Peanut Butter Rudolph Cookies

So other than the traditional sugar cookies I make every year, I basically spent the past month trying to find other cute and unique Christmas cookies, and I came across these little guys - peanut butter cookies decorated with chocolate covered pretzels and M&Ms to look like Rudolph and his reindeer friends. :) As I've mentioned before, I prefer to do everything from scratch, since it seems like it just makes baking more fun and special when you're baking something as a gift. However, I made these during exams as a little study break, so I used a Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix as a shortcut. If you wanted to make these from scratch, you could just Google any peanut butter cookie recipe and it will work!

I used Rold Gold chocolate covered pretzels, and they were pretty large, even for my HUGE cookies (I only was able to shape 12 reindeer and the mix says it makes 36 cookies...). Maybe another brand of chocolate covered pretzel would work better, or you could always break the pretzel in half and then the antlers would look more realistic!

Ingredients:

• Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix (or peanut butter cookie recipe)
• Milk Chocolate M&Ms (you could even use peanut butter or something fun!)
• Milk Chocolate covered pretzels

Instructions:

1. Prepare peanut butter cookie mix or recipe as instructed. Chill dough for a little bit in the fridge so it's easier to mold.
2. Shape dough into triangle shapes with soft edges, large enough to fit a couple of chocolated covered pretzels and a reindeer face. (Keep in mind that the dough will probably expand a little.)
3. Bake cookies as instructed, and immediately after they're out of the oven, push in red M&Ms for the nose, any colors for the eyes and the two chocolate covered pretzels at the top.

Cinnabon Clones

My family's tradition every Christmas morning for as long as I can remember is waking up and opening stockings, and then eating Pillsbury cinnamon rolls before opening the rest of our presents. I recently saw a Food Network special with The Pioneer Woman and her homemade cinnamon rolls, which she makes every year and gives away as Christmas gifts to neighbors and friends. This gave me the idea to make homemade cinnamon rolls this year for our family - as a trial run of course before they could be send out to friends and family! They turned out sooo well, and were relatively simple to make. Although the recipe calls for a bread machina and baking them right away, I kneaded the dough by hand and put them in the fridge overnight and cooked them in the morning and everything turned out great! Don't be afraid to change up recipes when baking - most of the time the exact proportions of baking soda/powder or amounts of flour might need to be exact, but you can always experiment. I frequently change up white sugar with brown, adding more egg yolks for density, and other things, just to see what the results will be. For these cinnamon rolls, I added just a litttttle extra butter and sugar ;) Before making something, I always compare a few recipes and ALWAYS read the reviews to find out the best method of making a new sweet! Trust me, a recipe (like this 'Clone of a Cinnabon' one) with 4,000 ecstatic reviews is almost guaranteed to be a winner.

Ingredients:   

Dough

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted (I used butter)
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast

Filling (feel free to increase any of these proportions, it won't hurt!)

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter 

Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 4 oz. cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat Philadelphia - trying to save at least some calories here...)
• 3 cups powdered sugar (I ended up using about 4, but start with 2-3 and add to achieve desired consistency taste - mine ended up just like the frosting you get in the Pillsbury cinnamon roll packs! Also, if you're not used to cream cheese in your frostings, give it a try! It gives such great flavor.)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt 

Directions:

