Pumpkin Blondies

On Saturday, my friend Mary and I celebrated her birthday. We had a lovely leisurely lunch and did some local shopping. It was nice shopping local. It is not something we do enough of.

I made her a batch of these lovely blondies. I had found the recipe on Thursday and made them on Saturday. They are super moist and flavorful. Just an explosion of flavors in your mouth. These bars would be great for a party or outing. They are a tall bar in a 9 x 13 pan. They cut very nicely also.

I pulled out this baking dish for the photo. My Mother gave it to me for Christmas last year. Never been used. I really need an idea of something to bake in it.

Pumpkin Blondies
adapted from browneyedbaker.com

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks) melted and cooled
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (15ounce) can pure pumpkin puree
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, add melted butter and both sugars. Mix until completely smooth. Add egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture and mix until just blended. Fold in butterscotch and white chocolate chips and pecans. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Until knife comes out clean. Set pan on wire rack to cool completely. Cut bars and start eating. Bars can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days. IF they last that long.

It is a full bowl of batter. This is a very satisfying little dessert.

They are also husband approved and Mary wants the recipe.

Fudgey Nutella Cookies

Again, going out on a limb. These are the EASIEST cookies I have EVER made. Once in awhile, I hear, "I am just not a baker." Anyone can make these. FIVE ingredients. That is all. This is not a huge recipe. I made 25 nice size cookies. Might ever get 26, if you do not taste test the dough.

This recipe is easy and great. Fabulous home made cookies. We also decided that they would be Perfect as a Ice Cream Sandwich.

Wow, One cookie. I forgot to take the picture before we went to my Sister's house for dinner. Lone Ranger

Fudgey Nutella Cookies

Ingredients

1 13oz container of Nutella (small size)
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup of flour
1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with Silpat or Parchment Paper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until all ingredients are well combined. Place dough in freezer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, scoop dough into approximately one inch balls. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan until cookies are set. Carefully transfer to a wire rack.

Letting them sit in the freezer, let the soft ingredients firm up slightly

They were such a perfect cookie. Slightly crunching on the outside and moist and delicous on the inside.



Lone Ranger ~ Last Cookie Left

Pop/Corn Puff Caramel Corn

What have I found. A hugely addicting snack. I could literally eat the whole pan. I really should not even make it. My whole family could eat it all. I bought a huge container of it to my sisters yesterday, and at the end of the night, there were only a few scraps left. I made a sandwich baggie for my Mom. Happy Birthday. We ate your treat. It was so freaking good.

Popcorn, Corn Puffs and some Peanuts ~ Wow Shayla ~ you are going out on a limb. This is amazing. AND Easy. It melts in your mouth. No wonder why I need to go to the Dentist. Sweet ~ Salty ~ Crunchy. Pure Heaven. The first time I had this, I was at a 40th birthday party for one of my neighbor ladies. Another neighbor lady made this. Pure delicious. So the next day, after the bottle of wine wore off, I was on Foodgawker.com. I needed to find the recipe for my new addiction.

Most recipes out there, just use the corn puffs. I of course had to modify the recipe. Make it better.

Add some pop corn, a cup of roasted peanuts, and you can go from there.

Pop-Corn Puff Caramel Corn

Ingredients

1 3 1/2 ounce bag of corn puffs
1 microwave bag of pop corn - popped
1 cup dry roasted peanuts (optional)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Line a large roasting pan or cookie sheet with tin foil. (you will be happy you did when you clean up.)
Place corn puffs, popcorn and peanuts in the large pan.
In a medium sauce pan, cook together butter, brown sugar, corn syrup for two full minutes, stirring constantly.
Add baking soda to the mixture. Mix thoroughly
This will cause the mixture to foam.
Pour caramel mixture over the puffs/popcorn/nut mixture. Continue mixing
Place pan in oven for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven ever 15 minutes and stir thoroughly. Place back in oven.
Once your 45 minutes is over, remove pan from oven and let cool.

Break up and eat.


This is why you need a large enough pan. The baking soda causes the sauce for foam up and change color

As you continue to stir and bake, all the corn gets covered in the syrup. Salty and Sweet all in one.

Can you taste it melting in your mouth??

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
I have been cooking and baking up a storm. My oldest stepson came home from Colorado. It is great having him home, even for a short visit. Tonight for Halloween, my Mother is coming over for dinner. After the Trick or Treaters, we are having Broccoli - Potato soup. It has been much cooler and windy here, so soup will do the trick.

Last weekend, I baked for a fundraiser. I made cookies, delicous breads and caramel corn puff/popcorn. I will post this recipe next week. I am making it for my Mother's birthday party on Sunday. She has always been a caramel corn fan.

We have costumes for our cats for Halloween. My pretty Apple Jax hates costumes. She is being tortured with this giraffe hat on. My Husband and I laughed so hard.

If you could have heard all the hissing and growling out of the Princess. She was ready to bolt. When the hat came off, she was gone like lightening to a dark spot in the bedroom. I do love her whiskers.

Black Cherry is also not happy, but if you started petting him, he was find. We will use him to perform tonight for the kids. He loves all the attention. Needy boy.

Happy Halloween, enjoy your tricks and treats .... and be safe out there ... always lots of crazies out.

Four and Ten Years Ago

Today's blog is a very mixed emotion blog. There are no food recipes today. Maybe later on.

Four years ago today, my Dad died in a sudden tragic accident. In a moment he was gone, and our lives changed forever. This is one of the reasons why I am writing this blog. To share my love for food and life

This is the blue shirt picture.

