Pecan Pie Cookies

 

I....don't even like pecans that much. Or pie crust. But these cookies? To die for! All of the flavors of pecan pie, but hand held, non messy, and still gooey on the inside.

Ingredients:

1 pie crust (homemade or store bought)
2 Tbs. margarine, melted
1/2 c. pecans, chopped
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. corn syrup
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll the pastry and using a rolling pin, thin out the crust. Use a 3" round cookie cutter and cut the dough into circles. Combine the scraps, work into a dough ball again, roll out, and keep cutting circles out until you don't have enough dough to make another circle. Slightly roll up the "edges" of the circles so that they have a slight lip on them. Place on the prepared parchment sheet. 

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the margarine, pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs and salt together. Cook on medium-low, whisking occasionally, until the filling is slightly thickened. Pour about a tablespoon into each mini pie circle. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the bottom of the pie crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before serving or storing.

Maple Raisin Cookies

It's that time of year again! Where I practically have to make at least one batch of cookies every day. But, the best kind of gift at Christmas is getting home baked goods, whether you are giving them to family or people are paying you to give them to THEIR families. Either way, I love to bake, and it puts a smile on my face knowing someone will be enjoying them while being around family.

Ingredients:

2/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick margarine, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 egg
1 1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. golden raisins (or normal)
1 c. powdered sugar
3 Tbs. maple syrup
1 Tbs. heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the margarine and brown sugar together. Add the maple syrup and egg and mix until everything is a smooth consistency. Add in the flour, baking soda and salt slowly. Lastly, add in the raisins and oats on low speed, just to incorporate. Using a cookie scoop (tablespoon size), place the cookie mounds 2 inches apart on the prepared pan. Bake for 14-16 minutes until the edges are a golden brown. Let sit on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack. While the cookies are cooling, mix the powdered sugar, heavy cream and 3 Tbs. maple syrup together in a small bowl. Place the same parchment under the drying rack with the cookies on it. Drizzle the icing on top at let fully set.

Apple Crumble Pie

My new favorite apple pie recipe! You have to try it out! The apples are soft, and the crumble is so crunchy!

Ingredients:

1 recipe Cinnamon Swirl Pie Crust
5-7 medium apples, peeled and cored, cut into thin slices
1/4 c. sugar
2 tps. cinnamon
1 stick margarine, softened
1 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
Optional* Caramelized Cinnamon Acorn Squash Seeds

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix the apples, 1/4 c. sugar and cinnamon together. Pour into the prepared cinnamon swirl crust, brushed with the egg. In another bowl, cut the margarine into the flour and brown sugar. Most use a pastry blender for this, I like to use my hands because the warmth of my fingers helps the mixture become buttery crumbles instead of a more dry and flour like consistency. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the apples, trying to cover the entire top of the pie. Sprinkle with the 1 1/2 Tbs. sugar. 

Bake for 55-60 minutes until the crumble is a golden brown and the apples are softened. Let the pie cool before slicing to give the juices from the apples a chance to become like a thick syrup. Top with some whipped cream and a few pieces of caramelized cinnamon acorn seeds!

Very Berry Cranberry Sauce

Are you a lover of recipes that you just throw into a pan and let slowly cook with very minimal stirring? Well, this would be one of those recipes. The orange peel brings out so many great flavors, and it is terribly easy to make!

Ingredients:

1 orange, peeled in large strips (zest only, no pulp)
3 c. cranberries
2 c. blueberries
1 c. Sake (or Mirin)
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine all of the above ingredients in a medium size saucepan on medium heat. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring randomly to make sure that the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom as the berries cook down. Serve warm or refrigerate overnight if you want more of  the jelly consistency. 

Cranberry Custard

Cranberry dessert recipes sometimes scare me because you aren't sure if it is going to end up really tart and sour or mellow out in the cooking process. I also added lemon zest on top of the cranberries, which made me even more nervous about the combination of this dessert. It turned out tart like a lemon bar and the cranberries ended up adding a sweet note to the custard. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. flour
2 eggs
2/3 c. heavy cream
1 c. sugar
2 c. chopped cranberries (or halved)
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 6 ramekins in the bottom of a large baking dish or roasting pan. In a small bowl, mix the chopped cranberries, lemon zest and sugar together. Evenly spread out between the 6 ramekins. In a medium size bowl, whisk the flour, eggs and heavy cream together. Pour on top of the cranberry mixture. Very carefully (I use a Pyrex measuring cup with spout on the end) pour water half way up the sides of the ramekins in the baking pan (do NOT get the water into the custard! It will cook unevenly). Bake in the oven for 28-30 minutes until the custard is set. Let cool slightly before diving in!

