Soft Pumpkin Cookies

First off, if anyone has a deep love for accounting, come on over and do my homework for me. Thanks.
This past week I had my midterm in my baking class.  We had to make soft roll dough by ourselves.  Chef was nowhere to be found while we all were in the kitchen making the bread....ironic.  My mind is so scatterbrained right now, so I don't really have anything of importance to say.  As opposed to me ever having anything important to say..... I've had 2 cups of hot tea already today trying to stay warm. It's not working.  However, these pumpkin cookies I baked yesterday go great with a warm cup of tea! Just sayin'.  
.........but really....this accounting book that is looking at me right now as I type this....it's all yours to the first person who says they love it.

Ingredients:
For the cookie-1 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup unsalted butter - softened
2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin 2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

For the cream cheese icing-
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese - softened
2 tablespoons butter - softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
For the cookies:
-Cream shortening, butter, white sugar and pumpkin.
-Add eggs and mix well.
-Sift together the baking soda, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, salt and flour. -Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
-Drop from spoon to cookie sheet.
**make sure the spoonful is a pretty big spoon full**
-Bake 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the icing:
-Mix the cream cheese with the butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and milk in a bowl.
-Heat in a microwave for 15 seconds.
-Drizzle spoonfuls over the cooled cookies and smooth with the back of a spoon or a spatula.

Autumn Temptation: Apple & Creamcheese Cake

Apples upon apples in this house thanks to my sister, Sam, who went to the orchard last weekend.  As described by Grandma, yep, you guessed it, "DE-licious!".  I would just like to give you all an update about my dislike of haunted houses from last post.  So, last night (Friday), I was at Brother's in Newport, and there was a group of guys for a Bachelor party there from out of town, and they told me and my friend Frannie that they were going to USS Nightmare over the hill on the river. They asked about it, and I quickly told them NOT to go there and they would hate their lives if they did. So of course, they asked me where they should go then, so I pointed them to The Banks over in downtown....not the haunted house. They listened. .....but I'm also thinking their first problem was that they were going to a haunted house for a bachelor party. Oh, sounds wild..............

Ingredients:
Cream Cheese Filling
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese - softened 
1/4 cup butter - softened 
1/2 cup sugar 
1 large egg 
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cake Batter
3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar - packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 
3 large eggs - lightly beaten 
 3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup applesauce 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples

Praline Frosting
1/2 cup light brown sugar - packed
1/4 cup butter 
3 tablespoons milk 
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
 
Directions:
Prepare Filling:
-Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. -Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.

Prepare Batter:
-Preheat oven to 350º.
-Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
-Stir in apples.
-Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan.
-Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan. Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife.
-Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.
-Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
-Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours)

Prepare Frosting:
-Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly.
-Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
-Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly.
-Pour immediately over cooled cake.

It's that time...Apple Pie.

So it's that time of the year again. Summer has come and gone, and I'm sitting here in long pants again.  Have you ever noticed everything is never as it seems?  Fall for instance.  We think fall is like the greatest time of our lives "hoodies, bonfires, pumpkin patches, haunted houses, and hayrides" when in fact, when you put on a hoodie, I'm willing to bet you don't think twice about it or dwell about how fantastic your day just got because you put on a hoodie. And bonfires, sure they're great, if done properly, but 9 times out of 10 it's windy and the smoke is blowing straight into your eyes, or the guy building the fire who thinks he knows how to do it and claims he was a boy scout, can't get the fire even to spark. And haunted houses?  No. Don't even go there with me.  Because they aren't even scary, and you stand in line longer than you're actually in the "haunted house". So needless to say, fall is only good for apple pies......apples straight from the orchard, mind you. And I would take my lovely summer weather, and summer tanning, over a rainy, 65 degree fall day. Enjoy this apple pie recipe......it's simple as pie! Oh wait..... 

 

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust (from 15-ounce package)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (about 4 medium)
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425°F.
-Prepare crust as directed on package.
-Place on foil-lined 12-inch pizza pan.
-Brush crust with about 1/2 of the beaten egg white.

-Mix 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in medium bowl. Toss with apples.
-Spoon into center of crust, spreading to within 2 inches of edges.
-Fold 2-inch edge of crust up over apples, pleating or folding crust as needed.
-Brush crust with remaining egg white; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar.

-Bake 20 minutes or until apples are tender.

Enjoy!

Lemon Lime Sugar Cookie Truffles! Yeehaw!

Talk about being late on this blog.  I made these back in Vietnam.  And when I say Vietnam, I really mean back in May.  My bff Frannie had the picture on her laptop, and I never got around to getting it off her laptop until the other day.  As I sit here on my last day of summer vacation, drinking on my strawberry & banana smoothie I just whipped up for my post work out snack, looking back on this summer, it was a helluva lot of fun. Helluva. I said it, Mom. Helluva!!  I can't even think of 1 thing that was bad about this summer, except that it is ending. I could literally cry myself a river right now thinking about it.  *Cue the music*  As for right now, I am a bit distracted with my dad and the dog running around in circles in the family room screaming.
Sarah- "Dad, can you be quiet? I'm blogging."
Dad- "Blogging? What does that mean?"
*sigh* Dads these days.

