Pumpkin Cupcakes

This was another item I baked for Thanksgiving at Mom's house. We always have a huge dinner with about 30-40 family members. It is my favorite holiday ever!!!! Everyone brings a few dishes and we eat all day long! I have been addicted to trying out new cupcake recipes and ever since I first found this recipe, I knew I had to make it. I LOVE cream cheese icing! These were perfect for fall. You could even make a few without the icing and enjoy them for breakfast!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners. (I found they bake up nicer with foil liners, rather than paper) Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside. In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into cupcake cups. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Allow to cool. Frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting, or whipped cream.

PUMPKIN-CREAM CHEESE TRUFFLES

I was trying to come up with pumpkin recipes for Thanksgiving. There were so many options out there and I wanted to try something new. Mom put me in charge of making two desserts and here is what I came up with. The first one I found came from Whole Foods!

They were a little difficult to make. I had to keep putting them in the freezer because they were getting soft before I dipped them. In the long run, it was all worth it! They turned out to be really yummy!

Makes about 30
These truffles pair pumpkin with gingersnap and graham cracker crumbs. For
the best results, chill truffles until you're ready to serve them.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups white chocolate chunks
1/3 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup canned pumpkin purée
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of fine salt
2 ounces cream cheese, softened

Method
Melt 1/2 cup of the chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat or in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir often to keep the chocolate from burning. Transfer to a large bowl. Add gingersnap crumbs, pumpkin, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, zest, cinnamon, salt and cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Transfer to a shallow bowl, cover and chill until just solid enough to roll into balls, about 2 hours.

Line a large sheet tray with parchment paper. Melt remaining 2 cups chocolate and transfer to a small, deep bowl. Roll 1 heaping teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture into a ball in your hands, then drop into the chocolate. Working quickly, gently spoon chocolate over to coat. Using a small spoon or fork, lift the truffle out of the chocolate, shake off excess and transfer to prepared sheet tray. Dollop a bit of extra chocolate on any parts that remain exposed, then sprinkle a few gingersnap or graham cracker crumbs over the top, if you like. Repeat process with remaining pumpkin mixture and chocolate, then chill truffles until chocolate is completely set, about 1
hour.

Starbucks VIA Coffee Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake

This is another tasty recipe I found on my friend's blog! Liesl always finds great recipes so I trust anything she makes! I really wasn't in the mood to bake a cake last night, but one of my girlfriends (who used to be a Starbucks employee) insisted we bake the cake.  It was easy to make and paired well with a nice cup of Starbucks decaf coffee, compliments of Jessica Campbell!

Here is the recipe:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 packet Starbucks Via
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 medium bananas, mashed (approx 1 cup)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease a bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, Via,
sugar and brown sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together mashed
bananas, vegetable oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract until
smooth and well-combined. Pour into dry ingredients and stir only
until no streaks of flour remain. Add in chocolate chips and stir to
evenly distribute. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the
center comes out clean.
Cool in pans on a wire rack.

For the glaze:
Combine 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 Tablespoons Starbucks VIA Coffee
(I used about 1 teaspoon of the VIA and then added enough water to
make 2 Tablespoons). Brush glaze over cooled cake. Let some of the
glaze drizzle down over the sides.

Oreo Cheesecakes

I stumbled across these little cheesecakes while looking at another blog and immediately knew I had to try them out. 

They were pretty easy to make and tasted delicious. Enjoy!

(recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook)

42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 275°. Line standard muffin pans with liners. Place 1
whole cookie in the bottom of each liner.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixer. Gradually
sugar, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in
chopped cookies.

Divide batter among pans. Bake for about 22 minutes or until filling is set.

Cool completely on wire racks. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Remove from pans just before serving.

Makes 30 cheesecakes.

White Chocolate, Cranberry, and Macadamia Nut Cookies

This was not suppose to be my next blog, however, I will be traveling to Baltimore next week and wanted to use up any items I already had in my pantry. Honestly, I shouldn't be baking dessert (considering the few extra pounds I picked up while in London), but I have a guest coming over for dinner and felt it was only appropriate to have something sweet!

After going through my pantry and cabinets, I noticed I had white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Perfect...cookies! But I need to make sure they had a little kick to them. It was a toss up between milk chocolate and cranberries. I decided to go with the cranberries, then, my recipe search began. 

Thank goodness for GOOGLE! I stumbled upon www.epicurious.com and found a recipe. I had all of the ingredients so I decided to give it a try!

They were delicious! I am not a fan of crunchy cookies and these were still a little chewy. Just be careful not to over cook them!

Recipe:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (about 6 ounces)
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips (about 8 1/2 ounces)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted macadamia nuts (about 4 1/2 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until blended. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat just until blended. Using spatula, stir in cranberries, white chocolate chips, and nuts.

