When I was seven, I received a copy of Cricket’s Cookery from my Uncle Matthew. Inside the front cover, he penned the following directive in a curly-cued script that tangoed across the page:

“To Susan, help your Momie in need. Here is a good cookbook for you. Hope you will make some of the recipes.

Love,
Machayan
Christmas 1977”

Cricket's Cookery turned out to be the perfect gift for a child enthralled by her mom's sorcery in the kitchen and eager to enter its fold. At a half inch thick, it was easier to hold than the culinary tomes that anchored our book shelf. Inside it offered recipes for Roly-Poly Pancakes, Mighty Meatballs, Yum-Yum Stew, and other silly sounding dishes. 

The instructions for many of the recipes were meant to be sung out loud, a bonus for someone already apt to break into song. 

The Rainy Day Popcorn, for example, was to be prepared “…to the tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” 

Its instructions begin like this:

“Put oil and corn into the pot.
E-I-E-I-O!
Cover pot and heat till hot.
E-I-E-I-O!
With a Pop! Pop! here and a Pop! Pop! there.
Here a Pop! There a Pop! Everywhere a Pop! Pop!”

For me, the underlying message was cooking could be loads of fun. 

With my mom's help, I baked Oh, My Darling Sugar Cookies, Sugar Crumb Pies, Apple Doodle, and the other desserts, greasing pans and packing brown sugar along the way. I cracked open eggs and fished out shards of shells from whirly waves of butter, again and again.

Over time, I became the family baker and my mom focused on dishes prepared with palm fulls and pinches versus carefully measured ingredients. 

I have rolled out thousands of cookies and baked hundreds of cakes since unwrapping Cricket's Cookery's beneath a tinsel-laden tree. Its cover is bandaged with scotch tape and its back pages are wrinkled from water spills. Even so, it continues to be one of my most cherished culinary companions.

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 12

If you're looking for a delicious holiday dessert, try making these moist, perfectly spiced little cakes! This recipe calls for many of the basic techniques I learned while cooking from Cricket's Cookery. Trader Joe’s carries candied pumpkin seeds, which add a lovely bit of crunch. If you can't track them down, use salted pumpkin seeds instead. 

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup butter
4 ounces cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
Candied pumpkin seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle. Blend until eggs are fluffy. 

Add the pumpkin puree, oil, and vanilla. Blend until thoroughly combined.

Place the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves in a medium bowl.

Spoon half of the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Blend until just combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients.

Fill 12 cupcake liners 3/4 way full. 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely. 

Place 1 teaspoon vanilla, butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar in a standing mixer and beat until fluffy. 

Frost cupcakes and top with candied pumpkin seeds.