Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are my all time favorite cookie so I really wanted to turn it into a fall cookie.  Pumpkin puree was the best choice I thought so that is what I added into the cookie along with a few pumpkin pie spices.  These turned out to be one of the best Chocolate chip cookies I have ever had and you cannot even taste the pumpkin.  The spices do come out just a little bit but they give the cookie just a new level of goodness.

First you will need to get a pie pumpkin ( you can use the pumpkin puree in a can but I did not like the flavor it gave the cookies)  Cut the pumpkin in half and clean out.  Lay the inside of the pumpkin face down in a baking dish.  Add a little water to the base of the baking dish put into the oven at 350 degrees.  Bake until the meat of the pumpkin is soft.
Once the pumpkin comes out of the oven spoon the meat into a mixing bowl.  With a hand mixer whip the meat into a puree.  Add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg,  and 3 table spoons of heavy whipping cream, whip until nice and creamy.  Set aside to cool.

Time to get your cookie batter mixed.  Use an electric mixer for this part. :)
Ingredients:  
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp.
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup of your pumpkin puree
1 large egg, at room temp.
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:    Oven at 350 degrees
1.  Combine butter, brown sugar, and regular sugar into the mixing bowl.  Mix on medium for one minute and make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the pumpkin puree and mix for another minute.  Time to add in the egg and vanilla extract mix until well combined. 
2.  In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.  Slowly begin to add to the wet mixture and combine well.
3.  Time for the chocolate chips.  Add them in and fold, do not use the electric mixture. 
4. Drop balls onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
5.  EAT while hot or allow to cool.

Mickey Mouse Club House

My little girl just loves to watch Mickey Mouse Club house so when I was given a couple chances to make cakes for two parties I was excited.  Of course she was sad when they where not for her at the end, but she got her own cake pop for watching and helping me which always helps. :)
The first party was for a little girl who was turning four.  Her mom ordered a two tier cake, cupcakes, and cake pops.  I have already done an entry on how to make the cake pops, so please go check that one out on the how to.

I covered the cake in Butter cream frosting and used fondant for the decoration.  The Mickey hat on top was melting chocolate that I free handed.  I added tooth picks to the bottom of the hat in order to stick it into the cake.  The mickey heads (made with fondant) was cut out with a cookie cutter I found on eBay.

These cupcakes where so much fun and easy to do.  Buy regular and mini oreos, melting chocolate, and a bow mold for Minnie.  Lay out your cookies on a cookie sheet and with the melting chocolate pipe to attach the cookies together.  Place into the fridge to help the chocolate to harden.  Make your Minnie bows then attach them with a little extra melting chocolate.  Make sure to have them set before placing them on the cupcakes.

This next cake was made for a set of twins who where about to turn one.  This three tier cake was covered with butter cream again and decorated with fondant.  I made the house and hand glove by hand, the stars with a cookie cutter.  The stars on the top I used a thin wire so they looked like they where in the sky. 

Fall Bread Pudding

Eggnog Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

 

 

I love to watch the show Chopped on the Food Network and so many chefs for the dessert round make bread pudding.  I have never been a fan of bread pudding because of the texture. So why did I make bread pudding? Well, I had some scones left over from a festival we attended and was unsure what to do with them.  While shopping for milk one day I came across some eggnog, which my husband is amazed its out this early in the season, but who cares I love me some eggnog.  I told my self that an eggnog bread pudding would be so yummy and why not throw in some apples and caramel bits.  I, of course, had no idea how to make bread pudding so I pulled out my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook to learn the foundation of a good bread pudding and then began to create my own Pudding.  I hope you enjoy this as much as my husband and I did!!

 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups eggnog

1/4 cup stick butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

4 medium sized plan scones

4 small apples, peeled and grated

1 cup caramel bits

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven 350 degrees.  You will want to bake this in a ramekin baking dish and spray well with oil.

2.  Heat eggnog and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter has melted.  Do not allow it to boil or your eggnog will go bad.

3.  In a big mixing bowl mix together sugar, nutmeg, salt, and eggs.  Chop scones into nice square chunks throw into bowl and fold until covered.

4.  Peel your apples and grate.  Add grated apples and caramel bits into the bowl and fold

5.  Add the warm eggnog and stir till everything is well covered.  Pour into your baking dish.  Place your baking dish into a larger dish and fill the bottom dish with water.  Place into the oven.  This will bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until the center comes out clean on the testing knife.

 

Time to make the whipped cream topping

You need:

Heavy Whipping cream

powder sugar

imitation Rum

In an electric mixer add two cups of heavy whipping cream and 1 1/2 teaspoons of imitation Rum.  Turn mixer onto high and allow to whip.  When the cream begins to thicken start to add small amounts of powder sugar.  I go by taste and not measurement so add how much you like depending on your sweet tooth. :)  Whip until the stiffness has a nice peek.  Add a nice heap of whipped cream to the top of a serving of warm Bread pudding.  Melt a few of the Caramel bits and drizzle over the top.
You are now allowed to enter sweet, yummy goodness heaven.

