Chocolate-y Pumpkin-y Muffin-y, oh my!

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

Made: October 27, 2013

Ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 15oz can solid-pack pumpkin
- 1 1/2 cups canola oil
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (12oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture, mixing well
- Fold in chocolate chips
- Fill greased or lined muffin pans 3/4 full
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted neat the center comes out clean
- Cook in pan for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack

One of the few things I like about fall ... all the new pumpkin recipes come out! These are very yummy and mine came out super moist. These could be just as delish without the chocolate chips, but either way I'm pleased!

(Recipe used: Taste of Home)

Green Brownies

St. Patty’s Day Brownies

Made: March 15, 2013

Ingredients
- 1 box Betty Crocker® fudge brownie mix (plus eggs, water and oil listed on the package, prepared according to box directions) - or your favorite brownie mix
- 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- green food coloring

Direction
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
- Pour prepared brownie batter into the prepared 9 x 13 inch dish
- In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until well blended
- Beat in the egg, flour, vanilla, and food coloring until well blended and smooth
- Drop cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls evenly on top of batter
- With knife, cut through mixture a few times to marble
- Bake as directed on brownie mix box or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean
- Cool completely, about 1 hour and cut into squares
- Store in refrigerator

I wanted to do something else for St Patrick's day this year, but I think the cream cheese mixture was too much for these brownies. I probably would only use 1 tsp of vanilla vs a tbsp and I would omit the flour completely. They still taste scrumptious, but there is just something off about them. I used 5 drops of food coloring for this

(Recipe used: Real Mom Kitchen)

Mardi Gras

King Cake Cupcakes

Made: February 12, 2013

Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 2/3 cups flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons soft butter
- 2/3 cup milk, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia; OR 1 teaspoon vanilla + 1/8 teaspoon lemon oil
- 2 large eggs

Icing
- 3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (half of an 8-ounce package) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon lemon oil
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk, enough to make a spreadable icing
- colored sugars, preferably purple, yellow, and green

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 FL
- Lightly grease and flour a muffin tin, or line the muffin tins with papers, and spray the insides of the papers

Cupcakes
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt
- Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer at low speed, until the mixture looks sandy
- Combine the milk and vanilla and add, all at once
- Mix at low speed for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl
- With the mixer running at low speed, add 1 egg
- Increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds
- Add the second egg, again beating for 30 seconds
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and beat briefly, just till smooth
- Scoop the batter by heaping 1/4-cupfuls into the prepared muffin tin (A muffin scoop works well here)
- Bake the cupcakes for 23 to 25 minutes, until they've domed, and are a light golden brown around the edges
- They'll spring back when pressed gently on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and place on a rack to cool completely before icing

Icing
- Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon oil in a medium-sized bowl, and beat them together until light and fluffy
- Add the sugar gradually, beating well
- Beat in the milk a little at a time, until the frosting is a spreadable consistency
- Spread each cake with icing, and immediately dip in gold, purple, and green sparkling sugars, covering about 1/3 of the cupcake with each color sugar

I followed this one really close to the recipe; only a couple of changes. I couldn't find lemon oil anywhere. So I used lemon juice in the batter with the vanilla and extract in the icing. Also, I didn't use a full 2 cups of powdered sugar. It was getting a nice consistency, so I used 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of milk. I also didn't have or could find yellow sugars, so I just used green and purple I had. I never had King Cake before, but these cupcakes were quite delicious!

(Recipe used: King Aurthur Flour)

Green Nutty Cake

Pistachio Cake; before icing

Made: May 4, 2012

Ingredients

Cake:

- 1 package yellow cake mix
- 1 package (3.4oz) instant pistachio pudding mix
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup club soda
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Icing:

- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup cold 2% milk
- 1 package (3.4oz) instant pistachio pudding mix
- 2 teaspoons confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, soda and oil
- Beat on low speed for 30 seconds
- Beat on medium for 2 minutes
- Stir in walnuts
- Pout into a greased and floured 10-in fluted tube pan
- Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean
- Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely
- In a large bowl, beat the cream, milk, pudding mix & confectioner's sugar on high until stiff peaks form
- Frost cake
- Sprinkle with the walnuts
- Refrigerate until serving

Pistachio cake; after decorating

Ken asked for his Pistachio cake and he got one! I was just happy that my cake came out in one piece! (Me and bundt pans do not get along!)

