Gingerbread Rice Krispies

This recipe is really a no-brainer. A normal rice krispie treat that used gingerbread marshmallows instead of regular. My husband is a rice krispie purist and hates it when I add things to his treats. He did like this version though, I think because it really didn't have anything added. A fun way to do rice krispies for the holidays.

Gingerbread Rice Krispies

1 bag gingerbread marshmallows, divided

1/4 cup butter

5 cups rice krispies

Cinnamon chips

White chocolate chips

Melt butter in large pan. Add marshmallows, reserving about 10. When melted and smooth, remove from heat and add rice krispies. When combined well, pour into 9x13 pan. Combine some white chocolate chips and some cinnamon chips in microwavable bowl. Heat until melted. Drizzle over treats and top with some gingerbread marshmallow men.

Recipe Source: adapted from Our Best Bites

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:

1 3/4 cups crushed gingersnaps (I made my favorite molasses cookies and they were great)

6 T butter, melted

3/4 cup pecans

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan.

Filling:

3 (8oz) blocks of cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup white chocolate chips, melted

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

Topping:

Sweetened whipped cream

Caramelized pecans

Caramel sauce

Preheat your oven to 350. Wrap your sprinform pan with two pieces of foil. Combine crust ingredients and press into pan. In mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add in the sugar. When well combined, add the eggs, pumpkin, vanilla and spices. Melt chocolate in microwave. With the mixer running pour or spoon melted chocolate in a steady stream into cream cheese mixture. Pour on top of crust. Place the springform pan into a larger pan (I used my roasting pan. I also placed my pan into an oven bag with the side pulled up about half way up the springform pan.) Fill the larger pan to middle of your springform pan with hot water. (Am I making any sense? We are doing a water bath here. If you don't know what I am talking about see the pictures and suggestions here) Bake 60-75 minutes. The center should be set: still jiggly, think firm jello. Remove from oven and water bath to cooling rack and let cool completely. Put in fridge for at least 12 hours. When ready to serve, remove outside of pan, top with whipped cream, caramelized pecans and caramel sauce.

Recipe source:

Our Best Bites

My Notes:

This was my first ever baked cheesecake and it turned out great. I lined my pan with foil and the oven bag because I was afraid it would leak and I didn't want a soggy crust. I thought it better to be safe than sorry. A note about mixing the filling: you do NOT want to overmix cheesecake filling. Having too much air in the mixture causes it to rise during baking and fall during cooling, leaving a monster sized crack in the middle. You want to mix it well, just not beat it too much. Also, if you are not a white chocolate lover, that is not the dominant taste in this cheesecake. The white chocolate just adds richness and depth. Try it! It is yummy!!

Pumpkin Brownies

The next few posts are some of my favorite fall recipes. Don't forget about my all-time favorite pumpkin cake though! I think it is still the best.

Pumpkin Brownie Sundaes

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup flour

Ice cream

Butterscotch sauce

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in spices. Mix in egg and pumpkin and stir well. Add flour and stir just until combined. Line and 8x8 pan with enough foil to hang over the edges and lightly spray with cooking spray. Pour pumpkin mixture into pan and spread into an even layer. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. They will still look moist but won't be sticky to the touch. Let cool in pan. To serve, remove foil from pan and cut into bars. Top with ice cream and butterscotch sauce.

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Roll

Cake:

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2/3 cup pumpkin

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Get jelly roll pan ready by greasing, flouring, and then cover with waxed paper. Beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually add the sugar while still mixing. Add pumpkin and lemon juice. Mix dry ingredients together and fold into pumpkin mixture. Pour into prepared jelly roll pan. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Let cool until warm. While cooling, get a clean dish cloth and sprinkle it with powdered sugar. When pan is warm turn cake onto towl and roll up from the short end. Let cool completely. Unroll, fill with cream cheese filling (follows) and re-roll. Chill before serving with ice cream or whipped cream.

Filling:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 oz cream cheese, softened

4 teaspoons butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat until smooth. Spread over pumpkin cake.

My notes:

This cake is also really good filled with ice cream! Just let the ice cream thaw until soft then spoon over cake. Re-roll, wrap with plastic wrap and freeze until serving.

The Best Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins are sooo good! They do require making a filling and topping in addition to the muffin batter. The filling needs to be frozen for 1-2 hours so plan ahead!

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

Mix together and spread into a log on plastic wrap. Roll tightly and freeze for 1-2 hours.

For muffins:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cloves

1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 eggs

1 1/4 cup oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin puree

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

4 Tablespoons cold butter

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

In two different bowls, combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients. Then mix the two bowls, just until moistened. Remove log of filling from freezer and cut into 24 pieces. Fill muffin cups 1/3 full and top with a filling piece. Scoop remaining batter over the top. Sprinkle with topping mix and bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.

