When the cold weather starts to hit in Chicago, I always find comfort indulging in pumpkin foods. So far this season I have enjoyed old favorites and discovered a few new pumpkin goodies.

Pumpkin cannoli courtesy of Chicago Pastry

I go to Chicago Pastry whenever I am reasonably close, but this time of year, I make special trips for the pumpkin cannoli. Ordinarily I prefer traditional cannoli, but I make an exception for these pumpkin treats. This year, Chicago Pastry also made caramel apple cannoli, forcing me to split my order between the two varieties. I had to try the caramel apple cannoli just to be fair.

Caramel apple cannoli courtesy of Chicago Pastry

The key to great cannoli is a thick and creamy but not-too-sweet ricotta cheese filling, and the shell cannot be soggy. I am a cannoli elitist, and Chicago Pastry makes the best!

BelVita pumpkin spice breakfast biscuits are a new discovery for me. More like cookies than biscuits, BelVita biscuits are often served on airplanes as the snack. The pumpkin spice ones are excellent. I recommend a quick stop in the microwave to really bring out the flavor.

Bursting with pumpkin flavor and easy to find are Pumpkin Spice Cheerios. I’m not sure how they would be in a bowl with milk, because I eat them out of the box as a snack. I bought enough boxes to last the winter.

I searched for Pumpkin Pie Rice Krispies Treats for more than a year. I even attempted to make my own, producing tasty but soggy treats. After finally finding them, I was a bit disappointed. While they were sweet delights, they didn’t taste much different than the original Rice Krispies Treats. They need more pumpkin flavor.

Pumpkin-spice Chobani yogurt is another new find. Unfortunately, it also falls a bit short on pumpkin flavor. Still good, it just doesn’t satisfy my pumpkin craving.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, when picking up a turkey burger at Grecian Kitchen, I tried the pumpkin shake. Thick and full of pumpkin flavor and topped with a bit of nutmeg, it was delicious without being overly sweet.

On the adult beverage front, pumpkin brews fly off the shelves quickly here, but I found Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale, O’Fallon Pumpkin Beer and Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale. Each has a unique flavor, but all have a strong, not overpowering pumpkin flavor.

I’m still searching for pumpkin soup and pumpkin ravioli, but I have plenty of other pumpkin goodies at home to keep me satisfied.

— John Wroblewski, online writer