A group of my international Insta chef friends invited me to participate in a Home Cook Battle.  Each month the group chooses one ingredient to cook with, then we let our creative juices flow and whip up something extravagant.  This month's ingredient is pumpkin, and we're posting our contest entries today.  I encourage you to head over to Instagram, search on #homecookbattle, and see what the rest of the group made.  They’re super talented cooks from around the globe from which we all can learn some awesome recipes.    

Pumpkin and baking go hand in hand, and there's a ton of pumpkin baked goods that raced through my head when I was thinking about what to make.  But to be honest, I'm not much of a baker.  (I envy my friends who are).  It's not my comfort zone, and that frosting fights me every time.  So, I decided to create something that incorporated both sweet and savory elements that would be a perfect snack for fall.  

This flatbread knocked our orange and white striped Halloween socks off!  You taste the sweetness from the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin puree.  The savory applewood smoked bacon crumbled across the top adds just the right amount of saltiness.  The crumbled goat cheese adds another creamy dimension of flavor.  And the final (and my favorite) burst of happiness you get in every bite is the drizzle of brown butter truffle honey.  

This thin little flatbread has dimension and depth.  It's so good; you may want to eat the whole thing yourself.  The recipe's easy and only takes 30 minutes to make.  There are no difficut steps, yet the finished plate turns out gourmet.  If you haven't noticed yet, that's a theme for me.  Good food doesn’t have to be complicated, and easy doesn't mean you have to sacrifice quality or flavor.  

The key to this recipe is using the thinnest flatbread you can find.  Stick to 1/8 of an inch and no thicker.  Otherwise, you might throw off your taste sensation.  Trader Joes Whole Wheat Lavash Flatbread is perfect.   If you're hosting a Halloween party and looking for a creative, fun recipe, for sure, this will be a hit!

Recipe for Pumpkin Flatbread with Bacon, Goat Cheese, and Brown Butter Truffle Honey

Ingredients:

• 4 slices organic uncured applewood smoked bacon

• ½ cup pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling)

• 1 tablespoons milk

• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar

• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 2 Trader Joes Whole Wheat Lavash Flatbread, or any 1/8 of an inch thin flatbread (no thicker)

• ½ cup crumbled goat cheese

• 1-2 teaspoons Truffle Shuffle brown butter truffle honey, to drizzle

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Heat a large saute pan on medium heat and fry the bacon until crispy, flipping several times to brown evenly, about 4-5 minutes total.  Place bacon on a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool.  Chop into bite-sized pieces.  Set aside.  

3. While the bacon is cooking, in a small bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  

4. Assemble your flatbread:  Lightly brush each flatbread with the olive oil.  Divide and spread the pumpkin mixture over each piece.  Add the bacon crumbles.  

5. For best results, bake on a baking stone for 10 minutes or until flatbread is crispy.  If you don’t have a baking stone, you can use a sheet pan.  Remove from the oven.  Sprinkle with goat cheese.  Drizzle with brown butter truffle honey.  Serve immediately.