Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Fall is well on its way and pumpkin is in the air! It is holiday season and baking cookies is what I do! =o) I know, you are all thinking, cookies???, she makes cupcakes! Well, cookies are so much easier to share and test recipes and so much easier to eat. (And I eat way too many on them..=o)). As much as I love cupcakes, cookies are my weakness. 

So I was planning this weeks dinner menu, and I stumbled upon this pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was intrigued since I am always trying to find new ways to use pumpkin in my recipes. How could you go wrong with a spin off of chocolate chip cookies? =o) 

Well, I was pleasantly surprised .

The cookies were chocolatey with a hint of pumpkin pie, pure deliciousness.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe slightly adapted from Foodnetwork

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups (12-ounce bag) semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup of Dark Nestle Chocolate Morsels
Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. 

 Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets. Then stick the pan in the freezer for 2-4 minutes until the dough becomes slightly stiff. (I found that the dough was too goopy, not like a typical cookie so I pooped them in the freezer to harden a little. Also this helps to keep them softer.)

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

SERVES: 60 (PER COOKIE); Calories: 106; Total Fat 5 grams; Saturated Fat: 3 grams; Protein: 1 grams; Total carbohydrates: 14 grams; Sugar: 9 grams Fiber: 1 gram; Cholesterol: 16 milligrams; Sodium: 70 milligrams

Funfetti and Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

 As I said on Monday, I made funfetti and mint chocolate chip cupcakes for Lexi's birthday party. I actually only used 4 of the chocolate cupcake part for the Elmo cake, but with the rest I made into the mint chocolate chip cupcakes. (Which BTW were totally AWESOME! Thank goodness I had one before they were all gone! =o)


Since Lexi is a sprinkle MONSTER as well as a chocolate monster, I wanted to try and get both. I already found the chocolate cupcake recipe, so it was time to find the sprinkles one. Funfetti cupcakes were the perfect idea! =o) I really don't like using boxed cake mix so I wanted to find a way to make them.I figured that they would just be a vanilla cupcake with sprinkles mixed in with them. I was right! =o)

I found this interesting recipe that used yogurt, so I gave it a try. They were good, but I think next time I am going to try and find a regular vanilla cupcake recipe. I felt that the cupcakes were a little dry, but maybe I kept them in the oven just a tad too long. Not sure, but I will be trying that recipe again.
Overall both cupcake went over REALLY well with everyone, adults, children, and dogs alike. =o) So I would call these recipes a success.

Just a note, I linked the original recipes since I did change them a little. As I have mentioned in previous postings, I like to cut the sugar a little. These cupcakes had frosting on them so I figured that no one would notice. =o)




Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Recipe Adapted from:Sally's Baking Addiction

Makes 16 cupcakes. Cupcakes taste best the day of or 1 day after they are made. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered (confectioners') sugar
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream (see note below about substitutions)
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (or more, see recipe instructions)
• 4 drops green food dye
• pinch of salt, as needed
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Line 16 muffin cups with liners.
2. Over high heat, bowl the water in a small saucepan. Pour the unsweetened cocoa powder into a medium sized bowl and mix with boiling water until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature by placing in the refrigerator as you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, using an electric hand or stand mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat only until just combined. In a steady stream, add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.
5. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full with batter. Bake for 16-19 minutes, keeping an eye on them to avoid even the slightest burning (which will lend dry cupcakes). My cupcakes took 17 minutes and a toothpick inserted in the middle came out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool before frosting.
6. Make the frosting: beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric mixer. Beat for about 30-60 seconds until smooth and creamy. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar, cream, peppermint extract, and food coloring. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin (up to 4 cups) or more cream if mixture is too thick. Add salt if the frosting is too sweet. You may also add more food coloring if desired or more peppermint extract if it is not minty enough. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
7. Frost cooled cupcakes. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake.

Notes

*replacing the heavy cream in the frosting with milk or half-and-half will result in a less creamy consistency.

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes:

Recipe Adapted from: Sally's Baking Addiction

makes 12 cupcakes or 24 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla; or greek yogurt; or sour cream)
• 1/2 cup milk (Skim cow's milk)
• 1/4 cup whole milk 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sprinkles (I used the kind you put on ice cream, not the round ones)
Vanilla Buttercream
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered (confectioners') sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (see note above about substituting milk or half-and-half)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Stir in sugar - mixture will be gritty. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 minute. Stir in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick. Slowly stir in sprinkles, but do not overmix because the sprinkles will bleed their color.
3. Divide batter among 12 cupcake liners (or 24 mini) and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake for 8-9 minutes if making mini cupcakes. Allow to cool.
4. To make the frosting, beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if mixture is too thick. Add salt if frosting is too sweet (1/4 teaspoon). Frost cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake.
5. Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.

Lemony Goodness!!! 

(I know this is a day late, I totally forgot it was Wednesday yesterday! haha.. yea.. it was one of those days!)

So you all remember my post about Easter! Such a last minute decision to cook a big meal! =o) Since I was cooking up a storm I wanted to pick a dessert that was easy, light, but delicious! I was in a lemony mood and I stumbled upon this recipe for lemon squares. 

As you know lemon squares usually have A LOT of butter in the crust, but this one didn't. I was a little wary of how it would taste at first because there wasn't a lot of butter, but boy was I wrong!

Even though there was only 3 tablespoons of butter, you didn't really notice the difference!

I cut a little bit of the sugar out and added more lemon rind, but it is really up to you. I don't like to much sweetness to my desserts and I tend to cut the sugar from all my baking recipes. 

And to top it off, this recipe was SO EASY! I was able to make this while I was cooking everything else without much of a hassle! =o) 

If you love lemon squares PLEASE try this recipe! You and your waistline will be happy  you did!!! =o)

Recipe Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 3 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
  
  
  Topping:
  
  
• 3 large eggs 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp grated lemon rind
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare the crust, beat 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the butter at medium speed of a mixer until creamy. Lightly spoon 1 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Gradually add 1 cup flour to sugar mixture, beating at low speed until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Gently press mixture into bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
3. To prepare topping, beat eggs at medium speed until foamy. Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar and next 5 ingredients (3/4 cup granulated sugar through salt), and beat until well-blended. Pour mixture over partially baked crust. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until set. Cool on wire rack. Sift powdered sugar evenly over top.