Roasted Cranberries and Grapes

Who could eat Thanksgiving dinner without a classic cranberry sauce? Am I right? Actually....I could skip all of the cranberry sauces and eat an entire bowl of this! The berries are so juicy and tender, and adding grapes? Get out of here!

Ingredients:

12 oz. fresh cranberries
2 c. seedless red or black grapes
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 rosemary sprigs
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven on broil (yes, broil!). Line a baking sheet with tinfoil. In a large bowl, mix the berries, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, olive oil and red wine vinegar together, tossing to coat. Pour out onto the prepared pan and top with two sprigs of rosemary. Broil for 4 minutes until the grapes and cranberries start to pop and become tender. Let cool before serving. I liked the dish better cold and refrigerated overnight. 

Pumpkin Bread

Fall is the time for everything pumpkin. This bread is soft and fluffy and has all of the flavors of fall in each bite! You might want to double the recipe, because this loaf will go quickly!

Ingredients:

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, eggs, oil and sugar together. Slowly whisk in the dry ingredients until you have a smooth batter with minimal lumps. Spray a bread loaf pan with non stick cooking spray (I used Pam with flour). Pour the batter into the pan and slightly tap on the counter to distribute evenly. Bake for an hour in the oven. Let cool ten minutes before transferring to a wire rack and let cool fully before serving.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

Ready for that fresh pumpkin pie taste? Look no further! This pie turned out PERFECT! I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, but this pie was amazing and it will be hard to make them from canned puree in the future.

Ingredients:

1 recipe for Fresh Pumpkin Puree
1 (14 oz.) can low fat sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
2 Tbs. cornstarch
2 Tbs. molasses
2 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 pie crust (homemade or store bought)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Using the food processor with your fresh pureed pumpkin still inside, add the condensed milk, whipping cream, cornstarch, molasses, oil, seasonings and eggs. Puree on high for about a minute, and then pulse until you get the consistency that you are looking for.

Place your pie crust in a pie dish and crimp the edges. Pour the pumpkin pie batter into the prepared pie crust. Bake in the oven for one hour, checking to make sure that the center of the pie is fully cooked. Make sure the pie is fully cooled to room temperature before refrigerating. 

Fresh Pumpkin Puree

This was my first time making a homemade pumpkin puree. After making it from scratch, it is going to be hard to use canned pumpkin to make pumpkin pie ever again! Although the cooking time is long, all you have to do is walk away for a while, come back, and puree it in a food processor and, done!

Ingredients:

2 small pie pumpkins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut each pie pumpkin in half and scrape the seeds out into a bowl (save to make baked pumpkin seeds!). Place the pumpkins cut side down in a large baking pan. Fill water about 3/4 of an inch up the side of the pan (yes the pumpkins will be in water). Bake for 1 1/2 hours and test the flesh with a fork to make sure that it is fully cooked. Scoop the pumpkin flesh out into a food processor. Process on high until the consistency is smooth.

Walnut Butterscotch Bars

Two of my husband's favorite things put into one sweet and crunchy, flavor-packed bar!

Ingredients:

1 c. margarine, melted
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. butterscotch chips (plus 1 Tbs.)
1 c. chopped walnuts (plus 1 Tbs.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 pan with foil and non stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk the melted margarine, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Add int he flour, baking powder and salt and stir until everything are well combined. Stir in the butterscotch chips and walnuts and the spread into the prepared pan in an even layer. Sprinkle the top with the extra butterscotch and walnuts. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes. Let cool fully before cutting into bars.

Meanwhile, stir 1/2 c. powdered sugar and 2 Tbs. heavy whipping cream together. Place a dollop on top of each bar and top with a piece of walnut.

Candy Corn Peanut Bars

I was trying to find a way to "get rid of" part of the large quantity of candy corn that I ended up with after Halloween. My mom makes a snack mix of peanuts and candy corn together, so I decided to make them into a blondie recipe. They turned out great! Make sure not to cut them too large. They are very very sweet.

