Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Recipe

Now that it’s October and pumpkin season is here I thought I would share my favorite fall dessert to bake! It’s a bit time consuming but super easy!!

What you’ll need…

For whoopie pies:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

For filling:

• 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar (you may need more than this to reach desired consistency)

In a smaller bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside. In a larger bowl combine sugar, dark brown sugar, canola oil, pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients in the wet ingredients. Using an ice-cream scoop, drop the batter onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the filling, just mix all the ingredients together. You want this to be the consistency of frosting on a cake so add milk if you need to thin out the filling or more powdered sugar to thicken it. Spread the desired amount of filling between the halves before combining them. *Note it makes things easier if you try to match up the halves by size because some will inevitably end up larger than others.

ENJOY!

Cake Batter Fudge Recipe

I was scrolling through my dashboard on Tumblr and came across this recipe. I figured it was so easy that I had to give it a try and I’m glad I did! It turned out so good!!

What you’ll need…

• 2 cups yellow cake mix
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut into small squares
• 1/2 cup milk
• sprinkles

Combine cake mix and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl. Add butter and milk. DON’T STIR YET! Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir immediately until completely combined. Add sprinkles. Don’t overmix because the sprinkle color may bleed. Spread into a greased pan. Refrigerate for at least an hour and enjoy!!

Sparkling Apple Cider Sangria Recipe

I got  a sangria recipe book and a sangria pitcher from my brother for Christmas and they finally made it back to my apartment here in Cali so I thought I would make a pitcher to enjoy during the Golden Globes. As I was flipping through the pages this one stood out and I’m so glad I made it because it was delicious!

What you’ll need…

• 2 apples–cored and sliced
• 2 ounces Calvados
• 2 long strips lemon peel (and 3-4 shorter strips for garnish)
• 2 long strips orange peel (and 3-4 shorter strips for garnish)
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• 750ml bottle light red wine–chilled (I would recommend a Pinot Noir)
• 750ml bottle sparkling nonalcoholic apple cider, chilled

In a large glass pitcher, combine the apple slices, Calvados, long citrus peels and cinnamon. Slowly pour in the wine, stirring gently. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or as long as overnight. I would say that if you can make it a day before hand, do it because then your fruit will have time to really soak in the wine. When you’re ready to serve, add the sparkling apple cider, stir gently and enjoy!

Cornflake Crusted Chicken Fingers Recipe

So I made these the other night and they were delicious and let me tell you, it’s actually a healthy version of chicken fingers.

What you will need…

• 12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 2 cups cornflakes, finely crushed
• Dash of black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and cut chicken into strips. In one bowl, combine egg, honey and mustard. In another bowl, mix cornflake crumbs and pepper.

Dip each strip into the bowl of egg/honey/mustard first and then roll the strips in the cornflake crumbs. Place the strips of chicken on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for about 12 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.

This was what my chicken fingers looked like in the end. I paired them with some parmesan couscous and green beans.

Rainbow Cupcakes Recipe

What you will need…

For cupcakes:

• White cake mix
• Food coloring
• Baking cups

For cream cheese frosting:

• 4 ounces unsalted butter–softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese–softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

So follow the instructions on the white cake mix and when the batter is ready, split it into six small bowls evenly. Add the food coloring to each bowl so you have six different colors. I would suggest having red/pink, orange, yellow, green, blue ad purple. We added just a few drops at a time until we had the colors that we wanted.

Our six colors that we decided on.

Put the baking cups into the cupcake pan and put a spoonful of each color in each hole. You can either come up with an order or just do this at random. We decided to do it all randomly so that our cupcakes would all be fun and different.

Our random cupcake colors.

Then bake the cupcakes according to the directions on your mix recipe. As your cupcakes are baking, it’s time to make your cream cheese frosting. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. While the mixer is on low speed, add the powdered sugar a little bit at a time until it is smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

After they are done baking.

When the cupcakes are fulled baked, let them cool before topping them off with the cream cheese frosting.

Our cupcakes all finished.

Now it’s time to enjoy them! The first bite really gives you a chance to see the rainbow.

It was a success!

The Best Grilled Cheese Recipe

What you will need…

• Fresh white bakery bread
• Any type of gourmet cheese (I would suggest a brie type)
• Butter
• White truffle oil

Take two pieces of bread and butter one side of each of them. Then on the other side, lightly brush the side with the white truffle oil. Then slice your cheese and place it on one of the pieces of bread. Stack the other piece of bread on top and put it all on to a pan. Set the temperature in the middle and flip the sandwich every so often until both sides are a golden-brown color. And ta-da! You’re finished and have a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich!

This is what my finished product looked like!! It was so yummy!!