Fall means lots of pumpkin treats! I love baking with pumpkin, so I picked up 2 cans during my last grocery trip with plans to do something with them this weekend. I had 3 overly ripe bananas I needed to use up, so I decided to try a twist on regular ole banana bread and make some pumpkin banana bread. This was so delicious!
Pumpkin Banana Bread A Hudocks to Haddocks Original Recipe
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
1/3 cup of butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
8 oz canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 4x8 loaf pan with butter and flour.
In a large bowl, beat bananas and butter until smooth, about 1 minute.
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, mix in pumpkin and then sugar.
In a coffee mug, beat egg with vanilla and cinnamon. Add to mix and beat well, for about one minute.
Whisk together baking powder and flour, and slowly add into mix, beating with a mixer on medium speed. Beat until all flour is dissolved.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until it resembles a crumbly texture (about 1 minute). Add in the egg and vanilla and continue beating until mixture becomes smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add in half of the flour mixture and blend in at a low speed. Add in the remaining flour mixture and continue blending in on low. Stir in the oatmeal and chocolate chips; mix until evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Carefully mix in the banana pieces. (I just very ripe bananas and ended up smushing them a bit into the mix)
Using a tablespoon, drop the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until the edges are lightly browned (about 15 minutes). Carefully remove from the oven and let cool on pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of 2 8” round pans.
Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
Pour evenly into both pans, bake for 35-37 minutes until tester comes out clear
Allow to cool before icing
Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
¾ cup of peanut butter
2-3 cups of powdered sugar, sifted (I didn’t measure)
1-2 tsp of vanilla (I didn’t measure)
1-2 tsp of almond milk (I didn’t measure)
Beat cream cheese and peanut butter until creamy.
Slowly beat in powdered sugar, scraping sides, until well blended
Add in vanilla, beat well
Add in almond milk, beat well
Assembling the cake
¾ bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures, halved and chopped
Remove one cake from pan, cut off top to make flat. Flip upside down and put onto cake platter. Frost, leaving ¼ - ½ inch space around the edges.
Place 2nd cake (right side up) on top. Frost – start by putting large amount of frosting on middle and work your way to get it even across. Frost edges.
Using around 12-15 halved cups, place around border of cake.
1 ¼ cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 cups packed light-brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (about 4 ounces)
1 ½ cups milk chocolate heath toffee bits
¾ cup butterscotch chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line pan with foil; butter and flour.
In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the butter until it turns golden brown; remove from heat, and let cool. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine browned butter and both sugars; stir with a wooden spoon until combined. In a coffee mug, beat eggs and vanilla. Add to mix and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour mixture and beat until combined. Stire in walnuts, toffee bits and butterscotch chips. Mix until thoroughly combined, and pour into prepared pan.
Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before turning out of pan onto a cutting board. Peel off parchment paper; cut blondies into 3-inch squares. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Notes:
I went to go make this recipe and ended up not having enough butter, so I used 3 sticks of margarine. After about 25-30 minutes of boiling, it was not turning brown so I gave up.
I added ½ tsp more of baking powder and ½ tsp more of vanilla.
The original recipe calls for you to add in the eggs and then the vanilla. I prefer to beat my eggs with the vanilla before adding them.
The original recipe calls for 1 cup of toffee bits and 1 cup of chocolate chips, I switched it up for a different flavor. Next time, I will add 1 cup of coconut too!
This mixture was thick, so I was not able to pour it into my pan. Instead, I “scooped” it up with a spatula and spread it onto the pan.
Mine baked for around 45 minutes. I let it cool in the pan for about 20 minutes and then pulled the foil up to remove it from the pan. I placed it on the counter and let it cool another 30 minutes, or so, before cutting into it.
I find that foods on sticks always go over well with our group of friends. We're all trying to eating healthier though so I knew I had to go healthy with my dessert choice. I found this Weight Watchers recipe and gave it a try!
Strawberry Shortcake on a stick! Adapted from Weight WatchersCookbook
1 pound of fresh strawberries, halved
12 shortcakes, quarted
1/4 cup of chocolate chips
1 tsp butter
Directions:
Alternate shortcake and strawberries on a skewer
Place on a wax paper lined baking sheet
Melt chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler or in the midcrowave
If you are looking for a great treat for your next party, look no further. These brownies were AH-MAZING! They disappeared before I could even get a good pic!
Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies
Adapted from Betty Crocker Website
Brownie Base
I box brownie mix (I used Pillsbury Milk Chocolate Brownie Mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box
Filling
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
Topping
1 cup milk chocolate chips
¼ cup butter
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray or shortening.
In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, water, oil and eggs until well blended. Spread in pan. Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base.
