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.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the best chocolate chip cookies I've had in awhile. As the name suggests, they are both thick and chewy like the kind of cookie you'd find at a bakery. After finding this winning recipe, I think it is safe to say I will never have to try another chocolate chip cookie recipe (though, honestly, I probably will, just for the sake of trying something new). If you’re looking for a classic, this is it.

Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: Annie's Eats)

2 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven 325°F.

2. In a bowl, mix dry ingredient. In mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars until well blended. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla. Batter will appear slightly greasy.

3. Add dry ingredients, until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Scoop balls onto cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 min.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Cookies

These cookies are just like snickerdoodles, but quicker and healthier (if you can even consider a cookie healthy). This recipe uses whole wheat flour and incorporates cinnamon into the batter instead of rolling the dough into balls and then in cinnamon and sugar. A delicious twist on a great cookie.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Cookies
(Source: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, the eggs and the vanilla.

3. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda, salt, and cinnamon.

4. Scoop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not overcooked.

Fudge Brownies

I'm not sure if I have ever made brownies from scratch before. If I have, it wasn't a recipe worth remembering. After making these brownies, I guarantee I will never make brownies from a box ever again. I am quite certain this recipe in particular will become my signature brownie recipe. These brownies are pure heaven.

A few things to note:

1) I didn't have Dutch-process cocoa. After doing some research online, I discovered that you can easily substitute the dutch-process cocoa with regular cocoa plus a little bit of baking soda. For every 3 Tbsp of cocoa you need to add a pinch (1/8 tsp) of baking soda. Since this recipe called for 1 1/4 cups of cocoa (20 Tbsp), I added 3/4 tsp baking soda. The recipe turned out fantastic.

2) According to the King Arthur blog, when you add the chocolate chips to the batter directly effects the texture of the brownies. If you want the chips to retain their shape and add chunkiness, let the batter cool before adding the chips. If you want the chips to melt right into the rich smoothness of the brownie, add them to the hot batter immediately, stirring to combine.

I prefer my chocolate chips to remain evident, so I let the batter cool for about 20 minutes. Because I used mini chocolate chips (it was all I had at home and I didn't feel like running to the store), the chunkiness is not as noticeable as I would have liked it to be. I definitely want to try this recipe again using regular chocolate chips.

3) Line your pan with parchment paper, and then grease the parchment. Seriously. It makes it so much easier to remove the brownies from the pan intact, without sticking and crumbling.

4) Glass of milk not required, but highly recommended.

Fudge Brownies
(Source: King Arthur Flour)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa (I used regular cocoa + 3/4 tsp baking soda)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp espresso powder, optional (I omitted this)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan

2) In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it's hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it.

3) While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.

4) Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

5) Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. (Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.)

6) Spoon the batter into a lightly greased (and parchment lined) 9" x 13" pan.

7) Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Makes 24 brownies.

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

We missed Kyle's birthday the last two years and there was no way we were going to miss it a 3rd time. For the celebration, I decided to make Cookies & Cream Cupcakes. These Oreo Cupcakes were my inspiration, however I really didn't want chocolate cupcakes. I was envisioning vanilla cake with cookie chunks and that is exactly what I ended up finding at The Sweetest Kitchen.

I made a slight modification to Jamieanne's recipe by adding instant pudding. I have never done this before, but I have heard that it is supposed to make cakes/cupcakes unbelievably moist and delicious. These cupcakes were moist (and very rich), but the tops were flat and slightly browned (both easily hidden by the frosting). I'm not sure if that is a common occurrence when adding instant pudding, if it was because of the cookie chunks, or if it was just a fluke, so I guess I will just have to experiment a little more. Anyone have any ideas on what might have caused this?

I frosted the cupcakes with Heather's Oreo Buttercream recipe and it was absolutely to die for! This will definitely be my go to frosting recipe (minus the crushed Oreos) from now on. I topped each cupcake with half an Oreo (which, by the way, I would recommend doing right before you serve them, otherwise the cookies get soft).

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes
(Adapted from The Sweetest Kitchen)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3oz box instant vanilla pudding
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
Oreos, crushed into chunks

1. Count out 12 Oreos and separate bottoms from top, making sure there is frosting on both sides. Place one wafer, icing side up, in bottom of each muffin cup. (This didn't actually end up working for me. Every time I separated my Oreos, the frosting was always on one side and not the other. Not really a big deal, though - I just used the halves without frosting in the cupcake batter and for the buttercream.)

2. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3-5 min.

3. Add the egg whites and beat until incorporated.

4. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, pudding, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, add vanilla extract to milk.

5. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Add 1/2 of the milk mixture and beat again until incorporated. Keep adding flour mixture and milk mixture alternately, being sure that you end with the flour.

6. Gently stir the crushed Oreos into the batter.

7. Fill the cupcake lines three-quarters full. (Mine were actually filled almost to the top because of the cookie on the bottom.) Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean.

Oreo Buttercream
(Source: Heather Drive)

1 cup shortening or butter (I used shortening so it didn't have to be refrigerated)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. water
1 lb. (approx. 4 cups) confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp. meringue powder
12-14 Oreos, finely crushed

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

2. Add confectioner's sugar, meringue powder, and crushed Oreos. Mix until well combined.

3. To top cupcakes, it's better to have medium to thin consistency icing, so you'll have to add more water. I probably added another 2-3 tbsp. to get the desired consistency, but you'll want to add the water little by little to make sure you don't add too much. When it's the right consistency, it should be pretty easy to stir by hand (think about whether you'd be able to easily squeeze it out of a piping bag). If you accidentally make it too thin (runny), add more confectioner's sugar.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

I had these ready for immediate consumption when the nurse walked out our front door this morning. You see, we had to fast for 12 hours for a health assessment and I thought this was the perfect way to celebrate.

If you're looking for the real thing, this recipe is probably not for you. However, if you're looking for the delicious goodness of a cinnamon roll without having to wait for the yeast to work it's magic, then this is definitely the recipe for you. This recipe yields a cake-like version of the cinnamon roll that is both quick and simple to make - I even managed to roll the dough without disaster. I can definitely see myself making these on a semi-regular basis.

That said, this recipe confirms my desire to one day make real cinnamon rolls. There is something to be said about warm, flaky cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven, covered in a sweet and sugary icing. Mmmm...

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

(Source: Ezra Pound Cake)

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Biscuit Dough:
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Icing:
6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
4 to 6 teaspoons milk or heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. For the Filling: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. For the Dough: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups cream, and stir until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. With your hands, fold the dough over a few times in the bowl, until the dough is smooth.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands, and pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle, about 9 X 13 inches. Brush the surface of the dough with the remaining tablespoon of cream. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar topping.

5. Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a cylinder. Slice into 9 equal rounds. Place the rounds, cut side down, into an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish or a pie plate. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly browned.

6. For the Icing: While the biscuits bake, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and milk or cream until smooth. When you remove the biscuits from the oven, immediately drizzle them with icing. Serve warm.

Makes 9 biscuits