‘Tis the season to eat pumpkin, but is anybody else getting sick of pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin coffee? Don’t get me wrong, I love the fall fruit flavor, but I’ve been waiting for some innovative pumpkin-licious treats for the last 12 months now. The only seasonal juice I’m not sick of yet is pumpkin beer, but that’s a given. Amidst all of my complaining, I received an email from Parker’s Maple Barn recently, boasting their special of the month: french toast stuffed with spiced pumpkin and cream cheese. Now, I’m not sure exactly how this will be - french toast filled with pumpkin-cream-cheese-pie filling, or just toast made with pumpkin spice and stuffed with cream cheese? The mystery is half the salivating. Either way, I’m in for trying this seasonal dish.

What’s your favorite pumpkin-inspired treat?

I know I’ve complained about Starbucks before (and probably will again), but lately, Starbucks has been kicking Dunkin’ Donuts’ butt. I’ll swing the extra buck or two any day for strong coffee and (usually) good customer service. My current love for Starbucks began several weeks ago when I finally discovered that you could enjoy their pumpkin iced coffee without having to order their sickly sweet pumpkin spice latte. Now, I order a venti iced coffee with a shot of pumpkin syrup. Not only is it the perfect balance of pumpkin and coffee flavors, but it’s also almost half the price of the pumpkin spice latte. Compared to Dunkins, Starbucks also has a wider variety of breakfast options, and now that I’m having to grab breakfast on the go several days a week, I don’t want to have to choose between just a bagel, a muffin, or a doughnut. Starbucks has breakfast wraps, yogurt with granola, fruit cups, and not-so-waist-friendly baked goods, like banana bread and coffee cake. For the fall season, to accompany their pumpkin coffee, Starbucks is even offering items like pumpkin scones and pumpkin cream cheese muffins. If Starbucks keeps this up, America could be running on their coffee before we know it. Plus, the baristas at Starbucks listen; they haven’t messed up my coffee order once yet.

Which do you prefer - Starbucks or Dunkins?