Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

It's that time of year - Pumpkin Time! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin in your coffee, and here is a recipe for some amazing pumpkin bread! It's great for breakfast or as a dessert. I made a few loafs, froze 2, and took them out to thaw at room temperature the night before I wanted to cut into them. Make 3 in October, eat one right away, bring one out for Thanksgiving, and then again in December - Enjoy!

Prep time: 15min - Bake time: 40min - Yields 3 mini loaves (5 3/4 inches long X 3 inches wide X 2 inches deep)
Ingredients
For Cheese Batter:
   8oz cream cheese, room temperature
   1 large egg, room temperature, lightly beaten
   1/4 c powdered sugar
   1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Pumpkin Batter:
   3/4 c brown sugar
   2 large eggs
   3/4 c pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
   2 tbsp canola oil
   1 tsp vanilla extract
   1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
   1/4 tsp baking soda
   1 1/4 tsp baking powder
   1/4 tsp salt
   3/4 tsp cinnamon
   1/2 tsp nutmeg
   1/4 tsp ginger
   1/8 tsp cloves
Butter to grease pans

Instructions

   1. Preheat oven to 350F; lightly grease 3 mini loaf pans with butter.

   2. For the cheese batter, use a handheld electric mixer to beat together all ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy.

   3. For the pumpkin spice batter, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, then stir in the pumpkin, canola oil, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet, being careful not to over-mix.

   4. Divide the pumpkin batter between the 3 loaf pans, then pour the cheese batter on top. Bake until golden around the edges, about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean or with just a couple crumbs.

    5. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Blueberry Muffins

Oh blueberries - how do I love thee? Let me could the ways: in my yogurt, in my bread, and in My Muffins! I went to the store the other day and the had blueberries on sale, tons of them, and they were as big as marbles! I HAD to bake and muffins were the obvious choice. So here's what I made, they were super yummy and the blueberries burst in your mouth, plus the cinnamon and nutmeg are a unique addition. Make them at your next brunch!

Prep time: 20min - Cook time: 25min - Makes 16-18 muffins

Ingredients

   12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

   1 1/4 c sugar

   1/4 c light brown sugar

   3 large eggs, room temperature

   2 tsp vanilla extract

   8 oz light sour cream

   1/4 c fat free milk

   2 1/2 c flour

   2 tsp baking powder

   1/2 tsp baking soda

   1/2 tsp cinnamon

   1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

   1/2 tsp salt

   1 pint fresh blueberries

Instructions

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 16-18 paper muffin cups in muffin tins.

   2. Cream butter and sugar together in a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

   3. With mixer on low speed, slowly add eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream and milk.

   4. In a separate bowl, whisk dry ingredients together until fully combined.

   5. With mixer still on low, slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until just combined.

   6. Turn mixer off. Using a spatula, fold in blueberries until evenly distributed within the batter.

   7. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling cups nearly to the brim.

   8. Bake 25 mins, or until tops begin to brown and a cake-tester comes out clean. Let cool on a baking rack. Serve warm.

Banana Cupcakes

I'm always looking for new recipes for bananas. Whenever I buy a bunch there always seems to be one that doesn't get eaten before it starts to brown and neither me or my husband like bananas with any spots on them :p  so I put that banana in the freezer and after awhile I have a freezer full of ripe bananas. That's usually my signal that I need to bake. Stumbled upon this beaut of a recipe and made it last night. OMG the smell coming out of my oven was worth it enough to make them, then the peanut butter frosting just added that touch of awesomeness! So I'm sharing it with you!

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup ripe banana, mashed

Preheat oven to 350* F
Cream butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy
Add eggs and vanilla and mix until batter is smooth
Combine all dry ingredients and mix into batter in 3 parts, alternating with buttermilk
Reduce speed to low and mix for 2 min
Using a spatula, gently fold mashed bananas into batter
Scoop into lined cupcake pan until cups are 3/4 full
Bake for 25min and let cool on wire racks
Makes 18 cupcakes

Peanut Butter Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tbsp milk

Cream together first 3 ingredients, add peanut butter and milk and mix until smooth
Frost to your hearts content!!

