Crisp Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti!

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I love any type of biscotti, but this pumpkin biscotti seems made for fall. It's stuffed full of chocolate chips and pecan bits, with a drizzle of chocolate over the top. It's perfect for dipping in hot chocolate or in your morning mug of coffee, and it would be tasty for your Thanksgiving buffet too!

Pumpkin Biscotti

(loosely adapted from Sweet Pea Baking Co)

1 cup granulated Sugar

1/3 cup Butter

1 Egg

2 tablespoons Water

1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2 cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup chopped Pecans
Chocolate for drizzle

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat your butter and sugar together, until slightly fluffy.

Add pumpkin and beat again until combined.

Add your vanilla, egg, and water and beat until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together your flour,
 baking powder, spice and salt.

Add flour mixture into pumpkin mix.
Mix just until  incorporated.

Chop your pecans.....

 into very small bite size pieces.
Add your chocolate chips.....

and mix together. Lots of times I will make cookie dough
the night before I cook it. That is what I did here.
I made the dough, refrigerated it over night, took it out in the
morning, let it get soft, and then added the
pecans and chocolate chips.

Place the dough on a baking sheet covered with
parchment paper. Make two even rectangles of dough,
about 3" wide and about 9" or 10" long.
I like to wear gloves when I do this because the dough
tends to stick to my fingers.

Bake in your oven for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Cut each log into slices 1" to 1 1/2" wide.
When you cut the biscotti pieces, use a knife that
is not serrated. It will give you nice smooth pieces.

Place your pieces back onto your baking sheet.
You can use the same piece of parchment.

Bake in the oven for another 10-15 minutes
or until lightly browned.
Let cool.

Drizzle chocolate over each piece of biscotti.
Let dry.

Enjoy!

I originally saw this recipe on EVERYDAYDISH.TV.
The original recipe was made by Kate Marggraf, of
Sweet Pea Baking Company of Portland Oregan.
The bakery is a vegan bakery, and the recipe was
a vegan recipe, but I changed it to suit this blog.

Thanks for joining me!

Pumpkin Patch Spice Cake!

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One of my favorite things about the fall are all the colors and smells. The browns and oranges, yellows and reds coupled with the most aromatic, deep, earthy aromas, of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.  So rich and real;  you can almost taste them. Which is how I ended up baking a spice cake. The pumpkin patch top came from the fact that they are just plain, old fun!

Pumpkin Patch Spice Cake

•  1 box Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix
• 1 package (3.4 oz) Vanilla instant Pudding Mix
• 1 cup canned Pumpkin
• 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 cup Water
• 3 large Eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
• 8 tablespoons Butter, softened
• 3 3/4 cups Confectioner's Sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons Milk
• 2 teaspoons pure Vanilla Extract
• Americolor Brown
• Americolor Leaf Green
• 12-15 Biscoff Cookies
• Pumpkin Candy

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, pumpkin,

vegetable oil, water, eggs, cinnamon and ginger

 in your mixing bowl.

Mix on low for 1 minute, scrape your bowl, 

and then mix on high for 2 minutes.

Pour mix into 10" X 13" pan that has been 

greased and floured.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Let cake cool completely.

Make your buttercream by whipping the butter. 

Add the confectioners sugar and mix on low until the sugar

is well incorporated into the butter. You don't want to be 

covered in powdered sugar!

Not that I would know about that. :)

 Add the milk and the vanilla.  Mix well.

Remove 1 cup of the buttercream, and set aside.

This will be for your vines and leaves.

Add a very small amount of brown color to

 the rest of the buttercream, so it is basically tan.

Mix well.

Frost your cake with the tan frosting.

Place your  biscoff in a plastic bag, and roll it in to 

crumbs with a rolling pin.

Cover the top and the sides of 

your cake with the crushed biscoff..

Here's a tip: If your frosting dries before you get 

the crushed cookies on, spritz the frosting very lightly

with a water bottle, and the cookies will adhere to the frosting.

Place your pumpkin candy in rows, haphazardly like,

so it resembles a pumpkin patch.

Take your 1 cup of buttercream that you set aside earlier,

and color it with the leaf green.

Using a  #2 Wilton tip, make connecting lines of green

frosting to resemble vines.You really can't make a mistake here.

Vines go everywhere and no where!

Do this to each row of pumpkins.

Go through and include some leaves. 

I used a Wilton tip # 352.

Simple to use, and they always come out great. 

I attached some to the top of the pumpkins, some to 

look as if they are coming from beneath the pumpkins, 

and some from the vines.

You can put leaves pretty much anywhere you want.

Now all you have to do is pick out your pumpkins!

Have fun!

Thanks for joining me today!

We are having a great time at the following parties:
Full Plate Thursday

Hope to see you there!

Apple Crisp Jars!

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It's beginning to feel a lot like fall! Well, that's what I hear when I read other blogs. But here in the desert, it is still very hot (98 degrees), and not feeling anything like fall! So, I am pretending, and to pretend I have to make something with apple. Apple Crisp is my all time favorite fall recipe, and this recipe was one I made when I worked in a restaurant in Utah. We served this crisp in a small cast iron skillet. It was so cute, and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was a delight for the eyes and the taste buds. I decided to change it up a bit, and I cooked these in small mason jars. They can be refrigerated, heated up in the jar, topped with a scoop of vanilla, and before you know it you are enjoying a taste of fall!

Apple Crisp Jars!

(Serves 4)

2 Granny Smith Apples

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 tablespoon Water

1/3 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Flour

1/4 cup Rolled Oats

3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

4 tablespoon cold chopped Butter

4 8oz Mason Jars

Vegetable Pan Spray

Vanilla Ice Cream 

Cinnamon for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel and core your apples.

Slice your apples, then cut them into small chunks.

Place apple bites into a bowl, add lemon and water 

and mix, coating apples.

Set aside for just a few minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, oats,

cinnamon and butter. 

Make sure the butter is cut into small, tiny pieces.

You could grate it, or just chop it. Mix thoroughly

with a spoon until combined and crumbly.

I used 4-8 oz  mason jars. 

Spray with vegetable pan spray, 

then wipe out the excess.

Distribute apples evenly between the 4 jars.

Sprinkle the topping crumble on top of the

apples. Distribute evenly just as we did the apples.

Make sure there is butter on top of each jar.

It cooks better with the butter on top of each jar.

See the jar on the bottom right?

I had to add butter because I didn't notice there

was none on the top. If that happens, it is not

a problem. Just add a few small pieces so it browns 

when it bakes.

Place the jars on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

sprinkled with a taste of cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Thanks for joining me today!

Here's where we are:
Iron Chef Mom
Full Plate Thursday 

Welcome Fall, Caramel Apples!

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This weeks dessert is a classic favorite~Caramel Apples. I used this opportunity to welcome fall, my favorite season, although it has yet to come to the desert. I hope it gets here soon~We are ready for cooler weather!!

Welcome Fall, Caramel Apples!

(adapted from taste of home.com)

1 cup Butter

2 cups packed Brown Sugar

14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup Light Corn Syrup

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 cup chopped Cashews

8 sticks for Apples

8 Granny Smith Apples

I used long skewers as the sticks for the apples. 

I wanted them rather long. I measured the first one,

then used  it as a guide to cut the others.

Wash and dry the apples, insert the sticks and then 

refrigerate the apples until you are ready to dip.

In a heavy pan combine butter,

brown sugar,

milk,

and corn syrup.

Bring the mix to a boil over medium high heat. 

Cook and stir constantly until mix reaches 248 degrees. 

This will take about 30-40 minutes.

248 degrees is the firm ball stage.

Please remember to keep a close eye on your temperature.

Allowing the mix to get too hot can ruin it.

Dip each apple in the hot caramel.

Allow the caramel to drip off slightly.

Place the chopped cashews on a plate.

Cover bottom and a little bit up the side with cashews.

You may have to help the cashews on to the apple

by patting them on with your hands.

Set the apple on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Let cool.

Decorate the apples however you would like!

Enjoy!

Thank you for joining me today!

Please join The Freshman Cook Sunday for 

next weeks menu and grocery list!

See you then!!