Fall is one of the best times of the year. The leaves are changing colors, sweaters can be worn comfortably and all of the big holidays are getting closer.

Something I’ve always loved about fall is when I’d come inside from an afternoon of playing in the leaves to a warm drink and a sweet treat.

The delicacies I enjoyed so much were ones that my mom also enjoyed when she was young; they’re great family recipes that have been passed on and will continue to be.

My mom, Sherry Sanders, loves to bake and cook and she inherited that love from her mom. Ever since she was young, she remembers her mother making delicious pumpkin-based recipes, including a pumpkin cream cheese roll-up.

The name of the dessert is exactly how you’d explain it, a pumpkin cream cheese roll-up. The treat is difficult to make, but the outcome is rewarding. The pumpkin roll is one of those foods that looks too good to eat because  of the elegance of the cream cheese swirl. Because of how challenging it is to make, I don’t have the roll very often at home and neither did my mom.

“She would make it usually only for special occasions just because the time that it took to make it, but she enjoyed making it,” my mom said. “Now I only make it on special occasions too.”

Since my mom doesn’t make the pumpkin cream cheese roll-up very often, the only immediate memories I have are of me making it with her and enjoying the time spent together.

She has similar memories with her mom as well. She enjoyed making them with her and then watching my grandma delicately roll the cream filled dessert in order to avoid cracks in the cake base.

My favorite recipe my mom still makes several times a year during the cold is hot wassail punch, which is my family’s twist on hot apple cider. The hot drink has an inviting kick of citrus in it due to the ingredients orange juice and pineapple juice.

“My mom always made the hot wassail recipe quite a bit through the fall and the winter and it was a really good drink to have,” my mother said.

I’ve enjoyed having the punch throughout my life to keep warm during the brisk fall weather. The wassail punch pairs well with the rich pumpkin cream cheese roll-up.

Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Roll-Up

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

Makes 10 servings

Cake:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• ⅔ cup canned solid pack pumpkin
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Ginger
• ½ tsp. Nutmeg
• ½ tsp. Salt
• ½ to 1 cup finely chopped nuts
• Powdered sugar

Filling: (Beat until smooth; keep refrigerated)

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cream cheese
• 6 tbsp. Butter
• 1 tsp. Vanilla

Beat eggs on high speed for five minutes. Gradually beat in sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Stir in pumpkin. Sift flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt together, then fold into pumpkin mixture. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan (15” x 10” x 1”) that has been lined with wax paper. Spread batter evenly with a rubber spatula. Top with nuts. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or  until center springs back when lightly touched with fingertip. Loosen cake around edges with a knife. Invert onto a clean towel dusted with powdered sugar. Peel off wax paper. Trim ¼” from all sides of cake. Roll up cake and towel together from short side. Place seam-side down on wire rack. Cool completely. Unroll cake. Spread with cream cheese filling. Reroll cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Hot Wassail Punch

• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 cups of apple juice
• 3 cups of pineapple juice
• 3 cups of orange juice
• 5 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks

Put all ingredients in a crockpot set on high and stir. Once the punch is hot it’s ready to serve, leave on low or keep warm.