1.   Heat milk in a sauce pan with a candy thermometer until it reaches AT LEAST 110 degrees farenheit. Take off the burner and whisk in yeast to dissolve. I heat mine until about 120 and take it off the burner; yeast dies above 125, but the milk will start cooling immediately and the yeast will not work if the milk is too hot or not hot enough. I was skeptical about how well my yeast was doing, but as long as the milk is warm and the yeast dissolves, you're probably just fine. 
2. Beat in the room temperature eggs, sugar, butter and salt.
3. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, using a wooden spoon (avoids getting the dough caught between wires of a whisk or a mixer). If it becomes difficult to add the last bits of flour in, take out the dough and knead in the rest of the flour yourself.
4. Cover the dough in a lightly oiled bowl in a warm place for at least an hour, or until the dough doubles in size. (We have a "bread proofing" setting in our oven, which keeps it at a nice 100 degrees F).
5. Next, take the dough and roll it out into a larger rectangle, about 16" x 20". Spread the 1/2 stick of butter (melted or room temperature) all over the dough. Then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over all of the dough.
6. Roll up the dough in a "typewriter" style, going from one end to the other, and then from that end back, making sure to roll as tightly as possible. Once rolled, cut in 1-3/4" thick slices and place in a 9 x 13" WELL greased baking dish - or line it with my favorite baking helper parchment paper. You should be able to get about 12 rolls, but it's okay if you get less or more! I got 14, with the last two being two tiny ones from the ends of the roll. If you have smaller rolls, put those in the middle, since the outside rolls will bake faster. 
7. At this point, you can either cover them with a warm cloth and let rise for another half hour and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, or store in a fridge overnight and let them rise and bake them in the morning!
8. For the frosting, start making this with about 5 minutes left to cook. Melt the butter and cream cheese, at the vanilla and salt and whisk in the powdered sugar until you get your desired consistency and taste.
9. Once the rolls come out of the oven, spread the frosting all over the top (I doubled the frosting recipe because my family loves it, but didn't end up using it all). Or, if you used parchment paper, your best option is to flip over the rolls onto a platter so that all the yummy brown sugar and butter runs down all over the rolls and then you frost the top. They'll be great either way!

Right after slicing and before rising/baking.

Before Frosting

After the yummy, goooooey frosting! (It's a little dark because of mixing with the brown sugar from the rolls)

Wish I could have gotten a picture of the swirly inside!

Enjoy, these are the BEST cinnamon rolls we have ever tasted, and I'm sure your family will love them as well! They seriously taste just like Cinnabon!

Also, I just had to include these pictures of the amazing sunset we had tonight on Lake Michigan - we may have not had a white christmas, but this may have just made up for it!

My Favorite Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

Wow, it's been awhile, but I promise it is worth the wait! I've had so much going on with school the past few weeks that although I've squeezed in some time to bake, I haven't squeezed in enough time to take pictures and post. :( I will definitely be making some of the recipes I've tried lately and actually posting them because "Christmas Crack" - a toffee made with, believe it or not, saltines (amazinggg), and my butterscotch bars with M&Ms and peanuts need to make it on here at some point! I figured if I manage to finally get a post out, it should definitely be Christmas appropriate, and what's more fitting than sugar cookies?!

I've always had a very specific taste for sugar cookies, and I've finally found a recipe that I LOVE. I've been making Wilton's Roll-Out Sugar Cookies for 2 years now, and they have the best flavor, and roll out perfectly every time. Inspired by my friend's mom, who makes gorgeous, professional looking sugar cookies, I decided to try and actually decorate my sugar cookies the same way she did this year with royal icing. Although you might lose the soft, buttery flavor of the common buttercream frosting, the royal icing hardens and allows you to pipe really pretty and intricate designs onto your cookies. It's a lot easier if you just stick to 2-3 colors of icing, unless you have lots of pastry bags and even more patience! 3 colors was enough for my first "professional-looking" cookie attempt. 

 Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. 
2. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. 
3. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Do not chill dough, it will get too hard to roll! If you do need to make the dough ahead of time and chill it, let it come completely to room temperature before rolling it.
4. On floured surface, roll out half the dough about 1/8 in. thick. Dip cookie cutter in flour before each use. Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet (parchment paper is your best friend, nothing will EVER stick) 8-11 minutes - when the cookies start to brown on the edges, pull them out! I love my sugar cookies a little soft, and these cookies do not change color much when they bake, so a little browning means they will be crispy. My cookies were a little smaller, so they were ready right at 8 minutes.
5. After the cookies have cooled, frost with royal icing: 4 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar and 3 egg whites. Add more powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency; you want it to be spreadable, but not runny at all. I used Wilton/Ateco piping tips 2 and 3, as well as a special tip for leaves! :) If you are worried about the raw egg whites, Wilton also makes a meringue powder you can use instead.

