I was scrolling through Instagram stories a couple weeks ago when I came across some tasty-looking recipes recommended by the Wellness Center on the UCCS Instagram. I was immediately inspired to cook, which is a rare occurrence for someone who usually lacks the money and time to really chef it up. I was sure that if UCCS posted these recipes, they would be inexpensive and not too challenging.
Since it’s fall and I love a little sweet treat, I decided to make their recipe for 15 chocolate pumpkin pie bites. Throughout the baking process, I analyzed the recipe for its affordability, simplicity and flavor.
(An important note: I modified this recipe to be gluten-free, which may have affected results, particularly cost.)
Affordability: 2 out of 5
I stopped by King Soopers to collect ingredients for the recipe. I already had a few things at home, so I needed oats, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, pumpkin puree and both kinds of chocolate chips.
The seven ingredients I bought cost me $33.23. If I bought the ingredients I already had at King Soopers (gluten-free flour, cinnamon, sea salt, butter, vanilla extract and maple syrup), I would have spent an additional $28.21, $61.44 in total.
As a college student, 60 bucks on desserts is steep. I could treat myself to a nice meal with a beverage and dessert for less than that.
The recipe ended up making 18 pieces, which breaks down to about $3.41 per piece. A Starbucks cake pop is $3.25. While these pie bites seem to have a little more nutritional value, that is a level of price bougie I do not enjoy.
Since the ingredients all come in larger sizes than needed for this recipe, I probably could’ve doubled the batch and felt better about the cost. I would have been pressed for space if I had 36 chocolate pumpkin pie bites, so I stuck to a single batch.
Simplicity: 3 out of 5
Starting with my shopping experience, I was upset at how difficult it was to find some of the ingredients at King Soopers. I figured pumpkin puree would be everywhere, considering it’s October and the Thanksgiving turkeys are already out, but no. I had to crawl on the floor, dirtying my jeans, to find pumpkin puree on the bottom shelf.
Also, if anyone knows where to find dark chocolate mini chips, let me know. I spent nothing short of seven minutes sorting through the entire chocolate chip selection to no avail. I instead purchased dark chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks. I used half a cup of chocolate chunks instead of a full cup, hoping it wouldn’t alter the ratio.
I was also too short to see the baking powder, which should be accessible. King Soopers might not be the place to shop for baking needs.
The recipe was fairly easy to follow, but there was some vagueness.
There was no specificity about if the butter should be melted or softened. I attempted to mix softened butter in with the pumpkin, but the butter stayed chunky, evidence that I chose wrong. I had to heat the pumpkin and butter over hot water until they mixed into a good consistency.
I also thought it would have been helpful to know what the consistency of the bites should be. The recipe said not to mess up the flour and oatmeal measurements or the consistency would be altered, but there was no texture goal listed. When I got to actually baking them, I was unsure if they should be soft or crispy when they were done.
The recipe assumed that I had sophisticated measuring tools, not a basic set of measuring cups from Target. I had to “guestimate” on the one-fourth teaspoon measurements for salt, ginger and nutmeg because the smallest measurement I had was a one-half teaspoon.
Tastiness: 3.5 out of 5
The chocolate pumpkin pie bites are incredibly sweet, especially when there is no added sugar aside from the chocolate. The chocolate makes the bites so rich that I lost the pumpkin flavor. I think the two cups of chocolate chips would have been plenty for this recipe.
The flavor of the pumpkin batter, where it comes through, is fantastic. It’s not too sweet and has just the right amount of fall spice to it. The oats offer a fun texture that breaks up the smoothness of the chocolate pieces.
If I were to make this recipe again, I would melt the butter, use one and one-half cups of dark chocolate chips and double the recipe. I probably won’t be repeating it, though, unless someone else pitched in for ingredient costs.
Graphic by Neako Hallisey.