It may be the end of November, but I figure there’s still time to share one last pumpkin treat before the holiday baking begins in earnest. You need something healthy for those lunchboxes and after-school snacks to offset the Christmas cookies, right? These soft-baked granola bars are easy to put together (even with little helpers). I made them for my son’s school bake sale — a not-too-sweet treat you can still feel good about.

Recipe: Pumpkin Granola Bars
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Makes 10-12 bars

• 3 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Crunchy Cinnamon Granola Bars from One Hungry Mama
• Granola Bars with Mango, Hazelnut and Ginger from Cookin’ Canuck
• Fig, Date and Almond Granola Bars from Brown Eyed Baker

What do food bloggers do when a hurricane is approaching? Cook and bake, of course. With school and work cancelled and hours to go before the serious part of the storm arrived, I hunkered down in my kitchen cooking down the contents of my refrigerator. All the while following along with those on twitter doing the same thing. We had this pumpkin gingerbread cake for breakfast, and I had chili simmering on the gas stove for dinner just in time — as we lost power in the late afternoon. Fortunately, we were without power for less than 36 hours — as we all know, the brunt of Hurricane Sandy was felt by those in New York and New Jersey.

While our family and friends were largely spared damage, hearing about and seeing the devastation on the news has been heartrending. (My friend Christina of Take Back Your Table was without power for 10 days–and even then, she’s one of the lucky ones. Some areas may not have power back until December.) And once again, the food community is banding together to support those impacted by Hurricane Sandy — with a Food Bloggers Support for Sandy virtual potluck. I’m bringing this cake, but visit our hostess Creative Culinary for a hearty round-up of comfort dishes. And I know I don’t have to tell you to give if you’re able to the hurricane relief effort. To give toward kid-focused relief efforts, there’s the Pajama Project or K.I.D.S., both of which can take donations directed towards Sandy relief work.

Recipe: Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake
Makes 2 9-inch cakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cane sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups pumpkin puree (15 oz)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon molasses

Springtime in Washington means cherry blossoms, strawberries at market, and bake sales — the Great American Bake Sale for Share our Strength, to be precise. DC food bloggers are once again coming together to bake up tasty treats to raise funds for Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, because no child in America should go to bed hungry.

DC Food Blogger Bake Sale
Thursday, April 26, 2012
2:00 – 6:00pm
at the Washington Post building,
1150 15^th Street NW (inside on the first floor)
(Can’t make it? Donate here and help us raise $5,000 to fight child hunger.)

Not in Washington? Find a Food Blogger Bake Sale near you, or host your own! Even simpler, click here to take the No Kid Hungry pledge and learn more about how you can help.

If you are in DC, don’t miss your chance to purchase treats from these talented bloggers, cookbook authors and bakers:

Alla Cucina
Anna Saint John
Bon Appetit Foodie
Cook Like a Champion
Cookography
Domenica Marchetti
Feastie
Florida Girl in DC
Foodie Tots
Food Wanderings
Frijolita
Healthier Kitchen
Mother Would Know
Not Derby Pie
One Vanilla Bean
Pati’s Mexican Table
Remaking Christine
The Bitten Word
The 6?oclock Scramble
The Chubbette
Whisked DC
Washington Post Food Writers

The weather here’s been more wet and dreary than crisp and wintery of late, so comfort food in the form of holiday baking has definitely been in order. I’ve had a cider-based cookie in mind ever since I made boiled cider for those doughnuts a while back. I was envisioning something a little more crisp than your typical apple cookie, so I decided to substitute the boiled cider for molasses in a spiced cookie, resulting in a lighter, more soft and mellow ginger snap type treat.

Recipe: Cider Snap Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup boiled cider*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Additional cinnamon sugar/maple sugar for rolling cookies

Instructions:

*About the boiled cider: If you don’t have boiled cider prepared (or purchased), boil down 1/2 cup apple cider over medium heat until reduced by half and slightly thickened. Cool to room temperature before using.

1.  Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt together in a large bowl.

2. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add egg, boiled cider and vanilla and mix until well combined.

3. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined.

4. Refrigerate dough for 20 minutes to make it easier to handle. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5. Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls, then roll each quickly in cinnamon sugar or maple sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until edges are firm and cookies appear set in the middle, 10-15 minutes. Cool on cooling rack. Makes about 3 dozen.

Note: I mixed equal parts maple sugar and turbinado sugar for the coating, but a cinnamon-sugar mixture will work as well if you don’t have maple sugar on hand.

I know, here we are on the cusp of holiday baking season — the arrival of Gourmet’s annual cookie issue was better than Christmas to many a food blogger — and here I am with plain old chocolate chip cookies. But before the hustle and bustle of the holidays, why not enjoy a simple pleasure. A recipe simple enough to make with the kids, an easy after-school treat for a rainy Monday, or, in my case, a quick way to assuage a mama’s guilt after a weekend away.

Chocolate chip cookies can be a polarizing matter — do you like yours crispy or chewy? I add oatmeal, which makes them healthy (it does, right?) and lends the perfect crisp-chewy texture, in my opinion. Like many recipes, it is based off the back of the chocolate chip package. Aside from the addition of oatmeal, I also double the salt and add almond extract with the vanilla. (I can’t take credit for that either — it’s a tip gleaned from Giada.) I’ve been known to use a mix of raisins or cranberries, or even coconut, with the chocolate chips, but I’ll leave those choices up to you.

Recipe: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Ghiradelli’s baking chip package

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated cane sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 12 ounces chocolate baking chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and almond extracts, continuing to mix on low speed until well combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt, then gradually add oats until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and drop dough by tablespoon onto pans. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until centers are dry and edges are lightly golden. Remove to cooling rack and try to hold back little hands at least until the cookies are no longer piping hot.  Makes about 3 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your scoops.