(Recipe used: Taste of Home - Quick Cooking 2012)

Luck O' the Irish Potatoes

"Irish" potatoes

Made: March 17, 2012

Ingredients

- Potatoes (6-8)
- Creamed Spinach
- 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

- Peel potatoes and cut into chunks
- Put potatoes in pot and cover with water
- Boil potatoes until tender enough to mash
- Drain and mash potatoes
- Add in creamed spinach and butter
- Mix until spinach is throughout potatoes and butter is melted

I found something similar online with no recipe, so I played this one by ear. I didn't use Kale, I prefer Spinach as my green of choice. I used little red potatoes and cooked 8 of them for this batch. Overall, it was pretty yummy. :) The creamed spinach made the potatoes moist; although Rob said it needed some salt and pepper. :x

Jello and Pudding O' the Irish

St Patricks Day Poke Cake

Made: March 16, 2012

Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 package white cake mix
- 2 3-oz packages lime gelatin
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup cold water

Icing:
- 1 cup cold milk
- 1 3.4-oz package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 8-oz carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
- Green sprinkles

Directions
- Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using a greased 13x9x2-in baking dish
- Cook on a wire rack for 1 hour
- In a small bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water
- Stir in cold water and set aside
- With a meat fork or wooden skewer, poke holes about 2 in apart into the cooled cake
- Slowly pour the gelatin over the cake
- Cover and refrigerate
- In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes
- Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set
- Fold in whipped topping
- Spread over cake
- Decorate with sprinkles
- Cover and refrigerate until serving

First time making a "poke cake" I didn't use as much gelatin as the recipe requested. So it's not as green as it should've been. I was worried my cake was going to be a soggy mess though. But overall, it came out moist and delish! I added a couple of drops of food coloring to the frosting to add more green for St Patricks Day :)

(Recipe used: Taste of Home Cake Mix Creations)

Buttered Snowmen

Classic Spritz Cookies

Made: December 15, 2011

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks); softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- Colored sugar/sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy (3 minutes)
- Add egg and vanilla; beat well
- Add flour, mix on low speed just until blended (dough will be soft; do not refrigerate)
- Fill cookie press with dough (you should already have the disk you want in place)
- Press onto cookie sheet 1 inch apart
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown
- Cool cookies for 2 minutes on cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack.

My butter was so soft, I had to scrape it off the wrapper. :x But it mixed very easily. The dough tasted odd before I baked it, but once it came out of the oven ... they melted in your mouth! :D I'm very pleased with how they came out. And as you can tell from my picture, they didn't last very long :) They remind me of when my Mom-Mom used to make them for us <3

(Recipe from: Pampered Chef)

Different kind of Pumpkin

Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie

Made: November 23, 2011

Ingredients
- 1 cup apple butter
- 1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 eggs; slightly beaten
- 3/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1 unbaked 9-in pie shell

Directions
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Combine apple butter, pumpkin, brown sugar, salt & spices in a bowl
- Stir in eggs
- Gradually stir in milk, mixing well
- Pour mixture into pie shell
- Bake for 40 minutes or until set

I used a Graham Cracker crust (pre-made) as the last time I made my own crust, it didn't come out too great and I didn't want any mishaps. But I think I'm going to use a normal pie crust next time. It didn't fit with the pie like I thought it would. But for once, my filling actually filled the pie and I didn't have any left over :D

I had a big can of pumpkin (all they had left at any store; oops!) so I froze the rest in a bag. Good to know it will remain good for 12-18 months frozen :D Now I don't have to worry about having too much pumpkin! (Just don't freeze in the can!)

(Recipe from: Food Network)

Orange Potoatoes and marshmallows

Sweet Potato Casserole

Made: November 24, 2011

Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes
- 1 stick butter (cut into 1in chunks)
- 6-8 sweet potatoes (peeled & cubed)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup water

Topping
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- pinch of pepper
- 2 cups pecan halves (or 4 cups mini marshmallow)

Directions
Sweet Potatoes
- Melt butter in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, salt, pepper & water, bring to a simmer
- Reduce the head to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring often, until the sweet potatoes are tender (45-60 minutes)
- Remove the lid and bring the sauce to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat
- Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced to a glaze (7-10 minutes)

Topping
- Mix all the ingredients for the topping together in a medium bowl.

Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 450 F
- Pour potato mixture into a 13x9in baking dish
- Spread the topping over the potatoes
- Bake until the pecans are toasted and crisp; 10-15 minutes (or until the marshmallows are golden; 5 minutes)

I did this differently. I boiled the sweet potatoes in a pot and then mashed them after they were tender enough. I drained all the water, mashed them and then added the rest of the needed ingredients. As for the topping, it didn't spread as I wanted, so it looks a little uneven. But it was super delish!

(Recipe from: Best American Side Dishes)

Green Velvet Cake

Luck o' the Irish

Made March 18, 2011

Basically, same recipe as the Red Velvet, but with green food coloring. :) It didn't get as green as I would've liked after the baking process, but it was so bright in the mix, I didn't think it would affect it! :( But it still tasted delish! :)

Red Velvet Recipe

Happy Valentines Day!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Made: February 14, 2011

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

- 1 pound cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Instructions

Cupcakes:

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
- In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

- Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled.
- Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth.
- Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated.
- Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
- Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

For the first time ever making them, they were a success! :) Everyone enjoyed them. Which makes me happy. With the frosting, I think I put in too much powdered sugar was it was very sweet; 4 cups is a lot. (Almost an entire box!) I have so much left over. I wanted something pink and easy for Valentines Day :D

(Recipe used: Food Network)