Ingredients:

1 stick margarine, cut into pieces
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. candy corn
1 c. salted peanuts

In a medium size microwave safe bowl, add the margarine and brown sugar and microwave for 15 seconds. Add in the pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla and stir until fully combined. Add the flour and salt and mix again. Stir in the candy corn and peanuts. Line an 8x8 pan with foil and spray with non stick cooking spray (I used Pam with flour). Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top out. Bake for 28-30 minutes. The top will still look raw but if you touch it it will be firm. Let cool until room temperature and cut into bars.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 Tbs. heavy whipping cream together. When the bars are cool, drizzle the icing on top and place a candy corn on each bar. Let the icing dry slightly before putting into air tight containers.

Apple Cider Jell-O Shots

I am not a person who drinks often. In fact, my birthday and Halloween party every year are the two I usually count on. These are dangerous! Apple juice since I was a kid has always been my favorite, and apple cider is a pretty close second. Add cinnamon flavored Fireball mixed in? I'm in trouble..... These turned out amazing, and jell-o shots are one of the best ways ever to consume alcohol!

Ingredients:

2 c. apple cider
1 c. water
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (Knox)
1 c. Fireball

Heat a small saucepan to medium heat and add the water and apple cider. When the liquid is warm/hot, add in the envelopes of gelatin and whisk until all of the lumps are out and the gelatin is incorporated into the apple cider. Add in the fireball and whisk again for about 30 seconds to a minute. I worked with half of the liquid at one time, and poured it into a 2 cup glass Pyrex measuring cup that already has a spout at the top. Pour into individual disposable cups (I went to Gordon Foods and grabbed ones with lids, that are about the size of the ketchup containers you get at fast food restaurants). Place the lid on top and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve!

Chocolate Chunk Spice Cookies

My favorite spice season is finally here. I love adding pumpkin spice mix or apple pie spice mix to everything. This has easily become one of my favorite cookie recipes of all time, combining my love of chocolate and my favorite fall flavors of cinnamon, clove, ginger.....you get the idea!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice mix
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 sticks margarine, softened
1 1/2 c. chocolate chunks
2 Tbs. chia seeds

In an electric mixer, beat the sugar, brown sugar and margarine until a paste forms. Add in the two eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Slowly add in the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice and the chia seeds. On low speed, add in 1 1/4 c. of the chocolate chunks. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a batter scoop that makes 1 Tbs. rounds, place about 8 scoops at LEAST two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Top each dough ball with a few pieces of the chocolate chunks. Bake for 11 minutes, and then let rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing and placing them on a wire rack to cool fully. Repeat until all of the batter is gone.

Since I have to cut down on carbs, I sent a goodie box to the boys that work with my husband at the shop. Even though I would love to eat all of everything that I bake, I love giving baked goods to other people and getting feedback. Thank goodness I have a test group that I can do that with or my freezer would be full of frozen cookies and I would be twice the size!

Bloomin Caramel Apples

Well, it's officially fall, and even though it is my favorite season of the year, summer went by WAY too fast! This season focuses on some of the yummiest flavors of the year; apples, pumpkin and spice. It's the season of jeans and a sweatshirt (especially here in the UP), eating a bowl of apple cobbler with ice cream on top, sitting by a bonfire and sipping on hot chocolate. This recipe highlights the apple, adding some familiar flavors that go along with them like caramel and brown sugar.

Ingredients:

2 apples (I used Braeburn, you can use honeycrisp or fuji or any crisp apple)
2 Tbs. margarine
3 Tbs. brown sugar, heaping
1 Tbs. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
4 caramels, soft, taken out of plastic
* Frozen vanilla yogurt, low fat
* Caramel ice cream topping

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Take each apple, and cut about 1/5 of the top off. Using a melon baller (not an apple corer, that goes in too far), scoop out the seeds from the inside leaving a hole in the center of both (as shown in above picture). Using a paring knife, cut two internal circles spaced out evenly, and make sure not to go all of the way down to the bottom. Flip the apples over, placing them cut side down. Starting at about 1/3 inch down from the top, use the paring knife to make narrow cuts around the apple. Flip them back over and place them in an oven safe baking dish. Place two caramels in the center of each apple.

In a small microwave safe bowl, heat the margarine and brown sugar together for about 25 seconds or until the butter is most of the way melted. Add the flour and cinnamon, and stir until a thick sauce forms. Pour the mixture on top of both apples, letting the sauce run over the top and cover the sides. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, depending on the size of the apple.

Remove from the oven and place each apple in your serving dishes. Spoon the brown sugar sauce on top of each. Spread out the "petals" slightly so that the sauce seeps into the cracks. Top with frozen yogurt and caramel sauce if desired.