My Notes:

These seem like a lot of work...they are SO worth it! (and it really isn't all that much work) These are best cold so make them the night before and they are perfect for breakfast, although I think they work well for dessert too. Try not to eat the whole batch!

Apple Pie (Two Ways)

It just isn't fall without apple pie. There is great debate around here about which of these pies is better. I love them both and think that these two recipes are the only apple pie recipes you need. Mike loves the carmel apple one best, my good friend like the crumb pie best. We did decide to put a batch of carmel without the nuts on the crumb pie and that was delicious too.

Apple Crumb Pie

For crust:

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup butter, melted

Mix together until crumbly. Press half the crumb mixture into the bottom and sides of pie dish.

For Filling:

6-7 apples, peeled and thinly sliced

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix together and pour into pie dish. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. (It will be a heaping pie but will bake down some.) Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Carmel Apple Pie

6 cups apples (a variety works best)

2 Tablespoons lime juice

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pastry for double crust pie (Marilyn's No-Fail recipe)

2 Tablespoons butter

Carmel Topping (follows)

Peel and thinly slice apples into a large bowl. Squeeze lime juice over apples and stir. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Add to the apples and stir. Place bottom pastry in pie plate (9" is what I use). Fill with apples and dot with butter. Put on top crust, flute edges and cut slits. Bake at 400 for 40-45 minutes. Watch closely and cover with foil if edges start to get dark. Make carmel. When pie is done, pour on top and bake for another 3-4 minutes.

Carmel topping:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons whipping cream

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional--I love them)

Melt butter in saucepan, stir in sugar and cream. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add nuts. Pour over pie.

My Notes:

The carmel apple pie tends to end up leaking as it cooks so put some foil underneath or a pan to catch it. Otherwise you get a HUGE mess!

S'more Bars

1 cup crushed graham crakers

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 cups mini marshmallows

3/4 cup chocolate chips or m&ms

Chocolate sauce

Butterscotch sauce

Combine graham crackers, flour, sugar, soda and butter until crumbly. Press into greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle marshmallows over crust. Bake 1-2 more minutes, until marshmallows begin to puff. (I wanted mine to be golden brown so I cooked them for 2 minutes and then turned the broiler on for another 2 minutes) Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let cool for 5 minutes then top with chocolate sauce and butterscotch sauce. Let cool completely, about an hour. Cut into bars (8X4 rows works well for 32 bars)

Recipe source: adapted from Pillsbury calendar

My notes:

These are very rich! Make them when you plan to get rid of half the pan!! If you want to make your own chocolate sauce take a bag of chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups cream. Heat until melted.

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes with Cream and Raspberries

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes

Makes about 30 cupcakes

Dry ingredients:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Egg white mixture:

12 large egg whites, carefully seperated

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

Directions:

In small bowl, wisk the flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt. In mixer, beat egg whites and vanilla until foamy, about 1 minute. Sprinkle cream of tartar over mixture and beat until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. DO NOT underbeat! Gently fold in flour mixture until just blended.

Preheat oven to 325. Line your cupcake pan. Spoon batter into cups, filling full. (Or if making a cake, pour batter into ungreased tube pan) Bake for 20-25 minutes. (If making cake, bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool over bottle neck and remove from pan.) Remove from pan and cool. Top with sweetened whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and raspberries. Indulge!

Sweetened Whipped Cream

1 cup whipping cream

2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

Beat with mixer until stiff peaks form.

Chocolate Sauce

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 can evaporated milk

Mix together and heat until melted. Refrigerate leftovers.

My notes:

This was my first time successfully making an angel food cake. So good! Just a quick tip for your left over whipped cream: Using a pastry decorator, place little bunches of whipped cream on a piece of parchment paper. Put in freezer for an hour. Then remove from the paper and put into an airtight container. Freeze up to one month. When you need a quick dollop of whipping cream, pull one out of the freezer, let it sit for 5 min. and serve. Works great!

Chili-Lime Chicken Skewers

4 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Zest of 1 lime

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2-3 mangos, ripe but firm, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

In a bowl, mix together the oil, juice, zest, chili powder, pepper, salt and sugar. Put into a ziploc bag and add chicken and mangos. (Try to keep your mangos similar in size to the chicken for better cooking). Let marinate 2-4 hours.

If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Prepare grill (or indoor grill pan). Remove chicken from marinade. Alternate chicken and mango pieces on the skewers. Be sure not to squish them together too tightly. Put on hot grill and cook until chicken is cooked through. Serve immediately. *I baked my skewers on a broiling pan with the heat at 375 for about 15 min. These are great served with lime-cilantro rice.

