My Adventures With Pumpkin Cookies

The Monkey’s school holds a Fall Festival each year, and we have not missed one since she started in 2009.  The school’s PTO (which is AWESOME) organizes the festival, and the Monkey loves it.  They have games, a DJ (!), lots of food and drinks, and the ever popular classroom pumpkin contest.  Each class chooses a theme, and then the students decorate pumpkins to reflect it.  It’s really cool, because the students keep their ideas a secret from one another until the day of the reveal.  The secret keeping is amazing in itself, but what’s really amazing are the pumpkins.  This year there were owls, minions, M&Ms, and aliens.  The students put a lot of time and pride in their work.

The Monkey's Class

One of the winning entries

This year the PTO held  its first Pumpkin Bake Off.  Hot damn.  Something I might be good at.  (Spoiler Alert: I wasn’t so good at it).   I filled out my paperwork, submitted my $5 entrance fee, and then searched Pinterest for the absolutely best pumpkin recipe I could find.

I found this one.  The title of the recipe said it all.  Melt In Your Mouth Pumpkin Cookies.

Each contestant had to bring 25 samples of their recipe to the event.  For a $5 fee, festival goers could taste each of the contestants goodies.  The contest was a popular one – there were 15 entries.  Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake, pumpkin truffles, pumpkin creme brulee, and pumpkin cupcakes.  This is not a contest to take part in if you are diabetic.  Once you tasted all of the treats, you had to become a judge and pick your favorite.  The contestant that had the most tickets in their ballet box won the contest.

I didn’t win.

Not even close to winning.

How many tickets did I get? 

One.

One freaking ticket.

I am happy to say that no one in my family voted for me (we didn’t take part in the eating).  So, one person out there liked my cookies.  Or they had a heart, and didn’t want me to not get any votes.  Whoever you are, thank you for your pity.

Don't fret -- the cookies didn't go to waste.  My family enjoyed them, and truth be told, the cookies tasted better the next day.  I'm not sure, but it seemed as if the pumpkin flavor came through better the longer the cookies sat around.

Want to give it try?  Just follow the recipe below.  Best of luck! 

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies

(from Better Homes & Garden)

Cookie Ingredients

2 cups butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 (15 oz) can  pumpkin

4 cups all-purpose flour

Frosting Ingredients

1/2 cup  butter

1/2 cup  packed brown sugar

1/4 cup  milk

1 teaspoon  vanilla

2 3/4 cups  powdered sugar

 Ground cinnamon (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat 2 cups butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Add eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are set. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread frosting on cookies. If desired, sprinkle with additional cinnamon. Makes about 60 cookies.

Thin Mint Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes cakes last week for the Teachers Appreciation Luncheon at the Monkey’s school.  I was told that they were a big hit, and I am going to choose to believe it, because the container came home empty.

You can find my go-to chocolate cake recipe here.  Your Cup of Cake has some really creative cupcakes, and her photos are beautiful.

Normally, I would make a butter cream frosting and call it a day, but I tried something different.  I searched the web for a cream cheese frosting, and found one that was simple enough.  However, for the life of me I can’t remember where I got it from (so I can’t thank that person, or link to their page, which is a blogger no-no).  I will say that I tweaked the recipe a bit, as it was vanilla flavor, and I wanted a mint flavor.

Cream Cheese Mint Frosting

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 3 oz. cream cheese softened
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 ½ tspn. Peppermint extract
• 16 oz. 10x sugar
• Green food coloring
• Thin Mints (for garnish)

Cream the butter and cream cheese together, and gradually add the powered sugar.  The frosting will appear thick and lumpy.  Slowy add in the milk, and mix until well blended.  Mix in extract, and then mix in the food color.  There isn’t any specific amount of coloring to add – use your best judgment.

Of course I had Thin Mints on hand (what Girl Scout leader doesn’t have a box in the freezer).  If you didn’t stock up during the last cookie sale, you could always use the Keebler knock off version.  However, I highly advise against that, and ask that you support your local Girl Scout!

Until next time.....

Ping Pong Anyone?

Happy Holidays!!!!!

That’s a lot of work for one day, right?

There were two things that made the Monkey super happy this Christmas.  The first is the ping pong table that Santa left in our basement.  I think these pictures say it all.

The second is Funfetti Cake Batter Buddies.  I found this recipe while surfing Pinterest one evening, and thought it sounded tasty.  I, like my daughter and Buddy the Elf, have a thing for sweets.  We also love anything that has sprinkles (I call them jimmies, but we’ll have that argument another day) on it.  This recipe has everything we crave – sugar, sprinkles, chocolate, and cake mix.   It takes less than 10 minutes to make, and it makes A LOT.  Thanks to Six Sisters' Stuff for the recipe.

If you like sweets, or have little ones around you, give this recipe a try.  I'm sure they will become fans of it right away!  Besides, the holiday season is when we are supposed to overdo it, right?

Chocolate Covered Goodness

My work hosted a bake sale earlier this week, and I wanted to make something that no one else would think of (at least, I hoped no one would).  I was going to make chocolate covered marshmallows, but decided to make Oreo Pops because the cookies were on sale at the market, and because I wanted to see if I could make someone fall into a sugar coma.

