Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

It's pumpkin season! Now, I could've made pumpkin things all year long since I stocked up on pumpkin last year. After stores began running out of pumpkin, once I found some I kept it at home just in case. I'm glad I did, because now I have plenty and can make all the pumpkin goodies I want. I also want to roast my own pumpkin....we'll see if that happens.

I had planned on making these a few days ago for Dan's sister's birthday, but we ended up going out for her birthday. I now have an abundance of cupcakes in my kitchen....

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
from Taste of Home

 For the cupcakes:
3/4 cup butter, softened 
2-1/2 cups sugar  
3 eggs 
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin 
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
1 cup buttermilk 

For the frosting: 
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 
1/2 cup butter, softened 
4 cups confectioners' sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin. Combine the flour, pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and ginger; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.  
3. Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 
4. For frosting, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 2 dozen.

This is how I like them, without those god awful Brachs pumpkin candies. Those are completely gross. But they're cute decorations, therefore I used them.
 

 

All decorated.

Some of the reviews of the original recipe claimed they thought they were too sweet. You could cut the sugar down to 2 cups instead of 2 and half. Also, some people added a 1/2 cup of apple sauce to keep them moist, but mine were super moist as is.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I don't know why I don't make cupcakes more often. I always feel very accomplished when I make them. I almost didn't make them. Friday I asked my brother what kind he'd rather have, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or White Russian. He chose the cookie dough. I had planned on baking the cupcakes yesterday, then filling and frosting them today. However, my mum, Colleen (brother's girlfriend), and I spent the day antique hunting. I had a headache that wouldn't quit, so I took a nap after. By that time, it was dinner time and we went out for the night. So, that put all of the work into today before the BBQ. The steps are all very easy, they just take some time. The only changes I made to the recipe was using mini chocolate chips in the cupcakes, and only 1/4 cup of them, like in the filling. I also didn't sprinkle chocolate chips on top to decorate. They are super sweet and super delicious. There's also an absurd amount of butter in everything.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
from Blissful Tastes

For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips 

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract 

For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips


Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.

Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total).  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir together to blend.  Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated.  Blend in the vanilla.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners.   Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake.  Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture. 

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy.  Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth.  Beat in the flour and salt.  Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.

Artsy photo

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

My brother and his girlfriend flew in from California on Friday. We had a family BBQ today for everyone to get together and visit. That meant I had an opportunity to cook. I knew I wanted to make cupcakes (that recipe is coming soon) and I wanted to make some sort of finger food. At first, I was going to go with deviled eggs since that's where my taste buds were taking me, but I knew the cupcakes would be time intensive, so I didn't want to spend all that time to boil the eggs and peel all of them (I hate peeling eggs!), then filling them.

I decided to make the pizza puff recipe that I've had stockpiled in my 'need to make these soon' list. Everyone really liked them. The one thing I didn't do was put out marinara sauce to serve them with. I completely forgot. I think that would've make them better. They are good, but the pepperoni is the only thing that stands out, the batter was kind of bland I thought.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
from The Way to His Heart...


3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
pinch of salt 
pinch of red pepper flakes 
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cubed pepperoni
1/2 cup marinara sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24 cup mini-muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and red pepper flakes. Whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan, and pepperoni and let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Serve the puffs with marinara sauce for dipping.

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli

I am in super lazy mode right now, and have been all day. This post will be short and sweet, so I can get back to being lazy and watching more Law & Order.

I was underwhelmed with this recipe. Maybe it's because I'm in a ho-hum mood or it just wasn't all that special. I'm posting the original recipe, but when I made it, I left out the sour cream because Dan doesn't like sour cream. Maybe the sour cream would have made a profound difference. I also left out the cajun seasoning.

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli
from Tasty Kitchen 

3 chicken breasts
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1.5 cups chicken broth
garlic salt
cajun seasoning
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup sour cream
White rice (if you'd like to serve it on rice)

1. Place chicken, soups, chicken broth and seasonings into the crock pot. Cook on high for 4 hours.
2. Remove chicken and shred. Return to crock pot and add broccoli. Cook for another 30 minutes.
3. Prepare rice according to directions if serving over rice.
4. Spoon over rice and serve.

Sorry for the crappy picture....

Chicken Soup Noodles

Facebook is abuzz with comments like "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?" and "P-A-T-S PATS PATS PATS!".

And while everyone is all amped up to watch Gronk and the boys dominate, I'm all amped up for tailgating food. Don't get me wrong, I'll watch football if it's on, and I'll get into the Super Bowl if the Pats are playing, but I don't entirely enjoy football. But, I will go to any Sunday football gathering just so I have an excuse to cook and eat other people's food. The fall and winter definitely make for the best recipes.

I didn't go to any football gatherings today. I was too busy with picking up mums for my cheerleaders' fundraiser, delivering some, grocery shopping and cooking. On my delivery route, I stopped by my friend Jaime's and they had crock pots and the smoker going.... that's my kind of Sunday, football or no football.

Tonight I decided to make something that I've wanted to make for a while. It was pretty simple and very yummy. I just wish the broth for the noodles had thickened a little bit more, almost to a gravy consistency, then it would be perfect.

As I finished cooking, my dad arrived with a whole bunch of steamer clams from the local clambake that went on yesterday. So not only did I enjoy lobster and steamers yesterday, but I had some today as well. And some of these noodles. AND I'm about to go make a dessert....

Chicken Soup Noodles
from Pinch of Yum

1 tbsp. olive oil
3 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 stalks celery sliced
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 (49.5 oz) can of chicken broth
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1 lb. egg noodles
2 tbsp. butter
parsley
thyme
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)
diced green onion (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the veggies and saute 3-5 minutes until crisp-tender.
2. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water and pour into soup pot. Add the noodles and bring to a rolling boil. Stir every few minutes until noodles are just about cooked (think al dente).
4. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, parsley and thyme. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. The broth will thicken as the pot cools an the noodles will continue to cook a bit.
5. Mix in the green onions (if using) and serve.

Chocolate Chip Banana Blondie Cake

School has begun again. I am once again caught up in the turmoil of a new school year with mounds of never-ending planning and paperwork.

Cheer season has also started and we are in the midst of competition choreography. It adds hour to my day, but at least it's fun. My teams are so talented and such hard workers, I can't wait to see how our season unfolds!

I wanted to come home and do nothing. I came home to Dan cleaning the entire apartment. He also offered to cook dinner. Not much more I could ask for after a long day. I then saw the bananas on the clean counter and remembered that I had wanted to remember to find a new recipe to use them up. A quick search on Food Gawker led me a simple recipe that I could whip up in minutes.

Banana Chocolate Chip Blondie Cake
ever so slightly adapted from Evil Shenanigans

1 and 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup mashed banana (I used 2 smallish-medium bananas)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I had mini chips, so I used those)
powdered sugar for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8-inch baking pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl, cream the sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth.
4. Mix in the eggs and banana.
5. Add to dry ingredients and mix together until combined.
6. Add in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
7. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let cool, top with powdered sugar and eat!

They are sooooooo gooooooooood!!!!