We then removed ours from the skewers and served it mixed with the rice. Very yummy!

Recipe source: Our best bites

Key Lime Tarts

Key Lime Tarts

5 egg yolks

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

green food coloring if desired

10 mini graham crusts (or you can make it in a regular graham pie crust)

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Combine the egg yolks, milk, and lime juice well. Add food coloring if you want it to be a nice green color. Place graham crusts on a baking sheet. Fill evenly with lime filling. Bake at 350 for 10 min. Cool to room temp and them put in fridge to chill. Top with sweetened whipped cream.

YUM!

Recipe source: Our Best Bites

My Notes:

To make your own sweetened whipped cream beat 1 cup whipping cream with 2 Tablespoons confectioner's sugar until stiff peaks form.

**If you want to make this as a pie, pour filling into graham pie shell and bake at 350 for 15 min. Cool and top each slice with sweetened cream.

Crunchy Carmel Corn

3 3/4 quarts popped corn

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir occasionally until bubbly. Continue cooking over medium heat for 5 min. Remove from heat and stir in soda until foamy. Pour over popped corn, stirring until well coated. Pour onto foil lined baking sheet and bake at 200 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 min. Break into chunks and let cool. See how long it lasts!

Omaha Cornbread

This cornbread is more like cake than a normal cornbread. It is moist, sweet and delicious. It won't disappoinnt!

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

3 cups bisquick

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Mix all together and pour into greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min.

This is better cool.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Wow. Really. Wow. These are amazingly rich and decadent. I needed a big glass of milk after eating one. And one was plenty to fill my chocolate craving! If you make these, which you should, make them when you are planning to give a bunch away or you have company. Otherwise they will tempt you until you eat the whole batch! 1 1/4 cups butter, room temperature*
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
about 1/3 cup cocoa (or rolling)
about 2/3 cup powdered sugar (for rolling)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter and slowly add in powdered sugar until well combined. Sift cocoa and salt together and add to cream mixture. Add in vanilla and sour cream. Slowly add in flour and mix until no streaks are left. Stir in chocolate chips. If dough is soft, chill for 30 min.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then roll in cocoa powder. Place on baking sheets. You can put them pretty close together as they won't spread much. Bake for 10 min. They will be just barely set but don't cook too long or they will be dry. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for 3-5 min. Remove to wire rack to cool for 30-45 min. Then roll in powdered sugar and store in airtight container.
Recipe source: Mels Kitchen Cafe
My notes:
*Melanie from Kitchen Cafe had a great note about butter. She says that butter is perfect for creaming when you can press your finger on the butter and it gives just a little but isn't easy to go all the way through. That is important for this recipe because you don't want the dough to be to sof to handle. Chilling the dough is a good option if your kitchen is warm or your butter got too soft. I used just 1 bag of chips, which isn't quite 2 cups and I also used regular cocoa powder and they were still great!

Chicken Rolls

These are great for using up leftover chicken. The kids always gobble them up.

1 (8oz) package cream cheese

4-5 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

4-5 green onions, sliced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/4 cup butter, softened

salt and pepper to taste

favorite roll recipe

1 cube butter, melted

bread crumbs

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Enough milk to make gravy consistency

Mix first 6 ingredients in bowl until well combined. Roll out dough and cut into squares. Place spoonful of filling in each square. Wrap dough around filling until completely sealed and covered. Dip into butter and then roll in bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min. Heat soup and milk until hot. Serve rolls with gravy on top.

My notes:

You can also use canned crescent rolls to make it easier. I always use the roll recipe I make pizza bites with. You can make your own gravy by making a roux with butter, flour, broth, and some left over shredded chicken. Cook until thick.

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

We love pancakes but ONLY 2 kinds...I never try any others. The kids love grandpa Smith's sour dough pancakes, which I will have to get posted on here and these whole wheat pancakes. Hope you like them too.

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes with Coconut Syrup

1 cup wheat (whole, not flour)

1 1/2 cups milk, divided

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 Tablespoons ground flax

Put 1 cup milk and wheat in blender. Blend 3 minutes. Add the other 1/2 cup milk and blend another minute. Make sure your wheat is really blended, if it isn't blend a few minutes more. Add rest of ingredients and blend until well mixed. Pour onto hot griddle.

Coconut Syrup

1 stick butter

1/2 cup Buttermilk

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup coconut milk

Combine all in saucepan and cook until thickens slightly and bubbles, stirring constantly.