 

I also made home-made cinnamon rolls for the first time tonight, so we'll see how those turn out tomorrow, and pictures and a recipe for my Cinnabon knockoffs will be up tomorrow!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Mini Cinnamon Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crust and Pumpkin Pie Frosting

 

So, I have to warn you, this recipe takes a little extra time since you are making cheesecake AND a pumpkin pie, but these little guys turn out so cute, and they're perfect as an additional dessert for Thanksgiving. Also, this recipe has opened my eyes to the amazingly delicious gingersnap crust! It is SO. GOOD. For the pumpkin pie I made for Thanksgiving, I substituted the tradtional pie crust with a gingersnap-graham cracker crust. My family was a little disappointed to not have the original, buttery pie crust, but once they tasted the combination of ginger snap cookies, graham crackers and smooth pumpkin pie together, they changed their loyalties to my version of a pumpkin pie crust! (If you want to try that crust recipe out, just follow the directions on a graham cracker crumbs box and substitute half the graham cracker crumbs with ginger snap crumbs.) 

Anyway, on to the mini Thanksgiving cheesecakes! I recommend first baking the pumpkin pie, then the gingersnap crust, and then the cinammon cheesecake.  

Ingredients:  

Pumpkin Pie “Frosting”:

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Gingersnap Crust:

• 1 cup gingersnap cookie (or graham cracker) crumbs
• 1/4 cup (half stick) unsalted butter; melted
• pinch of salt

Cheesecake:

• 2 bars of cream cheese (8 oz each), room temperature
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

Method:

To Make Pumpkin Pie Frosting:

        Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well blended.  Pour into a greased 9-inch pie pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.  Remove and let cool, then refrigerate.

When ready to “frost” the cheesecakes, remove the pumpkin pie and spoon the filling into a piping bag.  Use as you would regular frosting.

To Make Gingersnap Crust:

        Prepare 12 baking cups with paper liners, or grease with cooking spray.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the three crust ingredients until well blended.  Scoop 1 packed tablespoon of crust into each baking cup, and press down to pack firm.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, then remove and set aside.

To Make Cinnamon Cheesecakes:

        Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar, then mix on medium-speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla and cinnamon, and mix until smooth.  Do not overmix. Pour batter into each crust-prepared baking cup until 3/4 full.

        Once your pot of water is boiling, carefully place a large baking dish on the lower rack of your oven and pull the rack out a few inches towards you, and then pour the water into it.    This will create a water bath that will give off lots of steam while the cheesecake bakes.

Then place the cheesecake pan in the oven, and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the edges appear to be set and the center still has a slight jiggle to it (My oven almost took me 30 minutes).  Turn off the oven and open the oven door slightly for 5 minutes.  Then remove the pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.  Top with piped pumpkin pie frosting.

Mallory's Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Something to be thankful for...

A Vegan Pumpkin Pie that Tastes Great! 

A Guest Post by Mallory Malaney 

Newly Vegan, I'm already sick of people asking me, "What do you eat?" "Don't you miss real food?" and my personal favorite, "When are you going to be done being Vegan?" It's a common misconception that as Vegans, all we eat is fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans. This lifestyle does limit our palates, but with today's growing soy industry, most dishes can be made "Vegan Friendly" without tasting like cardboard.

I whipped up this tasty treat last week as a trial run before my own family got together to celebrate Thanksgiving. This pie is not only simple to make but I bet even the snootiest of Vegan haters (Even Ms. Sweet Tooth Diaries herself) wouldn't be able to call you out on it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used Silk soy milk)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. all spice
•  1 9" premade pie crust (I used Keebler Graham Cracker Crust - Suprisingly VEGAN!!)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl and pour into pastry crust. Bake for 60 minutes, if edges begin to brown too quickly, cover them with foil. Cool on rack and refrigerate overnight before serving.  

Cranberry, Pineapple, Carrot and Walnut Bread

Can you believe it? A non-pumpkin post?! Don't worry, there's still one left to add to the four I already have for this fall season, and that will be when I make my Mini Cinnamon Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crust and Pumpkin Pie Frosting for Thanksgiving tomorrow. It's been so hard waiting to make them, but only 24 more hours! Oh, and I almost forgot, there will be a celebrity post by none other than Ms. Vegan Mallory Malaney, who will be sharing her recipe for a vegan pumpkin pie! So that makes six recipes, but let's be honest, you can never get enough pumpkin!

