My Mom's Secret

Yup that's right this recipe includes an entire box of Twinkies...your thinking this is totally lowfat right!?! ;)

I'm not exactly sure where my mom found this recipe for a year or two ago she brought this for a holiday gathering and my husband fell in love! My mom might not be the world's best cook but she can sure find some good desserts. So when talking with my husband about making a pie for Thanksgiving, he piped in and suggested I make this instead. He can actually eat half this pan in one sitting (sick huh?!) So as a compromise, I made both! I hope you try it!

Layered Pumpkin Dessert

• 1 box Hostess Twinkies (10)
• 1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
  
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
  
• 1 container (8oz) whipped topping, thawed, divided
  
• 2 pkgs (3.4 oz ea) instant vanilla pudding
  
• 1 can (15oz) pumpkin
  
• 1-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  
• 1 cup milk
  

Directions:

1. Slice Twinkies in half lengthwise and place cream side up, in a single layer in a 9x13 pan. Using a mixer, blend together cream cheese, sugar and 1/2 of whipped topping until smooth. Spread evenly over Twinkies.


2. Combine pudding, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and milk. Whisk until well blended and layer over cream cheese mixture.


3. Carefully spread remaining whipped topping over pumpkin. Lightly sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice.


4. Refrigerate several hours until set.

My 1st Pumpking Pie

For Thanksgiving dinner I was put in charge of making my first pumpkin pie! I've actually been looking forward to this since making my own pumpkin puree as you may remember from this post. So of course I opted for a FRESH pumpkin pie. After doing some research I found many people say what a different there is between making a pie using canned pumpkin compared to fresh pureed pumpkin, so I couldn't wait to see what people I knew actually thought. This recipe definitely lived up to all it's reviews! I must warn you if you use this recipe, it is very liquidity BUT fear not it turns out perfect :) Once I mixed all the ingredients and poured them into the pie shell I had to be extra careful when placing it into the oven as to not have any spill. Even when it was fully cooked it looked like it should be cooked longer but my toothpick came out clean. TRUST your toothpick! It may look like it needs more time but it doesn't and will turn out perfect!

All the ingredients you need!

Mrs. Sigg's Fresh Pumpkin Pie

source: allrecipes.com

• 1 sugar pumpkin
• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

Directions

1. Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet lined with lightly oiled aluminum foil. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the peel. Either mash, or puree in small batches in a blender. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C.)
   
2. In a large bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add brown sugar, flour, salt, 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and evaporated milk. Stir well after each addition.
   Pour mixture into the unbaked pastry shell. Place a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust to prevent over browning.
   
3. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove the strip of foil about 20 minutes before the pie is done so that the edge of the crust will be a light golden brown. Cool pie, and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

I am so thankful for all of my readers. I wish you all a healthy and happy Thanksgiving!

Our family Thanksgiving feast!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss

What flavors go together better than chocolate and peanut butter? After tasting this cupcake, nothing! And it's all because of the frosting. The frosting is so creamy and smooth and delicious. It totally makes this cupcake! I got 24 regular cupcakes and about 8 mini cupcakes out of the batch. I topped them with Mini Reese's and alternated cupcakes with chopped Reese's and halves. I know when I have something good when my husband wants to take half the batch to work (not sure if he's sharing or just keeping them all to himself!), he did say he could demolish the entire batch! I made these for a co-workers birthday and he ate 3 before lunch! He told me I "have outdone myself" and they were by far his favorite cupcake yet!

I love taking pictures of cupcakes, there just so cute!

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake

Source: Hershey’s Website

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
  

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. For Cake:Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost. 10 to 12 servings.
4. For Cupcakes: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.
   

Peanut Butter Icing

Source: Ina Garten (Food TV)

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place the confectioners sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Stuffed Peppers

This was my first attempt at ever making stuffed peppers. I've actually only have had them once before, my mother-in-law introduced me to them when we were living with them while building our house. I liked this recipe because it is quick & easy and I didn't even have to turn my oven on! It only calls for 2 peppers but you could actually use 3-4 depending how full you fill them. There was definitely filling left over

No-Bake Stuffed Peppers

• 2 medium bell peppers (any color – I used green and red)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1-15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped2 cups rice, cooked
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
  

Cut peppers in half lengthwise. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, drop the peppers in and boil for 5-6 minutes. In a small bowl, mix tomato sauce, basil and sugar and set aside. Brown meat and onion in a large skillet; drain. Stir in 1/2 the tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of the rice and the salt. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes; stir in cheese. Spoon meat mixture into peppers and place into skillet. Pour remaining tomato sauce around peppers; cover and simmer. Top with additional cheese, if desired. Serve on top of remaining rice.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I love baking with pumpkin, it makes the house smell so good and it feels like Fall. This was my first recipe baking with my fresh pumpkin and I'm not sure I can go back! These muffins where so moist and delicious! I brought them to work today and a couple co-workers that don't even like pumpkin loved them! It's a super easy recipe that can be baked in regular size muffin tin or mini. I wanted to use my mini muffin tin for the first time so I made mini's, aren't they the cutest little things!!

