Pumpkin Pie Muffins

If someone had told me the ordeal that is changing your name, I may have seriously re-thought this decision.

I feel like my life is consumed with paperwork- the DMV, social security, banks, magazines.. you name it, they all want a different set of paperwork. And don't even get me started on what I'm going to have to go through to change everything for my job!

The weirdest part is trying to sign my new name or even better, responding to it- throws me off every time. I can't help but feel like a small part of me is missing with this new last name, but a new part of me is growing in it's place.

But you don't want to hear all about this.. you came for the good stuff- the yummy stuff!

Despite all these changes going on in my life, I can always count on my time in the kitchen to bring me solace. My love for the kitchen will never change.

If you're anything like me, once pumpkin season begins I find myself buying a can almost every time I'm at the grocery. Pumpkin isn't just for pies, oh no no no, it can be used in cakes, cookies, french toast, pasta (yes, pasta!) and of course, muffins..

Pumpkin Pie Muffins
Adapted from BestBaking.com

2 cups AP flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup quick oats
1/2 cup raisins or cranberries (optional)
15 oz Pumpkin Pie Mix (half of the large can)
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup whole milk

Crumb topping

from the wonderful Lindsey at Gingerbread Bagels

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/3 cup AP flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 1/3 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray or line with cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and quick oats.
In large bowl, beat pumpkin pie mix, egg, oil, and sugar until combined.
Slowly add flour mixture and milk to pumpkin mixture, stirring until well blended.
Stir in raisins or cranberries (I actually found a bag with a mix of both).
Use an ice cream scoop to evenly scoop muffin mix into prepared muffin tin.
Make crumb topping and sprinkle over top of each muffin.
Pop in oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden.

Pumpkin Cookies

After two years of living in a place that doesn't do Fall, it feels fabulous to be back in a state that truly appreciates the awesomeness that is this beautifully colored season.

Pumpkin and mums stands have popped up on every corner, bags of candy can be found throughout the grocery store, the trees are turning beautiful shades of orange and yellow, and the cooler weather is rushing in.

Fall is in full swing and I love it.

Another thing I absolutely love about Fall are all the pumpkin flavored treats.

I can no longer pass by Starbucks without craving a Pumpkin Spice Latte and every sweet that runs through my mind involves that wonderful little gourd-like squash. I even served Pumpkin Cupcakes at my wedding and the centerpieces at each table were white pumpkins... I'm slightly obsessed.

These cookies are one of my favorite Fall treats and I'm so excited to share them with you. Don't let their appearance fool you... they're delicious.

Pumpkin Cookies
Oven: 350 Bake time: 12 minutes

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups AP flour

Preheat oven to 350 and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and pumpkin.
Add egg and beat until incorporated.
In a small bowl, sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix until blended.
Use an ice cream scooper and scoop cookies 1-inch apart onto prepared cookie sheet.
Transfer to oven and bake for about 12 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool completely on cooling rack before icing.

Icing
3 TBS butter
4 TBS milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, heat butter, milk and brown sugar over medium heat.
Stir until sugar dissolves.
Add powdered sugar and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
Pour over cookies.

And if you haven't already, make sure to enter my giveaway for 3 free bags of Tate's Bake Shop Cookies and the Tate's Bakeshop Cookbook. You don't want to miss it!! You have until October 31 to enter!!

Happy Baking!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Whipped Cream

We had a potluck at work the other day with all the other organizations in our building.

I love potlucks.

There's no doubt about it... I over eat...and I hate myself for pretty much the rest of the afternoon, but you have to try a little bit of everything right?? It just wouldn't be fair to leave a dip or side unattended and god forbid one of the desserts doesn't get as much love as the next!

The week prior to this particular potluck one of the ladies from another office came over and requested I make cupcakes..she loves my cupcakes (I hope you would too if you got to try one) so much in fact that she ate 5 mini versions of these at lunch!

I went back and forth about what kind of cupcake to make for the occasion, but since it was a Fall Potluck I figured I couldn't go wrong with anything pumpkin (and we all know by now that I love pumpkin).

While imagining this recipe in my head I had high hopes for a Maple Brown Sugar Buttercream, much to my dismay however, I failed miserably. For whatever reason my frosting kept separating and while it tasted delightful, it was hideous and un-frostable.

At about 10pm and two horrible attempts later, I gave up and went with Maple Whipped Cream, delightful in its own right.

I made little ones to bring to the potluck and wanted to make a batch of regular sized cupcakes as well to hold us over at the office until lunchtime, only to find out mid bake sesh that I ran out of liners. So I resorted to making my own out of parchment paper. Between the failures at frosting and lack of supplies I didn't get to bed till MUCH later than I wanted, but at least everything tasted good!

Pumpkin Cupcakes
Oven: 350 Bake time: 20-25 minutes
24 regular cupcakes or lots of little ones or 2 8-inch cakes

2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup veggie oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (or 2 cups) pureed pumpkin  (not pumpkin pie)
4 eggs
2 cups AP flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pan or lightly grease and flour cake pans.
In a large bowl, add sugar and with mixer on slowly add oil* you want to slowly add the oil so that the sugar has time to absorb it and avoid super oily cupcakes
Add vanilla and pumpkin mixing until combined.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, incorporating after each addition.
In a small bowl whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix until combined.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, checking with toothpick and adjusting time if necessary.
Transfer to cooling rack- if cupcakes almost immediately remove from pan, if cake allow to cool in pan for at least 20 minutes before removing from pan to completely cool.

