The fall is my favorite time of year. I live in a neighborhood of old houses full of mature trees, and the color they're showing right now is gorgeous. I love the cool days (after the horrifically hot summer I suffered through while hauling around the person formally known as Beastie), and the even cooler nights. We have a fireplace, so fall also means wood fires, sweater-weather, and of course, Halloween. Speaking of which, you long-time readers of this blog will not have a hard time figuring out what Isabella is going as for the holiday. Any guesses?

But my favorite part of fall is that for me, it's baking season! Now, I can't cook myself out of a cardboard box, but I like to think that I'm a pretty decent baker. And for the past seven years or so, I've provided all the desserts for my family's Thanksgiving dinner, most of which turned out pretty darn well, if I do say so myself. And my favorite spices always play a central part in my fall baking: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice.

My all-time favorite fall treats are those made with pumpkin. I love anything with pumpkin in it, really. And in an effort to get back in the baking saddle, I'm going to make a pumpkin treat of some kind this weekend. Here's where you come in.

Given that I have a limited amount of baking time, and a virtually unlimited supply of pumpkin recipes that I want to try, I'd like you to cast your vote for the treat you think I should make this weekend. I'll post the names and brief descriptions of the recipes I want to try here, and you respond in the comments section with which one you think I should make. The treat that gets the most votes is the one I'll make this weekend. Then, I'll put all the names of those who responded with their vote (regardless of which pumpkin treat you chose) in a hat, and draw out one winner. That person will receive in the mail the pumpkin treat I end up making. Post your vote no later than 8am EST Saturday morning in order to be eligible.

So see? It's a win-win. You help me decide what to do with my baking time, and spare me from eating my weight in whatever treat happens to win (because believe me, it will happen, and dammit, those Citizens jeans are going to button by Christmas if I have to shoe horn myself into them), and you, my fabulous readers, get to receive some yummy pumpkin goodness of your very own.

Now, for the "pay it forward" part. All I ask of the winner is that you hold a similar contest on your own blog (if you want). I know not everyone here is a baker. I get that. So if you're the winner and you don't bake, you don't have to participate, and I'll still respect you in the morning. But if you want to do it, that's great! And you could even choose a different "fall flavor" for your baking pay it forward adventure. Say apples, or brown sugar, or even chocolate. And if you want to continue the pumpkin theme, but don't have have enough recipes, let me know. I can supply you with as many as you want from my ample stash.

So, without further ado, let's welcome our contestants:

Pumpkin Cookies: I've made these before. A soft cookie with butterscotch chips in them. Yum!

Pumpkin Pie Bars: Pumpkin goodness on the bottom, and cream cheese and pumpkin mixed together on top. Check out the recipe here.

Pumpkin Scones: I've made these before too, with great success. The recipe comes from here.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting: Another yummy recipe from Joy of Baking.

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Cinnamon Glaze: Pumpkin. Pound Cake. Cinnamon. Enough said.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins: One cup of wheat flour makes this recipe sort of healthy, right?

Cinnamon Pumpkin Bars: This is a Cooking Light recipe. Only 114 calories per bar!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes: This is a Paula Deen recipe, so you know it has to be good.

Pumpkin Banana Bread: I made this one before, and it's a Cooking Light recipe.

Okay, so go ahead. Tell me what to make!