumpkin pie, while the sweet, crumbly topping … well, I’ve just always been a sucker for them because they remind me of the coffee cakes my Dad used to make for the family on Sunday mornings. Wife definitely gets an A+ for this one.

Footnote to Self: I really owe my wife something more than a store-bought dessert the next time it’s my turn to cook dinner!

Forethoughts: If there’s anyone who knows how to encapsulate the tranquil, harmonious smells of the autumn harvest into candle form, it’s gotta be Paula Deen, everyone’s favorite Food Network Grandma, right?  Otherwise why was I willing to pay half again the price for this stinkin’ candle?!
Actual Smell: Much sweeter than the previous candle, probably because Paula Deen’s version actually had cake in the title.  It’s definitely a much different aroma, along the lines of what one would expect when baking cookies – maybe a pie – but ultimately, still good times with regards to this aroma!
Bonus!: I think nearly as enticing as the advertised scent itself was the fact that this candle also came along with a recipe from one Paula Deen for the very cake that this candle was designed to mimic.  It might take a few weeks for me to get around to making this one because a few of the ingredients aren’t exactly readily available in our kitchen at home (i.e. dark rum, whipping cream for the filling), but this might prove to be a good dessert to whip up sometime around Thanksgiving in between Christmas specials – I’ll keep ya posted…

Starring Roles: Pillsbury Pumpkin Quick Bread, Dickinson’s Country Pumpkin Butter
Motivation: bread meets butter – it just seemed like magic
Flavor Combo: LOTS of pumpkin!  Said pumpkin butter actually more closely resembles some sort of pumpkin jam or preserves, for whatever that’s worth…
Combo Verdict: Better, but still not awesomely amazing.  Instead of truly melding their two flavors, I think the butter did more to merely remind me just how not moist the bread actually turned out.  And frankly, I’m not really sure what else could’ve been done to make the by the box recipe any differently, aside from possibly using jumbo instead of large eggs or maybe a different, higher-quality brand of oil.  That said, while the bread didn’t really deliver, the butter has to take some of the blame as well for this combo failure because it’s still running at less than spectacular also…

Pumpkin Bread-Maker Call-Out: Have you made truly spectacular pumpkin bread with your own bare hands?!  Something that just screams moist, delicious pumpkin with every bite?  If so, do help a fellow pumpkin aficionado out and drop me a line with the recipe so I can give it a truly for myself!  Please don’t let me go through this entire season without enjoying a truly great pumpkin bread…

Agility Note: Despite having to “make” this myself (via mix), prep time was a breeze at only maybe 5 minutes total from dry mix to oven-ready.
Taste: Nice flavor, although I’m trying to figure out how I could’ve possibly done anything different because I distinctly remember this bread being more moist when prepared in years past.
Recipe Side Note: In addition to the simple, 5-minute bread and muffin instructions on the back of the box, this one also features a rather yummy looking recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins on the side of the box that I think I might just have to try here one of these weekends! From the picture, they look like they’re intended to be similar to the bigger, almost coffee-cake-like muffins that you buy from the bakery, so stay tuned for more as that develops…

Surprise to Find a New Brand of Pumpkin-Based Pudding Stuffs Right Out of the Blue: very!
Texture & Consistency: definitely leans towards the pie filling portion of the label, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing
Flavor: By far the closest thing to eating actual pumpkin pie in non pie form that I’ve eaten all season, Kozy Shack’s limited edition treasure was definitely a diamond in the rough!  This stuff was very rich and creamy and flavorful, almost what I would expect eating a homemade pumpkin pie filling would taste like.  That said, it’s almost too thick to serve as actual pudding, per se – that’s how I sampled it and it was pretty tasty, but my curious side does have to wonder how it would fare if baked into a pie for 40 minutes, as instructed on the outside of the tub.
Final Verdict: If you’re tired of choking down pumpkin-based wanna-bes for the last month and a half, and if you can find it (I found mine at Wal-Mart, but this is the first time I’d noticed it…), then you’re in for a real treat – prepare to get Kozy!