Maple Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 TBS pure maple syrup

In a large mixing bowl, beat/whip cream until it begins to thicken.
Slowly add powdered sugar, cinnamon and maple syrup.
Continue to beat/whip until stiff peaks form.

Last year I used this same recipe to make a Witches Brew Cake for a little Halloween get together with my girlfriends.. what do you think??

Happy Baking!

I'm still on the lookout...Anyone out there have a good recipe for Brown Sugar Buttercream??

"Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger"...Brownies

One of the best parts of Halloween?

The candy. 

Hands down.

Costumes are cool and all, but it's the abundance of candy that really makes me giddy.  Isle after isle filled with bags of candy... its like sweet tooth heaven!

We don't even get trick or treaters, but I still buy at least 2 large bags of candy "just in case."

For whatever reason, Butterfingers call to me around this time of year. I know, I know they're available all year long...but there's just something about that crisp-ity crunch-ity peanut buttery candy that just speaks to me every October.

We had a barbecue at work this week and I, of course, was tasked to bring dessert.  I wanted to make brownies and then I remembered the Butterfinger Cocoa Mix that I saved from Mountain Man's cabinets when we were moving him out here.  After a quick trip to the grocery for some extra Butterfingers I went to whipping up a batch of the best brownies I've ever made.

The brownie base is Jen's (from Beantown Baker) 'go to' brownie recipe. The texture and flavor of these brownies are fantastic.. I now know why she returns to this recipe every time.

Best Brownie Recipe

from Beantown Baker originally from King Arthur's Flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder* optional
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips* optional

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 11x13 baking pan.

In small sauce pan, melt butter. Remove from heat and add sugar. Return to heat and stir for about 2 minutes before removing again (this is what gives the brownies their shine).

Transfer butter mixture to a large bowl. Mix in cocoa, salt, baking powder, cocoa mix* and vanilla.

Whisk in eggs one at a time until smooth.

Slowly add flour and mix until just combined.

Fold in Butterfinger bits.

Pour into greased pan and transfer to oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool before serving. 

If possible cool overnight. (this is something I just learned, but it actually made a big difference!)

Butterfinger variety

swap 2 cups of chocolate chips for 2 cups chopped Butterfingers (possibly 3 cups)

2 packages of Butterfinger Cocoa Mix 

I brought a majority of the brownies to the office, but I wanted to keep a few at home for a photo shoot after work. While munching on these at the end of the barbecue, I was a little disappointed with the lack of Butterfinger flavor.. the brownies were delicious, but I was really hoping for more of a peanut butter pop.

And then I read about making your own Butterfinger candy and I couldn't believe my eyes. 

Candy corn + peanut butter = Butterfinger filling

You're probably thinking the same thing I did... what?! no way!? how does that even work?

Don't worry. I'm still trying to figure this out...but trust me, it works.

So after their original photo shoot, we did a little wardrobe change. While dinner was in the oven, I tried this homemade version of Butterfinger filling with the intention of spreading a layer on top of the brownies and then covering them with a final layer of milk chocolate.

I am still trying to wrap my head around how candy corn and peanut butter make this filling, but it was a wonderful addition to an already fabulous brownie.

Seriously, four brownies just weren't enough...next time I'm going to slather the entire batch with this Butterfinger topping.

Oh and in case you were wondering...

Butterfinger Filling

equal parts candy corn and peanut butter (1:1)

Melt candy corn in microwave. Stopping to stir every 20 seconds until completely melted.

Stir in peanut butter and mix until smooth. 

Happy Baking!

Baked Pumpkin French Toast

 

Fall has finally made its way to Texas.

Every morning this weekend we woke up to a slight crisp in the air and even though it got warmer as the day went on, the evening still allowed for jeans, a light sweater and open window sleeping.

This weekend we had some friends visiting and spent the majority of weekend in Austin- complete with a Daniel Tosh show (absolutely hilarious), a burrito from Juan in a Million, a stroll down S. Congress Street and paddle boarding on Town Lake, all before heading back home to spend Saturday evening two-stepping at a local dance hall and sippin' on $2 beers.

Excited to finally indulge in the great Fall flavor that is pumpkin, as well as feed our guests something delicious before they made their way back to Dallas, I decided to try out a recipe for Baked Pumpkin French Toast.

What's great about this dish is that it can be made the night before, making for a quick throw in the oven kind of breakfast the following morning. 

Baked Pumpkin French Toast

recipe adapted from CookiePie

Oven: 350 Bake time: 35 minutes 

Serves 4-6

4 TBS unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 TBS maple syrup

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup whole milk

3/4 cup canned pumpkin pie filling

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

5 cups cubed bread, french loaf

Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. 

In a small sauce pan mix butter and brown sugar over medium heat, whisking until smooth.

Remove from heat and add maple syrup, mixing until combined.

Pour mixture into baking dish and spread evenly along bottom.

In a large bowl, whisk together half and half, milk, pumpkin, eggs, salt and spices.

Add bread cubes to pumpkin mixture and toss lightly to coat evenly.

Pour bread mixture over top butter-sugar mixture and spread evenly.

*if you're not letting it sit over night allow the bread to sit in the pumpkin mixture for about 15 minutes before transferring to the baking dish.

*if you're storing overnight, cover dish with aluminum foil and place in the fridge. 

Transfer to oven and bake for 35 minutes- until custard sets.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Just one of the many pumpkin recipes to come!

Happy Baking!