Pumpkin Bagel Poppers

I’m of the firm belief that one of the most vexing food dilemmas faced my mankind is the question of donut versus bagel. Does one go with the light, airy fried dough of the donut, wrapped in a sweet and sumptuous glaze; or choose the chewy and glutenous bagel, which builds in flavor like a sympathy of malty sweetness and cream cheese richness.

The question of donut versus bagel particularly perplexes me during the fall, when pumpkins get the royal treatment on both counts. The past few years have seen me veer strongly to the case of the bagel, however, in no small part to Einstein Brothers Pumpkin Bagel Poppers.

Basically a donut hole, Pumpkin Bagels Poppers have all the spring that biting into a bagel entails, to go along with a sticky-sweet pumpkin cream cheese glaze that, I’m really sorry to quote Guy Fieri here, would be good if eaten off of  my shoe. And believe it or not, they’re not God-awful for you. On a scale of 1 to turn-you-into-a-pumpkin, I give them a 7.5 for a mild pumpkin flavor with subtle cinnamon and ginger spice additions, but in terms of 1 to I-could-eat-this-everyday-for-the-rest-of-my-life, it gets a resounding “yessum.”

Pumpkin Season Has Arrived

It started last weekend when I had my prerequisite right of fall eating with a Pumpkin Bagel with Pumpkin Schmear, but it didn’t end there. I’ve been spotting a veritable buttload of pumpkin eats over the last week, including Kellogg’s infamous Pumpkin Spice waffles, as well as new Archer Farms Pumpkin Muffins and my beloved Edy’s Pumpkin Ice Cream. Word is, even Panera Bread is getting a Pumpkin Bagel.

I may be no Scott Sevener, but I do love me some pumpkin (speaking of which, can a guy get a pumpkin pie flavored cereal, please?). For no other reason than the love of all things orange, I’m more or less intent on documenting each of these finds, starting with my beloved Einstein’s Bros. Pumpkin Bagel and Schmear.

This is no donut in disguise, mind you. It’s everything you want in a bagel — chewy on the outside, warm and bready with lots of air pickets and pull-apart, yeasty dough, within – with a hint of fall spice and just malty sweetness. The cream cheese schmear is a bit on the vicious side, but it has a sweet, creamy flavor that reminds me of a pumpkin mousse. Actually, it reminds me of a better, richer version of my Grandma’s pumpkin mousse, which might just be the greatest dessert ever created for Weight Watchers.

Anyone else a pumpkin fan with some early fall eats and treats? How about other fall flavored treats? Let me know your picks for the ones to check out!