Initial Thought: “Boy, these muffins sure are small…”
Marketing Reassurance Provided by Packaging: “Just the right size!  Not too big and not too small.  Little Debbie Muffins are the perfect size to eat at home or take along.”
Actual Flavor: rich pumpkin flavor, although it could’ve been improved by being just a little more moist (…but what do you really expect out of pre-packaged snacks???)
Afterthoughts: Primarily due to their size, these are more snack muffins than they are breakfast muffins, which I guess could be assumed seeing as they were made by one of the biggest snack cake companies in the world!  The flavor wasn’t too bad, but I’d have to eat a couple of these to fill up for breakfast and that’d still end up being a pretty high calorie breakfast…

Found At: Wal-Mart, Publix
Flavor Rush: Like any ‘nog, T.G. Lee’s pumpkin eggnog is very thick and creamy, and although the pumpkin flavor itself doesn’t assault you like a bad movie that people keep flocking to the theaters to see anyways.  It’s almost as if the pumpkin lingers back, waiting to introduce itself when the time is just right.  When enjoyed with a fresh (out of the wrapper) pumpkin muffin like I had, it made for a quite enjoyable pumpkin breakfast!
Best Enjoyed: in front of a roaring fire, with the quaint smell of homemade pumpkin pie wafting in from the kitchen after a delicious Thanksgiving feast

Caloric Side Note: If you’re wondering just how many calories are in a glass of this splendid holiday beverage, you probably shouldn’t be drinking it!  They say that the delicious eatings of the winter holidays lead many people to pack on some serious pounds and at 200 calories for a 1/2 cup serving of this yummy ‘nog, chugging down the better portion of a bottle with breakfast will pretty much do in your caloric limits for the day.

Of course, you should still drink up and enjoy anyways because:
A) it’s delicious!
B) it’s pumpkin-y delicious!!
C) New Year’s resolutions are just around the corner and you don’t want to come to the table empty handed!!!

Found At: your local grocer’s baking section (Sweetbay Supermarkets here in Florida)
Ease of Use: Two cups of 2% milk and less than five minutes later, I had fresh pumpkin pudding firming up in the fridge … and technically according to the instructions said refrigeration wasn’t even necessary, but since I was a little kid that’s just always how I’ve made pudding and why mess with a good system now?!
Presentation: Definitely a nice and creamy appearance, especially when compared to that humdrum yogurt from a few days ago, but I still thought that adding a bit of whipped cream, nutmeg, and even a Newman’s ginger cookie to garnish made it even better!
Flavor: Not perfect, but most certainly decent when compared to other wanna-be pumpkin flavorings. Has a nice sweet flavor without being overbearing, and the spice level seems to be just about right … at least as far as a pudding would be concerned.
Final Verdict: In addition to the standard pudding recipe, the box also featured a recipe for a Pumpkin Mousse that also sounded interesting, so with any luck I hope to be able to hunt down another box of pudding mix before these disappear from the shelves and give that a try as well! I definitely recommend the pudding as a means of adding a pumpkin dessert to one’s meal without bringing home an entire pie – stay tuned to find out if the pumpkin mousse is just as commendable!

Surprise: Who knew they made pumpkin-flavored booze?!
Reality: Actually, accordingly to these guys there are a whole bunch!
Disappointment: Too bad I couldn’t find one of those other ones on their list to sample instead because in my eyes, this one barely even earned the C+ that the fine folks of BeerAdvocate.com awarded it.
The Skinny: I’ve never really been much of a beer drinker – these days when you do happen to find a drink in my hand, it’ll most likely be one of those fruity drinks that this area and further south are famous for – but when I did drink beer, I was a Corona guy through and through. And mind you I’m obviously not much of a beer connoisseur so I haven’t really sampled a lot of beers, but needless to say compared to Corona pretty much everything else tasted like nasty to me.

So fast forward to November 2nd, 2008 and two bottles into Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, it saddens me to admit that this stuff tastes like nothing more than maybe slightly spiced Corona to me. As far as pumpkin resemblance is concerned, in my book the pumpkin-headed scarecrow on the outside of the bottle is about as close as this beer (or ale, or whatever…) gets to being pumpkin-flavored. And although I’m no beer snob, I even did a little experimentation and poured my second bottle into a glass to see if any magical sensations might somehow be released in such a manner … but nothing.
Final Verdict: It’s kind of orange-ish colored, and it’s got a pumpkin on the label, but that doesn’t make it pumpkin-flavored ale…