Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

I made these a couple of weeks ago for some friends and they absolutely loved them. I mean they really really loved them. You know why? ‘Cause they’re awesome! My husband is a pumpkin fanatic so he was thrilled, as were his coworkers, who are my official “taste testers.”

I love pumpkin recipes. Anything with pumpkin and I’m in. Mostly because it reminds me of the holiday season.

They kind of remind me more of a muffin than a whoopie pie, but honestly, who cares about the name? They were so tasty, call ‘em whatever you want.

It’s an easy recipe, you’re going to want to save this one for the holidays!

Start with your dry ingredients. Sift away!

Then the brown sugar and oil.

Add your pumpkin puree. Do NOT use pumpkin pie filling, get pure pumpkin puree.

Then mix in your eggs and vanilla.

Slowly incorporate your dry ingredients and you’re ready to bake!

That looks like snow. I love snow, and this picture, in a really weird way, makes me happy. I’m a sucker for the winter.

If you have an ice cream scoop, this would be a great time to use it. If not, use a trusty ole spoon. I would highly recommend parchment paper. If you haven’t been using it, try it and you’ll discover how totally awesome it is.

Bake them until they bounce back slightly when you press on them.

Get your frosting ready while they cool.

Beat your butter until smooth, add the cream cheese and vanilla then slowly, seriously, slowly add your sifted sugar.

The more you beat it the fluffier it gets. If you like it thicker, don’t overbeat it.

Makes 12-14 pies
Ingredients

For the pies
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, slightly chilled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation Instructions

For the pies:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

In a large bowl, whisk together sifted flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined.

Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined.

Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined.

Slowly sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Make sure you leave room. They do expand and when they touch, well, that’s annoying, so give ‘em some room to breathe.

Transfer tray to the oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.

For the filling:

Sift sugar into a medium bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add your cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth.

The fun part:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag (or ziplock bag) and snip the end.

When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies.

Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate pies for at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

Now call your local gym and sign up for a spin class. Trust me, you’re going to want to eat all of these.

Enjoy!

Pound Cake

Who doesn’t love a cake made with 3 sticks of butter and 3 cups of sugar?! This isn’t the light version. This is the one with 3 sticks of butter and 3 cups of sugar. Don’t make this recipe if you’re on a diet, you will eat all of it.

I came across this recipe on Pioneer Woman and figured it was quick, easy and incorporated soda, why not give it a shot?!

This was an extremely easy and super flavorful dessert. Try it immediately!

Cream the butter and sugar.

Add your eggs.

Add the butter flavoring.

Then the lemon.

Add some Sprite.

Yes, soda. If you’re going, “What?!” I was too. Totally good though, I promise.
 Pour it into your greased pan and pop it in the oven!

That stinkin’ crack in the cake makes me a little sad.

Ingredients

3 sticks butter
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
2 teaspoons lemon flavoring
3 cups flour
1 cup Sprite, 7-UP, Or Sierra Mist

Preparation Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream butter. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each addition.

Add butter and lemon extracts and mix well.

Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Add soda, then mix together until combined. Scrape sides of bowl, then mix briefly.

Pour into a greased Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until the cake is no longer jiggly.

Remove cake from oven and invert pan onto the cooling rack until cake drops out.

This is a winner, try it.

One Year Old

I used to be a nanny for one of the sweetest little girls I have ever met. This little peach just stole my heart. Well this sweet little girl just turned one year old and her mama asked me to bake some sweets for her party. I asked her what the theme was and she told me "Strawberry Shortcake!”

I decided to make strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting. I’m not going to lie, when I was a young lass my choice for birthday treat was always strawberry shortcake, so perhaps I was being a little selfish here. Just a little.

I found a recipe for vanilla cake and strawberry frosting, tested it out (my husband’s coworkers are always happy for “tests” or “rejects”), made some adjustments and decided on a recipe that I was happy with.

I found that they don’t really stay well though. They are definitely best the day they’re baked. They get dense otherwise.

Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES

2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder 
3/4 teaspoons salt 
1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla 
1/4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup pureed fresh strawberries

FOR THE FROSTING

6 Tablespoons pureed fresh strawberries (approximately 1/2 cup whole strawberries)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold 
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation Instructions

For Cupcakes:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for a few more seconds.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Mix to combine. Add strawberry puree and mix to combine.

Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk, mixing for a few seconds after each addition.

Scrape sides of bowl, then mix one final time.

Fill paper-lined muffin tins 3/4 full with batter.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

For the Frosting:

Place strawberries in the bowl of a food processor. Process until pureed.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar. Beat until well combined.

