Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes

It's safe to say that this will the first of many pumpkin recipes I will be making over the course of the next month or two. I love pumpkin and can eat it any time of year, but it is especially appropriate in the fall. These cupcakes were a must from the first moment I laid eyes on them. And, believe me, they did not disappoint. They were moist and tender with the perfect pumpkin flavor.

While you normally wouldn't necessarily think to pair dulce de leche and pumpkin together, they perfectly complimented each other. While it is relatively easy to make your own dulce de leche, I opted to just buy it and cut out the extra time and energy. At some point I would like to try making my own, since 1) all of the methods of making it are relatively easy, 2) it is difficult to find at stores (I found it at Byerly's), and 3) because it is only found at "high end" grocery stores, it's quite expensive.

I am happy to report that my first attempt at filling cupcakes was a complete success! I was a little nervous going into it, but I studied Nicole's directions for the "Cone Method" very carefully and followed them to a T and I ended up with cupcakes with that little extra oomph. If I would have known that filling cupcakes was so easy, I would have tried it ages ago.

Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes
(Source: The Sweetest Kitchen)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
7.5 ounces pureed pumpkin

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.

3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

4. Once cooled, using the cone method, fill each cupcake with a dollop of dulce de leche and frost with dulce de leche buttercream.

Dulce de Leche Buttercream

(Adapted from the Oreo Buttercream recipe)

1 cup shortening (or butter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp water
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder
1/3 cup Dulce de Leche

1. In bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening, vanilla, and water.

2. Add confectioner's sugar, meringue powder, and Dulce de Leche. Mix until well combined.

3. Little by little, add more water until the frosting reaches the right consistency.

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp

My husband found this recipe a couple years ago after we made our first trip to the apple orchard. We were crazy about the recipe the first time we made it and, now that I've made it for a third time, it's still just as good. What we like about the recipe is, because of the zest and juices, you can pretty much use any kind of apples you want. Which is really good because, if we are using apples we picked at the orchard, we really have no idea what kind they are.

Some people complain that the citrus kick that all the zest and juice add to this apple crisp cover up the homey, delicious, comforting tastes of the apples and the cinnamon. That may be true, but we love it and it will definitely be a recipe we keep using year after year.

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp
(Source: Food Network)

5 pounds McIntosh or Macoun apples
Grated zest of 1 orange
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg

For the topping:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
2 sticks (16 Tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 by 14 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

2. Peel, core, and cut the apples into large wedges. Combine the apples with the zests, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into the dish.

3. To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.

4. Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm.

Allspice Crumb Muffins

Apparently I was way too tired to bake this morning because I almost forgot to add the vanilla and then, as I was finishing scooping the batter into my pan, I realized I forgot to add the lemon zest. I debated about just skipping the zest, but I am very glad that I decided to take the time to scoop all the batter back into the bowl so I could add the zest.

I don't know that I've ever baked anything with allspice in a starring role, but it was a nice treat in these muffins and perfect for this time of year. The muffin itself is very moist, and the streusel topping provides nice slightly crunchy texture contrast. The addition of lemon zest is an optional ingredient in the recipe, but I thought it provided essential flavor to complement the spice.

If you don't want to buy whole milk, you can substitute equal amounts of evaporated milk and water. I mixed 1/2 cup of evaporated milk with 1/2 cup of water, stirred it up really good, and then used a 3/4 cup of it in this recipe. The muffins still turned out really well, and I now I don't have extra whole milk, that I will never use (at least not before it goes bad and has to be thrown out), taking up space in my refrigerator.

Allspice Crumb Muffins
(Source: Sticky, Gooey, Creamy Chewy)

For the Streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

For the Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)

Getting ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

To Make the Streusel:
1. Put the flour, brown sugar and allspice in a small bowl and sift them through your fingers to blend.

2. Add the bits of cold butter and toss to get irregularly shaped crumbs. Set aside in the refrigerator.

To Make the Muffins:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, allspice and salt. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps.

2. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough--the batter will be lumpy, and that is just the way it should be.

3. Stir in the lemon zest, if you're using it.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Sprinkle some streusel over each muffin, then use your fingertips to gently press the crumbs into the batter.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

King Arthur's Cornbread

It's been unusually cold here in Minnesota the past few days, which meant I could finally make the chili I had been craving for the last few weeks. And what goes great with chili? Cornbread, of course!

I've never made cornbread from scratch and this was a good recipe to start with. It was tender and moist, but it wasn't quite sweet enough for me. The butter flavor was also a little too strong, which might have been because, when I started making the recipe, I didn't realize the butter needed to be melted AND cooled. I didn't wait for it to cool completely because, well, we were hungry! I definitely will next time and hopefully that will help eliminate some of the butter flavor and, if I'm lucky, will give it the sweetness I am looking for.

King Arthur's Cornbread
(Source: King Arthur Flour)

1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square or round pan (a cast iron skillet will work fine, too), shallow 1 1/2 quart casserole dish, or 12 muffin cups.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Stir in any desired herbs, cheese, corn kernels, or other flavorings. (I didn't add anything this time, since this was my first time using the recipe, but I might consider it next time.)

4. In another bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the milk, melted butter, and egg.

5. Pour the liquid all at once into the flour mixture, stirring quickly and gently until just combined.

6. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, or scoop into the muffin tin.

7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges just begin to pull away from the pan and a cake tester or paring knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

8. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 5 minutes before cutting; serve warm.

Snickerdoodle Chex Mix

As soon as General Mills came out with Cinnamon Chex, I was eager to see what kind of chex mix recipes would be created for it. I've been home with the husband for a much needed long weekend and decided this would make for a yummy snack while we were bumming around the house watching movies and relaxing. It was so good, it was gone before I even got the chance to take photos of it!

Photo courtesy of Chex.com

Snickerdoodle Chex Mix
(Source: Chex)

1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal
2 cups Chocolate Chex cereal
4 cups popped popcorn
1/4 cup butter or margarine

1. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals and popcorn.

2. In 1-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.

3. Microwave uncovered on High 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture evenly over cereal mixture; stir. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture; stir. Microwave 1 minute longer. Spread on waxed paper or paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.