Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie

1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 unbaked pie shell

1. Mix together corn syrup, sugar, eggs, vailla, and melted butter.

2. Put pecans in the bottom of a pie shell.

3. Pour pie filling over the pecans and bake at 350 for a little over an hour or until internal temp is 200 degrees.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

CUPCAKE:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups flour

1. Cream together shortening and butter until light and fluffy.

2. Add in eggs, one at a time, making sure to mix well after each egg.

3. Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking powder, and baking soda.

4. Stir in flour and pumpkin until incorporated.

5. Mix in buttermilk and vanilla.

6. Put in a paper lined cupcake tin, and fill each 2/3 of the way full.

7. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

8. Cool completely and frost with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream.


CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM:
8oz brick of cream cheese
1 stick of butter, softened
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
7 cups powdered sugar
Few Tbsp of milk

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter.

2. Add to the mixture the vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.

3. Slowly mix in powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy.

4. Add in milk as needed to get the best buttercream consistency.

5. Frost cupcakes!

Pumpkin Pie Squares

It's Pumpkin Pie. . .only more filling. . .and square.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

SHORTBREAD CRUST:
2 1/4 cups of flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, cubed

1. Mix all ingredients together until course and crumbly.

2. Pat the filling into a 9x13 pan.

3. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

4. Top with pumpkin filling.

5. Bake at 350 for a shade over an hour. Should look like a pumpkin pie when it's done. Set, but not firm.


PUMPKIN FILLING:
6 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cup brown sugar
3 cup pumpkin
2 cup whipping cream

1. Combine all ingredients and dump on top of crust!

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Some people call these twice baked potatoes, but not me. When I was a kid, I remember my grandma making these incredibly creamy indulgences and she ALWAYS called them Stuffed Baked Potatoes.

She made them in huge batches, and then froze them. The ability to freeze is one of the things I love about this recipe!!! I can make a whole bag of them, and freeze them! You don't even have to thaw to bake them, and they taste just as good from frozen as they do fresh.

She always made them for holidays and special occasions. If you really want to get fancy, you can pipe the potatoes back into the shell using a pastry bag and a large tip, but I like the hap-hazzard look you get just spooning it in there. The best part is, that when you bake them, the top of the potato gets a bit crispy. I LOVE that crispy top!!! It's just so darn good. Reminds me of Grandma. You can top it with extra sour cream, or eat it as is. . .

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

1 5 lb bag of potatos, baked until fork tender and slightly cooled
1 stick of butter
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 brick of cream cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
salt, pepper, and some good old Franks Red Hot

1. Cut the tops off of the potatoes.

2. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes being careful to leave enough of a shell so that the potato skin doesn't tear.

3. Take all the potato that you scooped out and put it into a mixing bowl.

4. Add to the potato all the rest of the ingredients and whip the daylights out of it until it's decadently creamy.
5. Scoop back into the shell and bake at 350 for about 1/2 an hour.

6. Or you can freeze them, and bake from frozen, at 350, for about an hour.

Peaches and Cream Pie

This is my Dad's favorite pie. Peaches and Cream. Mine didn't turn out quite how my mom's does and I know why.

You know what I do wrong: I slice the peaches instead of halve them. Sounds ridiculous that it doesn't turn out right because of that, but it's true. By slicing the peaches, you release more liquid into the pie which makes it never firm up. But by halving the peaches, you get a firm texture.

So if you you make this rich, creamy, peachy pie, don't make the same mistake I did!!!!

Peaches and Cream Pie

1 unbaked pie shell
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp corn starch
5 fresh peaches, peeled and halved
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Mix together sugar and cornstarch.

2. Pour 3/4 cup of the sugar mixture in the bottom of the pie shell.

3. Arrange all peach halves over sugar mixture.

4. Evenly pour the rest of the sugar mixture over the top of the peaches.

5. Pour the whipping cream over the pie.

6. Bake at 350 for 40 to 60 minutes, depending on the ripeness of the peaches. Best way to tell when pie is done, is the custard should be clear.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

It's that time of year again. . .Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I hate to admit it, but I'm not exactly a "Thanksgiving-y" person. I would honestly not be disappointed if we just skipped right over it and headed straight to Christmas. I know: some of you are highly offended by such things, but for me, it's true.

I get that there's history in the Holiday, and that people take their turkey and pie quite seriously. I however, could (and do) eat turkey and pie all year long, so it's not about the meal for me.

Last year we spent our Thanksgiving at Disney World. It didn't even feel like Thanksgiving, and I was completely fine with that. We ate at a Chinese restaurant inside Epcot called Nine Dragons. Wasn't very good. TOTALLY un-Thanksgiving-y. We had an amazing time. Finished off the night with the Holiday Fireworks Display with more than 14,000 fireworks!

But this year we'll be home. My mom is having surgery on Monday and will be on the mend during the Holiday break, which means I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year. To prep myself for such festivities I have been pumping out the pumpkin treats!

I made these cookies a few weeks back to bring to our small group at church on Wednesday night. I usually bring a treat every Wednesday, and they tend to almost always be cupcakes. This week, however, I stepped outside the usual, and brought cookies.

They're soft, spicy, moist, and delicious. The cookie itself isn't very sweet. Almost like a pumpkin bread. But top it with the glaze and it's an incredibly indulgent treat! So prep yourself for the big meal, get into the swing of things, and make a batch of cookies! Added Bonus: The house smells very festive when they're baking!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies!

COOKIES:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

1. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until lightly pale and fluffy.

3. Add in egg and vanilla extract.

4. Combine the pumpkin with the creamed butter mixture.

5. Slowly add in the dry ingredients.

6. Drop, by Tbsp, onto cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes at 350.

7. Cool, and glaze!

GLAZE:
2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon butter (melted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until incorporated.

2. Spoon over cookies and let set.

3. I like to lightly dust the cookies with cinnamon sugar when glaze is still runny.