*Helpful Hints!!
Your butter is frozen solid? Put in the microwave and nuke for 10 sec, turn, nuke 10 sec, turn, nuke 10 seconds, turn, nuke 10 seconds (get all four sides) Vwala! Perfectly smooth butter
Don't have butter milk? Get a 1 cup liquid measuring cup, add 1 tbsp white vinegar, add milk to the 1 cup line, wait 5-10 min until milk looks curdled and stir, good buttermilk alternative in a pinch (this is what I used for my cupcakes and they turned out very delish in my book!!)

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Got an order placed for chocolate chip cookies and I thought, how hard can that be, there are recipes everywhere! That's the problem, there are recipes EVERYWHERE!! Where to start? I stumbled upon this website: Perfect! There are sooooo many tips, maybe too many tips, but they were helpful. I feel like they turned out pretty good! A little bit of crunch on the edges, chewy in the center, sweet and buttery! Hope you enjoy them as well!

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes approx 3 dozen

2 3/4 c (14.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 c (4 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 c (4 oz) Crisco (plain or butter flavored, I prefer plain)
1 c (6.5 oz) light brown sugar
1 c minus 2 T (6.5 oz) white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 c (10 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips (Hershey's brand is best)

Variations- replace chocolate chips with:
Lemon White Chocolate- 1 T citric acid, 1 T lemon extract, 1 1/2 c white chocolate chips
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut- 3/4 c white chocolate chips, 3/4 c chopped macadamia nuts
White Chocolate Craisin- 3/4 c white chocolate chips,  3/4 c craisins
M&M- 1 c mini M&Ms or 1 1/2 c regular M&Ms
Milk Chocolate Toffee- 1 1/2 c milk chocolate toffee bits

1. In a small bowl mix the flour, salt, and baking soda until the ingredients are (1)evenly distributed.  Set aside.

2. Using a wire whisk attachment of a stand mixer,  (2)cream the butter and shortening on high until light and fluffy 1-3 minutes.

3. Add both sugars and beat on high 1-2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until fully incorporated.

4. Switch to a paddle attachment.  (3)Add the chocolate chips and mix gently. 

5. Add the flour mixture and mix until (4)just incorporated. 

6. Touch test the dough.  It should feel slightly sticky, but not much should stick to your finger.  If it is very sticky add flour 2T (.5 oz) at a time.  If it is firm or dry, you have added too much flour and I don’t know a good way to reverse this.

7. Using your (6)hands, roll the dough into balls 1.5 inches tall (for bigger cookies see instructions above).  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet 3 inches apart. 

8. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.  You can hold the dough up to two days in the refrigerator or up to six months in the (7)freezer.

9. (8)15-20 minutes before baking, position the oven rack to the second highest setting. Preheat the oven to 375. 

10. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and bake (9)8-10 minutes.  They are ready to come out of the oven when they are domed and puffy, show a few signs of browning and look a bit underdone. 

11. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for (10)2 minutes.  Remove them to a cooling rack so they will cool evenly.  Wait ten minutes, then serve your Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie!

 

Protein Energy Bites

I found a recipe for these energy bites but tweaked them a little to make them even better for you!

They are so yummy and a great pre or post work-out snack!

No-Bake Energy Bites

(makes 18-20 bites)

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter 

(or other nut butter - I use PB2 mixed with water or milk)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

  1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I like dark choc pieces)

2 tbsp chocolate or vanilla protein powder

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy!  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Easy Cream Cheese Frosting

Here's an easy cream cheese frosting recipe - great on red velvet cookies :)

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 cup softened butter
4 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Mix the softened butter with the softened cream cheese and the vanilla until the mixture is smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar in 1/2 cup increments until the frosting is of proper spreading consistency.

Car Seat Cover

So far I've made 2 of these for my niece and my sister gets so many compliments on them! I use to make Baby Bunches a lot for baby shower gifts where I fold baby clothes into flowers but I think I'll start doing these. I even placed a ribbon on the underside so you can clip toys to the inside of the cover. If you'd like me to make one for you just contact me. Prices run $25 unless you want specialty fabric.

Make your own here!