Anyway, last night I made this bread and was a little skeptical of how it would turn out since it was deemed a "healthy, less sweet" bread in the review. I was originally really attracted to this recipe because I loooove carrot cake, and cranberries and walnuts just seemed so seasonal! (If you haven't noticed, I'm kind of a seasonal type of gal...) This bread soared high above my expectations and is so moist and sweet! The pineapples and Craisins really add a lot of natural sweetening, and with only a half cup of splenda-sugar blend per loaf, you don't have to feel bad about chowing down! At least that's what I tell myself, and hey, it's the holidays! These are the times meant for indulging in fabulous, yummy food! :) This time around I had to leave out the walnuts since my sister, who will be coming home for this Thanksgiving, is allergic. It's still so good though! The walnuts would add some nice texture and since this recipe makes two loaves, you can always make one with, and one without!

As soon as I made this and tried it, I immediately thought of how great this would be for a homemade gift. It's a unique bread that turns out beautifully with lots of color from the carrots and dried cranberries, and it's also sturdy enough to transport. It's funny, I've been thinking about taking on the challenge of creating a Christmas fruitcake that's actually good, since they are the butt of so many Christmas jokes as the not-so-yummy holiday tradition of the generations before mine. Once the loaf cooked and I first cut into it, it kind of looked like pictures of fruitcake! (I say pictures because I actually have never seen a fruitcake in real life... haha) 

So I thought maybe this might just be the new substitution for fruitcake and a new Christmas tradition; cranberries and walnuts can be for Christmas as well as Thanksgiving! Please try this recipe, it's so good and healthy for you with all the carrots and fruit!! (About 200 calories per 1/8 loaf.)

Ingredients 

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar or 1/2 cup sugar-splenda blend
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 (8-oz) can crushed pinapple, undrained (I only had pineapple "tidbits" which work as well)
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup dried cranberries + extra for the top
• 3/4 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°   
2. Lightly grease two 8x4" loaf pans and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (except for sugar).
4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, shortening and oil until combined.
5. Add the carrots and pineapple to the wet mixture.
6. Add dry ingredients and stir until just thoroughly mixed.
7. Stir in dried cranberries and (optional) walnuts.
8. Pour equally into loaf pans and top with with a few dried cranberries.
9. Bake for 45-50 minutes (mine was perfect at 45) or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
10. Let cool for 20 minutes and remove from loaf pans and complete cooling on a wire rack. 
11. It's better the next day, so as hard as it is, just let it be! (Ok, ok I'll admit I cut into it within a half hour. But trust me, the next day it's much more moist and holds together much better!)

Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies and Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Surprise, surprise... more pumpkin recipes! Sorry, but I just can't get enough! These were inspired by a special request from my friend Jeff who asked for some baked goodies for his house. His one request was that they HAD to include pumpkin. That was no problem, considering my endless obsession with Foodgawker has led me to multiple yummy pumpkin recipes. I had seen a lot of recipes for homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls, but I didn't have enough time for the dough to rise again, so I found the next best thing: Pumpking Cinnamon Roll COOKIES! Not only are they filled with lots of cinnamon-sugar filling (which I wish I added more of!) but they're topped with a maple syrup cream cheese frosting! :)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 3 dozen

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• dash of cloves

Filling:
4 Tbsp. granulated sugar or brown sugar (I used 1/2 of each)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

For the frosting drizzle:
1 Tbsp. melted butter

1 Tbsp. cream cheese
1/8 tsp. maple extract (optional - I didn't have any, so I just threw in about a tsp. of regular maple syrup, and you could definitely still taste it!)

