With the leaves changing colors and Halloween coming up I felt like trying out some pumpkin desserts. I didn't have any recipes so I checked out one of my favorite blogs, skinnytaste and tried out these two recipes: Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Chocolate Glaze and Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting. Everyone who tried these really liked them. The cookies especially were a big hit. Check out the recipes below:
Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Chocolate Glaze
Ingredients
4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
For the chocolate glaze:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 Tbsp milk
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with silicone mat.
2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg, beat well. Mix in pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, spice, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add to pumpkin mixture. Mix well.
4. Drop by round tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto silicone lined baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire rack.
5. For the glaze: Whisk the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Place in a ziplock bag. Seal the bag and but the point off of one corner and drizzle onto cookies.
Tip: Don't feel like buying buttermilk for just one recipe, use this alternative.
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Betty Crocker Golden Vanilla or French Vanilla Super Moist Cake Mix
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup water
For the cream cheese frosting:
8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
5 Tbsp packed brown sugar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers.
2. Combine cake mix and pumpkin spice in a large bowl. Add pumpkin puree and water. Mix for about 2 minutes.
3. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. For the frosting, combine the cream cheese, pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar until smooth. Use a spatula to put the icing on the cupcakes.
Tip: These cupcakes are good enough without the frosting if you're looking for something more muffin-like rather than cake-like.
Credit goes to skinnytaste for both these delicious recipes.
Well I think the weather has officially indicated that it's fall now...personally I'm a much bigger summer person, but I do love the food that comes with fall: apples, corn, warm soup...the list goes on. With the weather getting colder, I was in the mood for something warm. And that something ended up being chili. This recipe is really easy (just takes 10-15 minutes of prep), and it makes some great leftovers...always a plus :)
Ingredients
1 to 1.5 lbs ground beef or ground turkey, browned and drained
1 can of dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can of light red kidney beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of pinto beans, drained
2 cans of stewed or diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 Tbsp chili powder
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Directions
1. Brown the meat in a big pot (a stockpot for example).
2. After the meat is browned and drained, add the remaining ingredients. After adding all the ingredients, fill one of the tomato cans with water and add that to the pot.
3. Stir all the ingredients together and let simmer for 30 minutes. You can simmer for longer than this if you like; the longer it simmers, the more flavorful it becomes.
4. After simmering for 30 minutes, do a taste test and add any additional chili powder and/or Tabasco sauce to your liking.
Emily's Thoughts
The great thing about this recipe is that it's flexible and you can easily adjust it based on your taste. For example, I'm not a huge spice person, but I like a little Tabasco sauce in there, so I add some until it's spicy enough for me. Also, sometimes I like to add veggies to my chili. You can really add whatever you want, but I've used corn, carrots, zucchini, and green peppers in the past.
Some people like their chili plain, but personally I recommend serving yours over elbow macaroni, with cheese sprinkled on top, and a dollop of sour cream to top it off.
Also, being that you're using a lot of canned items in this recipe, I recommend looking for low sodium beans at the store.
Now give this simple and easy recipe and enjoy it as the leaves and temperatures start to change this fall!
I was recently watching something on TV (I can't remember what now), and they were eating peach cobbler. That made me start to crave my mom's peach cobbler. So I got the recipe from her and decided to give it a shot. I thought it turned out deliciously. The recipe is really easy. The only time-consuming thing is peeling the peaches, and that doesn't really take that long. I highly suggest trying this recipe out :)
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 cups sliced and peeled peaches (about 6 medium)
1 tsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
Directions
1. Heat oven to 400
2. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in saucepan. Stir in peaches and lemon juice. Cook stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils.
3. Boil and stir peaches for 1 minute.
4. Pour into ungreased casserole dish or pyrex dish (the square size is good). Keep fruit mixture warm in oven.
5. In a separate bowl combine flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter/margarine into mixture until it resembles fine crumbs.
6. Stir in milk.
7. Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto hot peach mixture.
8. Bake until topping is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.
Credit to my mom for making this recipe so many times over the years. And credit to Betty Crocker for giving the recipe to her initially.