Apple Caramel Cupcakes

  I'm into anything caramel apple this fall and these are extra yummy!!  When I was shopping for new goodies for baking I found these caramel bits that I thought would be awesome for cupcakes and they worked out amazing.  Every time you bit into this cupcake you get a mouthful of gooey goodness.

Apple Caramel cupcakes with Butter cream frosting and caramel drizzle

 

Cupcake:  (recipe comes from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella)

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 medium-sized tart apples, peeled and shredded

1 cup caramel bits

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Insert liners into cupcake pan.

2. In the mixing bowl beat together the brown sugar, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla on medium speed for about one minute.  Make sure to scrap down the sides of the bowl through out this process.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat for one minute for each egg.

3. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt.

4.  Slowly add in the dry ingredients.  The batter will be the consistency of a dough.  I used a cheese grater to shred the apples.  Add the grated apples to the batter and fold in until the dough has turned into a batter again.  Fold in the caramel bits.

5. Fill cupcake liners and bake for twenty minutes.

After the cupcakes are cooled top with your butter cream frosting and drizzle with caramel sauce. ( hit: you can melt the extra caramel bits to create this sauce)

You will not want to share these cupcakes with anyone else. Enjoy!



Art is the theme part 3

Oh the treats that we had at the party.  I had tons of fun making each treat for the dessert table.  My little lady had so much fun helping me during the week stirring and baking  for her party. 

 

Painters pallet cupcakes and sugar cookies :)

I ordered my cookie cutter from  www.cheapcookiecutters.com

I made sugar cookies and used Butter cream frosting to decorate.  The cupcakes where my Choc. covered strawberry cupcakes.  I also did a few cookies on their own with less frosting.

 

Next we had Rice treat pops that looked like paint brushes.  These are super easy to make: make Rice treats and then cut into rectangles.  Insert a stick into one end and that turns into a Pop.  Add melting Chocolates to the bottom and make it look like paint.  See easy :)



 

 

I had a couple extra things that was done that took but a few moments to do.  Such as paint samples that was just different colored candies that I separated and put into cute little cups.  Also Chocolate dipped strawberries with a Cream cheese filling which was labeled paint buckets.

 

 

Now to the CAKE!!  I learned a new thing do not decorate a cake with M&M's and then put it into the fridge.  When they get cold and then put into a warm room they sweat and it just does not look nice. 

Now the inside of the cake had poka dots which turned out super cute.  Make your white or yellow cake batter put some batter into a couple different bowls.  Add food coloring to make different colored balls.  I have a cakepop maker so I baked the colored batter into balls.

In the cake pan you are using put a thin layer of white cake batter and then put the cake balls in, add more batter on top.

 

Bake your cake now. 

Here is how it looks inside.  I wish I would have putten more balls inside.

Now decorate you cake.  Here is how our art cake turned out.

 

Thank you so much for following along on the journy of my little girls birthday.

 

 





Art is the theme part 2

I have found its hard to have a birthday party with a ton of small children during the present time. Therefore I try to have a grand little party favor for each child that is given right after presents are opened.   This year being an art theme I found disposable paint buckets to hold all the favor goodies.

I then got most of the filler things at the dollar store or the dollar section at Target.  To add our own personal touches we created shaped crayons, Kool-aid play dough, and moon sand. 

Shaped Crayons:
crayons
hammer
silicone mold

I found that if you only put two colors in a mold at a time you have a much better looking shaped crayon.  My little lady put all the colors together and most of them looked like black and brown stars.

Step one:  peel all the crayons and separate by color.

Step two:  Brake up the crayons into tiny pieces.  We used a piece of plywood and wax paper for pounding on and an hammer. 

Step three:  Put broken crayons into the silicone mold spots.  Turn on oven to 350 degrees.   Place mold onto a cookie sheet and put into the oven for five minutes.  Check if all the molds are melted then they are done.  Place onto counter and allow to cool completely.  Pop out of the molds and they are ready to be used.

 

Kool-aid play dough

 

1 cup flour                                 2 tbsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup salt                                2 tbsp oil

1 packet of kool-aid mix           1 cup water

 

Combine the dry ingredients into a stockpot.  Add the oil and water slowly.  Stir until well combined.  Turn on stove to medium heat and stir until the mixture turns into stiff dough.  Put onto wax paper and knead until cool.  Time for playing!! To store put into a zip lock and squeeze out all the air.  Will last for a couple weeks.

Moon Sand:

 

6 cups colored play sand

2 cups cornstarch

1/2 cup glitter (optional)

1 1/2 cups of water

 

Mix sand and cornstarch until smooth.  Slowly add water and stir slowly.  You will want the consistency of stiff wet beach sand. Store in airtight container.

Warning VERY messy!!!