October: Falling into Fall

Pumpkin Pie Playdough


1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt 
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon veg oil
1 cup water
6 drops red food coloring
15 drops of yellow food coloring

Add oil, water, food coloring and whisk until smooth.  Combine dry ingredients in a non-stick pan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it forms a ball.  Turn onto counter, let cool slightly, knead until smooth.  Dough will keep in a plastic bag for about a week.

A Prayer for Autumn

I pray...

God, I see the cycle of the seasons.

Summer ends and runs into fall,

which gives way to LONG winter,

and then spring.

Autumn is a season of change - 

and it reminds me that I am changing too.

Things I used to need I may need no longer.

Helm me throw off those things that hold me down,

so I might become something new.

This is a time when there is an explosion of color,

and then it starts to get cold again.

This is part of life.

Help me understand

I cannot live in summer forever.

I cannot be growing 

like a garden in the spring all the time

I am made to change

and this season is part of it.

Let me welcome the change.

Let me see the beauty of your earth

as it prepares to speel in the wintertime.

Let me embrace this time of change and become something new.

Amen.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Yield: about 3-4 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the coating:
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
Dash of allspice

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Whisk to blend and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the pumpkin puree.  Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.  Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.  Combine the sugar and spices for the coating in a bowl and mix to blend.  Scoop the dough (about 2½ tablespoons) and roll into a ball.  Coat the dough ball in the sugar-spice mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough to fill the sheets, spacing the dough balls 2-3 inches apart.  Dip the bottom of a flat, heavy-bottomed drinking glass in water, then in the sugar-spice mixture, and use the bottom to flatten the dough balls slightly.  Recoat the bottom of the glass in the sugar-spice mixture as needed.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until just set and baked through.  Let cool on the baking sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Store in an airtight container.

October Destinations ~ Pumpkin Patches


Lattin's Country Cider Mill & Farm - 9402 Rich Rd. Olympia
Schilter's Family Farm - 141 Nisqually Cut Off Road SE Lacey
Hunter's Pumpkin Patch and Christmas Trees - 7413 Yelm Hwy. SE Olympia

Upcoming Events:

October 28th - Clothing Exchange

November 18th - Toy Exchange

Next Meetings: 

October 28th

November 4th (back to back with Oct. 28)

November 18th