Pumpkin Chip Bread with a Strudel Topping and Spiced Glaze

I made this bread a week ago, I needed to get a start on Fall baking.  I had some competition in the kitchen with this Yankee Candle Spice Cake candle, you probably didn't even notice the delicious smell from the oven over the delicious smell on the window sill.  Well, this Pumpkin bread was yummy (though I think I baked it a bit too long and it could have been sweeter according to my Mother).

Pumpkin Chip Bread with a Strudel Topping and Spiced Glaze

Makes 1 8x4 loaf 

Pumpkin Bread adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

1 1/2 + 1/6 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 + 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (15 ounces) canned pumpkin
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Strudel Topping adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 
  
• Pretty much combine all the ingredients in a small bowl

Spiced Glaze adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

1 heaping cup of powdered sugar

3 tablespoons of milk

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

Pretty much whisk all these together in another bowl

Bake the bread!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease the loaf pan

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg)

Meanwhile beat together the wet

First beat together the sugar and oil, then add eggs, water, and vanilla

Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet until completely combined

then fold in the chocolate chips

Pour into loaf pan and top with the strudel mixture 

Bake for about an hour

Let cool and top with Spiced Glaze

Enjoy

p.s. have I ever mentioned that I HATE nutmeg, I got over it and used it here though.

p.p.s. I have the worst lighting ever in my kitchen, the food never looks as good in the picture. 

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These cookies are an adaptation from the m&m Cookies but are more mature,
I added about a cup of toasted sweetened coconut and some chocolate chunks instead of the m&m's (which I much prefer), but still have the best cookie dough base.

very delicious

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm back at school but I made these goodies before I was forced back into my oven-less dormitory.  I've spent a lot of time figuring out what I want to do - not to sound conceited but I'm rather smart and always wanted to be known that way and not becoming a lawyer or having a ph.d in psychology (my other plans) didn't seem like the way to become a genius. However I now figure that it's much "smarter" to do what you love and I much rather dedicate my life to food.  Even though I have two more years at TCNJ, I'm going to spend them working towards culinary school and a nutrition program - I'm looking into Johnson & Wales and it sounds amazing; and just speaking to them, I'm so excited (hopefully excited enough to get me through two more years).  Now I just have the break the news to my professors here that I've been working so closely with in the academic world. I'll promise them free cupcakes if or rather, WHEN I open my bakery one day. 
For now, have a cookie.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies  
from how Sweet it is

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

8 tablespoons of salted butter, melted and cooled

6 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter, melted and cooled

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat over to 325 degrees.

Melt butter and peanut butter together in microwave then set to cool

Mix together flour and baking soda in separate bowl

Mix sugars with the butters mix till combined

then add eggs and vanilla 

and finally the dry stuff

fold in the chips - I used mini cause thats what I had, there were so many of them so I cut it down to 1 cup and they were everywhere making every bite delicious.

Form decent size balls, like a small golf ball and place on ungreased cookie sheet and into the oven for 12ish minutes. 

attempt to let cool and then eat. 

 

they were incredible. maybe if I bring them to class, everyone will agree that culinary school is for me.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

 

From Annie's Eats

OMG, my mother decided these little cakes were the best I've ever baked, they had to be made twice.  I made them for a BBQ and again for my sister's play date - I was told that the mom's loved them even more than the kids. I say awesome to that, hopefully mommies will be my future clientele.

First I made the egg-less cookie dough filling so It could be refrigerated:

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Cream the butter and brown sugar before adding the flour, milk, and extract; then fold in the chips.

Next, comes the brown sugar cake batter

First time around, I halved the original recipe and I thought there was too much butter so the second time I made the whole recipe minus 1 stick of butter.  I think I'm going to go back to 3 sticks next time to compare, and who's to argue with Annie's Eats.

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt*
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

Make sure the butter and sugar is creamed well before adding one egg at a time. Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl then alternating-ly add the dry and the milk + vanilla; making sure to start and end with the dry stuff. then fold in the chips.