When he died we were looking for the right picture for his obituriary, and this picture was on my camera. Digital photos are sometimes never seen. And now that he is gone, some many people have this picture. My Dad always has a smile and a kind word. He always wave and stopped to talk. Even if for a minute. He almost always had somewhere to go. My Dad worked very hard his whole life. His success came from getting up every morning and "hitting it hard" and being grateful for his family. He loved my Mother so much and he was always proud of his Daughters. (well most of the time)

He was number 7 out of 10 children. He loved each one of his brothers and sisters. He family bond was very strong. He knew when most of his nieces and nephew were born. (what kind of car he had and how the weather was then) My Dad suffered a lot of tragedy early in life. But he did not complain. One of his most noted phrases was, " Stop complaining, there is always someone worse of than you." And usually he was right.


Ten years ago today, my Dad walked me down the aisle for the second time. We both felt that I had it right this time. I was marrying the person I belonged with and wanted to spend the rest of my life with. My Husband and I both had first marriages that were Wrong. I was so happy on that day ten years ago. And I am still happy today.

Four years ago, when I called my Husband to tell him my Dad had died. He could not believe it. My Dad was healthy and strong. He could not be gone, and yet he was. My Husband and my two brother-in-laws all lost a strong father figure. He was always the legend they had to live up to.

My Husband stepped up and had to support his once strong wife. The grief we all stuggled with was unbelieveable. We always just wanted check out and go to bed. As each day pasted, each month went by, and each anniversary clicked off, we went back to being Butch's daughters.

My Dad was a very charitable person. He gave of his time and his money. It brought him great happiness to help people who were struggling or in need. That is one strong trait that he passed on to his daughters, son-in-laws and grand children.

My Family likes good meals, great desserts and lots of conversation. Our lives have been centered around a kitchen table. Problems discussed, tears of joy and sadness have flowed over the years. I could tell you so many "Butchy" stories and even Husband stories. That is why I will continue with this blog.

As I close today, Smile freely. Give Hugs freely. Stop and Talk to someone. Help someone in need. And Just Love. That is what makes this world a better place.

Best Buttermilk Pancakes - Waffles

I love Waffles. I have always loved Waffles. When I was a young child, my mom would make waffles for us on Saturday mornings. She always baked on Saturdays. Muffins, coffee cakes or waffles. Our friends always like spending the night on Fridays, because my Mother would whip something up for us. So many wonderful memories, sitting around the kitchen table eating one of her creations. Wonderful

My Mom always made home made waffles. I never had an Eggo waffle until my twenties. And I realized how gross it tasted. A piece of cardboard with butter and syrup. BAD.

When my Florida sister turned 40, she published a small cookbook of her 40 favorite recipes. It was such a wonderful idea. My sister is a fabulous cook. She can make so many different types of food. I may borrow a few of her other recipes for this blog. My sister is a wonderful pancake maker. She has made loads of batches of pancakes for her boys and extended family. I am not a great pancake maker. I make waffles. And that is how that works for me and my family.

My sister loves to top her pancakes with fresh fruit. They look beautiful and are healthier for you. We both agree that real maple syrup is the best compliment to these pancakes or waffles. Last year I purchased online Maple Syrup from Cooks Illustrated. Well worth the money.

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes - Waffles
adapted from Suzi

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons melted butter
2 large eggs - room temperature - Separated
fresh fruit for garnish

Directions
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside
In a large bowl combine the buttermilk, butter and egg yolks. Mix together
In a second medium bowl with a stand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Add dry ingredients into the buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in beaten egg whites until just combined.

If you are making pancakes, heat a lightly butter griddle. For each pancake, gently spoon out a 1/4 cup of batter. Cook until top starts to bubble. Flip and cook about another minute or until brown.

If you are making waffles. preheat and spray waffle maker. Gently pour batter into waffle iron. Try not to overflow. It will ooze out all over your counter.

That was TOOOOOO full.

These waffles are light and fluffy. The egg whites and butter provide for a crispy exterior. This is a quick recipe for a homemade breakfast. They are so much better than the frozen waffles out there. Waffles, butter, fruit, and syrup all mixed together. What a great way to start the day.



Pumpkin Bread

Well so much for doing this post on Monday. After my super crazy weekend, and everything was a success, I am was VERY tired. Feeling pretty beat up. Since I had enough brains to use Monday for a vacation day, I got to do things that I never usually do. (at a Job)

In the morning I was doing laundry and cleaning house. I decided we need some bread. So I whipped up a batch of Banana Honey walnut bread. (see earlier post for recipe) Delicious as always, and I still had some energy.  So I made a batch of Pumpkin Bread. This bread is a super moist bread. It contains enough spices to give it so much flavor. I also like that it makes two loaves, so you always have one for yourself and one to give to someone special.

As much of a Spring - Summer person as I am, Fall always brings out so much baking for me. Maybe it is just warming up the house with bake goods. Trying the Pumpkin, the Apples and soon the Cranberries. There is actually more than "just Banana Bread." SO many more breads to look forward to..

Pumpkin Bread
adapted by ME

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup oil
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup crushed granola or crushed granola bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray two loaf pans. Set aside

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, bring together sugars, eggs, and oil until blended. Add pumpkin and vanilla extract until mixed well.

Gradually fold in dry ingredients into the wet. Blend, but do not overmix. Pour batter into two loaf pans. Sprinkle with granola on top if you like. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Insert toothpick, clean - good.

Let loaves cool and rests for 15 to 20 minutes. Invert on plates and let sit for an hour before cutting. Enjoy

A little cinnamon butter or cream cheese would make this just heavenly.