pumpkin pie peanut butter cups

sunday, november 24th

pumpkin pie reese's

so i've discovered chocolate-covered katie: the healthy dessert blog and it's bad news. well, it's great news because i love her recipes. it's bad news because i want to make and (more importantly) eat them every day, all day. this week's sunday baking recipe came from her site and it was a success. with it being the beginning of thanksgiving week, i thought it fitting to do another pumpkin dessert. this was unlike any i've tried and it was a nice change. homemade reese's cups really aren't that hard. i don't know why i haven't tried them before now. it's fun to play with the filling and cater it to a specific time of year or party. #myhubbybetterbeready to try all sorts of homemade reese's cups. this girl ain't gonna stop making them.

pumpkin pie peanut butter cups

melt 1 cup chocolate chips, melted

2 tbsp pumpkin puree (sweet potato would work, too.) 

2 tbsp peanut butter 

1/8 tsp cinnamon (and optional pinch pumpkin pie spice)

melt chocolate chips. fill just the very bottoms of cupcake liners, mini cupcake liners, or candy molds with chocolate, reserving the rest. then freeze 8-10 minutes. meanwhile, combine all other ingredients and stir to form a paste. (if using refrigerated peanut butter, it’s best to heat before mixing). take liners from freezer and top each with filling (1 teaspoon in each of twelve, if using regular cupcake liners). cover with more chocolate, and freeze until solid. best if kept in refrigerator. 

**i ended up using 1 cup of melted chocolate chips just for the bottom of 12 regular sized cupcake liners. i melted another cup or so to put on top of the pumpkin/pb filling. i also used semi-sweet chocolate chips because that was all i had. milk chocolate would have been better im guessing.  i also wish i would have used my mini cupcake pan because my reese's turned out short and squatty. next time. 

(i changed a few things from the original recipe. click here if you want to see it.) 

pumpkin pie brownies

wednesday, november 20th 

chocolate pumpkin pie brownies

sunday baking has become so dear to me that i decided to add another day of baking to my week. i now introduce #whatchagonnabakewednesday to the blog. wednesday baking will be a day for me to share my baking experience with those around me. i usually choose to do sunday baking in solitude but wednesdays will bring friends to the kitchen and good memories will be formed and friendships will be found or strengthened while baking delicious goodies. 

this week i attempted healthy chocolate pumpkin brownies. big success. they turned out so moist and fudge like. the pumpkin flavor was mild but there was just enough to give it that holiday flavor. #myhubbybetterbeready for lots of these in the future. 

chocolate pumpkin pie brownies

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup ww pastry flour (or white, spelt, or even oat flour) *i used white

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp plus 1/16 tsp salt

2/3c sugar or xylitol (or 1/2c maple syrup or agave: it’ll be a bit less cakey with liquid sweetener) *i used xagave

1 packet nunaturals stevia (or 1/32tsp uncut stevia), or 1 more tbsp agave or sugar

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (or pureed pumpkin or sweet potato)

3 tbsp oil (you can omit, but be warned: the brownies will be gummy) *i used the oil

2 tbsp milk of choice

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips (not optional)

combine dry ingredients, and mix very well. combine wet ingredients, then mix into dry. pour into a greased pan (it will fill up half an 8×8). cook for about 23 minutes at 330F. these taste great fresh out of the oven but they're even better after sitting for a while. enjoy and don't feel too guilty--these aren't half bad for you!

original recipe found here. 

skinny chocolate peppermint cake pops

sunday, november 17th

skinny chocolate peppermint cake pops

the holidays are just around the corner and i couldn't be more excited. i'm starting to try out those typical holiday flavors already because there just too many and a couple months isn't enough time to try them all. today i tried cake pops for the first time. they taste delicious, they look great, but they do take time and patience. i found my recipe from gina's skinny recipes in hopes to have this be a little more on the healthy side--how healthy can you get with chocolate, peppermint candies, and cake though. it was worth a shot. my cake pops didn't turn out like the picture (of course, i swear that's always the case) but i did dip my cake pops in crushed peppermints instead of using peppermint chocolate. they still turned out great and i'll keep experimenting so #myhubbybetterbeready for many more holiday treats to come. 

skinny chocolate peppermint cake pops

1 pkg chocolate cake mix

6 oz plain fat free greek yogurt

1 c water

2 large egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

approx. 20 oz candy melts (i tried with chocolate chips also) 

peppermint candy, crushed 

cake pop maker

preheat oven to 350F. spray cake pop maker with baking spray. 

combine all the cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat until combined. place the batter into a pastry bag or large ziplock bag with the tip cut off. 

pipe the bater into the prepared cake pop maker (the one i used is the baby cakes brand, found here) and bake about 5 mins-each batch makes 12 cake pops. place on cooling rack, then refrigerate balls for at least 45 mins. 

melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl (don't add chunks of peppermint candies like i did--it made the chocolate not melt correctly). dip lollipop stick in chocolate, then into the cake ball to hold the stick in place. did the cake pops into the melted chocolate, let the excess drip off (or realistically help spoon it off---it's never as easy as it sounds, darn it), roll in crushed peppermints, then place stick on cake pop cooling rack, styrofoam block, or gift box with holes poked into it (sometimes you need to get creative). 

the recipe originally said it would make 48-50 balls but i got 70, which i assume was the different cake pop maker. 

enjoy!

nutella swirl pumpkin pie.

sunday, november 10th

nutella swirl pumpkin pie. 

be prepared. you will lose all self control and you will continue to eat this pie until it is gone. truth. so make sure you take it to a party or invite a lot of friends over to help you eat it. if not you'll need to hit up the gym for a few hours. or days. #myhubbybetterbeready for all the yummiest *fattiest* desserts there are. 'cause man, there are a lot of them. 

nutella swirl pumpkin pie

3 large eggs

15 ounce can pure pumpkin or 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp salt

½ cup nutella

for my crust recipe revisit my post from sunday, may 12th. shortcut here. 

prepare oven to 350F. in a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. combine with the remaining ingredients (except nutella). set aside ½ cup of filling. pour the rest of the filling in the uncooked pie shell. Mix the reserved cup of pie filling with nutella. drop spoonfuls of nutella mixture onto pie, swirling gently with a knife.

bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is set. The center will still look wet but will not “jiggle” too much. allow to cool completely and serve at room temperature.  

topsy turvy spice cakes.

sunday, november 2nd

topsy turvy spice cake with cream cheese frosting.

my family has been getting together for a monthly sunday dinner. with halloween, our monthly dinner, and a few birthdays all within a couple of weeks i thought it fitting to combine the three and have a very, very unbirthday tea party. everyone dressed up like alice in wonderland characters, we enjoyed chocolate milk and mini cookies, topsy turvy birthday cake, and opening presents. it was quite the celebration and these cakes just made it that much more fun. i didn't want to mess with fondant-not enough patience, time, or $. plus i wanted to make sure the cake tasted good to "my kids" (aka nieces and nephews). they turned out kinda crazy but definitely fun enough for a mad hatter unbirthday tea party. #myhubbybetterbeready - it gets crazy up in the whitaker house.

spice cake

1 pkg spice cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 c oil

1 cup water

mix together and pour into greased pans. bake at 350F. cooking time depends on size of pans; 20-40 mins.

cream cheese frosting

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 T whipping cream

2 T milk

powdered sugar to taste or the consistency you want your frosting

i used a bunch of smaller pans in order to do some layering for the topsy turvy look. i cut most layers in half on a diagonal, and then placed the top half back on the bottom only with the fat sides together. stick a few toothpicks in to help the layers from falling too much. i waited to frost all at the same time but it probably would have been faster *and easier* to frost one layer completely, then add another layer and frost it, etc. i used chocolate chips to help with decorating, as well as colored cream cheese frosting. let your creative juices flow and have fun with it.  

apple pie.

sunday, october 27th

apple pie.

i make pie a lot. get over it. #myhubbybetterbeready 

apple pie

peel, core, and slice: 8-10 apples of choice (granny smiths, fugi, jonathans, no delicious)

in a large tupperware with lid combine:

½ cup white sugar

2 T flour

1 T nutmeg

1 T cinnamon

add sliced apples and shake until coated.

put in unbaked pie shell.

crust:

recipe can be found on an earlier post from sunday, may 12th.

topping:

1 stick melted butter or margarine

1 cup flour

1 cup white sugar

sprinkle topping over apples. bake at 375 degrees until filling bubbles (35-40 minutes). if your topping gets to brown place foil loosely on top.

pumpkin spice muffins.

sunday, october 20th

pumpkin spice muffins.

so in case you can't tell i love pumpkin. a lot. this turned out to be a fantastic muffin recipe. they were so moist and absolutely hit the spot for a fall, pumpkin craving. every meal in the fall should include at least a little pumpkin. hopefully the future mr. likes his pumpkin. #myhubbybetterbeready

pumpkin spice muffins

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon puls 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups granulated sugar

1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin

4 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water or orange juice

directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees. paper-line or grease 30 muffin cups.

combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir just until moistened. spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.

bake for 25-30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. store muffins in covered container or resealable plastic bags.