Here is what you need to make your own Chocolate Covered Oreo Pops:

• Package of Oreos (I prefer Double Stuff Oreos)
• Popsicle sticks
• Melting chocolate
• Sprinkles

Carefully (CAREFULLY!!!!) twist the chocolate cookie wafers apart.  I can't stress the word carefully enough.  I had the toughest time getting the cookies to stay in one piece.  I got ticked off at the amount of wasted cookies I had, but my niece and nephew were overjoyed.  Put the cookie with the "middle" stuck to it on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet.

The pile of broken cookies that made my nephew's eyes go wide

Melt the chocolate according the package direction.  Make sure you do not overcook it, or you will be stuck with useless chocolate (it will burn).  Dip the top of the popsicle stick in the chocolate, and place in the middle of the cookie wafer.  Place the plain cookie wafer on top so you will now have a complete cookie.  Transfer the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes, allowing the chocolate to set.

Check out my mad skills

Back to normal

This might sound too difficut to do.  Get ready......here goes...... Cover the cookie pop with the melted chocolate.  Whew!  Too much to handle, right?  I have found it easier to spoon the chocolate over the cookie instead of dipping it directly in the mixture.  Make sure you cover the entire cookie, and allow the excess chocolate to go back into the bowl.  Place the covered pop back on the wax paper.  Now is the time to sprinkle the sprinkles on your pop.  Allow the chocolate to set, and then you can wrap things up.

Getting a chocolate bath

Cute, right?  Super easy, right?  This would make great party favors, especially since melting chocolate comes in a variety of colors.  I used blue because I made these on Autism Awareness Day, and this was my attempt to Light It Up Blue.  This blue color would be perfect for a baby shower.

Finished product

How did the bake sale go, you ask?  Pretty good.  We have a variety of snacks, and collected $156.  How did my stuff go?  I made chocolate cake pops, which sold out.  I think a few Oreo pops were left over.  Truth be told, I think the blue chocolate frightened some people away.  However, I did ask a co-worker what she thought of them, and she said they were "effing good" (direct quote).

  

Rice Krispies + Peeps + Chocolate = YUM!

Wouldn't you know it?  The baking bug hit me today, and I didn't have enough ingredients on hand to make cupcakes.  I sent my hubby to the store to get some things.  I didn't want the creative juices to go away, so I thought I would share with you another recipe using Peeps.

This is a fun, and very messy, recipe to do with your little ones.  Be prepared for the mess.

Okay....let's begin.

The ingredients are pretty easy.  You will need two boxes of Rice Krispie treats, eight (8) bunny Peeps (or 16 chick Peeps), melting chocolate, and sprinkles.

Remove the treats from the packaging, and place them on a plate.  Using your hands, flatten each treat so they are about one inch high (to be honest with you, I'm not sure why I flattened them in the first place.  Once I did, I realized they were a lot easier to work with).

Now it's time to commit murder.  If you are using the bunny Peeps, you will have to slice each one down the middle so you end up with two bunnies.  Hey....they are known to multiple quickly, you know).

Please forgive me, Easter Gods

Melt the chocolate according to the directions on the package.  Now comes the assembly.  You can either dip the top of the krispie treat in the chocolate so that it is covered, or you can spoon and then smear the chocolate on the treat.  I found that the spoon way was easier (and cleaner).

 
Take one of the bunny halves, and place on top of the chocolate.  Put the treat on top of wax paper, and top with sprinkles (Sprinkles are really optional.  I love them, and will put them on anything possible).  The chocolate sets pretty quickly, so you can enjoy these in matter of minutes.

A chick sitting on his nest

A whole tray of these would look cute on any table, and would also make a festive party treat, especially for school classroom parties.  I used the products that I had on hand, but you could use different color chocolate and marshmallows.

The best thing about this recipe is you can adapt it for each holiday.  Peeps are available all year long, so you can make these at Halloween using pumpkin peeps and at Christmas using tree peeps. 

Try these with you little Peep fans, and let me know how they turned out.



A peep wearing her Easter bonnet (Meg's creation)



Tasty Thursday

Buffalo Chicken Dip....everyone has their own version of the recipe.  I got this recipe from my husband's cousin's wife (did you follow that?) years ago.  She brought this dip to a party, and everyone went crazy for it.  It was so good -- it was like nothing I had before -- and I had to find out how to make it.

I made it, and brought it to a party, and everyone went crazy for it.  People asked me for the recipe, and I'm sure that they now make it, bring it to parties, and people go crazy for their version.

Below is how I make this dip.  My cousin MD (the 2nd one) makes it a different way, and we went head to head one day.  It was like the Pepsi challenge.  Which one did you like better?  I'll admit it...she beat me. 

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 lb. cooked chicken breast, shredded
1 block cream cheese, softened
1 jar blue cheese dressing (not the kind that can be found on the shelves -- you have to get the kind in the produce section)
2 cups buffalo wing sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Heat the chicken and wing sauce in a sauce pan over medium heat, until heated through.  Add the cream cheese and dressing.  Cook, and stir until well blended.  Pour into a 9x13 casserole pan.  Spread the shredded cheese over the mixture.  Cook for 35 minutes.  Serve with crackers and celery sticks.

Like I said, I lost to her in the challenge.  I'm up for another one.  I think I can take her.  It would be like our version of the Iron Chef.  What do you say?