Tried and True-Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

Fall recipe of the weekend? Pumpkin butterscotch cookies! They were easy to make, tasted great, and were a big hit!

These cookies had more of a cakelike texture to them, but it made them stand out from other recipes! While I would've liked a little more of a pumpkin flavor, I have to say that the butterscotch chips made all the difference to create something new! They do taste best warm, so I'd advise you to heat them up in the microwave before eating them :) You can find the recipe here.

Tried and True-Thing One and Thing Two Cupcakes!

So, my friend and I are doing a tap duet this year that is Thing 1 and Thing 2, nicknames we use in the studio. For her birthday, I decided to make cupcakes to go with this theme! Take a look:

Adorable, right? They were simple to make, too! I made brownies in red cupcake liners (you could really make any type of cake, too, it doesn't matter) and then added the signs to the front (you can find the link to the ones that I used here). Then, I frosted them with a thin layer of leftover vanilla buttercream and added some blue cotton candy to the top for hair! The brand that I used (Fluffy Stuff) didn't pop up as much as I'd have hoped, so I would probably make these with a different kind next time. The only other issue I had with them was that the cotton candy melted by the time I delivered the cupcakes (I didn't have time to go home, so I had to bring them and let them sit out for 2 hours...understandable that they melted, though, it's cotton candy.) Anyways, they were super cute and my friend loved them!!

Tried and True-Pumpkin Cupcakes

Today's Sunday afternoon project: pumpkin cupcakes! The original recipe calls for salted caramel frosting (which, by the way, I will be making eventually!), but I still had some leftover frosting from last week's apple pie cupcakes (which refrigerates really well, actually), so I used that up and then made some of our family friend's recipe for vanilla buttercream (recipe follows). The results? Great!

The recipe said that it would make about 18 cupcakes, but I actually got 28 out of it! Practically a record for me, since I'm known for making jumbo baked goods that only yield about 1/2 of what the recipe is supposed to! Anyways, they baked about 20 minutes and came out great! I frosted some with cinnamon and some with vanilla frostings and topped them with fall colored nonpareils for some extra color. Take a look!

Not the best pictures, I know, but I took them with my phone since I can't find my camera. Anyways, they came out great and were a perfect fall treat! You can find the recipe here!

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe:

1 cup butter (softened)

3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

Beat to combine, adding more milk to thin as needed and more sugar to taste (if necessary).

Stay Tuned for New Recipes and Reviews!!

On my baking list for today? Pumpkin cupcakes and then Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes! I'll post pictures and reviews of the finished products once I have them, so stay tuned!!

Tried and True-Apple Pie Cupcakes

After a family day of apple picking, Lindsay and I made apple pie cupcakes. They're a cinnamon-like cupcake with sugar/butter cooked apples and a cinnamon frosting. I had a hard time getting the image on here, so click here for a picture and the recipe!
Note: They were a little dry, but tasted JUST LIKE apple pie!! Also, when making the frosting, add about 1/2 cup more sugar, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, and a splash of vanilla so that it has less of a straight butter flavor (you could even cut the frosting recipe in half, since we had a TON of leftover frosting...). But great recipe!!

Tried and True-Brown Sugar Cookies

I've seen this recipe and always wanted to try it, so last weekend, my siblings and I had a baking day and tried it out (along with the baguettes and spekuloos cookies that I've also posted about). Let me just say that these are absolutely delicious. They have almost a cake-like texture to them and the icing is delicious!

Here's the picture on the blog that I found them on and they came out looking exactly the same :)

Here's the recipe link! (Scroll down a little on the page to find it)

Tried and True-Baguettes

There's really nothing much better than a freshly made loaf of good bread. And trust me when I say I've found a keeper recipe. I'll admit that when we made them they looked kind of weird (meaning if they came out like that I probably couldn't serve them) but they sure taste GREAT! They're soft on the inside and just crispy enough on the outside. This is the picture that the website I found the recipe on had:

They look a lot better on this picture than they did when we tried, but they tasted absolutely fantastic!! Check out the recipe here.

Tried and True-Spekuloos Cookies

Spekuloos. A great Belgian treat :) A great company, Waffles and Dinges, has this spread which they call spekuloos. It's a cross between gingerbread and graham cracker. It's so good, that we decided to make cookies that we found that were flavored like it! We made them with Christmas cookie cutters since it's what we had, but hey? When is it ever too early for Christmas?

 

 Rolling out the dough and choosing cookie cutters

The finished product

They taste like gingerbread cookies, but stay soft on the inside if you make them a little thicker. I've never found a fantastic recipe for gingerbread cookies to use during Christmastime, so we're thinking of using this recipe! Check out the recipe here.

Tried and True-Mini Condiment Cupcakes

Tried and true. Well, sort of. More like two great recipe ideas combined! I saw a recipe for cupcakes for two, which I thought was a fantastic idea! Then, I saw another idea about making cupcakes in condiment cups so that they're mini! Since you'd need like a million condiment cups for a whole batch of cupcakes, I thought combining these two ideas would be perfect! So, the Mini Condiment Cupcakes were born! I started with this recipe: click here, for cupcakes for two (which I'm sure would also make a great recipe on it's own). I grabbed some extra condiment cups from a fast food restaurant (I used 12...). I put the condiment cups in a mini muffin tin to give them some extra support (even though they weren't quite the right size). They're in the oven now, take a look:

You have to admit those look amazing!! They cooked for about 13 minutes and now need to cool. Here's a few pictures of how they came out (pre-frosting...)

