pumpkin spice latte cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

nothing says autumn like pumpkin spice lattes

and so.. what could be better than pumpkin spice latte CUPCAKES!

my mom saw my friend kara post this on Facebook.. so, she passed it on to me, and now i have made them. yum.

ingredients:

2 2/3 cups flour

3 tbsp espresso powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp salt

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (equals 1 3/4 cups - basically about half the can i found at the store)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1/2 cup coffee or espresso, for brushing

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line cupcake pans with paper liners.

in a medium bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. stir together and set aside.

in the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and oil. add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

with the mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.

fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the censer comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes then remove the cupcakes from the pans.

while the cupcakes are still warm, brush them two or three times with the coffee or espresso, allowing the first coat to soak in before repeating. let cool completely.

*the recipe called for whipping cream topping, but i decided to make cream cheese frosting on the suggestion from my sister leah. and i think it was a wise choice!

Cream Cheese frosting:

1 pkg cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

mix in an electric mixer until well blended. pipe onto cupcakes once they are cooled, and sprinkle with cinnamon. enjoy!!

rich salted caramel sauce

this recipe was reprinted in this month's chatelaine because it was soooo good. considered one of their "best of the year" recipes.

i used it recently to top off my whole wheat cinnamon buns - a nice touch!

rich salted caramel sauce:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup 35% cream

melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. add sugar. bring to a gentle boil, whisking occasionally. cook for 3 minutes. stir in vanilla and salt until dissolved. remove from that and let stand 1 minute. whisk in cream until sauce is smooth.

*note: make ahead: sauce will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for at least a week.

enjoy!

whole wheat cinnamon buns

my friend becky posted this recipe on her blog, so i immediately snatched it up. i made them this weekend for michael & i - and they are so delicious.

another reason to love this recipe? you make them ahead of time and then bake them in the morning. perfect!

give them a try:

whole wheat cinnamon buns

ingredients:

2 1/2 tsp dry yeast (1 pkg)
1/4 cup warm water
3-3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk - which I almost never do.. use regular milk and add either white vinegar or lemon juice - 1 tbsp of vinegar or juice to 1 cup of milk - then stir and let it sit for at least 5 minutes)
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt

directions:

In a large bowl, stir together yeast and water, let stand 5 minutes, until bubbly.
Add in 2 cups flour, sugar, buttermilk, butter, vanilla and salt.
Stir well, until dough is smooth.
Gradually add in remaining flour until dough comes together into a slightly sticky ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth.
Add flour as needed - dough should be "tacky" but not wet. (keep it nice and tacky for the softest buns)
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in size: 1 1/2 - 2 hours (**again, my trick is to put the bowl into a sink of very hot water, helps speed up the rising process)

You will soon need:
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp coarse (or regular) sugar (see photo below)

**side note from becky, and i agree: cinnamon buns are a treat! why not make them the treatiest? i just slather a bunch of butter and pile on the sugar and cinnamon**

lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.
turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. press dough into a rectangle, roll dought out into a sheet about 12x6 inches.
spread dough with softened butter, leaving a 1/4 inch border. sprinkle evenly with cinnamon, brown sugar and coarse sugar. working with one of the long sides, roll dough up tightly into a log. pinch seam and divide log into 12 even pieces with a sharp knife. place in a prepared pan, leaving space between rolls.
cover with plastic wrap and REFRIGERATE overnight

here's the part where you get to feel like spouse/mom of the year... set your alarm,
place refrigerated rolls on counter for about 30 minutes.
preheat oven to 400 degrees
go back to bed and set your alarm again...
bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

** i topped the cinnamon buns with a salted caramel sauce as soon as they came out of the oven. it was a nice touch. see this post if you want to add it!

this is the 'coarse sugar' i use. i also use it in drinks and sometimes on top of muffins or cupcakes. a nice treat to have in your pantry.

apparently i can't count. i was sure i had 12.. until i put them in the pan. oops!

all ready to go into the fridge for the night.

hot out of the oven!

all iced and ready to enjoy!!

fruit dip

a classically delicious dip to serve with fruit to guests
i made it last night for a group of friends, and it was a hit

1 container of strawberry cream cheese, softened
1 jar of marshmallow fluff
1 cup cool whip

mix together the cream cheese and the marshmallow fluff until completely blended together. it helps to pour hot water over a spatula before scooping the marshmallow fluff out of the container, it helps it to stick a little less. also, leave the cream cheese out of the fridge for a good 30 minutes to help soften it.

fold in the cool whip and continue folding until fully incorporated.

refrigerate till needed. serve with cut up fruit, like melon, strawberries, grapes and pineapple.

enjoy!

shepherd's pie

ah the ultimate comfort food
shepherd's pie
warm, savory, delicious

with the cooler weather this week i decided it was time to bust out the comfort food recipes. so, here is my number 1 comfort food

shepherds pie

ingredients:
ground beef (approximately $6 worth or one of the smaller size containers they sell. if you use more beef, just use more vegetables and potatoes to keep the ratio right!)
corn (or another type of vegetable. corn is my personal favourite, but I have also used mixed veggies - corn, beans, carrots, peas)
mashed potatoes (i use instant, it's faster!)
french onion soup mix
cheese

directions:
brown the ground beef until no more red is left. drain out any grease. sprinkle onion soup mix over the hamburger. about 2 tablespoons worth.

