Tag Archives: baking

Perfect Pumpkin Pie.

IMG_6022With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I’d share a recipe with you all for the perfect Pumpkin Pie.  My mom is from the mid-west and therefore she is a pie master.  However, this recipe came right from the can of pumpkin but is perfect because it’s not too sweet but it’s still extremely tasty.  Also, Chelsea and Lindsay got me this awesome pie pan and server from Anthropologie for my birthday so it was so fun to put it to use!

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3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1/4 Tsp Cloves
2 Large Eggs
1 can pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk

Mix the above together and bake @ 425 degrees for 15 minutes then 350 degrees for 40-50 mins.  I used a pre-made pie crust but you can choose a crust of choice.

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Baked Red Velvet Donuts.

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I have an extreme love for donuts even though they make me feel bad after I eat too many, they are just so delicious.  A good friend of mine was moving and gave me a bunch of his baking goods from his kitchen.  One giveaway was a donut pan and a boxed mix (shocker, I’m a sucker for box mixes) and I’d say these turned out pretty good.  They tasted more like cake circles since they weren’t deep fried but there’s nothing wrong with that 🙂

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The box mix was from Stonewall.  Be warned, this red dye is extremely strong.  I’ve been a huge advocate of natural lately so I feel like this goes against my grain but since they tasted pretty good, I thought I’d pass along the info.

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Ready for the oven.

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Perfect cake donuts!

Best Boxed Mix Pumpkin Bread.

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I love to bake but if I’m being honest, I don’t always have the time to whip something up from scratch so I will frequent box baking from time to time :).  I picked up the Pumpkin bread mix from Andronico’s over the weekend and made one of the best box mix pumpkin bread I’ve had (aside from pumpkin bread from scratch, my mom makes the best!).  You have to add real pumpkin puree and of course I modified to ad some dark chocolate chips but it was really simple and delicious!

Chocolate Covered Goodness.

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I’ve met a great group of colleagues at work and we’ve started a cooking club.  Every month or two, one of us will host the rest and we learn how to cook or bake something new.  This time around was a chocolate covered edition.  We went wild dipping and decorating some pretzel wands and strawberries!

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Double boiling the chocolate is a must for success.  White chocolate is harder to keep melted but if you move quickly, you can get a lot out of one batch.

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The dark chocolate double boiled stayed liquid for a long time.

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First step is dipping the goods in chocolate.

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Get your toppings ready!

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We had a lot of fun with this 🙂

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We added a lot of personality to some of the sticks.

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You can even make little faces with different toppings.

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We also made some delicious strawberries.

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And dressed ’em up in tuxes.

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Too cute!

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We boxed up the goods and everyone could take them home.  It’s a great group dessert cooking activity!

Fakin’ It: Cookie Style

SMK_987796A_88862002_GingBrdMix_Ctn_R2_OLWe love cookies! We love to eat cookies! We love to eat holiday cookies even more! There are those special people who kill it when it comes to baking things from scratch, Brittany is one of those people. However, when she arrived at my house with a box of gingerbread cookie mix and said, “screw it, let’s use this box instead” I wiped the sweat from my brow because gingerbread cookies are the hardest to make! I tried once and it took 6 hours and they didn’t even taste good. But this box, this box is magic. All you do is add water and egg and heat those bad boys up in the oven for 8 minutes! It only took us 6 to eat them all up too!

DSC_0370(We grabbed some mint M&M’s and topped the warm cookies)

DSC_0379(And we force fed them to each other too)

DSC_0382(Nom!)

This cookie mix is amazing, they tasted homemade but without all of the hassle!

Baking Bad.

Every year my mom and I attempt to bake. It always ends up with us creating something completely new to the universe. It’s if fudge, it turns into this runny chocolate creation that we just pile on top of ice cream and serve that way. We are just really really bad at baking. This year we tried a couple of no bake recipes that ended up being not only edible but serve-able! We can actually give these to people and they will be excited to eat them! Yipee! Check them out!

Reindeer Treat(A reindeer treat- As cute as it is delicious)

Reindeer Treat(What you need: Marshmallows, Dark Chocolate Chips, Mini Pretzels, Candy Eyes, and Lollipop Sticks)

Reindeer Treat(Step 1: Put on your elf apron! Put a marshmallow on a stick and dip it in the melted chocolate chips)

Reindeer Treat(Step 2: Place your chocolate dipped marshmallow into two mini pretzels- for ears!)