1 cup powdered sugar (adjust amount to until desired consistency is reached)

Directions:

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.  
2. Add pumpkin and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.  
3. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together.  
4. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture in several additions and mix until everything is combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in the freezer for 20 minutes - it will be easier to roll out if it's chilled.
5. While dough is chilling, stir together the filling (sugar and cinnamon) until well mixed.
6. Turn out chilled dough onto a floured or parchment paper covered flat surface and roll out into a large rectangle until it's about 1/4" thick.   
7. Sprinkle filling all over mixture and pat it in. It might not all stick to the dough at first but that's okay! 
8. Roll up the dough jelly-roll style, using the parchment paper to help if you have it. Try to roll it tightly so it sticks together, but if the dough starts to break as you're rolling, don't worry, just pinch it back together :)
9. Refrigerate dough for a few hours (I was impatient and just let it sit in the freezer for about a half hour - why not speed up the process if you can?)
10. Preheat oven to 350° and remove plastic wrap and cut into slices between 1/4"-1/2" thick - when you're cutting, use a back and forth motion instead of just cutting down, you'll squish the dough and ruin the cute cinnamon spiral that they make!
11. Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet 1-2" apart and bake for 8-10 minutes (I was around 10 minutes, thicker cut cookies might take a little longer) until the center of the cookie doesn't look too soft anymore or the edges start to brown.
12. While cooling, prepare the glaze. Melt the butter, add the cream cheese and maple syrup and whisk until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and add more if needed until desired consistency is reached.
13.  Transfer glaze to a plastic bag, and cut a small hole at the corner. Drizzle glaze all over the cookies and enjoy

Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

 Yield: 3 Cookies

Ingredients:

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 butter, softened (1 stick)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white and brown sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven (Mine were done right at 15 minutes). Cool cookies.
5. Prepare the glaze: combine milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tablespoon cream cheese and 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add confectioner's sugar and add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency. 
6. Drizzle over cookies and let dry.

Pumpkin-Banana Bread Muffins

At the end of four, miserable days with a broken oven/stove, (college housing...) I came home last night to see it was finally fixed! I was so happy because all day I had been dreaming about making my favorite banana bread recipe with some bananas I had that were getting a little too ripe. Banana bread was made in my house constantly when I was growing up, and was one of the first things I learned to make from scratch. Since then, I've branched out from our traditional recipe to find the PERFECT banana bread, and let me tell you, this is the only recipe you will ever use again! It is the most moist and flavorful banana bread I've ever had. Continuing with my all-things-pumpkin obsession, I decided to switch things up a little bit (in addition to my current lack of a loaf pan) and turn my banana bread into pumpkin-banana bread muffins! Yummmyyyyy. 

All I did was substitute the 1 cup mashed banana with 1/2 cup mashed banana and 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, as well as add some traditional spices that tend to go with pumpkin recipes. I'm assuming you could probably get creative and use this basic bread recipe and substitute a lot of different things for the banana like zucchini or maybe even cinnamon applesauce! I love taking recipes and trying to make something new out of them. And who cares if it doesn't turn out perfectly, it's always fun to experiment and discover something new and amazing like I did last night! :)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 1 medium sized, ripe banana)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• Cinnamon-sugar mix to sprinkle on top
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans or chocolate chips, etc.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325° and line two regular size muffin pans with 16-18 cupcake liners, or grease one 5 x 9" or two mini loaf pans. 
2. Mix together vegetable oil, eggs, buttermilk*, pumpkin puree and mashed banana. I actually didn't have buttermilk on hand, so I let 1 cup milk + 1 Tbsp. lemon juice sit for 10 minutes, and took the 1/3 cup amount from that. You can also use plain yogurt in equivalent amounts.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients (granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg). Add to pumpkin and banana mixture.
4. Stir in chocolate chips, pecans or other additional items if desired!
5. Pour into loaf pan or muffin liners about 3/4 full. I was excited to be able to use up my Halloween cupcake liners and some fun fall sprinkles! But my best idea was to top these muffins with a cinnamon-sugar topping. It really makes a huge difference and they come out of the oven smelling like cinnamon donuts from the cider mill! Mmmmm... I love fall.
6. For muffin size, bake for 25-30 minutes (I baked mine for 28 exactly but they could have stayed in another couple of minutes). For mini loaf pans, bake for about 30 minutes. For a regular loaf pan, back for at least 1 hour.**I haven't actually baked this banana bread recipe in a regular sized loaf pan yet, and the baking times from the original recipe have been far too short. The original recipe says 1 hour for a 5 x 9" loaf pan, but it might take longer! So check at an hour but don't be afraid to keep on baking it!

I also like to let my banana bread sit overnight before digging in. I'm not sure the reason for this, perhaps to keep it as moist as possible (although that's not too difficult with this recipe), but it's something my mom always told me to do, so I still do it! It's not as important for the muffins though, I couldn't help but eat one right after they came out of the oven!

 I found these cute Dean Jacob's Autumn Accents sprinkles in the little Halloween display at HomeGoods - same place I found the mix for the chocolate Jack-O-Lantern sandwich cookies! I swear HomeGoods has the cutest things sometimes, and everything's always discounted!

Jack-O-Lantern Chocolate Cookie Sandwich

So usually I like to stick to the totally from scratch recipes, but the gourmet/specialty food isles at Homegoods, Marshall's, etc. with their cute little food mixes always catch my eye. This little Halloween mix was from Homegoods and was pretty fun to make.

It was super simple, came with the chocolate cookie mix, orange frosting mix and double-sided cookie cutter with the pumpkin shape and the cutouts for the face. The only disappointing thing was that it was supposed to make 12 cookie sandwiches and it only made 10 :( But they still turned out cute anyways! 9 days 'til Halloween!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Monkey Bread and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

So today marks the beginning of my obsession with pumpkin-based recipes. I love making things that go with the season, so right now it's all about apples, pumpkins, Halloween, Thanksgiving, anything fall. After browsing the endless possibilities of things you can make with pumpkin puree, I ended up choosing to make Pumpkin Cinnamon Monkey Bread and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars. 

The bread was kind of a scary decision, considering I hadn't made bread since I was eight and made the spontaneous decision to create cinnamon bread, which included biking all the way to the grocery store just to get the yeast. Needless to say, an eight-year-old trying to make bread all by herself didn't turn out too well, so I usually steered away from bread recipes from then on. However, since I was home on fall break with an entire day free to spend in the kitchen, I decided to give it a shot and I'm SO glad I did. This is not too easy of a recipe, as it requires many steps and a lot of time, but it's worth it for this bread which basically turns out like pumpkin cinnamon rolls! 

Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread with Buttered Rum Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients:
Bread

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup milk (room temperature)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter

Buttered Rum Glaze

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp milk
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp rum 
• 1 Tbsp Cream Cheese 

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, brown 2 tablespoons of butter, letting it bubble up and turn a dark golden brown but being careful not to allow it burn (turn black). To make sure it doesn't burn, as soon as you see the brown forming on the bottom of the pan, pull it off the burner - it will continue to brown a little! Also, if you're worried about it being almost burnt, just let it cool and taste it, you'll know right away. Once browned, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the milk, return to the stove for just a few seconds to heat through and stir. Pour the milk and butter into the bowl of standing mixer fitted with a dough hook if you have one (I did mine by hand - still turned out fine) and allow to cool so it is no longer hot but also not cool (about 100-110 degrees F). It's really important that it's at this temperature range when you add the yeast and sugar because the yeast will die if it's too hot and not work if it's too cold! Once it has reached this temperature range, add the yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar and stir vigorously to dissolve as much as possible. Now just sit and wait as it proofs! Letting the yeast proof just ensures that the yeast is alive and working, and also gives it a little head start in the baking process.  It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to see some action, but if it doesn't look like this:

then your yeast is dead or isn't working! This happened to me twice before I decided that the entire strip of yeast packets were duds. Luckily my dad, who has been into making baguettes lately, happened to buy some yeast just the day before, so I was in luck! I actually let my yeast proof for an hour while I made the pumpkin chocolate chip bars, but after the yeast shows some action, add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Stir until combined then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. If the dough is too moist, add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time. I had a hard time kneading all of the flour into the dough, and it took a couple minutes longer, but eventually it all got incorporated.

Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes or until doubled in size. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and flip out onto a clean floured surface and knead with hands for 1-2 minutes. Put it back in the bowl and let rise for another 10 minutes.


Right before the dough is done rising the second time, brown another 3 tablespoons of butter. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well. Making sure sugar evenly absorbs the butter. Set aside. Next, grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside


Roll dough into a 20x12 inch rectangle. Cut with a pizza cutter into small rectangles. Dip the rectangles into the cinnamon-nutmeg-sugar mixture and press it into the dough to make sure it sticks, and kind of roll a little of the mixture into the dough and start to stack into the loaf pan, almost like mini cinnamon rolls. Once all of dough is in the pan, cover with a clean towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.

In the meantime preheat an oven to 350 degrees. After rising in the pan bake for 30-35 minutes. Mine was a little crispy at the ends at about 33 minutes, so next time I would cook it more around 30.


After the bread cools a bit, make the butter-rum-cream-cheese glaze. Add butter, brown sugar and milk to a saucepan and let come to a boil. Immediately remove from stove and mix in powdered sugar, rum and cream cheese. Pour over the top of the bread and... voila!

Yay! I served it warm out of the oven with ice cream for my parents and I... it was way too easy to finish half of it in one sitting...


Now for the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars! I love getting suggestions from friends, and this recipe was given to me by my friend Freddie... so here ya go! Just as a forewarning, these "bars" don't really turn into your average cookie-type bar without a 24-hour wait and refrigeration. At first they're a little cakey, as many reviews said, but as time goes on, they condense a little and become more moist and "bar-like," also the pumpkin flavor really comes through more and more the longer you wait! Refrigerating them keeps them easy to handle and they taste much better!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars


Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. With a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix well. The mixture will look somewhat curdled. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake bars for 35-40 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.

4. Cool bars completely in pan and refrigerate overnight. Cut into squares and serve. Makes 24 bars.

Yum!

Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars

So, just when I decided to create a blog for all of the goodies I love to make in my free time, of course my camera dies. Regardless of the lower picture quality, these treats are quite possibly the best things I have ever made. I recently discovered the Betty Crocker website and all it has to offer, including multiple easy recipes that build upon Betty Crocker products such as their pre-made cookie and brownie mixes, etc. Hoping to create something fun for fall, I decided to pick something other than the usual chocolatey/cupcakey/cookie-type recipes I usually go for. This led me to the BEST possible outcome - the apple streusel cheesecake bars recipe from Betty Crocker. Although in the end they may seem like a complicated dessert to make, these bars are "semi-homemade" and besides the apple pie filling, cream cheese and Betty Crocker oatmeal mix, these amazing bars only require a few simple baking ingredients that most people will have at home - butter, sugar, flour, vanilla extract and only one egg. For easy access, here is the link to the recipe on the Betty Crocker website - http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/apple-streusel-cheesecake-bars/8cf62013-0676-4102-8d75-0f1ee6d3fa8f. However, I made some modifications to this recipe, which I include in the ingredients/instructions list for my bars:

Ingredients: 

• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp firm butter or margarine (1 full stick plus a Tbsp)
• 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened (I used regular, but low-fat and fat free are fine!)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1.5 cans (21 oz) apple pie filling, or enough to cover the cheesecake topping - to be honest, for this ingredient, you might want to go with the nicer quality. I bought one can of Kroger brand and one of a "gourmet" brand, and you could tell the difference. 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts - I left this out since a lot of people dislike walnuts, and it was still perfect! But... the nuts would add a yummy extra texture/taste!

Instructions:  

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. Place cookie mix in large bowl. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and coarse (really takes some squishing using your hands to get the best result, the fork doesn't quite "cut it," literally). 
3. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan - I ended up using almost all of the cookie mixture for the bottom crust because it wasn't thick enough at the edges. I had abou 1/4-1/2 cup of cookie mixture left after I made the crust. Bake 10 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. 
5. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over partially baked crust. In medium bowl, mix pie filling and cinnamon ( I chopped up the apples to make spreading easier). Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top. Sprinkle with walnuts if desired. (At this point, I didn't have enough oatmeal topping left, so I made a simple streusel to crumble over the top - 1/2 cup sugar/brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour and 6 Tbsp butter. This should cover the rest of your bars if you don't have enough cookie mixture left!
6. Bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until light golden brown (My oven was 38 minutes). Cool about 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, about 2 hours. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows - 1"x1" squares would be perfect for appetizers or mini desserts! They are super rich. Store covered in refrigerator.

SO GOOD! Such a great fall treat, I hope you all enjoy. Happy Fall! 

I hope to make something pumpkin-y or Halloween-y for my next post! :)

Happy Baking!