Add vanilla and strawberry puree. I like a light and airy frosting, I let the mixer go for a good 2 or 3 minutes. I like it fluffy, if you don’t, don’t mix it as long.

Frost the cupcakes when they have fully cooled. If you like to pipe, pipe! If not, don’t! I used these little pearls I found to add a little glam.

The frosting was the winner at the party. Everyone loved the intense strawberry flavor!

For my sweet little Cosette, happy birthday. I hope your first year has been a happy one. Please, for me, stop growing up so fast.

Tomato and Basil Pizza

I love me some pizza. I have yet to find a pizza place here in California that lives up to my extremely high expectations.

Being from New York I have a need for pizza. It’s in my blood. When we go back to visit (both of our families still live on Strong Island) we get pizza. We get it as often as we can. We eat it for dinner, then have the leftovers for lunch the next day. It’s that good. And I don’t have to give a specific pizza place as a frame of reference. It’s all good. Any place.

I feel the water in California is what makes the pizza taste….different. I think we may have a harder water with more stuff in it and that truly changes the flavor of the dough.

There is a small chain, New York’s Upper Crust Pizza, that has the right idea, but not 100% flavor. It’s good in a pinch. I’d recommend it if you’re here and need a slice (don’t even get me started on how many pizza places here don’t do pizza by the slice).

In any case, I’ve been staring at my slowly wilting basil and thinking I can either make tomato sauce or pizza. I went for pizza.

Making the dough is the easy part. You don’t need very many ingredients and the mixer does all the work. The hardest part is waiting for it to rise.

Once it does, then it’s fun. Flour your surface, split the dough into two equal balls and start stretchin’ each one out.

Have your pizza stone (or baking sheet) ready. Dump a handful of cornmeal onto it making a nice layer for when you lay your pizza dough down. This makes it super easy to get the pizza off when it’s done baking, also, it gives it a classic pizza parlor like taste.

Get all of your toppings ready and you’re pretty much set. I julienned some basil, thinly sliced some tomatoes and had a few slices of mozzarella ready.

Once you have your pizza stretched to a shape that makes you happy, top it, bake it and eat it.

It doesn’t take very long to cook. I wanted to cook both pizzas (have the other for lunches the next day!) so I got my other one ready while the first one was cooking.

Makes 2 14” pizzas
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 Tbl olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup (approximately) corn meal

Preparation Instructions

In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer, add the warm water. Sprinkle in the yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir it a little to dissolve the yeast completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

Attach the mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute.

Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand. If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle in some additional flour.

Place the ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours (or several hours longer, a longer rise will improve the flavor).

Place your pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.

Remove the plastic cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a little.

Divide the dough in half. Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.

Prepare your desired toppings. Don’t go too crazy or you’ll have soggy crust.

Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2 inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.

Repeat with the second ball of dough.

Sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared flattened dough to the pizza peel.

Time for the toppings. Don’t make the cheese slices too thick or they won’t melt in time.

Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven. Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the peel and on to the baking stone in the oven.

Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes.

Once you get that sucker out and it’s all bubbly and melty, let it rest for a couple of minutes. This is good for two reasons. For one, you won’t have so much trouble trying to cut it once the cheese has settled. And two, trying to eat pizza straight from the oven will only end one way: new layer of skin on the roof of your mouth. Just be patient and wait a moment or two, your mouth thanks you in advance.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

I love classic desserts. They remind me of simpler times. I love baking something that’s been being baked for decades. It’s my own way of connecting with the 50s, which in my opinion, was probably a super cool time.

I found that most standard peanut butter cookie recipes are fairly similar. These came out really well. Not too sweet and just a little salty. Enough crunch with the perfect balance of chew, just the way I like them.

I like this recipe because it’s really easy. A few steps and you’re done!

Get your peanut butter, shortening, sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl.

Beat it until it’s nice and smooth. Then add your egg.

Sift your dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Slowly add your dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined.

If you’re a parchment paper using individual, drop your cookies onto that, if not, use a greased or non-stick baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes. Make sure you use your fork to make the crisscross pattern.

Don’t let them go past 8 minutes. They’ll get too crunchy. Take them out and let them cool.

When you cannot possibly wait one more minute, dig in!

Makes about 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients

3/4 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 stick vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbl milk
1 Tbl pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl.

Beat at medium speed until well blended.

Add egg. Slowly beat just until blended.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt in separate bowl.

Very slowly add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased or non-stick baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown.

Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Get some milk and enjoy!