Mini's!!

Pumpkin Ginger Spice Muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/3 cup melted butter
  
• 2 eggs, beaten
  
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)
• 2 Tbsp well chopped candied ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mix the pumpkin, melted butter, eggs, water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, until just incorporated. Do not over-mix. Fold in the candied ginger and chopped nuts. Spoon mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on a rack. Makes 12 regular size muffins, I got 35 mini muffins.

I opted not add nuts or candied ginger and they were really good. I think I might even add some of the pumpkin cream cheese for a filling... ooh I think that would just be heaven!!

Homemade Bagels with Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Bagels are one of my favorite breakfast foods! Unfortunately where we live now there are no bagels places anywhere close, we would have to drive at least 20 minutes just for a bagel! So I decided to try my hand at making homemade bagels. Then I found this recipe for Pumpkin cream cheese that sounds absolutely amazing that I just had to made BOTH as soon as possible. I made the bagels with white whole wheat flour (slightly more healthy) and didn't use the full amount of flour. They are best toasted.

Homemade Bagels

• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packages active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions:

In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour and yeast. Mix water, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt together, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer for half a minute at a low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl clean. Beat at a higher speed for 3 minutes. Then, by hand, mix in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Cover, let rest for 15 minutes.

Don't worry they get bigger once boiled!

Cut into 12 portions, shape into smooth balls. Poke a hole in the center with your finger, and gently enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape. Cover, let rise 20 minutes. Meanwhile, start a gallon of water boiling.

Dough will sink the bottom once in water, made sure to move them so they don't stick to the pan. They will rise to the top within a few seconds.

Put 1 tablespoon of sugar in it, mix it around a bit. Reduce to simmering. When the bagels are ready, put about 4 bagels into the water, and cook 7 minutes, turning once.

Nice and puffy!

Drain them on a towel. Place on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, eat hot or cold.

Ready to Eat!

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and syrup til creamy. Add pumpkin, spices and vanilla and beat til smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

I made the cream cheese with fresh pumpkin from in a previous post. This pumpkin cream cheese is all that I hoped it for. It was very easy to make and came together in 5 minutes. It is soo delicious I made a double batch!!

Squash Fries?!?

Yup, that's right butternut squash french fries! I never would have thought to use butternut squash for a fry. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and thought I'd give it a try. While they were baking, the house smelled amazing! For not being a huge fan of squash, these were pretty good. I think I might try actually frying them next time instead of baking to see if they taste more like fries. Sorry no pictures, I forgot!!!!

Butternut Squash Fries
Ingredients

• 1 (2 pound) butternut squash, halved and seeded
• kosher salt
• pepper
• cinnamon
• nutmeg, small amount
• olive oil
  

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Use a sharp knife to carefully cut away the peel from the squash. Cut the squash into sticks like French fries. Place squash in a plastic bag and combine salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and oil, shake until evenly coated. I only used half a squash and didn't really use any measurement, I just sprinkled however much I thought would taste good. Arrange squash pieces on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes (I baked mine for 30-40 minutes) in the preheated oven, turning the fries over halfway through baking. Fries are done when they are starting to brown on the edges and become crispy.

FRESH pumpkin!

So I've been thinking..."What am I suppose to do with all these (13 to be exact) pumpkins?" Well I'm going to bake them of course! What's better then canned pumpkin? FRESH PUMPKIN PUREE that's what! I've seen that sugar pumpkins are the most commonly kind of pumpkins to use for baking however any kind of pumpkin will do! Any size and variety can be used. While I'm on the hunt for a multitude of pumpkin recipes to experiment with, I need to get the pumpkin ready. So I've decided to roast it and I tried 2 different ways to see what works best.

First, cut open your pumpkins and remove stem. Scrape insides to remove seeds and pulp. Save seeds for roasting later! Then either pick Option A or Option B.

Option A: Cut each pumpkin in quarters, arrange on baking sheet or roasting pan, and brush with olive oil or water to keep from drying. Roast on 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until tender. Once the pumpkin is fork tender, remove from oven and cool. Once cool enough to handle, scrape out the pumpkin.

Option B: Cut pumpkins in halves, place cut side down in roasting pan, add 1 cup water, and roast at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes or until tender. (This one worked best for me, it may have taken longer but the pumpkin was easiest to remove). Once fork tender, remove from oven and cool. Once cool enough to handle, scrape out pumpkin.

Pumpkin will look like this once roasted! Place scraped pumpkin flesh into a food processor and pulse, stopping frequently to scrape down sides. Puree until smooth, this will have to be done in a few different batches. Most recipes call for 15-ounce can of pumpkin, use 1 3/4 cups of puree, a 29-ounce can contains 3 1/2 cups puree. I measured out bags of 1 3/4 cups puree.

Store in freezer safe resealable bags or containers leaving 1/2 inch of headspace for expansion while freezing. Label and date the bag or container. Pureed pumpkin can keep in the refrigerator for 1 week or up to 9 months in the freezer.