Ingredients:
-1 batch of sugar cookie dough (I used a store-bought mix...I know...so sacrilegious!)
-zest and juice of 1 large lemon
-zest and juice of 1 large lime
-1 1/2 blocks cream cheese (12 ounces) at room temperature
-1 package white chocolate candy coating
-colored sprinkles or coarse sugar, for garnish

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Prepare the cookie dough as directed on package or recipe
-Add in the zest and juice of the lemon and lime and mix well.
-Spread the cookie dough in a greased 9×9 baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cookies are fully baked.
-Cool completely.

-When cookies are cooled, using your hands, remove from the dish and crumble into the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor (small chunks are fine).
-Add in the cream cheese and mix until the cookie crumbs and cream cheese are completely mixed together.
-Roll into 1-1 1/2 inch balls and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

-When the balls are thoroughly chilled, melt the white chocolate candy coating in the microwave, or over a double boiler.
-Carefully dip each ball into the white chocolate and turn to coat.
-Remove with a tooth pick and set on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
-Top with sprinkles. 
-Repeat until all the balls are coated. Store in the refrigerator.

**These are a delicious summertime treat and if you use the appropriate amount of lemon and lime juice and zest, it is the perfect combo and not too overwhelming, like some lemon/lime recipes tend to turn out! Enjoy! :)

Meltaways....exactly that.

You know those Busken Bakery tea cookies with the dollop of colored icing on top? Yeah, well these are those.....but on steroids and better!  Yes, I just compared myself to Busken Bakery, and yes I said I was better. Trying to stay humble, but I am just too fabulous to do so.  Mind you, these were very simple to make and called for very few ingredients.  And like myself, you'll probably have to go to the store and buy a new jar of cornstarch because the recipe calls for 3/4 cup of cornstarch. WHAT?! Normally a recipe called for like 1 teaspoon. Shoot. Anyways, I'm keeping this short and sweet. Enjoy these bad boys!
                                              
Ingredients:
For the cookie: 

1 cup butter 

3/4 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon vanilla
 

For the frosting: 

3oz. cream cheese - softened 

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
For the cookie: 
-In a medium bowl, cream butter until fluffy.  
-Add cornstarch & sugar and blend well.  
-Beat in flour until thoroughly mixed.  
-Drop by small teaspoons onto baking sheet & flatten out with the bottom of a class. (Dip glass in powdered sugar to prevent sticking).  
-Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  

For the frosting:
-Mix all ingredients together.  Color with food coloring if desired.

Reese's Peanut Butter Goodness....

I'm sitting at work and I am like 87.5% distracted right now.  Let me just say, that this Reese's goodness I'm blogging about, I brought it into work today and let me just say it was devoured in 2 seconds by my co-workers. Shout out to Emily, Hailey, and Corin, ya haas cats.  I can't believe it is already August 9th and summer break has basically come and gone already.  Ahhhhh!  But here at the country club, I can only eat so many nachos and cheese and pizzas.  I'm ready to move on from that.  Also, I am now a proud member of the I joined gym Planet Fitness in Newport.  It's going to be fabulous!  Only $10.00 a month AND it's open 24 hours/7 days a week. WOOO!  I've missed a real gym sooo much.  Going on runs and doing simple things at my house just wasn't cuttin' it.  And to end this, I would definitely like to mention that the US Women's Soccer team plays today in the Gold medal round of the Olympics! 'Murica!!!

Ingredients:

CRUST 9 graham crackers - crushed 1/3 cup melted butter 1/3 cup sugar FUDGE LAYER 14 oz sweetened condensed milk 3 cups milk chocolate chips 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon vanilla 1 (8 oz) bag mini Reese's PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup powdered sugar 8 oz cream cheese - room temperature 1 1/2 cup cool whip 1/4 melted chocolate for drizzle
Directions: -For crust: Mix all ingredients for crust together and press in the bottom of a springform pan. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Set aside. -For fudge layer: Mix all ingredients for fudge layer(besides Reese's minis) together over medium low, stirring until chips are melted and smooth. Spread over your graham cracker crust. -Press the Reese's minis into the fudge. -For peanut butter mousse: Mix peanut butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar together in a bowl with a hand mixer until combined and smooth. Fold in your Cool Whip. Spread on top of your fudge. -Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired. ---Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Carmelitas. Sounds foreign, right? It has to be good.

Jealous? Because you should be.  These were sooooo simple to make and were ready to eat in no time! The only thing that took some time was the cooling process because there's no greater feeling than having to claw off molten caramel lava from the inside of your mouth.  I start my next semester of pastry school in less than a month, on August 29th and I am SO excited.  Tomorrow morning I'm going up to school to get measured for my baking uniform. How cute, I know.  And yesterday I registered for classes and I'm going up to school 2 days a week for a 5 hour baking class and then a 5 hour cake decorating class, and then I have a couple classes online.  I'm excited for school.  ......hold on...did Sarah just say she was excited for school? ahhhh.  In less than a month I am going to have to say goodbye to summer and nothing makes me more sad than that. It's going to be a tough break-up, but I know we will be reunited soon enough in 8 or 9 months again. .....And just so you know, Grandma, my best critic, came running out to the kitchen last night after she had a serving of this and she said, "Sarah.....this is it. This. Is. It. ....this is the ultimate." And she dramatically turned back around with her moo-moo swooshing, just as dramatically, behind her.

Ingredients:
32 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside.
-In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda.
-Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
-Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust.
-Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips.
-Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel.
-Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. -Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.

***A few minutes in the fridge will help them cool off quicker. They shouldn't be served cold, but all of that molten caramel takes a long time to cool down.
***They should be stored and served at room temperature.