Pumpkin Perfection

Anyone who knows me realizes that I kind of have a pumpkin obsession. I love anything that smells like, tastes like, or looks like a pumpkin. While researching this blog for some awesome tasting pumpkin things, I found a lot of people who are really into pumpkins. It was comforting to know that there are people out there who are crazier than I am. This was my favorite website. This guy tastes every pumpkin product out there. His site is like pumpkin Heaven: 

http://www.scottsevener.com/pumpkin/

Below are some of my favorite tasting pumpkin products:

*Pumpkin Muffies from Panera Bread:

I'm not sure if Panera even still sells them but these are muffin tops. When I used to frequent Panera regularly they were sold out about 90% of the time when I tried to go buy one. They are so soft and delicious.  It's a good little treat when you want a nice subtle pumpkiny flavor. I even named my fantasy football team after them. (Okay maybe I am a little strange). 

*Shipyard Pumpkinhead Beer:

I'm definitely not a huge beer fan, but I love this. It is my favorite of all the pumpkin/seasonal beers I have tried up to this point. The label is awesome looking. I feel that would be a wonderful Halloween costume as well because I would love to encounter a real live pumpkinhead man. My second favorite pumpkin beer is probably Pumple Drumkin beer.

*Pumpkin Spice Cake (of any kind)

I Loooooove pumpkin cakes and breads. In fact I've been living off a half loaf of pumpkin bread all week. I've been asking my mom for over a decade to make me a pumpkin cake for my birthday. Maybe this year will be the time.

*Gerbs Pumpkin Seeds:

These are a delicious healthy snack, and they are gluten free and dairy free. I love them in cinnamon sugar, but recognize that they have many more flavors. They are dry roasted and made right here in Rhode Island. Definitely worth checking out.

*Newport Creamery Pumpkin Ice Cream:

It's not often that I talk about ice cream but this is worth mentioning. I wish I could eat it again because every time I used to have some of this pumpkin ice cream it reminded me of my childhood. All of you people with lactase enzymes should have some for me. 

*Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin Muffin:

I feel that this is the best pumpkin muffin BY FAR. If it didn't contain a zillion calories I would have one (or more) every day. It's soft on the inside but the muffin top has that nice bit of crunch. It is really pumpkin perfection and what every dessert should strive to be. 

*Eggo Pumpkin Spice Waffles

I'm an eggo girl. These waffles have just the right amount of pumpkin flavor. The only downside is that when you toast them they are so soft that they were falling through my toaster and were hard to get out once they were done. (Hard to explain but you have to see for yourself). However, after burning my hand a few times I still felt they were delicious and worth the trouble of salvaging them from the toaster.

  Fun Facts About Pumpkins (From scottsevener.com)

* Pumpkins are 90% water.

* Depending on who you ask, pumpkins can be considered both fruits and vegetables.

* Every continent except for Antarctica has climates capable of producing pumpkins.

* Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.

* The Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine.

* In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.