Then bake for 18-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Now, FROSTING, brown sugar frosting to be exact

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt*
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract

I WISH I HAD A STAND MIXER, it's supposed to be my Christmas present so fingers crossed for a pretty color.  So with a stand mixer or a hand mixer (like I use)

Cream the butter and brown sugar, then mix in the powdered sugar until smooth, then the flour, then the milk and vanilla.

*I always use salted butter and leave out the salt, so feel free to do that too.

Once the delicious cakes are cooled enough and your patience has run out, fill with a bit of the filling, I actually used a piping tip to core the cupcake (I couldn't find anything better) and then filled the hole with the egg-less mixture

and filled an actual piping bag with the frosting and frosted the yummy cupcake. 

I don't advise eating these right out of the refrigerator, make sure they're room temperature for melty buttery bliss.

top with mini chips. enjoy.

 

 

 

Muffin Basket

I'm really terrible at keeping this updated; however, since no one really reads it - who cares? Well then again, maybe if I kept this blog updated thennnn I would have more followers. anyway...

My best friend had her son about three weeks ago so I channeled my inner Martha for a welcome home basket of freshly baked, homemade muffins.

To Die For Blueberry Muffins from allrecipes.com
Apple Strudel Muffins from allrecipes.com
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins from Nigella Lawson

 

 

Coffee Chip Ice Cream

If you can't tell, I love my ice-cream maker and every recipe I try is just so delicious - this can't be safe for my waist line.

This Coffee ice cream with Chocolate Chips was my Aunt Laurie's special request and was oh so yummy

Adapted from Baked Bree

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons instant coffee
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean extract

1 cup mini Chocolate Chips

In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and coffee.

 

Slowly whisk in the milk and cream.

Cook over medium to medium high heat stirring constantly until thickened.  It takes about 10-15 minutes.  The mixture needs to come to a bubble so the cornstarch can reach full thickening power.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, whisk your egg yolk.

Add the vanilla extract.

Add a very small amount of the hot cream mixture to the egg yolk whisking constantly.  Gradually add the rest being careful to not scramble the egg yolk.

Cover the ice cream with plastic wrap, having the wrap touch the surface so a skin does not form.  Chill for a few hours, overnight if possible.

 

Freeze the mixture according to the directions used for your ice cream maker.  A few minutes before the end of the freezing time add almost all of the Chocolate Chips.

Transfer the mixture to another container and freeze for at least two hours before you serve it.  Or not. 

 

 

Read more: http://bakedbree.com/coffee-toffee-ice-cream#ixzz1NYSnISsq

Peanut Butter Ice Cream deliciousness with Fudge Swirl and Chocolate Covered Pretzels

I got my ice cream machine and my bikini in the mail today; hmmm...which one to send back?

This ice cream is the most delicious thing, I think, I have ever created - it's decadent and rich and creamy and so good.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

adapted from Baked Bree

Read more: http://bakedbree.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-ice-cream#ixzz1MqQQn1Tr

Ingredients 

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 jar of hot fudge sauce - I melted it in the microwave for easy layering
bag of chocolate covered pretzels

yum:

In a medium saucepan, melt the peanut butter over medium heat.

Add the milk.

Add the cream.

Whisk in the sugar.

Add in the vanilla.  Whisk the ice cream until the mixture comes together.  Chill the mixture.

After the base has chilled, pour the mixture into your ice cream machine.

Add in the crushed chocolate covered pretzels.

Layer the ice cream with the hot fudge sauce in freezer safe container.

FREEZE!

Brownie Cupcakes

Brownie Cupcakes

Adapted from Woman's Day 

Ingredients:

1 stick of Butter

3/4 cup of chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, because that's what was in the house)

1/2 cup Sugar

Splash of vanilla

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt Butter in saucepan over low heat, add and melt Chocolate Chips when Butter is all melted

Remove from heat and add Sugar, Vanilla, and Eggs until incorporated

then, add Flour

Fill lined cupcake tray with batter (I only got 10 cupcakes out of this amount, I'd really recommend doubling the amount, as in the original recipe)

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of the brownie

Cool and serve

I added chunks of chocolate and 1/2 teaspoons of peanut butter into the centers of mine before baking. yum.