In small microwavable bowl, microwave topping ingredients uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds; stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes; spread over filling. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set. Store covered in refrigerator.
Sometimes I get the spur of the moment urge to bake. All I had in the house yesterday was some cake mixes, so I decided to make a carrot cake. What a great Sunday night treat to enjoy while watching True Blood!
Carrot Cake
1 carrot cake mix ( I use Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Decadent Carrot Cake Mix)
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of oil
3 eggs
1 small bag of chopped walnuts
Pour ingredients in a medium bowl. (I whisk the eggs together in a small cup or bowl before adding in)
Beat ingredients together with a hand mixer for 2 minutes
Add in chopped walnuts
Pour into 13x9 greased bottom baking pan
Bake at 350 for 28 minutes
Allow cake to cool before frosting
Vanilla Frosting
3 oz cream cheese (softened)
a little more than a half stick of butter (softened)
1/2 bag of powdered sugar (I don't measure, I just slowly add in until the consistency and quantity is just right)
1-4 tbsp cream or 2% milk
Beat together cream cheese & butter
Slowly add (or sift in) sifted powdered sugar
While you are slowly adding in your powdered sugar, add your cream/milk as needed.
Ummmmm I am *still* not quite sure how I have never heard of Bakerella until now! I have been marveling over her site for the past two days now. I pretty much want to try everything!! I think I will start out with some cake pops for my upcoming jewelry party. So stand by for a blog update!
In the meantime I am sure you can occupy your time by looking at every. single. recipe on her site!
I saw this recipe and saved it because I knew I had to make these! I saved them for a party since I didn't want these bad boys in my house. I ended up making them for my 90's bash and called them chocolate salty balls. They were heavenly and disappeared quickly leaving my Vanilla Ice-d cupcakes barely touched.
1. Take 6 of the cookies, finely crush them, and set aside (This can be done in a food processor. I used a magic bullet and it worked okay)
2. Take the rest of the cookies and finely crush them (again I tried the magic bullet and its didn't work so well with this many, so I ended up putting them in a ziploc bag and going over it with a pin roller)
3. Mix the crushed cookies and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 1-inch balls. After this, stick them in the freezer for a little bit so that they harden. It makes it easier when it comes to dipping.
4. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler ( I don't have one, so I just boiled water and then put a heat safe bowl on top) and dip the balls in the melted chocolate. Place the balls on a wax-covered baking sheet and then sprinkle with the crumbs that were set aside.
For the first time in our 6 year long relationship, we had no plans this year since we could not join our friends out of town. I decided to invite the family over for a cookout on the 3rd. With the patio fiasco not being complete until days before, I was quickly regretting ever having mentioned this BBQ. But in my style, I got it all done and it was a great success. I tried a few new recipes that I needed to post though.
American Flag Fruit Parfait Adapted from Taste of Home
2 ½ packages of cream cheese, softened
¾ cup of white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ cups of whipping cream
2 quarts of strawberries, halved
1 quart of blue berries
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in whipped cream. Place a third of the mixture in a 4-qt. bowl. Reserve 20 strawberry halves and 1/2 cup blueberries for garnish.
Layer half of the remaining strawberries and blueberries over cream mixture. Top with another third of the cream mixture and the remaining berries. Spread the remaining cream mixture on top. Use the reserved strawberries and blueberries to make a "flag" on top.
Makes about18-20 servings.
Pretzel SparklersAdapted from Taste of Home
1 bag of Ghirardelli white chocolate baking chips
1 bag of pretzel rods
1 container of red, white & blue sprinkles
Line a platter with wax paper or foil (shiny side down).
In a small, microwave-safe bowl, pour half the bag of chocolate. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment. Repeat until chocolate is melted. Be careful not to burn chocolate. Typically melting time is 1 minute - 1 minute and 20 seconds.
Using a spoon, spoon chocolate onto pretzel rod and spread all around and across¾ of the rod.
Place on top of foil/wax paper.
Repeat with second bag of chocolate. While this chocolate is melting, toss sprinkles onto the already made pretzels.
So I had to try this. It was pretty good. It would have helped if my bananas weren't so mushy. I also think some cinnamon in the crust mix wouldn't hurt anyone.
Banana Cream Pie Adapted from Weight Watchers Cookbook
24 low-fat honey graham crackers, made into crumbs (6 full sheets)
2 tablespoons butter ( I think this would work best melted. I did not and it took a while to mix in)
2 teaspoons water
3 large bananas (thinly sliced on the diagonal)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 whole lime)
1 packet (2 oz) unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups plain, fat-free yogurt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
grated lime zest (from used lime, optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees; spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter and water with a fork.
Press into the bottom of the pie plate. Bake until firm, 5-10 minutes; cool.
