Pumpkin Cookies

These pumpkin cookies are my go to recipe whenever I need cookies fast. I love their cakey, pumpkin-y goodness! They are my number one favorite cookie! The recipe is so simple and fast. No matter where I take these cookies, they are always a BIG hit. I’ve given out the recipe to so many, so why not keep passin’ it on through Flavor of the Month at Bake at 350. Enjoy! 

Pumpkin Cookies- Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients

2 ½ c. flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter (1 stick) at room temp.

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  In a separate bowl (I use my kitchen aide), cream together butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture.  Mix in dry ingredients. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Breakfast Club Cupcakes

As soon as I heard that the Flavor of the Month was to make something as a tribute to John Hughes, I immediately got excited. I love his films! My top three favorites include, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles.

I knew I wanted to make some sort of cupcake and I didn’t want to just make pink cupcakes. Then Natalie, from Bake and Destroy, reminded me about her French Toast Cupcakes. It was the perfect idea for my crazy, busy schedule.

I decided to make a basic buttermilk vanilla cupcake and throw in some cinnamon. For the frosting, I initially started with a maple buttercream, but didn’t like the taste at all. So that one went in the trash and I started again. The cupcakes were topped with cream cheese frosting and a dusting of cinnamon. Really the cupcakes weren’t much like French toast at all, but more like cinnamon cupcakes, but who cares because they were so good!

Lemon Glaze Cupcakes

I've been on the search for the best vanilla and chocolate cupcake recipes for the past two years. I feel like I have to get these basic recipes right before I can get creative with other flavors. I've already found a favorite chocolate recipe from the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but vanilla has been much more difficult. I've tried recipes from Magnolia Bakery, Billy's Bakery and Martha Stewart, but they all seemed to be lacking the flavor and texture that I expect in a cake.

While browsing the cooking section of my favorite bookstore, the Green Apple, I stumbled upon a cupcake book that I had not heard of yet. I flipped through it and thought "Do I really need another one?". Thankfully, I had already been wanting to make lemon cupcakes for the Flavor of the Month carnival over at Bake at 350, but I knew I didn't have any good cupcake recipes. So $5.00 later (I know, can you believe that sale price!), I had yet another cupcake book to add to my collection.

I decided on making the buttermilk cupcakes. The Flavor of the Month for August was lemon, so I added some lemon zest to the batter and a lemon glaze on top. This recipe was quite different then the others I tried in that it had more butter, more sugar, and more eggs. The end result was totally not what I was expecting...they were DELICIOUS!! I can't stop thinking about how great they were. Finally, I have found my go to vanilla cupcake recipe-HOORAY!!

Buttermilk Cupcakes

3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

zest of one lemon (optional)

Preheat oven 350°F. Line 24 cupcake tins with baking papers. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, lemon zest, and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir the vanilla. Alternating add the flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.

Fill each baking cup 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Lemon Glaze Icing: whisk 2 cups powdered sugar with 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice or more if needed for pourable consistency.

Lemon Cream Pie Oh My!

My poor little blog gets neglected during the months of September through June while I’m teaching. It’s always during my summer vacation that I get inspired to do more with it. I always have the desire, but sometimes I need a little nudge…so I decided to join Flavor of the Month carnival from Bake at 350. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to keep up with the monthly flavor posts.

For the month of June, we had to make pie. The thought of making a pie immediately intimidated me because of the crust. Making a crust is much easier when you have a food processor and I do not. Someday, I’d love to whip up a flaky, buttery crust from scratch, but this was not the time. So I cheated and went with store bought. I know it’s terrible, but the rest was definitely homemade. After flipping through my collection of magazines, I decided on a lemon cream pie from Martha Stewart.

This was such an easy pie to make, especially since I bought the crust (shame on me). The hardest part was waiting for the pie to cool so that I could add the whipped cream topping and eat it! If I were to make it again, I think I’d use a little less lemon juice. The lemony taste was good, but a bit too much for me. This pie recipe was excellent, now I just have to work on making my own pie crust from scratch. For the recipe go here. Enjoy!


Check out more pie ideas and recipes here.

Cupcakes 2008

Baking has been a hobby of mine for a long time, but I've never invested as much time and money into it as I have in the last two years. I guess it has a lot to do with finally living alone and having the time and freedom to play around with it.

Cupcakes have taken center stage in my baking for the last two years. I'm now known by my friends and family as the cupcake baker. I love these miniature creations! Here is a sampling of my favorites that I've baked this year. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes w/Vegan Buttercream

Chocolate Banana Monkey Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Ganache

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes w/Buttercream

Vanilla Cinnamon Cupcakes w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Oreo Cupcakes