This is the only time of year where the color orange is acceptable, where eating only foods containing pumpkin is normal, where you can dress up like Lady Gaga and not be original and where Snickers and Reeses Cups become one of the main food groups. That’s right people, I’m talking about October and all its Halloween goodness.

 Halloween is, not only my favorite holiday, but also my favorite day in the entire year. I prefer it to my birthday. If I could, I would watch Ghost Hunters International, dressed as Amy Winehouse, and while eating a pillowcase full of candy year round. But apparently that’s not normal…

So I’ve decided to dedicate this month to literature that captures everything ghoulish, spooky, and pumpkin flavored. I’ll be covering everything from your favorite monsters like Dr. Frankenstein’s creation and Dracula, to bone-chilling writers like Edgar Allen Poe. But instead of scaring the bejesus out of you on day 1 of The Baker in the Rye’s month of Halloween Horror, I decided to start with a family classic.

On October 26, 1959, comic writer Charles M. Schulz published a comic strip that would forever be a part of Halloween. It isn’t October, unless you’ve watched, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. But lets not forget how this television staple came to be, evolving from a single comic strip titled, The Great Pumpkin in a newspaper, something that is more of a novelty these days.

On Halloween night, Charlie Brown and Sally go trick-or- treating and run into Linus on their way home. He is camped out in a pumpkin patch and is waiting for The Great Pumpkin to come. According to Linus, The Great Pumpkin will bring gifts for the good boys and girls. So he sits and waits in his pumpkin patch.  When Sally wakes up the next morning, she sees no sign of Linus. She and Charlie Brown go to find Linus. They find him huddled under a blanket in the pumpkin patch. Despite this disappointment, Linus vows that The Great Pumpkin will come next year. Personally, I think it’s easier to just go door-to-door on Halloween for candy, rather than waiting for The Great Pumpkin to bring gifts. But that’s just me and my lack of patience, especially when candy is on the line.

Though The Great Pumpkin never came, to Linus’ patch it is never too late for The Great Pumpkin to come. In fact, legend has it that he really likes my pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes- a lot. If you make these for your family, there is a good chance that The Great Pumpkin will come to your home. And even if he doesn’t come, you will win seeing as there will be more cupcakes for you!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/4 Cups all-pourpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon baking soda

3/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 Teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 Teaspoon ground cloves

1 Stick butter, at room temperature

1 1/3 Cups white sugar

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Cup buttermilk

1 Cup of canned pumpkin puree (NOT PUMPKIN PIR FILLING)

1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Sift together, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves into a medium sized bowl.
3. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Then, beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Once all mixed together, incorporate the pumpkin puree.
4. Then add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, by alternating with the buttermilk.
5. Once everything is incorporated, mix in the chocolate chips.
6. Fill your cupcake pan with the batter and cook for 25 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients: 

2-8 Ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature

2 Sticks of butter at room temperature

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

4 Cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter.
2. Then, mix in the vanilla extract.
3. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until creamy.
4. Frost cupcakes and garnish with a chocolate chip.

“If anyone had told me I’d be out crawling around among a bunch of pumpkins of Halloween night, I’d have to say they were crazy!” ~ The Great Pumpkin