Reindeer Treat(Step 3: Add on candy eyes and a red icing nose)

If you are looking for something even easier…

Graham Cracker Recipe(Ingredients: Graham Crackers, Dark Chocolate Chips, Candy Cane Bits)

Graham Cracker Recipe(Dip Graham Cracker cookies into melted dark chocolate and sprinkle candy cane bits on top. Cool and serve!)

No bake recipes are pretty simple and very delicious! Anything that minimizes the amount of measuring and cooking is a friend of mine! Happy Holidays and have fun baking this season!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

My friend Smita told me about this super easy and delicious breakfast recipe that I had to share with you all! If you love cinnamon rolls and waffles, you HAVE to try this. Maybe even make it for breakfast before your Thanksgiving dinner! It’s one day, right?

Cinnamon Waffle(What you need: a can of cinnamon rolls and a waffle iron)

Cinnamon Waffle(Spray or butter your waffle iron and put three cinnamon rolls in. Close for about 1 minute)

Cinnamon Waffle(Take the cinnamon roll waffle out of the iron and you’re ready to ice it)

Cinnamon Waffle(Ice and eat!)

This is so easy and a real treat. Just make sure not to make it too often!

My Oh My, Pie.

IMG_4880Now that Fall is here, there’s nothing like a good baked treat.  I get all my baking recipes from my mom.  She really knows how to bake up the good stuff so that not only does it taste delicious but your home will smell like a bakery for hours afterward.  Over the weekend she made this delicious apple pie and it was a great way to end the weekend.  IMG_4888

Nothing like a piece of home made whole slice apple pie!

 

DIY – Country Caramel Apple Cake Pops

With the weather getting colder, there is nothing better than a warm sweet treat to end a long day.  We find weekends are the best time to experiment with new cooking and baking recipes.  I saw this cake pop kit at Target and knew we had to give it a go.  Now that I’ve made them, I see how obviously you can make them sans kit.  However, if you are looking for a quick fix this is not your project.  These are pretty time consuming but come out great.

1. Bake the cake.  We chose apple-cinnamon since that is what the cake pops will end up looking like.

2. Make the caramel frosting (You can find a good recipe here).  Break up the cake after cooling for about 15 minutes and mix in half the frosting so the mix is a thick crumbly substance.

3. Ball the cake substance into about 1 inch balls.  Place in freezer until you melt the red chocolate in the next step.

4. Melt red chocolate chips (which you can usually purchase at your local grocery store). You can do this on a stove in a pan or in the microwave which is how I chose to do it.  Be careful though, you don’t want the frosting to burn.

5. Dip stick in frosting, then place stick in the middle of the cake pop.

6. Then roll cake pop in the red frosting.  You have to move fast through this process because the frosting starts to harden.

7. Place in pan so that frosting can harden.

8. Then dip lower half of the cake pop in  in caramel frosting (the half batch you have left from step 2).

9. Top off the cake pop with a little squeeze of green frosting (which you can make like the red frosting, however you don’t need much).

Voila!  You’ve got some adorable cake pops sure to fuel any persons sugar drive.

Enjoy!

Boozin’ and Bakin’

My mom is a great baker and always shows me tricks and tips to help perfect the most delicious dishes.  With apple harvesting being so big this time of year, she shared with me a delicious recipe I knew would taste amazing and get me good and liquored up.  My mom swears by her Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook and now I know why!  This recipe was so simple and a definite crowd-pleaser.  I have to say, I have never been a whiskey fan, I’d go as far as to say that I hate it but put it in a cake and boom- I’m licking the pan.  Does this make me a boozer?  If so, I’m okay with that.

(Two of the most important ingredients)

(I prefer to use an electric mixer on larger cake batters – it makes it much easier to get an even consistency)

(Of course I’m always adding more ingredients than called for.  On top of the fresh apples and pecans, we added raisins to this recipe)

(This recipe also calls for a regular cake pan but we decided to bundt it up.  It made it much more fun to share!)

(The Whiskey carries on into the glaze)

(The glaze should be a pretty thick consistency and you will want the cake to cool a bit before adding the glaze so it doesn’t tear the surface of the cake)

(The glaze will melt into the cake and then it’s ready to serve!)

This is a great Fall recipe that is extremely tasty.  Also, it’s easy to make which is a plus.  Who said boozin’ and bakin’ didn’t go together?! Not me, I just gave a spoonful of frosting to Chelsea about a half hour ago, I better go pick her up where I left her- face down, passed out on Market Street. This cake is that good.