Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes...

My co-worker brought in the yummiest pumpkin cupcakes. She said they were easy to make. That said, right after work I was off to buy the ingredients at the store. I was so excited to make these for family night. There I was, batter all mixed up and cream cheese mixture ready to go. Small problem, I ran out of cupcake liners. At this point I lost my motivation to run back to the store. So instead of cupcakes, I made it as a cake. I poured the cake batter in a 9 x 13 pan. Poured the cream cheese filling on top and swirled it with the cake batter. Baked it a little longer and Viala! Pumpkin Cream cake. Almost just as good - not as much cream cheese filling, but we still managed to scarf it down!

photo curtesy of kraftrecipes.com

Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes

1 pkg. (2-layer size) spice cake mix

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

PREPARE cake batter as directed on package. Add dry pudding mix and pumpkin; mix well. Spoon into 24 paper-lined muffin cups.

BEAT cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in sugar and egg; spoon over batter.

BAKE 18 to 21 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 5 min.; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

Kraft Kitchens Tips: Stir 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg into 1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping; spread over cooled cupcakes. Keep refrigerated.

apple dumplings...

We've eaten really good this week! I've been trying new recipes and revisting lost favorites. One recipe we revisited was apple dumplings. Awhile back, we had our good friends over for dinner. Kristy was in charge of dessert. Because this is a desert you eat right out of the oven, she prepared it at my house. I was a little skeptical watching her make it, but I figured with two sticks of butter how could it go wrong! It was so good!

Fast forward to last night...going through my recipe binder I came across the recipe. Without any hesitation I ran to the store grabbed the ingredients. We enjoyed our fabulous treat (and then again for breakfast this morning). Hope you enjoy it as we do!

I only made half the recipe.

Apple Dumplings

Kristy Mayes

2 granny smith apples

2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls

2 sticks butter

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon

1 can Mountain Dew

Peel and core apples. Cut into 8 slices each. Roll each slice into crescent roll dough. Place in 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter. Add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla. Pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around edges of pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350˚ for 40 minutes.

Serve with ice cream. Spoon sauce from pan over the top

Big Soft Ginger Cookies...

After a little thought, I've decided that I'm more of a baker than a cook. I love, love, LOVE to bake! It's very soothing to my soul. Not sure if it's the relaxing break I get while the cookies are in the oven or if it's the sweet reward of my labor. Sweets are my friend!

When I was in college, I would frequently visit Einstein Bagels for lunch. One day they had a ginger cookie with white chocolate chunks. Heaven! The bite of the ginger with the creaminess of the white chocolate was a perfect match. Although I don't have the exact recipe, I think that this one comes pretty close.


Big Soft Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white suagr

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

***I add 1-2 cups white chocolate chunks.
***I smash cookie dough down with the bottom of a glass. Dip the glass in water and sugar before smashing.

Mom's Lemon Bars

Growing up, I don't remember my mom baking very much. But the memories I do have of her baking include her lemon bars. When I asked for the recipe, she quickly jotted it down all from memory. Not quite sure on her techinque of baking, I added a few notes on how I make the crust. Mmmm I love the flaky buttery crust! (Sorry the crust is a little overdone in the picture, my oven was on the fritz that day. Any one know how to calibrate an oven?)

Mom’s Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
½ cup powdered sugar

Mix well. Pat into 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350˚ for 25 minutes

***I use cold butter, cut into chunks. I put everything in my food processor and pulse until butter is cut -up, similar to pastry dough.

Filling:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¼ cup flour
½ cup lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest

Mix well. Pour onto baked crust. Bake at 350˚ for an additional 25 minutes . Remove from oven and cool. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar.

Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Cream

Angel Food Cake can be a bit intimidating to make, but it is really easy. It is one of my favorite desserts in the Spring when strawberries are on. I have been making this recipe for a few years and my whole family really likes it. This recipe came from the Lion House Cookbook.

Angel Food Cake

1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp. sifted cake flour

1 1/2 Cups sifted sugar

1 3/4 Cups (10 to 12) egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond extract

Sift together flour and 1/2 cup sugar. (Now really, does anyone sift? I don't. I put the flour and sugar together and mix it around to get air in with a spoon.) In a large bowl, combine egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and flavorings. Beat on high speed with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1 cup of sugar gradually, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift in flour mixture, one-fourth at a time, folding in with 15 fold-over strokes each time, turning bowl frequently. Do not stir or beat. After last addition, use 10 to 20 extra folding strokes.

Pour batter into ungreased 9- or 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes for 9-inch cake or 30-35 minutes for 10-inch cake, or until cake springs back when pressed lightly. Cool cake in pan, upside down, 1 to 2 hours. Then loosen from sides and center tube with knife and gently pull out cake. An angel cake pan with a removable bottom is ideal for removing cake in perfect condition.

Top slices of cake with strawberries and sweetened whipped cream.

It seems that all I make is sweets...

Yesterday we were craving something sweet (OK, I was, but I'm sure that Josh & Ryan wanted something sweet as well). If you could see my fridge or my panty, you would weep with me. It is bare! What was I going to do? I came across a recipe for Easy Fudge Brownies. Surprisingly, I had all of the ingredients. They actually turned out pretty good. I have to agree with Ry, they would taste even better with a scoop of Breyer's Natural Vanilla Ice Cream and hot fudge sauce.

And since all I've done lately is sweets, I'm throwing in the recipe that we had for dinner last night. Sorry no pics, my camera didn't make it to the dinner table!

Easy Fudge Brownies

½ cup butter
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup flour

Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, lightly beat the mixture until combined (don’t overbeat or brownies will rise too high then fall). Stir in flour. Spread in prepared pan. Bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

***I sprinkled chocolate chips and/or chopped nuts on top of batter before baking.

***I didn't have any unsweetened chocolate bars, so I did a quick substitution found on the Hershey's Cocoa Powder can. I used 6 TBSP cocoa powder and 2 TBSP oil.

Maple Mustard-Glazed Chicken
(Cuisine at Home Dec. 2008)

3 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP maple syrup
1 TBSP whole grain mustard
1 TBSP brown sugar
¼ tsp dried thyme
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350˚; line a baking sheet with foil.

Stir Dijon, maple syrup, whole grain mustard, brown sugar and thyme together in small bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper; place on baking sheet, then brush with mustard mixture. Roast 30 minutes, then baste with mustard mixture again. Return to oven and roast until chicken is done, 15-20 minutes longer.

Served with green beans and wild rice. Delicious!