Caramel Apple Cake

Excuse all of the early fall recipes, I just get a little excited. Fall foods and flavors are my favorite and I want to be able to have enough time to make all the fall desserts I want. Bare with me because I have a LONG check list. This cake is definitely not the prettiest I've ever seen, but hey, never judge a book by its cover! Can I use that here?.. Anyway, just make this cake. Trust me. Here's what you need

Butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, apples, and pecans. Combine butter and both sugars in a large mixing bowl

Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla

Mix well. Add all the dry ingredients

Stir on low speed until just combined. Peel, core, and chop the apples. Fold the apples and pecans into the batter

If it looks like there are more apples then batter, you did exactly what you are supposed to. Spread the batter out evenly in a greased 9x13 dish. (Batter will be thick)

Bake until golden and set in the middle

While the cake is cooling, prepare the caramel glaze. Here's what you'll need

Butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and salt. Combine butter, both sugars, and salt in a pot

Whisk constantly so the mixture doesn't burn. Bring on the heavy cream

Bring that to a boil

Remove from heat. Now stab some holes in the cake with a fork or knife

Pour every last bit of the caramel over the cake

Let the glaze soak into the cake. Poke more holes if necessary

Let the cake cool completely and sit a couple of hours before serving. Cut and serve

Add a scoop of pumpkin ice cream= fall in your mouth. Enjoy :)

Caramel Apple Cake

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, & diced

2 Red apples (fugi, red delicious, gala, etc.), peeled, cored, & diced 

1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
1 Tbs. vanilla

Beat together butter and both sugars. Add in eggs and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the apples and pecans. Spread evenly in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and set aside. While cooling prepare the caramel glaze. 

Caramel Glaze:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the granulated and brown sugars and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Stir in the cream and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat

Frosted Pumpkin Blondies

I am on a roll with the pumpkin stuff now. I had half of the can left from the bread so these were necessary to make so the pumpkin wouldn't go to waste. I love blondies and pumpkin, so I made these right when I saw the recipe. The outcome was positive. The pumpkin makes the texture some what bready, so they didn't have the chewy blondie texture I was expecting, but that wasn't a bad thing, just different. Then of course, I had to add frosting and I just happened to have some cream cheese icing already made up in the fridge. I highly recommend these, especially if you need some help getting in the fall spirit :) Here's what you'll need

Butter, brown sugar, vanilla, an egg, pumpkin, flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, salt, cinnamon chips, white chocolate chips, and pecans. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add brown sugar and vanilla

 Mix well. Even after the brown sugar is mixed in, it will separate from the butter, but that is normal. Once you add more ingredients they will incorporate. Add the egg

Mix well. Stir in pumpkin

 Next, add all the remaining ingredients: flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, salt, cinnamon chips, white chocolate chips, and pecans

Carefully fold into the batter until just combined. Scoop into a foil lined (I use the non-stick foil so I don't have to spray the foil, but regular foil will work fine as long as you grease it) 9x13 pan. Spread the batter out evenly

Once finished baking, remove from oven and let the bars cool completely

 Prepare the cream cheese frosting. I've made cream cheese frosting before so here is the link to the recipe: http://kysweettoothsisters.blogspot.com/2011/04/red-velvet-cupcakes.html. If you half the recipe, you should have the perfect amount of icing. Spread the finished frosting over the cooled pumpkin blondies. Cut and serve.. with a pumpkin spice latte :) 

Store in an air-tight container (in the fridge) up to about 3 days.

Pumpkin Blondies

(adapted from 'the girl who ate everything')

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 T. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1¼ cups brown sugar
1 large egg
1 T. vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup cinnamon chips
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until sugar dissolves. Beat in the egg until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree. Add the remaining ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake about 30-35 minutes, or until the blondies no longer jiggle in the middle. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool. While cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting.

Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese

1 stick unsalted butter

2 tsp. vanilla

3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until fluffy and smooth. (Usually, when I make frosting I make sure the butter and cream cheese are soft. This time when I made the frosting, I only let the cream cheese and butter sit about about 15-20 minutes. When I started making the frosting they were both still hard, but I just beat them together for a while with the mixer and believe it or not, cream cheese frosting has never turned out better for me.) Mix in the vanilla. Lastly, add the powdered sugar about a cup at a time, beating well after each addition and making sure there are no lumps. Spread over the cooled blondies. Peel foil away from blondies, cut into 24 squares and serve! Keep stored in fridge.

Happy September!

According to myself, you can make pumpkin stuff year round, but also according to me, September is the perfect start to making pumpkin and other fall foods. Once the first day of September comes around, I'm over summer, and ready for fall. In order for that to happen, you of course have to have fall foods :) What better way to kick off the pumpkin season with pumpkin bread? I tried a new recipe, tweaked it a little and had an amazing outcome! The bread was moist, light, sweet, and had the perfect amount of spice too it (I don't like many spices though). So here's what you'll need

Flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, melted butter, vanilla, eggs, water, and of course, pumpkin. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, both sugars, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin

Beat on medium-low speed until combined. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and stir together

Alternately add dry mixture and water to pumpkin mixture, beginning and ending with dry mixture

 Mix on low speed until just combined

Fold in any other ingredients you wish to add, such as, pecans, cinnamon chips, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, etc. Scoop batter evenly into greased loaf pans. (I used 18 mini loaf pans)

 Optional: sprinkle cinnamon sugar over each loaf

Bake until cooked through the middle. Remove from oven and let cool in pans about 5 minutes

Remove from pans and cool completely on foil or cooling rack. My favorite way to eat pumpkin bread is warm with butter or cream cheese. Store in an air-tight container up to a week

Pumpkin Bread

1 3/4 cup AP flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, both sugars, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin. Beat on medium-low speed until combined. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and stir together. Alternately add dry mixture and water to pumpkin mixture, beginning and ending with dry mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined. Fold in any other ingredients you wish to add, such as, pecans, cinnamon chips, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, etc. Pour batter evenly into greased loaf pans. (I used 18 mini loaf pans). Optional: sprinkle cinnamon sugar over each loaf. Bake until cooked through the middle. Remove from oven and let cool in pans about 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on foil or cooling rack. My favorite way to eat pumpkin bread is warm with butter or cream cheese. Store in an air-tight container up to a week.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Everybody loves some good buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, and these will do it for ya. These are some of the best pancakes i've had (next to The Pancake Pantry). This is my grandma's recipe and we've been making these as long as I can remember. I hope you enjoy them like we do! I put blueberries in them this time, but you can do whatever you would like. Sometimes we mix it up and leave them plain, or do my favorite combo, chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter and syrup.. yum. Here's what you need for the buttermilk pancakes

An egg, sugar, baking powder, flour, baking soda, oil, buttermilk, salt, and whatever add-ins you want. Crack the egg in a large measuring cup, slightly whisk

Whisk in oil and buttermilk. Add all the dry ingredients

Beat that together until combined and there are no lumps, but be careful not to over beat or your pancakes will become chewy. Add your choice of add-ins

Fold in. Scoop batter into a buttery pan

When the middle of the pancake starts too look a little dry and bubbly, flip it

Then leave it alone until it is done cooking. If you keep flipping it, it won't cook through in the middle and it will have the texture of a goodyear tire. So just don't do it :) Top with some butter, syrup, and blueberries (or your favorite pancake toppings)

Cut em open and eat up! I promise these are not hard, so do not be intimidated by homemade pancakes!

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbs. oil (vegetable, canola)

1 cup AP flour

1 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

-Your choice of mix-ins

In a large glass pourable measuring cup, combine buttermilk, egg, and oil; beat. Add dry ingredients and mix until there are no lumps. (Be careful not to over mix, or your pancakes will become tough.) Fold in your mix-ins, unless each person wants something different. If that is the case, sprinkle your mix-in on each pancake right when you pour the batter on the cooktop. Cook on a skillet or stove-top pan. Flip when the middle starts to look a little dry and bubbly. Finish cooking, and serve.