Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I received a phone call from an old friend of mine about a month ago.  She was planning a birthday luncheon for her mother and requested my help with a few things including making cupcakes.  I had my eye on this Pumpkin Cupcake recipe for awhile and was looking for an excuse to make them so you can understand how excited I was when I gave her three cupcake choices and she picked the Pumpkin. Yeah, at last my excuse to try this recipe arrived!  And then panic set in ... why on earth am I trying a NEW recipe for a party???  I know, its not the smartest decision because when you're baking for someone else you should be using an old standby, the one that you've made numerous times and you know for sure you can't mess it up.  So I took a risk with a new recipe...if worse came to worse my back up plan was to buy a box mix and go from there.  I am so glad I tried this recipe!!  I like box cakes and tend to make them and use homemade frosting to keep things on the easy side but I have to tell you when you make cakes from scratch and they come out perfect its a wonderful feeling ... and people can tell it didn't come from a box.

These cupcakes are moist with the right amount of pumpkin spiciness and the frosting, oh my oh my the frosting can be consumed alone with a spoon .... I mean, the frosting is heavenly.  I topped my cupcakes with tiny fondant pumpkins I made ahead of time but you could also use candy corns, chopped nuts or keep it simple with no topping at all.  The cupcake batter makes a lot so make sure to use a big bowl (makes 32 cupcakes).

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cupcakes:
4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2½ cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1½ cups canned pumpkin (not pie filling)

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

To Make the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until just combined. Add pumpkin; beat until just combined.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. 

4. To finish, use an offset spatula or a pastry bag fitted with a decorated tip to top the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

To Make the Frosting:

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, ½ cup at a time, and then vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Black Bean Soup

I love to make soup.  I like the entire process from chopping the ingredients, to mixing in spices, letting it simmer, enjoying the aromas throughout the house and finally sitting down to enjoy it.  There's something about a hot bowl of homemade soup that is downright COMFORTING.  You know what else I love about making soup?  It makes me feel proud that I took an empty pot and filled it with something other people find comforting ... that puts a big smile on my face.

I've made this Black Bean Soup several times over the past two years and it has become one of my favorites.  It has also quickly become one of my daughter's favorites ...she can't get enough of this stuff!  Hope you enjoy it too!      

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup diced white onions
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 red or yellow pepper, diced
2 tablespoons garlic, crushed
4 cans (15 oz) black beans
4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon corn starch

DIRECTIONS

1.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan (I use a 3 quart pot) over medium/low heat.

2.  Add onion, celery, carrot, pepper and garlic to the oil and simmer slowly for about 15 minutes or until the onions are clear.

3. While the veggies are cooking pour the canned beans into a strainer and rinse under cold water.

4.  Measure 3 cups of the drained & strained beans into a food processor and add 1 cup of chicken broth.  Puree on high speed until smooth.

5.  Add pureed beans, remaining beans, remaining chicken broth, vinegar and spices to the pot & stir.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.

6.  Mix the corn starch with a little bit of water and stir slowly into the pot.  Simmer for an additional 40 minutes.

7.  Serve alone or top with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and/or tortilla chips.

Makes about 11 cups.

Recipe adapted from Food.com

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

When I started this blog my goal was to submit at least one entry per week.  I am sorry I am a little behind this week.  Here's why ... my almost 3 year old daughter who willingly used to take a long afternoon nap, sometimes 3+ hours, decided last week that she no longer needs to nap.  So you see, the time I used to have to cook and blog has diminished. I would have been a little more understandable about this nap issue if the 3 hour nap slowly went to 2 hours than 1 than none but we somehow pushed a fast forward button and jumped right to none = one sad mama missing her self-time in the afternoons.

Okay, I'm done venting.  Here's a yummy mashed sweet potato recipe that you can use as a side dish to compliment an entree this fall/winter season.  Outback Steakhouse used to have this on their menu and without warning, like my daughter's naps, took it off their menu leaving the customers who liked this side dish in pure disappointment. Well guess what Outback??...we can make the mashed sweet potatoes at home.    I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that sweet potatoes don't need to have anything added to them and that is true but every once in awhile it is fun to add some unhealthy stuff and push them over the edge in the culinary world to make them even tastier and wow your dinner guests.  These are so tasty that I even enjoy the leftovers cold.  The taste sort of reminds me of pumpkin pie and I have to admit I ate a spoonful right before I snapped the photo!!  These would be a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
4 medium sweet potatoes
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

TOPPING
1 tablespoon butter
6 tablespoons pecans, chopped
1/4 cup oatmeal (not instant)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1.  Bake sweet potatoes in your microwave or conventional oven until soft.  I like to use the "baked potato" button on the microwave.

2.  Slice the baked potatoes in half and scoop out the filling into a large mixing bowl. Discard skins.

3.  Add butter, brown sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg to the potatoes and mash using an electric mixer until smooth.

4.  To make the topping melt the butter in a small saute pan.  Add pecans & oats and stir over low/medium heat for 5 minutes or until the mixture is hot (do not allow to brown).

5.  Remove from heat and mix in the brown sugar & cinnamon.

6.  When ready to serve reheat the potatoes in a saucepan or microwave until hot.  Top with the oat/pecan topping.

Makes about 6 servings depending on the size of the potatoes and it can be made ahead of time.

Recipe adapted from Food.com

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies ... they're a classic right?  They seem to be the cookie that almost everyone likes. Unfortunately I never really liked the way my chocolate chip cookies turned out.  I always just made the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House package and time after time I was disappointed in the results.  I yearned for a perfect chocolate chip cookie that was comparable to one you would purchase at a bakery ... BIG, soft and chewy!!  So I started trying out some different chocolate chip cookie recipes until I found this show stopper, the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe that comes out perfect each time and just like the bakery cookies...perhaps even better.  Seriously, you've got to try these!!!  I've made this recipe several times and I will NEVER go back to the Toll House package recipe.  Granted, you can still use the Nestle chocolate chips, no issues with the chocolate just the recipe. I like to mix half semisweet chips with half milk chocolate chips but you can choose to use one or the other.  I have also tried this recipe with half chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips.  

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Using an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips.  Refrigerate 2-3 hours.  

3. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

4. Using 1/4 cup measure dough and roll into balls.  Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart, press down slightly with the palm of your hand.  These make really BIG cookies so if you don't want them to be this big you can make them half the size using a cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons in size).  

5. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a metal spatula.

Makes 18 BIG cookies or 36 normal sized cookies.  Leftovers?... freeze them in a ziplock baggie, they thaw out in about 20 minutes and you can't tell they were ever frozen.  

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies