Pumpkin Cookies Dipped in White Chocolate

 Good evening, all! About a week or so ago, I decided to bake some cookies out of sheer boredom. I used to draw or knit or do something creative when I got bored, but since I started seriously making cakes, I just like to bake. Besides, I don't want to miss any opportunities to share delicious sweets with all of you!

So I had a stash of pumpkin, and I decided to make something fast and simple-- like cookies! I found  a recipe from Martha Stewart and used half of the recipe (which still made about 3 1/2 dozen cookies). Instead of making the brown butter icing, I decided to dip them in white chocolate to add a bit of flare. However, the icing recipe (which also sounds delicious) can be found here.

• 2 3/4 c all- purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/ 4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 c packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c canned pumpkin
• 3/4 c evaporated milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.

Put the butter and brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy.

Mix in eggs and reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Mix about 2 minutes.

 Add flour mixture and mix until combined.

Yea I hit a bit of that dough... Deeelicious!

 Transfer the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2" round tip (Ateco #806 or Wilton #2A)

Pipe 1 1/2" rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets (or I just greased my pan) about 1 inch apart.

 The little mounds looked  a bit... unappetizing. So I wet my finger and patted down the peaks a bit. Anyhoo, bake the cookies about 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.

I cooled the cookies on the sheet for 5 minutes then transferred the cookies onto wire racks to cool completely. Then I melted up some white chocolate and dipped the cookies in. Then I placed the cookies back on the wire rack to dry.

And voila! They turned out quite delicious!

I don't usually eat white chocolate, but I like it when it's paired with other flavors, like pumpkin. The ultimate white chocolate combo, in my opinion, is with raspberry. Mm! Stay tuned for that...

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie with Pecan Streusel Topping

Good evening, readers! I know you're thinking "Pumpkin!?!? In January!?" Well, as you may already know,  I love love love pumpkin, so I'm always ready to jump at any opportunity to bake and eat it! So this time, I contributed to a pot luck with this delicious dessert. The friend who was throwing the pot luck suggested I make the pie since she and her fiance could not get enough of it when I made it for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago.

I originally got the recipe from a fellow Virginia Beach blogger at How to Eat a Cupcake. It was adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. She used a homemade pie crust in her recipe but I cheated with 2 regular 9" frozen pie crusts, which works just as well. I made 2 pies this way, or you could use one deep dish crust and make one thick pie. But I liked the fact that I could keep one and leave the other at the pot luck.

• 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 slightly beaten egg

• 1/4 c canned pumpkin
• 1 c evaporated milk
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/4 c packed brown sugar (I used dark brown)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/2 c chopped pecans 
• 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp butter, softened

*Note: I doubled the streusel  topping recipe because I made 2 pies.*

1) In a mixer, beat the first four ingredients on low to medium speed until smooth.

2) I chilled the mixture in the refrigerator fro 30 minutes. (I put mine in a separate bowl so I could reuse my mixer bowl).

 3) Preheat the oven to 350. Pour the mixture into the bottom of the pie shell(s)

4) Mix the next 6 ingredients until smooth in a mixer.

5) Carefully pour the pumpkin mixture over the cream cheese.

6) Cover the edges of the pie crusts with foil to prevent over-browning (aka burning) then bake for 25 minutes.

7) Remove the foil and bake the pies for another 25 minutes. Meanwhile, I chopped up my pecans and mixed the final 4 ingredients to make the pecan streusel topping.

8) Sprinkle the topping onto the pie(s) and bake for another 10 -15 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center of the pies comes out clean.

And the hard part is having to wait 1 to 2 hours for the pies to cool on a wire rack. But then you get to have this!

Yummy! The perfect complement for this pie would be either fresh-whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I think I'll have a slice right now...

Quick and Easy Thanksgiving Cupcakes

Today is the second annual ZS Thanksgiving. It is a time for the Zombie Squad to gather from near and far and spend quality time with each other while eating good food and drinking until merry. I, of course, was responsible for the dessert. I didn't have much time, so I went with a cake mix-based recipe that turned out as moist and delicious as a scratch-made recipe. I also needed to find an alternative to cream cheese buttercream, since some people attending the feast have dietary restrictions. I searched through my notebook of flavor ideas and found Honey-Ginger Buttercream. The recipe for the cupcakes are as follows:

• 1 box Duncan Hines space cake mix
• 1 box (3.4oz) Jello Pumpkin Spice pudding mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup canned pumpkin

1) Preheat the oven at 350 and place paper cups in cupcake pan.
2) Mix all ingredients for 30 seconds on low, then stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl (as well as the paddle). Continue to mix for 2 minutes on medium. Scoop 1/4 cup of mixture into each baking cup.
3) Bake for 18 to 23 minutes or until a butter knife comes out clean.

Yummy!

While the cupcakes were cooling, I started on the Honey-Ginger Buttercream. The recipe I used makes about 4 cups of icing, which is just enough to make 24 roses with leaves.

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Beat the butter until creamy, then add the powdered sugar and beat on high until smooth.

2) Add the honey and ginger.

Love the smell of fresh ginger!

*spray the measuring cup with pan release before measuring your honey!*

3) Beat for another minute or so before adding the vanilla. Then continue to beat on high for 3-4 minutes until nice and fluffy.

The consistency of the buttercream is kind of like a stiff Swiss Meringue without all the muscle involved. So it was perfect to hold a rose shape.

And 23 more...

After I made all of the roses I needed, I used the rest to make leaves. It worked out perfectly, and I didn't have much buttercream left over.

I only used two teaspoons of ginger because I didn't want the flavor of the ginger to overwhelm the honey flavor. Feel free to add another teaspoon if you're feeling spicy!

And of course these cupcakes aren't specifically for Thanksgiving. They are perfect for any fall occasion, or if you're a pumpkin-hoarder like me, they are perfect for any time of the year!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! (and have a safe Black Friday!)

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats

Good evening, all! (And evening is arriving so early these days!) I wanted to share this delicious recipe I found on my new obsession-- Pinterest! For those of you who have never heard of it, Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board site where you grab photos (or "pins") of things you like and categorize them onto different "boards." I love it! I have a board specifically named "My Pumpkin Obsession," and I decided to make one of my pins- Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats!

I've eaten Rice Krispies treats most of my life (one of my favorite snacks!) so I wanted to mash it with my favorite flavor- pumpkin! The following recipe is for 12 servings, but I cut everything in half for just 6 bars. I also used my handy dandy Wilton Square muffin pan so I can create perfect squares without having to cut them out.

• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 c pumpkin
• 1-10 oz bag mini marhsmallows + 1 cup
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of all spice
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 6 cups Rice Krispies

1) Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Then add the pumpkin and warm it through.

 2) Stir in the 10 oz bag of marshmallows and melt. Then stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, and salt and remove from the heat.

 3) Cool for 10 minutes and fold in the remaining cup of marshmallows. Add Rice Krispies.

 4) Press into a greased 9 x 13 pan and let set for about 20 minutes then cut into squares.
*or press into your square muffin pan!*

And voila!

These were as amazing as I thought they'd be! My brother snuck one and he loved it! Then he snuck another!

One thing I would probably change is the addition of the whole marshmallows at the end. The next time I try this recipe, I'll see how it is with all of the marshmallows melted at the same time.

Oh, feel free to pin me!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Vanilla-Ginger Buttercream

Hello, all! I've returned with yet another pumpkin recipe (trust me-there will be more to come). This came up out of my love for all things pumpkin, which stretches back to my childhood. I actually have my mom to thank for introducing me to this delicious gourd. Every Thanksgiving, she'd make pumpkin muffins, and since the first bite, I was fascinated by them-- and their ability to stain surfaces orange. After that, I wanted to eat other things with pumpkin: pies, cakes, ice cream, scones, lattes, anything. So it's only natural that I also love the spices that help enhance the pumpkin flavor. Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and in this case-- ginger! I started with the Pumpkin Spice Cake recipe I used last year. I used the full recipe so I could make a few cupcakes and two 6-inch layers (more of that later).

While those were baking, I made the Vanilla- Ginger Buttercream.

• 1/2 c shortening
• 1/2 c (1 stick) butter, room temp
• 2 tsp vanilla
• dash salt
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 4-5 c powdered sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp milk

1) Cream butter and shortening then add vanilla, salt, and ginger.
2) Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating on medium speed.
3) Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time and beat on high until completely blended.

And voila!

Like my cute little fondant pumpkin?

These cupcakes were amazingly delicious and deliciously amazing. I must say, these cupcakes have left a huge orange stain on my heart. :)

Celebrating Fall: Pumpkin Crunch Cake

 Fall may have started last week, but I have yet to make a delicious confection with my favorite fall flavor-- pumpkin!-- until now. I decided to make my first pumpkin treat something both gooey and crunchy: a pumpkin crunch cake! My Bestie, Ashley, passed this recipe along to me a while ago. I'm so glad she keeps an eye out for pumpkin recipes for me. :) This recipe is similar to the Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake I made last year, but this calls for the cake mix to be sprinkled on top of the pumpkin mixture-- along with yummy pecans!

• 1 box yellow or white cake mix (I used white)
• 1 -15 oz can pumpkin puree
• 1- 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon if you don't have pumpkin pie spice)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c chopped pecans ( or kick it up to 1 1/2 if you're feeling nutty heh heh... yea... anyways!)
• 1c (2 sticks ) butter, melted

1) Heat oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 13 pan.
2) Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, spices, and salt.

 3) Pour mixture into the greased pan.

 4) Sprinkle dry cake mix over the pumpkin mixture and top with pecans.

5) Drizzle melted butter over the pecans (Paula would be proud!)

 6) Bake 50-55 minutes.

I allowed this to cool for at least an hour before cutting a piece (the wait was torturous!) I slathered it in whipped cream and snarfed it down! *ahem* I mean, I added a dollop of whipped cream savored every little lady-like forkful. :)

Yum!