Category Archives: Dessert

Just a warning…Christmas is coming.

That means I’m about to get in the cookie baking ZONE!

I need (yes, need) to make all of the cookies we make every year.

You know..Grandma’s cookies.

From recipes that made their way over here from Italy back in the day.

They. Are. Amazing.

Also…some of them are kind of complicated.

Which is cool and all…

But let’s face it…sometimes all you have time for is a box of cake mix and a jar of frosting.

And sometimes all you have in your pantry is yellow cake mix and buttercream frosting.

Never fear!

It doesn’t have to take all day or cost a fortune to make something that’s not quite so….

beige.

With just a quick stir you can make this:

into this:

Pssst…cake stand close up! Hilarious.  Mom has the best stuff.

She's got the right idea...

All you have to do is mix some stuff into that frosting and wham bam thank you ma’am…

suddenly you’re creative and clever and someone feels special.

I did six different ones to show you but really…the possibilities are endless.

Look!

So simple.

So awesome.

Just stir in whatever ingredient you choose!

Some notes:

• A little something crunchy is usually a welcome touch.  Pretzels? Pecans? CANDY CANE!? WITH CHOCOLATE!? Hello, delicious seasonal treat.
• Anything liquid turns the frosting into a glaze…don’t freak out…just stab your cupcake/sheet cake/whatevershape cake you made with a toothpick or a fork or something so the glaze can seep in
• The peanut butter pretzel cupcake got especially enthusiastic reviews…try it
• If you have chocolate chips or something you can just set them on the cupcake as soon as they come out of the oven and they’ll melt enough to spread.  Kisses are too big to do that I learned……

Luckily, a microwave will melt that kiss just fine.

Crisis averted.

Go crazy! Play with flavors! So many possibilities! Tell me what you do!

Also, have a fantastic day.

Oh…and eat a cupcake.

❤ Ellen

I have a thing you need to know about.

Yes, I realize Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I should be posting recipes for stuffing and pumpkin pie.

Family recipes are tough things to mess with, though.

Think of this is your pie alternative for all those pie haters out there.

((they exist…swear))

Also…There’s just something about a brownie.

Not just any brownie…the right brownie.

I have very strong opinions about brownies.

Brownies must be death by chocolate gooey fudgey pretty much just barely baked and middle pieces ONLY!!

Kinda exactly like this

(who invented that stupid pan that makes every brownie an edge piece? stupid!)

((If you’re a cakey brownie/corner piece lover…there are fantastic brownie recipes out there just for you…this is 100% not it.  Sorry.))

I have never been able to make a brownie like I really want it.

But recently…I made a discovery.

It is a deliciously dangerous discovery.

And it migggghhhtt weird you out a little…

…just go with it.

Turns out the secret to the brownie of my dreams is: pumpkin.

I did just recently advise you to put pumpkin in pretty much everything didn’t I?

Turns out I was righter than I thought.

So come with me…it’s time to put vegetables in our dessert and LIKE IT!

Three little bowls.  All in a row. Holding our dry ingredients.

See that bowl of oats on the left there? He gets ground up real quick to make oat flour!

Oat flour? Pumpkin? This is starting to sound suspiciously nutritious….

We’ll let it slide.

Wet ingredients, too!  How else are we gonna get ultimate fudge?

There’s a little bit of oil in there also.

That egg is the only thing keeping these from being vegan.

In fact the original recipe used a “flax egg” which is flax and water that functions as an egg.

However, I am not vegan and I do not have flax. I DO have eggs, though.  So…there you go.

When wet meets dry…you can already tell it’s going to be a mess of fudge heaven

Obviously I added chocolate bits.

It was the right thing to do.

Ridiculous chocolate baked things are great for using up dried out chocolate kisses etc.

When these are fully baked it kinda seems like they aren’t.

Also… even the edge pieces seem like middle pieces.

AND THAT’S JUST HOW I LIKE IT!

Be still, my heart.

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

Fudgey Pumpkin Brownies

Recipe adapted from Sweet Potato Brownies

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup oat flour ((you can just grind up some oats in a blender or food processor)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Chocolate bits/chocolate chips (optional..kind of..except totally necessary)

1. Spritz a 8-inch square baking pan with some canola oil. Set aside.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine the pumpkin with the oil, egg, vanilla, and sugar. Mix until smooth.
5. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until everything is well moistened. Then stir in your choco-bits!
6. Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. These are kind of tricky because they pretty much never stop looking wet.  As long as the middle is set you’re good to go. A toothpick will probably never come out clean (thank you, ridiculously gooey fudge)

**Notes:

-The original recipe uses sweet potato puree….which would be awesome.  I used pumpkin mostly because I had a can in my pantry that didn’t require roasting/blending a potato.  Pure laziness.  Still awesome.

-You might not really need that full cup of sugar.

-These do have kind of a unique taste.  I can’t decide if it’s the pumpkin I’m tasting or if it’s just really really intense chocolate flavor.  I realize that’s weird…pumpkin or chocolate…make them and you’ll see what I mean.

-You’re wonderful. Especially if you read this far =)

Apples.

We’re goin there.

These little beauties are a vital part of my fall experience.

I have fond memories of trips to the apple orchard to pick apples, choose our pumpkins for Halloween then make applesauce with Grandma once we got our loot home.

Yeah.  That was my real life. It has been a good one.

So obviously I obsessed over apple picking this year until we made it happen.

This time I tried something new…apple cookies!

Love.

So much love.

These are officially part of the fall/apple/baking tradition I hold so dear.

They’re so soft they just melt in your mouth and they’re bursting at the seams with apple apple apple!

(Side note: Daniel doesn’t like cooked apples…he actually generally doesn’t like apples much…but he liked these cookies.  Win.)

((Who doesn’t like apples…what is that?))

(((I love you, Daniel…)))

Maple is MADE for apples and this maple glaze is delicious but honestly…they didn’t even need it.

Apples have this on lock.  Maple or not.

And so…let us cookie.

Start with some chopped apples!

(Duh)

butter + sugar + egg + milk

+ flour of course…also spices…

= super soft, fragrant dough!

Now for the coup de gras!

A little apple folding…

A little action shot…

What can I say? It’s pretty exciting around here. Look at all that action!

Also…check out this apple to dough ratio

I feel weird calling it dough.

It’s somewhere between batter and dough.

Doughter?

Nope. Didn’t work.

Either way..super soft dough takes a sweet tropical vacay in my oven and comes back tanned and beautiful

Looks like they remembered their sunscreen!

Ignore that rogue smudge from some doofus piling these on top of each other.

(guilty)

((I’m telling you…they’re really soft.))

A drizzle of maple glaze, a nice cold glass of milk, a sunshiney day…

What more could you possibly ask for?

Oh yeah…

Some fellow apple lovers!

(except that good lookin one on the left…he’s more of an apple tolerater)

❤ Enjoy!

Apple Cookies

Recipe from Maple-Glazed Apple Cookies

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.