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It is September … already! Halloween merchandise is popping up in stores … Christmas too! I know it happens every year at this time … but I’m still amazed how quickly time passes! Summer just can’t be over … I … Continue reading
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Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing … a favorite for so many people. I love cream cheese icing … can you see the flecks of vanilla bean in the photo above? I love, love, love it 🙂 Now, true … Continue reading
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Do you remember my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from last week? It seems like we all have an opinion about the way we like our cookies. Some like chewy … some crispy … oh, don’t forget the nuts … maybe chocolate … Continue reading
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OR THE DOUBLE RAINBOW VERSION FOR THE KIDS … Green waffle batter + a little cocoa + cream cheese topping = green velvet waffles! Consider the warm maple syrup “the gold” at the end of this rainbow. This breakfast is … Continue reading
Red Velvet Bottom Cupcakes
Chocolate Caramel Salty Peanut Bark
I would like to say “THANK YOU” to everyone who voted for me in the Celebrations Cupcake Crown contest!
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Today, I am on my way to a surprise birthday celebration for my sister-in-law. She should be in the car and on the road right now … so this is still a secret from her. Red velvet is one of … Continue reading
It’s November and I just realized that I haven’t made anything with pumpkin! I have thought about pumpkin, a lot … cut recipes out of magazines … printed recipes from other blogs … gone thru old recipes … even bought two pie pumpkins … but I still had not baked anything pumpkin! So, I finally did it … and actually came up with a new creation. I hope you enjoy it.
Before I started to make these cookies, I had decided to call them Pumpkin Pie Cookies. Then as soon as I started rolling the dough into balls, then rolling them in sugar with spices … I realized how much they remind me of making Snickerdoodles … and they became Pumpkindoodles!
I will take this time to apologize for the photos … I started this project in the day … and continued at night … I bake better than I take pics … someday I’ll take better pics … someday I’ll get a “big girl” camera … maybe I should learn to use what I have.
First, make the cookie dough –
Have you tried vanilla bean paste? I think that it adds something special … a richer deeper vanilla flavor … and little flecks of color …
Cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar … see how thick and rich the vanilla paste is … don’t worry if you don’t have the paste, vanilla extract also works well …
It will look like this …
Mix in the flour and salt …
Cover and set aside …
Now, make the pumpkin filling …
Mix cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice …
Mix until well combined …
Set it aside …
Mix up more sugar and pumpkin pie spice to roll the cookies in …
Start the assembly line … roll the cookie dough in balls, about the size of a walnut … then flatten slightly … and dip it in the sugar mixture …
Lay the cookie dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet …
Make a well in the center of the cookie … I used my knuckle … I guess they could be “knuckle print” cookies, not “thumb print” cookies … sorry, I couldn’t resist …
I put the filling in a plastic zip top bag … snipped the corner off … and squeezed the filling into the cookies …
Bake the cookies … cool the cookies … consume the cookies … yum!
P.S. The cookie dough may seem familiar … it is 1/2 recipe of my favorite Shortbread Cookies.
Cookies
Filling
Sugar Mixture
Make the cookie dough – Cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar. Add the flour and salt. Mix until blended. The dough will be stiff.
Make the filling – Cream together the cream cheese, pumpkin, spice and sugar.
Make the sugar mixture – In a small bowl, mix the sugar and spice.
Roll the cookie dough in balls about the size of a walnut (1″ to 1-1/4″), flatten slightly. Roll the dough in the sugar mixture and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Make a well in the cookie dough and fill with pumpkin filling (spoon it or pipe it in the well). Bake at 375°F for 11-13 minutes or until lightly golden on edges of the cookie. Cool completely. Makes about 36 cookies. Store in a covered container, not airtight.
I can’t believe that October has come … and is almost gone! All the other holidays will be here before we know it. Time sure does fly when you are having fun! I certainly have had fun sharing my ideas with you … and there are more to come 🙂
Here is a quick summary of Halloween …
The Bride of Frankenstein Pops
Black bottom cupcakes with spider webs
And for fall … this is what I have made so far …
Peanut butter & chocolate acorns
Now I am off to the kitchen …
Black bottom cupcakes have been around forever. They truly are oldies but goodies. The best of two worlds … cake and cheesecake all rolled into one … yum!
I usually don’t make colored filling for these cupcakes … but it is Halloween after all! And the spider webs could be used on any cupcake or by themselves.
I will give you the recipe and directions for making the spider webs. So let’s get started …
Make the filling. Mix the cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth …
Stir in the chocolate chips …
Stir in the orange food coloring (I use Americolor about 3 drops) …
Now make the chocolate cake. Whisk together the dry ingredients … flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda …
Add the wet ingredients … water, oil, vinegar and vanilla … stir until smooth …
Fill lined cupcake pans (1/3 full) …
Add the filling … (you could sprinkle some chopped nuts on top at this point) and bake …
While the cupcakes are baking, we can make the spider webs. You will need …
I have a tendency to lose control over the size of things … so I drew 2-1/2″ circles on a sheet of paper as a guideline for the size of my spider webs …
I placed the paper on a cookie sheet and covered it with wax paper …
On top of the wax paper, make a small puddle (about the size of your thumbnail) of melted white chocolate and work the spiral out …
Using the toothpick, drag the white chocolate from the center to the outside rim …
Add a chocolate chip (spider body) to the center of the web …
Pop the webs into the fridge for a few minutes to firm up. Then use the marker to give the spider some legs and lay the webs on to of the cooled cupcakes …
1. In a small bowl, mix cream cheese, egg and 1/3 cup sugar until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and 1 cup sugar. Stir in water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
3. Fill lined cupcake pans 1/3 full with chocolate mixture. Spoon cheese mixture on top. Sprinkle with nuts if desired.
4. Bake at 350°F 30-35 minutes. Do not overbake. Makes 24 cupcakes.
I do recommend serving these cupcake after they are completely cooled. I like to refrigerate them … but I like cold cheesecake.
Today, as promised, I frosted the Mystery Spice Cake. I used Cream Cheese Icing and added about one extra cup of powdered sugar to stiffen up the icing. Usually I don’t use Cream Cheese Icing for decorating because it softens so easily.
Let me take this time to confess that I am not a professional cake decorator, as you will soon see. What I visualize in my mind does not always translate to the cake. I just keep practicing!
I baked and froze my cake yesterday because I believe that freezing helps the cake to retain its moisture. Plus, I find it easier to handle and frost a frozen cake. As you can see, the cake is standing on its side and I am balancing it with one finger … and it is not falling apart!
Put a dollop of icing on the plate to help prevent the cake from slipping around …
Apply a thin coat of icing … some call this a “crumb coat” because it seals in the crumbs … some call it “dirty icing” …
Don’t worry if it’s not pretty …
I like fast and easy decorating … and texture can add interest. I used tip #17 and created swirls, starting in the center working my way out …
I would use this type of decoration for many occasions …
Since it is fall … I colored the icing orange … used tip #199 and made what I hope would look like pumpkins …
I use broken pretzel sticks as stems …
Using green icing make vines with tip #2 …
The weather warmed up this afternoon and the pumpkins show it! Make leaves with tip #352 … remember to hold the tip so that it looks like a bird’s beak …
I made a little red icing to try to make an apple … I’m not sure about it …
Enjoy …
With the addition of sooo much cream cheese icing, I believe this cake could serve 10 people.
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SWEET SIMPLE STUFF 