Now normally this would be a recipe I share closer to Thanksgiving, but because a pumpkin cheesecake was requested from a lovely reader of all things Dessert Diva (see, it isn’t only family requesting it, yay for me), I needed to oblige. So don’t be surprised if another cheesecake recipe pops up in a few weeks or so.

Question of the week: Are you sick of pumpkin yet? Hope the answer is no, because this little pumpkin is still rolling out the recipes for you to indulge in. I just can’t stop myself. I am up to my ears in pumpkin purée. The whites of my eyes are orange, which will work out fine for Halloween, or a trip down Pearl Street, but once I leave Boulder, I’m screwed.

Holy pumpkin patch picking! My hands are orange, and my house is freakin’ adorable. Well, I didn’t actually pick the pumpkins, but rather picked out which pumpkins I liked. It was still hard work, OK? My hands are orange from a self-tanner gone wacky, but it fits right in with my pumpkin theme, so I’m leaving them that way.

Well, hello, all my little pumpkins out there in pumpkin-patch land. I’m here to tell you, the time has come. You know you have been waiting for it all year. It’s pumpkin-palooza time. A new pumpkin recipe each week, all month. It will be everything but actual pumpkin pie (per my readers’ request), and if it is pumpkin pie, it will have a bit of a twist to it. Break out the scarecrows, rakes and pumpkin martinis. October is here, and there is plenty to celebrate.

These muffins are moist, sweet and buttery. The chocolate chips are just enough to satisfy your chocolate tooth (it's the tooth right behind your sweet tooth) without overpowering the sweet batter.

I pulled out all the stops for this lovely weather we are having - you can thank me later. You might have to thank me twice after you sink your teeth into this dreamy fall dessert. Besides making your house smell delicious, like Bath and Body Works, it is the treat you will turn to all season.

There is finally a chill in the air, and in my sweet, simple life, that means comfy, cozy smells wafting through the house, bringing on the anticipation of the holidays and all the hoopla that comes along with them.

Do not be afraid of the vanilla bean pod. It is your friend. It means no harm; it just likes to give people a hard time now and then. Keeps its little life interesting. Using vanilla bean is simple: Cut down the middle and scrape. The smell that remains on your fingers is worth any problems you might encounter.

So this week, the dessert may not sound as enticing as some that have come before it, but it is tasty, on the healthier side, and perfect with all the back-to-school craziness many households endure. Oatmeal Trail Mix Bars.

Dessert Diva Drive sounds like a good idea to me, where the road is paved with chocolate and signs are carved out of crystallized sugar. I don’t mean to go all Willy Wonka on you, but I am so thrilled with this dessert, the sugar is going straight to my head. How does Dark Chocolate Cake with Blueberry Pinot Noir Chutney sound? Fabulous, right?