The Intermingling of Summer and Fall

I got my first taste of Fall today! Literally. We got Honeycrisp apples at the farmer's market. From what I have observed, these apples are only available in the Fall (In North Carolina anyway). They are appropriately described as "explosively crisp" on the Honeycrsip website I checked out today. While it still feels like summer here and there are still plenty of summer fruits and veggies available, I was pleased to dip into this Fall flavor I love so much!

We got cherries and Honeycrisps at the market today.

A beautiful combination of Summer and Fall flavors.

Simple. Pretty. Colorful.

After tasting this apple, my mind has been in complete Autumn mode the rest of the day. My little sweetheart Lilly turns five tomorrow! I decided to make her "Pumpkin Muttins" as a birthday treat. The entire house smelled of pumpkin goodness.

These muffins are so good- I tried a piece, and people can not only eat, but enjoy these! This recipe is much sweeter than other dog treat recipes I have made, so give them sparingly to your pet!

Pumpkin Muttins
(Print Recipe)
Adapted from Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook

Ingredients
1 cup oat flour
1 cup brown rice flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 flax eggs (3 tablespoons flaxseed meal, mixed with 1/2 cup water plus one tablespoon water)
3/4 cups honey
1/4 cup safflower oil or canola oil
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
pepita seeds for garnish

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini muffin pan with cupcake liners. Mix the flax egg and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour all wet ingredients into the well, including the flax egg (make sure it has thickened up first). Mix the wet ingredients together, then begin mixing in the dry ingredients until everything is well combined. Pour into cupcake liners in the mini muffin pan. Fill all the way to the top- these will not rise much. Stick one pepita seed into the center of each muffin, so it is showing half way. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let cool completely. Store in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer.

This is before I baked them. Notice how much I filled them.

And here they are all ready for pups to enjoy!

Happy birthday Lilly!

Enjoy your pumpkin muttins!

And I'll enjoy the intertwining flavors of Summer and Fall!

And maybe... just maybe, I'll have a pumpkin muttin too... don't judge me. You'd eat one if you knew how good they were :)