Lime and Cilantro Marinated Flank Steak

I’m trying to switch things up with Taco Tuesday dinner. We’ve done chicken and pork, but I enjoy some tasty flank steak from time to time. It’s a cheap meat and it cooks up in no time.

I could have reached for the carne asada flank steak which is already marinated, but I thought, what the heck, I can make a tasty marinade and ensure the ingredients are to my liking.

Not too much stuff went into this. I kept it simple, but oh so tasty.
I threw all of my ingredients into the food processor.

Dumped it into a large ziplock bag with the steak.

And put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Easy breezy.

My one highly recommended tip would be to maybe not trust the ziplock bag 100%. Just for the heck of it, throw the bag in a bowl then leave it in the fridge. There is nothing worse than opening the fridge and seeing your ziplock bag had a tiny hole and now everything has a nice Mexican aroma to it. If you’re feeling ballsy, forgo the extra bowl protection.

Ingredients

1 pound flank steak
1 lime, juiced
2-3 teaspoons sugar
1-2 cloves garlic
2 Tbl white vinegar
4-5 shakes of Worcestershire
3 jalapeños, leave the ribs and seeds in for heat 
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, easy on the salt
Handful of cilantro

Preparation Instructions

I feel like this is kind of a cheat recipe, but it still tastes good even though there’s not a lot of work.

Literally throw it all into the food processor and push the on button. Done.
Ok it’s not that easy, but kind of.

Stream in some olive oil until it reaches a consistency that seems appropriate for a marinade.

Give it a taste. Adjust your seasonings accordingly.

Once you’re happy with the balance of flavors, add it to the ziplock, put the meat in, squeeze out all the air and give it a massage. Put the bag in a bowl (just do it, really) and pop it into the fridge until dinner. Piece of cake, right?

Flank steaks cook very quickly. I heat my Le Creuset grill to medium/high heat and pop those suckers on for about 3 minutes each side. When they’re done, let them rest on the cutting board for a minute, let the juices redistribute, then cut and enjoy!

Use some mango salsa and get some tacos going, delish!

A Tale of Two Brownies

I found a recipe for s’mores brownies, made them, and realized they were kind of a mess. I liked the concept though. So I made a second batch, and those worked out much better. I will show you both and give you both recipes and you can decide which you prefer. They are both delicious. One is more ooey gooey, the other, more fancy brownie.

Make both and suffer through having to eat your way to a decision :).

Hmm, that’s kind of interesting. Which do YOU think is the ooey gooey one?

The bottom photo, in my opinion, is the messy one, but just looking at the photos I would definitely think differently. To be honest, the issue was in the cutting and removing them (the bottom brownies) from the pan. The marshmallows made it very messy. The trick is to spray your knife with non-stick cooking spray for each cut. It helped a great deal.

In any case, try them both and let me know what you think. If you’re in a rush and just want to bang them out really fast, use store-bought brownie mix. The world will not implode, I promise. If you do choose to go box mix, use the Ghiradelli mix. It’s super delish.

Fancy Brownie (top photo)
Ingredients

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup Ghiradelli sweet ground chocolate and cocoa, or any good quality cocoa powder
2/3 cup unsifted flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 honey graham crackers, torn into pieces
2 handfuls of mini marshmallows

Preparation Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, using a spoon, stir eggs with sugar and vanilla. Once mixed well, add the butter.

In a separate bowl, sift cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt.

Slowly stir dry mixture into wet ingredients. Mix, by hand, until just incorporated, about 40 strokes.

Spread mixture into a well greased and floured 9” square pan.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove brownies, add marshmallows and graham crackers. Pop it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Let brownies cool completely before cutting.

Gooey Brownies (bottom photo)
Ingredients

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup Ghiradelli sweet ground chocolate and cocoa, or any good quality cocoa powder
2/3 cup unsifted flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 honey graham crackers
1 cup chocolate chips
2-3 cups mini marshmallows

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, using a spoon, stir eggs with sugar and vanilla. Once mixed well, add the butter.

In a separate bowl, sift cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt.

Slowly stir dry mixture into wet ingredients. Mix, by hand, until just incorporated, about 40 strokes.

Place graham crackers in a single layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Carefully spread brownie batter over the graham crackers.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove brownies and sprinkle evenly with marshmallows and chocolate chips.

Place brownies under the broiler for 5-8 more minutes, or until marshmallows are lightly toasted. Watch those brownies closely though. As you may or may not know, anything in the broiler goes from lightly brown and crunchy to black and maybe even on fire in mere moments.

Cool as long as you can stand it before cutting into squares.