My Note:

This recipe is a great way to use wheat from your food storage. Just make sure the wheat is really ground or it will have little bits of wheat in it. Also, you can NOT double this and have it turn out. It is better to make one batch, pour it into a bowl and then make the next batch. Sometimes we need 2 batches, sometimes one is enough. For the coconut syrup, you can bring it to a boil just stir constantly. It won't get super thick, but should thicken some.

White Chocolate-Fudge Torte

For the Cake Part:

(This layer really is more like fudge)

16 oz semisweet baking chocolate, chopped

1 cup unsalted butter

6 eggs

White Chocolate Topping:

1 cup white chocolate chunks

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Raspberry Sauce:

1 (10oz) pakage frozen raspberries, thawed

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/3 cup red currant jelly (or raspberry)

To make bottom layer: Heat oven to 400. Grease 9-inch spring form pan. In large saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Cool completely, about 35 min.

In mixer, beat the eggs until triple in volume, about 5 min. Fold eggs into cooled chocolate mixture until WELL blended. Pour into pan and bake 15-20 min. Cake edges will be set but middle will jiggle when moved. Cool completely on wire rack, about 1 hour 30 min. Then place in refridgerator for 1 1/2 hours.

To make white chocolate topping: Heat white chocolate and 3 Tablespoons of whipping cream over low heat, stirring until chocolate is melted. In mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. While beating, slowly add white chocolate mixture, beating until smooth, scraping bowl occasionaly. Beat the remaining whipping cream until stiff peaks for and then add to white chocolate mixture until well blended. Spread over cake and refrigerate at leat 1 hour.

To make raspberry sauce: Drain raspberries, reserving the juice. Add water to juice to make 3/4 cup. Combine juice mixture and cornstarch, stir in jelly. Heat until thickened and clear. Add in raspberries, refrigerate until cold.

Recipe Source: Pillsbury Baking Calendar

My Notes:

This might seem a little intimidating but most of the lenghty process is letting things cool and set in the fridge. The cake really is more like fudge so don't be surprised by the taste and texture. (Mike thought it was weird until I mentioned that it was supposed to be like fudge and then it was less surprising.) If you want, you can add mini chocolate chips to the white chocolate layer. I also thought this was great (it is a toss up which way I liked it better) without the raspberry sauce, which would be great to be able to take out a step.

Tuscan Lentil Soup

1 lb green lentils, rinsed

8-10 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)

1 bay leaf

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 small cup whole wheat pasta

8 oz spinach, chopped

1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice

1 Tablespoon parsley

salt and pepper

grated parmasean cheese, fresh is best

Combine lentils, broth and bay leaf in large soup pot. Bring to boil and then reduce heat; simmer 45 min or until lentils are tender. Meanwhile, heat oil in pan and saute garlic, onion, carrots and celery until vergetables are tender but not brown. Bring small pan of water to a boil and cook the pasta about 5 min. Drain and set aside. Add spinach, tomatoes, parsley, and sauteed vegetables to the lentils. Let simmer 15 min. Add the pasta, salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf and serve. Sprinkle parmasean cheese on top.

Recipe Source: Sister's Cafe

My Notes:

The original recipe called for only 7 cups of broth but I found that it was too dry for my liking. I would start with at least 8 and see what you think. (You can tell in the picture that there isn't a lot of liquid) Also, the parmasean cheese is a MUST! You can substitute the canned stuff you get in the spaghetti aisle but fresh is better. We tried a bowl without adding the cheese and there was definately something missing.

Cloud Biscuits

To make these biscuits extra flakey and big, when you cut in the butter, leave it in large chunks instead of make small crumbs.

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cube butter

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients and then cut in butter. Add milk and egg, stir until combined. Roll and cut with a round cutter. *I use a drinking glass, and I leave the dough fairly thick. Bake at 450 for 10 min. Serve with butter, honey and jam. These also make really good egg biscuits...just scramble or fry an egg and put on cut biscuit. You can also add a sausage patty. This makes a great grab and go breakfast. **you can also assemble them and then freeze them...then just pull out, heat in microwave and go.

Spiced Orange Fruit Dip

Try as I would, I could not get a great picture of this. Just take my word for it and try it....you'll be glad you did.

1 large jar marshmallow creme

1 (8oz) pakage cream cheese, very soft

6 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Mix all together until smooth. Chill 1 hour and serve with fruit. This is especially good with orange slices and fresh pineapple. Surprisingly, this is also really great with coconut shrimp. Don't ask me how or why I decided to try it, but it really is super yummy.

Ultimate Quadruple Chocolate Brownies

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9X13 pan. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in eggs, sugar, and vanilla and mix well. Add flour and salt, mix until just combined. Stir in chips and spread into greased pan. Bake 25-30 min. Cool, cut and enjoy!

Recipe source: Wilton Brownie Fun