For large cookies, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing 21/2 inches apart. For small cookies, drop dough by level tablespoonfuls onto sheets, spacing 11/2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until just golden, about 18 minutes for large cookies and about 15 minutes for small cookies. Cool on sheets. 

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/White-Chocolate-Cranberry-and-Macadamia-Nut-Cookies-236823

Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Icing

This is one of my mom's cake recipes and my grandmother's icing recipes. I was having a real sweet tooth and found a bunch of apples at work that were about to go bad. Everything else I had in my cabinet at home. I put half the batter in a 9x9 pan to take to the office and I made the rest into muffins for my brother and his wife. It was delicious and even better paired with some hot tea or a cup of coffee.

Fresh Apple Cake:

Mix in order:

1 1/2 c. oil

2 c. sugar

3 lg. eggs

3 c. plain flour, sifted with 1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (opt.)

1/2 tsp. allspice (opt.)

3 c. finely diced apples

1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

1 tsp. vanilla

Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 inch pan and back at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

Never-Fail Caramel Icing:

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. white sugar

3/4 c. butter

3/4 c. milk

Combine all ingredients and let boil hard for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking. Let cool slightly. Put in mixer and beat until thick enough to spread on cake. If for any reason it gets too thick, just keeping adding a little bit of milk at a time.

Oh So Easy Lemon Cookies

These cookies were first introduced to me by a friend I went to high school with. These lemon cookies are the easiest thing to make, as long as you don't over bake them. I came home after work and had these mixed up and baked in a half hour. 

Recipe:

1 pkg. lemon cake mix

1 T. lemon juice

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

Combine ingredients and drop by teaspoons (1 inch balls) onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minute, until the edges are slightly golden. Allow cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 1 minute. Make a glaze of powdered sugar and lemon juice to drizzle over cookies when they have cooled.

Banana Pudding

When I asked my brother what type of cake he wanted for his birthday, he mentioned he did not want a cake, but banana pudding. Sad to say, but I never made banana pudding. It was something my mom or Aunt Sherry would make, so I never had to learn the recipe. Lucky for me, my Aunt Sherry's recipe is in our church cookbook and it was very simple to make. I almost felt this recipe may be too "easy" for a blog post, but I feel everyone should know how to make one of the easiest and most delicious desserts around!

Recipe:

1 large package of instant vanilla pudding

3 cups of milk

1 large carton of Cool Whip

8 ounces of sour cream

1 box of Vanilla Wafers

6 large bananas

Mix pudding with milk until thick and smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Layer wafers, bananas, and pudding, starting and ending with pudding. Sprinkle top with a few crushed wafers.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Everyone loves a good cupcake! Well, at least I do! While brainstorming at work a few weeks ago, Catherine and I were determined to come up with a dessert for Ashlee's birthday. We knew Ashlee's favorite cupcake at GiGi's was the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake, so I decided to look up a version I could recreate! Also, what better combination is there besides peanut butter and chocolate? 

After my last birthday cake failure, my mom suggested I try new recipes out before I serve them. Therefore, Mom and I tested them out when I went home the weekend before. They turned out perfect both times I made them. The icing was the best part! My roommate, Mandy (my favorite critic and taste tester), is not a huge icing fan and she mentioned she could eat it by the spoonful! I highly recommend that everyone should keep these ingredients in there kitchen at all times! The miniature peanut butter cup was an extra beauty touch!

 

"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake
From Hershey's

1 cups sugar
1/2 + 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter)
with paper bake cups.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and
salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium
speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
Fill cups 2/3 full with batter.

3. Bake 20 to 23 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes
out clean (Do not overbake!). Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans and
place on wire rack. Cool completely.



"Peanut Butter Frosting"
From Barefoot Contessa

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and
salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a
rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until
the mixture is light and smooth.

Lime Cream Torte

Lime Cream Torte

My Aunt Sue gave me this recipe while visiting Nashville this past May. She is a wonderful baker, so I have faith in anything she recommends. She told me how easy it was to make and I knew it would compliment any Summer meal! I kept waiting for the perfect opportunity to try this recipe out. My brother and I invited our parents to his house for Father's Day cookout! I knew my dad liked Key Lime Pie and I was hoping for a similar flavor out of the cake. The cake seemed to be a success! Everyone really enjoyed it and with it being such a hot day, it was a rather light dessert!

Ingredients:

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) butter recipe golden cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 7 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• FILLING:
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
• Lime slices and blackberries, optional

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, butter, water and lime juice; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes.  Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  In a large bowl, combine milk and lime juice. Fold in whipped cream. Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; top with 1-1/4 cups filling. Repeat layers twice. Top with the remaining cake layer. Frost the top of cake with remaining filling.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve with lime slices if desired. 

Yield: 10-14 servings.