I think I'm just going to use store-bought frosting, but you could also just make a smaller portion of homemade frosting (AllRecipes has a great feature where it will adjust the ingredient measurements to fit the number of servings you want to make...). Enjoy!

Reader Contest!

This never-ending contest is just for my blog readers! Invite friends to my blog and you'll win a special PDF version of some of my favorite recipes that I've posted (and maybe even a couple I haven't posted yet!), along with some of my baking tips and favorite kitchen tools. If you invite a friend who becomes a member of the blog, let me know which friend of yours has joined and let me know your email, and you'll get the special PDF! So, GO! And happy baking!
P.S. If you're a regular reader and haven't become a member yet, PLEASE DO SO! It really helps the blog :)

Tried and True-"Panera-Like Mac and Cheese"

For those of you who don't know, Panera Bread is a FABULOUS restaurant with homemade breads, soups, sandwiches, and even mac and cheese! It's absolutely to die for! This is a knock-off recipe for the mac and cheese that we tried out for my brother's 12th birthday. We added an extra 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese because the mustard was a little overpowering for our taste, and it was PERFECT! My sister and I made this and it was a simple recipe with common ingredients too! Great find!! Click here for the recipe!

Tried and True-PB Cup Brownies

Made these for my brother's 12th birthday, they're pretty good! The baking time on the recipe is a little too long, but otherwise they're easy and tasty! Click here for the recipe!

Summertime Favorite--Fresh Peach Shortcake

After a family trip to the orchard today, we came back with tons of fresh peaches. If you ask me, there's no better way to enjoy them than in a peach shortcake! Here's my somewhat "homemade" version:
--Shortcake: Just use the recipe on the back of the Bisquick box for strawberry shortcakes (just the shortcake, nothing else, obviously).
--Peaches: Cut up some peaches (about 1 per person) into whatever size slices you'd like. Put them all in a big bowl and toss with some granulated sugar (I used 5 medium-large peaches and 1/4 cup of sugar). Put them in the fridge and you should end up with some easy sugared peaches---to die for!
--Whipped Cream: You could always use your favorite store-bought brand, but I have to say that with such an easy recipe, you might as well stretch your time a little farther to make some homemade whipped cream. I haven't made mine yet, but I just Googled "whipped cream recipe" and found this: Click here. Trust me, I'll let you know if it's not worthy of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Baker! It may help to put your beaters and bowl in the freezer for a while before you start.
Anyways, just split open the shortcakes, add some peaches, and topped with some whipped cream! It's such a great summertime dessert, I guarantee nobody will be able to resist!

Tried and True-Healthy Red Velvet Cake

Healthy Red Velvet Cake


Ok, so we all love cake. I mean, come on, it's gotta be one of the world's favorite desserts! What we don't love, though is the extra calories all of the oil and other ingredients can pack down, not to mention the frosting. However, here comes a new, great idea, for a healthier version of the classic red velvet cake. The ingredients? A boxed cake mix, and some Diet Dr. Pepper. That's it. Sound too good to be true? Take a look for yourself and click here to see the recipe! Bonus: for all of you Weight Watchers out there, this is only 4 points! (For everyone else, that means it's a way more healthy alternative to regular cake!)


Note: The recipe calls for frosting the cake with instant pudding and Cool Whip. This is how I originally made the recipe, and yes, it was good. However, just some whipped topping or maybe even plain, this cake would be great, too! It's up to you, but I just wanna throw it out there that there are plenty of other cake-frosting options that aren't as bad for you as regular frosting!

Tried and True-Cake Batter Truffles

   Cake Batter Truffles
For anyone who may be as big a fan of cake batter ice cream as me, this one is sure to be a hit! Think about and try to taste the greatness of cake batter ice cream. Imagine that, in truffle texture, mixed with sprinkles, and coated in white chocolate. Sound too good to be true? It's not, thanks to this great recipe I've found. Could be one of my all time favorites...and THAT's saying something.


Click here to get the recipe!

Tried and True-Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites


Just made these with my sister a few days ago. Egg-free choco chip cookie dough dipped in dark chocolate. Can you say yum? Easy to make and even easier to make disappear!


Click here for the recipe! (P.S. Found this link through a great site called Pinterest...people post tons of stuff, including great recipes, for everyone to see! Request to become a member...you won't be disappointed!)

New Recipe-Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Pancakes!

 Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Pancakes!

Ok, so not really a RECIPE...but more of, let's say, a great idea! My sister and I took regular Bisquick pancake mix, prepared it according to the instructions on the box for pancakes, and then got creative. What kind of batter did we end up with? It included Nestle mini chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles. Here, take a look for yourself! :)

 Being regular pancakes, they were pretty easy to make. Here, you can see two cooking. One is browned, and one has just been put in. Try and tell me those don't look great, and, well, I don't quite know how I'd respond. ;)

So there you have it. Chocolate chip sprinkle pancakes. Easy, but a whole lotta fun. What kid wouldn't want to wake up to a fresh batch? Great for, let's see, a birthday, first day of school...any day really! A great breakfast and they store well in the fridge for a couple of days, so make extras...trust me, they'll be gone before you can say sprinkle!