In another medium bowl, toss the bananas with the lime juice ( I did this loosely with a spatula to avoid breaking the bananas); reserve 1 cup. Arrange the remaining bananas over the crust. (It is best to place them one by one)
In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water; let stand 2 minutes. Add the sugar; cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and the gelatin and sugar dissolve, 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the heat; whisk in the yogurt and vanilla.Pour into the pie plate.
Arrange the reserved bananas over the pie (again, it is best to do this one by one); sprinkle with lime zest.
Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until chilled, 2-3 hours.
I don’t know how I always end up making the baked good for parties, but I do =) Good thing I love to bake!
One of our very close friends celebrated his 30th birthday this past weekend and I had the idea to create boobie cupcakes! I did 24 white boobies and 24 chocolate boobies!
These were nothing special but they went over very well as everyone got a kick out what they were shaped like!
Chocolate Love Cupcakes:
1 box butter recipe fudge cake mix
3 eggs
1 stick of softened butter
¾ cup of water
Blend together until clumps are gone. Pour into cupcake liners, bake for 27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clear
Frosting:
2 tbs softened butter
3 tbs softened cream cheese
¼ cup of milk or cream
½ bag of powdered sugar (I don’t measure, I just add it slowly until I reach the desired consistency)
1 cube of melted baker’s chocolate
Handful of milk chocolate chips
Mix butter, cream cheese and chocolate together. Slowly add in powdered sugar and milk until you reach desired flavor and/or consistency.
Allow cupcakes to cool completely (I like to let them sit overnight). Ice cupcakes generously. Using an 8” pipin bag & 2” cone tip make a small dot of icing in the middle of the cupcake. In the middle of that dot, add a chocolate chip.
White Bobbie Cupcakes:
1 box butter recipe yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 stick of softened butter
¾ cup of water
Blend together until clumps are gone. Pour into cupcake liners, bake for 27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clear
Frosting:
2 tbs softened butter
3 tbs softened cream cheese
½ bag of powdered sugar (I don’t measure, I just add it slowly until I reach the desired consistency)
2 tsp of vanilla
Handful of marshmallows
Mix butter, cream cheese and vanilla together. Slowly add in powdered sugar until you reach desired flavor and/or consistency.
Allow cupcakes to cool completely (I like to let them sit overnight). Allow frosting to sit in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Ice cupcakes generously. Using an 8” piping bag & 2” cone tip make a small dot of icing in the middle of the cupcake. In the middle of that dot, add a marshmallow.
Optional: Refrigerate overnight and then insert a toothpick halfway in the side of the cupcake and then insert the second half into the other end of the toothpick to hold them together like a pair of boobies.
Another recipe from my fellow nestie, JoJo!. I've made this one multiple times and they are always devoured! They are excellent and I was never very fond of lemon bars myself!
-2 cups sifted all purpose floud
-1 cup confectioner's sugar
-1 cup butter (melted)
-4 eggs
-2 cups white sugar
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 cup all purpose flour
-5/8 cup lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 350. grease 9x13 pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups of flour and confectioner's sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into bottom of pan.
3. Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder, 1/4 cup flour so there will be no lumps. Stir the mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. (mixture will be very liquid-y, do not worry) Pour over prepared crust and return to the oven.
4. Bake for additional 30 min or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
I sprinkled powdered sugar when they were in the pan & then cut them.
One of my fellow nestie's, Katie, made this for a get together and I had to have the recipe! I made it for a get together with our friends and they loved it! I made mine with milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet like the recipe called for, both work and are very good!
- 6 cups Rice Krispies
- 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Smooth Peanut Butter
- 1 bag milk chocolate chips
- 1 bag butterscotch chips
1. Put the rice krispies in a large bowl and set aside.
2. In a pot heat the corn syrup and sugar until the sugar is dissolved and then add the peanut butter. Mix until a smooth consistency.
3. Pour over rice krispies and mix them up.
4. In a small microwave safe bowl melt the semi-sweet and butterscotch chips together. Careful not to burn.
5. In an 8x11 pan put the rice krispies in and smush so its all even.
6. Pour chocolate combo over the top and spread out.
Let these sit out until they set and they are ready to devour! Do not refrigerate. If you are bringing this to a party, I recommend cutting them up in squares first since they can be hard to cut and get out.
- 1 box devils food chocolate cake mix
- 1 box instant chocolate pudding
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
1.Mix all together until well mixed.
2. Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips.
3. Put into bundt cake pan ( I used a 10" round pan instead). Bake at 350 for 45 to 55 minutes.
4. Once its cool and on the serving dish i will sprinkle with a little powdered sugar
I did this with powdered sugar because I was afraid that chocolate frosting may be too much, but it wouldn't have been. So next time, it's getting topped with chocolate frosting!