 pour beef into the bottom of a casserole dish.

then spread a layer of vegetables over the beef.

then spread mashed potatoes over the vegetables.

put it an oven at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until heated through. Since the meat is cooked, you can also just warm up individual servings in the microwave if you're in a rush!

once it's heated through, spread cheese over the mashed potatoes and put into the oven to broil for about 5 minutes. keep an eye on it so that the cheese doesn't burn.

mike & i prefer different cheeses, so we do half "real" cheese and half "fake" mmmm

scoop out, curl up on the couch and.. enjoy!

taco soup

I was sure I had put this up on the blog already.. but my sister is looking for the recipe, and can't find it on here.. so even though I didn't make this TODAY - i will share it with you.

taco soup:

1 can black beans
1 pkg taco seasoning
ground beef (I normally use about 6 or 7 dollars worth of regular lean beef)

1 can corn

2 cans pork & beans

2 cans tomato paste

water (i normally fill each can of tomato paste with water after i've emptied it, and then add water if it's too thick later)

1 medium onion chopped

directions:

brown the ground beef till no red is left. chop an onion and add it to the meat to sauté slightly. it will soften as it cooks later, so don't sauté it too long. 

put beef & onions as well as all the other ingredients listed above into a slow cooker and cook all day. the longer you cook it, the thicker and richer it gets. since the beef is cooked, you can eat it at anytime, but i still like to have it in the slow cooker for a few hours to add to the flavour.

add water if it's too thick. also, add salt & pepper to taste.

to serve:

scoop over crushed up tortilla chips, or top with crushed chips. also, top with grated cheese, and/or sour cream.

VERY TASTY!

enjoy :)

delightfully chaotic

for someone who bakes and cooks for FUN - this is the picture of a good relaxing day :)
ahhh the beautiful chaos of baking and cooking

hope you also had a delightful saturday

freezer berry jam

my mom used to make jam when i was a kid
i remember it being fun, and tasty!

michael was out today, helping friends of ours shingle their roof, so I was alone for the day. i decided to get some things done that have been on my to-do list for a while, and one was: make jam!

so, off i went to superstore to get my ingredients based on a recipe i found online
i won't be able to tell you if it tastes good until tomorrow, you're supposed to let it set over night, but i dipped my finger in the bowl and it tasted very good.
reminded me of the friends episode where monica has a plan "a plan to get over my man and that plan? jam!" and joey talks about how much he loves jam "remember when your mom used to drop you off at the movies with some money and a jar of jam"

i may not love jam enough to eat it straight out of the jar, but i was interested in making some myself.. so, voila! 

freezer berry jam:

ingredients:

2 cups blueberries*

2 cups strawberries

2 cups raspberries*

5 cups sugar (i read online that if you decrease the amount of sugar it doesn't set properly)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 cup water

1 (57g) package powdered pectin

** i used frozen blueberries & raspberries, you can use fresh or frozen

directions:

you can get these jars for about 10 cents at the thrift store. just wash them with warm soapy water before using!

in a large bowl, crush the blueberries. add strawberries and crush. add raspberries and crush. 

stir in sugar and lemon juice, let stand for 10 minutes

in a small saucepan, bring water and pectin to a boil. boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. add to fruit mixture, stir for 3 minutes.

pour into jars or freezer containers, cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes

Cover and let stand overnight or until set, but not longer than 24 hours.

refrigerate or freeze.

  

all done! mmmm

chocolate pie

Ok - so this is not really a "recipe" since I didn't really make anything, i just mixed a few things together, but.. knowing how to make a classically delicious chocolate pie is a VERY important skill in my books :)

So.. here are the steps:

ingredients:
pilsbury refrigerated pie crusts
2 boxes - chocolate jello pudding (i use the instant kind)
milk (only use about 3/4 of what is called for on the pudding box. if it asks for 2 cups, use 1 1/2 cups)
whip cream
sugar (to sweeten the whip cream to taste)

put the pie crust in a pie plate, and bake for 9 minutes. mix up the instant pudding, with the amount of milk listed above. pour into the baked crust. whip the cream with the sugar, and spread over the chocolate. garnish with chocolate curls if you feel like getting fancy, but, take it from me, people who love a good chocolate pie, don't really care if it's fancy!!

enjoy!

my cousin amanda just stopped by to get a piece. so i think it passes the test! :)

cinnamon buns

another recipe off of a delicious smelling bubble bath bottle

this one ended up tasting delicious, however... my yeast wasn't working so hot, so they didn't rise. the buns ended up being delicious, but dense.. and not my favourite. I think, if they were to rise, it would be a successful and tasty concoction.

feel free to give it a try :)

cinnamon buns

1/4 cup warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
4 tbsp softened butter
2 eggs
1 pkg dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 cup flour

Mix all ingredients except yeast, water & flour and let cool. Stir and dissolve yeast in warm water. Add yeast to first mixture, beat until mixed. Add 1 1/2 cup flour. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Add remaining flour, blend well. Knead until smooth. Put dough in greased bowl, cover & let rise until double it's size. Punch down. Shape rolls and let rise for one hour.
*I also added 3/4 cup of raisins.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes.

let me know if it works out better for you!