Crisp fall day and spicy chewy cookies

Yesterday was a chilly, sunny fall day. And I loved it! I am an autum lover all the way. I am constantly wondering about people from the South that choose to spend their summer vacation in Florida. I understand the draw of the beach, even though it's not something that really attracts me. But going from somewhere miserably hot and humid to even *more* hot and humid is just not for me.

The leaves have been turning for a while now here in our neck of the woods.

And we had a big storm this week with a couple of gusty days. I fight a losing battle in the fall with the leaves on the deck. I would leave them there except for the fact that they get really slippery when it rains!

This kind of weather calls for autumnal food, so yesterday I put on a crockpot full of blackeyed peas and Smart Bacon, cooked up a cast iron skillet of cornbread, and made these yummy pumpkin ginger snaps, recipe courtesty of Mama Pea at http://peasandthankyou.com.

Mine turned out darker than hers did, which I attribute to using the blackstrap variety of molasses. The flavor was still great though!