Showing posts with label pumpkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pumpkin. Show all posts

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Blondies

Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Some of you may have noticed that my recipes are a haphazard combination of measures. Sometimes by weight in grams or ounces, equally often cups and milliliters and other volume measures. My problem is that I have moved all over the world collecting cookbooks (and recipes from friends!) so I have gotten quite comfortable mixing and matching. I own two sets of measuring cups, US and UK, where a cup varies from eight ounces in the former to nine ounces in the latter. I don’t actually own a separate set of measuring spoons, but I know that an Australian recipe calling for a tablespoon of something needs four teaspoons instead of the US three. Thank goodness all teaspoons are 5ml!

I have a wonderful set of vintage scales, a gift from my mother, procured by a dear friend in Aberdeen, which has both imperial and metric weights. This is my very favorite thing in my kitchen and until I bought a digital scale, and I used it all the time.



When using my US cookbooks, I often measure things out, then tip them in the digital scale and write the weight in pencil in the cookbook, so I can just weigh the item the next time I use the recipe. How we ever started using cups, I do not know, because weighing is so much easier - and more accurate!

If you too find yourself with a foreign recipe, online or in a cookbook, check out Traditional Oven, the website I often use for conversions. It has been a godsend! But whichever measure you use, you'll want to make my salted caramel pumpkin blondies.

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Blondies


To give everybody credit: My recipe was adapted from this recipe from BakedBree.com which was in turn adapted from this recipe from SingForYourSupperBlog.com which was in turn adapted from a recipe for basic pumpkin blondies from Annies Eats, who adapted hers from Martha Stewart. And so it goes.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g plain flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (245g) room temperature butter
1 1/4 cups or 250g brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Check out the link if you'd like to make your own.)
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 cup store-bought caramel syrup with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt added or this lovely recipe. I made this myself and ended up with a much darker caramel sauce.

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Combine all dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.





Cream together the butter and brown sugar until very light and fluffy in another bowl.


Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar.







Now beat in the canned pumpkin.


Finally, fold in the reserved flour mixture a few spoons at a time, and stop stirring when the batter is just combined. This is going to be really thick.


Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper and spread half the batter around evenly.


Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour the caramel sauce over the partially baked batter.


Carefully spoon the remaining batter over the caramel.


Spread to cover, as best you can. A gentle touch is key.

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Return the blondies to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean. Let the blondies cool before cutting.

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle on more salted caramel sauce before serving.

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

Enjoy!

Pin it!

Food Lust People Love: Alternating layers of sweet pumpkin batter and rich salted caramel sauce bake up into the most succulent pumpkin blondies you'll ever want to eat. Pass these around for your Halloween party, or even Thanksgiving dessert! They are that special.

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Sunday, September 24, 2017

Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup

Nothing beats roasted pumpkin soup on a chilly fall day. Add some bacon, ginger and green apple for a warm, bright bowl of goodness your whole family will love.

Food Lust People Love: Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup. Nothing beats roasted pumpkin soup on a chilly fall day. Add some bacon, ginger and green apple for a warm, bright bowl of goodness your whole family will love.

It’s never really winter here in Dubai so when we get a day that is grey and looks like it is threatening to rain (although honestly, it hardly ever does) that is what I call a soup day. Today it’s pumpkin soup since I am trying hard to channel autumn.

Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup


This makes two large, very, very thick bowls of soup. This recipe is easily multiplied to serve more.

Ingredients
600g or 1 1/3 pounds fresh pumpkin
2 slices or rashers of bacon (streaky) (optional)
2 cups or 480ml stock (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 small onion
1 medium carrot
1 green apple
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Small knob young ginger
4 cloves garlic
20g or 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper

Optional, to serve: Drizzle of cream

Method
Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C. Clean the seeds and fibers out of your pumpkin.

Cut it in pieces so it will roast faster. Trim the bottom a little, if necessary, to make it stand up properly. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.


Roast the pumpkin for 40-50 minutes or until a fork goes in easily. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.


Meanwhile, if using, chop your bacon into little strips. Fry with a little olive oil over a medium fire.


Peel the vegetables then chop your onion, carrot and garlic and ginger.


Add to the bacon and sauté until softened, adding another couple of glugs of olive oil. Put the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if it starts to dry out.

Put one teaspoon of lemon juice in a small bowl. Peel, core and chop the apple and mix it around in the lemon juice.


Add the apple to the pot. Stir everything around and pop the lid back. Cook on medium, adding water occasionally if it starts to catch.


Once you are able to hold your pumpkin, scrape the flesh out of the skin.

Add the butter to the pot and then add the pumpkin.


Add the stock and give the pot a whisk.


Carefully ladle and then pour everything in to a blender. Make sure not to overfill the blender. You may have to do this in batches. Blend until smooth.  Return to the pot and check the seasoning. Add salt, if necessary, and a couple of good grinds of black pepper.