And now we're ready to start baking....

Next up: Pumpkin Spiced Muffins, Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese

My Birthday

Yesterday was my 28th birthday and I figured since this is a food blog that I better write about the THREE CAKES I got!!! And I didn't even have to do any baking!

Sunday we went to brunch at Village Inn with my in-laws then they came over to our house for cake, ice cream and presents. This was a marble cake we had with pumpkin ice cream.

My husband surprised me with flowers and a Great American Cookie cake because "it's a Dexter tradition". He's not a huge fan of cake (wedding cake is a different story) so every year for as long as he can remember he gets a cookie cake for his birthday and now he is passing it on to me :)


My 3rd cake was made by my mother! It was a birthday/anniversary cake to share as my birthday is on my parents anniversary (best present ever). We went to dinner at Olive Garden and then over to my parents house for cake.

The inside of the cake. Look how talented my mom is! Who knew!

My NEW Obsession, Pretzel Bread!

I love soft pretzels. Anytime I go to a baseball game or event that has soft pretzels I have to get one...that and a hot dog. I love them served warm with butter and salt and dipped in cheese!! (I'm getting hungry just thinking about them). So you think I would have heard of Pretzel Bread by now! So when I first saw a recipe for Pretzel Bread from Kathleen's blog a few weeks ago I have been thinking about them ever since. And when I looked to see what ingredients I needed to make it I realized I already have everything so I immediately made it as soon as I got home from work yesterday. I've included the recipe Kathleen uses below but if you want step by step instructions with pictures (which help a lot if your not experience with using yeast and making bread) click on the link to her blog.

Doesn't it look so delicious!?! I decided to make rolls with my dough and of course served mine with butter, salt and cheese. You can also serve yours with butter and a mixture of cinnamon and sugar as well. It is all that it lives up to be. This is the best bread I've had in...I can't even remember! It's AMAZING!!! If you love soft pretzel,s you will absolutely love this recipe. I even had it for breakfast this morning! I make the mistake of only making one batch because I wanted to make sure it was good. I will definitely be doubling or tripling this recipe and freezing half so I can have it anytime I want.

All buttered and salted and ready to eat!

Pretzel Bread Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 cup water (110-120 degrees or bathwater temp)
• 2 Tbsp milk, room temp
• 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 2-1/2 to 3 cups bread flour
• 4 quarts water
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• Kosher salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp melter butter
  

Directions:

1. Add yeast, water, milk, brown sugar and butter into a large bowl, whisking until all ingredients are combined. Let mixture rest for 10 minutes for yeast to activate. Mix in kosher salt. Start by adding two cups of the flour to the bowl, combining it with other ingredients. Add more flour as it’s needed, reserving just a bit for coating the dough mat later.

2. The dough should form a slightly tacky, but firm ball. Oil the bowl, place the dough ball in the bowl, and cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, knead the dough by hand or machine for at least 5-10 minutes until the dough is elastic and satiny. Place dough back in the bowl and recover for 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bring the 4 quarts of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, slowly add the baking soda.

4. Remove the dough from the bowl and gently degas it. Form two separate balls of dough, forming them into the shape you want. Drop one of the smaller balls into the baking soda bath for no longer than 30 seconds, turning it once to guarantee both sides covered. Drain the excess water from the dough and place it on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with second ball of dough.

5. Sprinkle the kosher salt over the bread to your specific tastes, and make sure to use a knife to cut a small incision on the top of the bread so the dough has somewhere to expand.

6. Cook the bread for 22 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once.

7.Once removed from the oven, immediately brush the melted butter over the loaves to guarantee a soft crust.

My First Cake!

I made my first cake over the weekend!! And yes someone actually hired me can you believe it! My co-worker Sara asked me, or more like informed me months ago I would be making her daughter's birthday cake. I thought she was kidding because it was when my obssession with cupcakes began, however she was not!! Her daughter Avery's birthday is on Halloween, how awesome is that for a kid, so of course of all cakes for her birthday, she wanted a Haunted House Birthday Cake. I thought this was a tall order for being my first cake and a lot of pressure, but Sara reassured me it was for a 5-year old's birthday so she would think it's the coolest no matter how it turned out. She had all the faith in me!!

Luck for me I found a stand-up house cake pan by Wilton from Michael's Crafts which I used for the house and a 13x9 pan for the graveyard. I baked this white cake recipe (which I had to triple), with a buttercream frosting (gel colors included brown, black, purple, orange and green).

Coming all together

I put a couple Oreos in a food processor for the dirt walkway, black sprinkles on top of the roof, Milano cookies for the gravestones, and white chocolate pumpkins tinted orange around the house I made from a mold (those were add-ons at the last minute and not pictured).

Still need to work on my writing, it's hard! It doesn't help that I have child-like handwriting anyway! :)

The birthday girl asked for a flying witch, I made a few attempts at a witch on the roof but it was an epic failure so I opted for a witch in the window in the back of the house.

I hope to post a picture of the birthday girl with her cake...