Raspberry Truffle Tart

We had a few friends over last night to drink a few bottles of wine shipped to us from California. When we were out in California with some friends this summer, we joined a wine club at our favorite winery, August Briggs (Hubby and I visited the winery while on our honeymoon in July 2007 and insisted we make it one of our stops this summer). The dinner menu consisted of steaks, scalloped potatoes, Caesar salad, and, of course, dessert!

When contemplating dessert, we decided that nothing goes better with wine than chocolate. This tart is pure indulgence and paired perfectly with the wine. What could be more enticing than a giant raspberry-flavored truffle set in a biscotti crust? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing. Photo coming soon!

Rasberry Truffle Tart
(Source: Joy of Baking)

Biscotti Crust:

80z biscotti, broken into small pieces
5 -6 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:
1/3 cup raspberry sauce (recipe follows)
10 oz semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Raspberry Sauce:
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
2 Tbsp sugar, to taste

Garnish:
Fresh Raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have ready a 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) fluted tart pan.

2. In your food processor, place the biscotti and process until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and add the melted butter. Stir to combine. Press this mixture over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before adding the filling.

4. Place 1 cup of fresh or frozen raspberries, that have been thawed, in your food processor and process until the raspberries are broken up. Pour into a strainer, set over a bowl, and press on the raspberries to extract the juice. Add sugar to taste. Set aside.

5. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Stir in 1/3 cup of the raspberry sauce.

6. Pour the chocolate filling into the baked and cooled crust, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

To Serve: Cut into small slices and serve with fresh raspberries and with any of the remaining raspberry sauce.

Makes one - 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart.

12 Days of Cookies

I'm taking the plunge this year and participating in "12 Days of Cookies."

Well, sort of.

I love the idea (in theory) of trying 12 new cookie recipes (that are almost guaranteed to be delicious) but, to me, Christmas isn't Christmas without my beloved Spritz, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and all of the other goodies I grew up with.

So this year, I will be making 12 different cookies of my own choosing. Some will be the classics I enjoy making every year, while others will be new recipes I want to try. Some won't be Christmas cookies, but they will still be yummy holiday themed treats.

Perhaps next year I will be up for "officially" participating in 12 Days of Cookies, but for now I am content to do it my way. :)

Let's get baking, shall we?!

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

This is the traditional holiday pumpkin pie. This classic recipe has been on Libby's Pumpkin labels since 1950 and for a very good reason. This pie is easy to prepare and even easier to enjoy. Just mix, pour, and bake for a delicious homemade tradition. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

1. Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

2. Pour into pie shell.

3. Bake in preheated 425°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

If you love cinnamon rolls, you are gonna love this cake. Tastes exactly like them, only in cake form. Besides being quick and easy (and let's not forget delicious!), it is moist and very cinnamony (yes, I'm making up words here).

Since I made this cake last night, we couldn't eat it warm at work today (damn them for not installing an oven like I requested!), but the cake was still very good. However, when I brought the leftovers home to hubby, I heated up his piece and the cake instantly went from good to FANTASTIC. I will defintiely need to make this again when it can be consumed directly out of the oven.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the cake because my camera battery died and hubby absolutely could not wait any longer to eat the rest of it. Check out Ingrid's site (link is below) for some seriously mouthwatering photos.

Cinnamon Roll Cake
(Source: 3 B's)

Cake:
Yellow Cake Mix
4 eggs
¾ cup oil
1 cup sour cream

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp milk or heavy cream (I used 8 Tbsp of heavy cream to get the consistency I wanted)

1. Mix cake ingredients by hand and pour in 13 x 9 greased baking pan.

2. Mix the filling ingredients together and pour over cake batter. Swirl into batter with knife. (this was not easy to do as the batter is thick)

3. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Let cake cool 10 – 15 minutes.

4. Pour icing over warm cake.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

A lot of pumpkin cookies, while very good, are very cakey. These pumpkin cookies, however, are moist and have the perfect texture. Because of the molasses, the pumpkin flavor isn't as pronounced as I would like it to be, but they are still delicious and very, very addicting.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
(Source: Beantown Baker)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1/3 canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

1. Beat the butter in a large bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, pumpkin, molasses, and egg and continue beating until well combined and fluffy.

2. Sift together remaining ingredients and gradually add to wet ingredients, beating on low speed until thoroughly incorporate. Refrigerate for up to one hour or until batter can be handled.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Place remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a pie dish. Form the batter into walnut-sized balls. Roll in sugar and arrange on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.

4. Cool for a few minutes on sheets and then remove to wire racks to continue cooling.

Pumpkin Spice Scones

I wish I would have baked an additional batch of these, because the first batch was gone in the blink of an eye. I think it's safe to conclude that these scones were pretty good. I opted to only make the cinnamon icing, but I definitely try these again with the ginger molasses icing. Unfortunately, because these disappeared so fast, the only photo I got was with my iPhone. I guess that gives me another reason to make these again!

Pumpkin Spice Scones
(Source: Pinch My Salt)

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup raisins (optional - I omitted)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup heavy cream
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refrigerator. In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine if you have no room in freezer).

2. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

3. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.

4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 minutes. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

Ginger Molasses Icing
1 Tbsp molasses
1-2 Tbsp milk
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ginger (to taste)

Stir ingredients together. Adjust the amount of sugar or milk to make the icing the consistency you want (It should be pretty thick).

Cinnamon Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together. Again, adjust amounts to change consistency. Icing can be brushed on or drizzled.

The Mother Load Layered Cookie Bars

I must admit I was slightly disappointed in the bars at first. I had some girlfriends over last night, so I whipped these bars up in the afternoon. When I cut into them before they arrived, the bars were a mushy mess! They tasted wonderful, but the layers all sort of mushed together into a cookie mess. (Thankfully we also had Chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chocolate chip cookies due to the recipe making extra dough.)

HOWEVER, when I took a look at the remaining bars today (I only plated a handful of bars for my friends since they were so messy), they were perfect. PERFECT! I guess I cut them too soon and they just needed more time to set. These cookie bars really were incredible and very rich. I would recommend cutting them into smaller bars than Jenny originally suggests.

The Mother Load Layered Cookie Bars
(Source: Picky Palate)

Layer 1: Sugar Cookie

1 Roll of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough

1. Press sugar cookie dough into bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish that’s been lined foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

Layer 2: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie

(the recipe below makes double what you’ll need for the bars, use extra for cookies)

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I only used 1 cup)
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients then stir in chips. Layer 1/2 the recipe over sugar cookie layer, pressing gently.

Layer 3: Peanut Butter Cookie

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg

1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined. Press over chocolate cookie dough.

Layer 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie

(the recipe below makes double what you’ll need for the bars, use extra for cookies)

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp pure vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a stand or electric mixer cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined.

3. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips.

4. Spoon 1/2 of the dough evenly over peanut butter cookie dough but don’t press, just leave uneven. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until center of dough is cooked mostly through. Edges will be brown. I covered pan with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking.

2. Let cookies cool completely. Lift out of pan with edges of foil. I cut off 1/2 inch edges and just used softer centers, but do as you wish. Edges are crispier. Drizzle top with 1/2 Cup melted chocolate chips if desired.

*Note: You can layer dough and refrigerate until ready to bake.

8 large bars (if you cut off edges), 12 bars (if you keep edges)

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.