Serve with a drizzle of cream and hot buttered toast.

Enjoy!

Check out all the great easy pumpkin recipes my Sunday Supper group are sharing today!

Meals, Sides, and Snacks

Delectable Desserts


 Pin it!

Food Lust People Love: Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup. Nothing beats roasted pumpkin soup on a chilly fall day. Add some bacon, ginger and green apple for a warm, bright bowl of goodness your whole family will love.
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Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Cinnamon Pumpkin Quick Bread #BreadBakers

Cinnamon Pumpkin Quick Bread is made with the muffin-method. Bowl of wet ingredients mixed quickly with the bowl of dry. The texture is light yet moist with just the right amount of sweetness. 



This month my Bread Baker group is doing one of two things. Jumping the gun, if you aren’t ready for pumpkin recipes yet. Or fulfilling your what-the-heck-took-so-long needs for pumpkin bread, if you’ve been waiting.

If you are in the former group, hey, pin them for later. If you are in the latter, you are most welcome. Either way, you are going to love this creative group of recipes. Many thanks to our host this month, Kylee of Kylee Cooks. Kylee is a fellow expat in reverse. She was born and raised in New Zealand but lives in the US now. I can completely relate to her regrets that her boys don't get to spend as much time with their grandmother as she did with hers. There are pluses and minuses to this expat life and missing family is a big downside.

You know what helps ease the pain though? Sweet pumpkin bread with cinnamon. This recipe has been adapted from one on the King Arthur website. I have no idea why they complicated their lives by using beaters for quick bread but my way is much easier and completely delicious.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups or 220g flour
1/2 cup or 100g granulated sugar
1/2 cup, firmly packed, or 100g dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup or 200g canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup or 120ml vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/3 cup or 80ml water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To decorate:
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your loaf pan by rubbing the inside with a little oil or by lining it with baking parchment.

Use a large bowl to mix together your flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. My brown sugar tends to get lumpy. If you have the same problem, use the tines of a fork or even your hands to get rid of the lumps.

In another smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the canned pumpkin, oil, eggs, water and vanilla extract.


Pour your wet ingredients into your dry.

Fold until they are just mixed. There may still be a little flour showing.



Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle on the pumpkin seeds, then top them with the cinnamon sugar.



Bake in your preheated oven for about 60-70 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. For the last 20 minutes or so, cover the top loosely with foil.



Allow to cool completely in the pan before slicing.



Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely pumpkin or pumpkin spice breads we have for you today.

BreadBakers
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin it!


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Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

Peanut butter and pumpkin combine beautifully for cake-y cookies chock full of chocolate chips or M&Ms. Great for parties and snacks this time of year!

I may have mentioned once or a thousand times before but I am not much of a sweet eater. Give me a large link of smoked sausage over a sweet slice of chocolate cake any day. New friends, that is ones I've made in the last four years since I started blogging, are always shocked by this revelation because I bake so much. I love to bake, it’s true! I just give it all away, mostly. When you consider the expensive hobbies some people enjoy, like collecting antiques, horseback riding or racing yachts – even quilting, have you priced quality fabric lately?! - this is relatively cheap. Some eggs, butter, flour, flavorings. I love the creative process of baking, plus there’s the added bonus of feeling benevolent when I give treats away. If you are looking for a hobby, this is a good one!

M&Ms vs Chocolate Chips
I’ve got another confession to make about these cookies in particular. I’ve discovered that I am not a fan of the seasonal M&Ms. I thought they would taste the same as other M&Ms but they really don’t. I think they are sweeter. (See paragraph 1.) The colors are great but next time I make these cookies, I’m going to stick to semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, the only chocolate I actually like. If you like the seasonal ones, by all means, carry on. The cookies themselves were fluffy and cake-y and soft. And not overly sweet when I ate around the M&Ms. Yes, I did that thing.

Many thanks to Laura from The Spiced Life for organizing our Creative Cookie Exchange group and choosing this month’s theme: Celebrate the Pumpkin. Thanks also to Renee from Magnolia Days for putting together our link list of 12 pumpkin related cookies. Make sure you scroll down to check them out at the bottom of my post.

This recipe was adapted from one on the Bob’s Red Mill site.

Ingredients
1/4 cup or 65g crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup or 60g unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup, firmly packed, or 100g brown sugar
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup or 125g flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 195g canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/4 cups or 113g 5-minute oats
3/4 cup or 150g M&Ms (or sub chocolate chips – see paragraph 2 above) plus a handful extra for decorating (optional)

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the peanut butter, butter and sugars together until fluffy.

Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add in your egg and vanilla and beat again.



Add in the pumpkin and beat again until combined.



