Serving Sausage Balls for brunch is a Southern staple most of us have enjoyed at a wedding or baby shower at some time in our lives. You really can’t go wrong with the combination of cheese and sausage, and every hostess can appreciate a dish she can make ahead of time and freeze. When I was planning the menu for The Art of Living Beautifully’s Thanksgiving Brunch, I knew I wanted to include Sausage Balls, but wished for an updated version. And then it hit me: add pumpkin. The pairing of pumpkin and sausage is a combination I have written about before. Remember Farfalle con Zucca e Salsiccia? I hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving spin on a traditional brunch staple.

ingredients:

1 pound mild Italian sausage

4 cups Bisquick, plus more in case mixture is too wet

12 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

2 TBSP Pumpkin Pie Spice, divided

directions:

1.)Pre-heat oven to 350°

2.) Sift together 1 TBSP Pumpkin Pie Spice with 4 cups flour in medium mixing bowl.

3.) Combine sausage, Bisquick, cheese and pumpkin together in a medium mixing bowl and incorporate flour mixture a little at a time. If mixture is too wet, add more flour and up to 1 more TBSP of additional pumpkin pie spice.

4.) Roll into small bite size balls about 1″ in diameter, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

*These can be made ahead of time and frozen. If frozen bake for 30 minutes.

-ciao for now-

lauren

Photo credit: McKinney Foto