It’s full on Fall in Seattle with cool, breezy mornings and some bouts of rain. As soon as the autumn leaves fall, I crave comfort foods. In the past week, I’ve made some pretty spectacular fall-themed dishes including a cookie and a baked pasta dish. I’m so excited to share with you the links to the recipes and I encourage you to try them yourself. 🙂

First off, I know a lot of people start craving pumpkin-y things as soon as Fall hits. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte? Yes. Mmm. Pumpkin seeds? I have yet to have any but am heading to Whole Foods soon for this.

Well, last week I picked up my first huge can of Libby’s pure pumpkin and brainstormed different things to try first.

What I’ve made so far is so good that I just have to share.

Healthified Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Healthified Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are from the A Foodie Stays Fit blog. I was craving some sort of sweet pumpkin treat and this hit the spot.

I made the following slight modifications to the recipe:

Used 1/4 cup golden brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar instea of all white sugar

Added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Used almond milk instead of cow’s milk

The resulting cookies were SO good. I split them for Joe and I to bring into the office. Let me tell you… the cookies were such a hit! For a healthified cookie it definitely did not sacrifice in taste. No oil, no butter, but the cookie turned out incredibly moist. By 11am, the cookies I brought into the office were devoured.

If you love pumpkin and chocolate, you will not be disappointed. Just make sure that you love a moist, almost-cake like cookie! Bring some for your colleagues, leave some for yourself, and bring some to me. 🙂

Low Fat Baked Pasta with Spinach
Next up, last week I came across a recipe for Low Fat Baked Pasta with Spinach from Skinnytaste and couldn’t resist making it for a meatless meal.

The ingredients list and instructions were so simple, perfect for a meal after work.

This pasta dish was absolutely incredible! It was so hearty and filling despite it being meatless. So yummy. Joe raved about it and couldn’t believe how good it was.

The dish made eight huge portions, perfect for leftovers for lunch and dinner throughout the week. Could even freeze and pull out for a quick reheat.

So there you have it… I’ve been cooking up quite a storm lately! Now that my marathon is over, I’ve been relaxing more and being very domestic.

Do you have any suggestions for amazing must-try recipes for Fall?