Sift the flour, soda and salt directly into the same bowl. Beat again.



Finally, add the oats and M&Ms and stir well or use your beaters on a very slow speed to combine. You don’t want to break up the M&Ms.



Use a scoop or a spoon to drop balls of cookie dough onto your prepared cookie sheet.

Poke a few more M&Ms on the top of each for decoration, if desired.



Bake in your preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until just browned. These cookies should be chewy and slightly under- rather than over-baked, if you are going to err on one side or the other. They turn out soft and cake-y and no one likes dry cake.

Allow to cool for a few minutes on the pan then remove the cookies and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.



Repeat the scooping/baking process until all the cookies are done. This makes about 2 dozen, depending on the size of your scoop. Mine is 2 tablespoons or 30ml and I got 27 cookies.


Enjoy!




Need a great resource for cookie recipes? Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them at The Spiced Life), on the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!


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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze #BloggerCLUE


Rumored to be just like the ones from a well-known coffee chain, these beautifully spiced pumpkin scones with spiced glaze are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. 

If you’ve been reading along here for a while you’ve already heard me say how much I’ve enjoyed getting to know fellow bloggers during the last three years of public blogging. I sincerely wish I had time to read and comment on every blog that I love every time there is a new post, but that wouldn’t leave any time for my own cooking and writing and other fun stuff, so something’s got to give. I do try to get around to them as often as I can. But what if reading another blog was part of a group assignment? Well, I’d have to do that, right?! Have you guessed already that I have joined another bloggers group to justify my blog reading obsession? You are so smart.

Bloggers C.L.U.E. Society
This one’s called Bloggers C.L.U.E. Society and the premise is that we are matched up with another food blogger each month and we need search his or her blog for a recipe to fit that month’s theme. And make it. We’ll introduce ourselves and our readers to each other with each post, until perhaps someday, we’ve made a recipe from and gotten to know every blogger in the group.

This is our inaugural Bloggers C.L.U.E. post. I was assigned Bakeaway With Me and our theme is Thanksgiving. As I browsed through Kathy’s blog, I had to put on my detective cap to figure out more about her since her profile doesn't reveal anything. Hunting for clues was part of the fun though! I discovered that she is married to a man with Dutch heritage and they live with their children in New Jersey. Her mother’s family is of Lebanese descent and her father’s family came over from Hungary, so she has a fabulous and eclectic mixture of ethnic recipes on her blog, as well as a bunch from another group she participates in called French Fridays with Dorie. Deciding on just one recipe to try was going to be a challenge!

Since our theme is Thanksgiving, I finally settled on one that I know my daughters will love. I’m not much of a sweet eater but I must confess that I took my usual taste test bite from one scone and ended up eating it all. I’ve never had the real thing from Starbucks so I can’t compare but, boy, are these good! I’ve decided that they are going to be breakfast for Christmas morning. (My girls won't be home for Thanksgiving, more's the pity!) Kathy says that they freeze well, so I tested that statement and can report that she is telling the absolute truth. I glazed them and froze them in a single layer and they thawed beautifully, looking and tasting just like fresh baked. Which will make Christmas morning even easier.




Here’s Kathy’s recipe. Hope you love it as much as I did! I’ve added the metric measures for those of you who prefer to use a scale for baking.

Pumpkin Scones (Starbucks Copycat)

Yield: 8 scones
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 15 min
adapted from Todd Wilbur

Ingredients
For the scones:
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
1/3 cup, packed, or 65g brown sugar,
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 115g unsalted COLD butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup or 120g pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
3 tablespoons milk or cream
1 large egg
2 tablespoons maple syrup

For the spiced glaze:
1 cup or 125g confectioners' or icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons milk

Method
Preheat oven to 425°F or 220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt.



Add cold butter, and using a pastry blender, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. You want to see some very small pieces of the butter.



In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, cream, egg and maple syrup.



Pour mixture over the dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until a soft dough forms.


Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times until it comes together.  With lightly floured hands, pat the dough into a rectangle measuring roughly 7x9 inches or 18x23cm. (I patted with my hands then used my rolling pin to just lightly stretch the dough to the right size.)

Using a large knife or a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut into 2 even pieces crosswise, making four rectangles. Then cut each rectangle into two triangles, making 8 triangles.



Place scones onto prepared baking sheet. Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.



To make the spiced glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and milk. Whisk until smooth.



When the scones are done, cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle the glaze over each scone, and spread with back of spoon.



Allow glaze to set before serving.



These scones freeze beautifully.  So save some for later!


Enjoy!

Just look at the gorgeous inside! I can't even express how GOOD these are!




Here are a few links in case you'd like to join me in connecting with Kathy and Bakeaway with Me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.



I’m pleased to introduce you to more of my fellow Blogger C.L.U.E. Society members:


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