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.

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.

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

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

Enjoy!

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Sweet Pineapple Muffins #MuffinMonday

These sweet pineapple muffins have a simple vanilla muffin batter, studded with pineapple. They are perfect for breakfast and snacks. Pop one in a lunch box as a special surprise.

I have a confession to make. These were supposed to be fresh pineapple muffins. My neighborhood grocery store has a special cutter that slices pineapples into circles at the same time that it removes the thick, spiky peel. Don’t you know, the day I was baking these, they didn’t have any fresh pineapples. They almost always have them!

I wanted fresh pineapple because fruit packed in syrup is usually too sweet for me but I took this as a sign to go and peruse the canned goods. Hallelujah! There was actually one option with pineapple slices in unsweetened juice. So, use what you’ve got!

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
¾ cup or 150g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Juice (not syrup!) from small can of pineapple plus enough milk to make 1 cup or 240ml
½ cup or 120ml canola oil or other light oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
Small can pineapple (4.9 oz or 139g, drained weight)

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and generously grease cups and top of 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper liners.

Drain the pineapple and save the juice in a measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup or 240ml.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl.

Chop the pineapple slices into bits. I like to cut some a bit bigger and save them to decorate the top and I suggest you do the same.

Put the bigger pile into the dry ingredients and stir to coat them so they don't stick together.

In another bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, vanilla and eggs.

Add all the milk mixture to flour mixture. Gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  Top each with a couple of pieces of chopped pineapple.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 before removing muffins from pan.

Enjoy!

Check out all of the great muffins my Muffin Monday group is sharing today:

• Appalachian Pawpaw Muffinsfrom Palatable Pastime
• Apple Oatmeal Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pineapple Coconut Banana Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Sourdough Date Nut Cranberry Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sweet Pineapple Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Whole Grain Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Blackberry German Butter Cake - Brombeere-Butterkuchen #FoodieExtravaganza

Butterkuchen or German butter cake is baked with a butter enrich yeast dough, that is topped with sugar and yet more butter. In this version I've named Brombeere-Butterkuchen or Blackberry German Butter Cake, I’ve also added some wild blackberries to the topping.

If you’ve never had butterkuchen or German butter cake, let me assure you that the name is well-deserved. This rich cake swims in the butter topping when it comes out of the oven. As the cake cools, the butter sinks in, making it super moist and delectable.

This month my Foodie Extravaganza friends are sharing German recipes to celebrate the Oktoberfest which, despite its name, starts on Saturday, 16 September in Munich, extending only slightly into October with an end date of October 3rd this year.  Make sure to scroll down to see the dishes we’ve made in anticipation.

Meanwhile, you might want to check out my cheese-filled pretzels, homemade spicy German beer mustard and the obatza cheese spread I recreated for Sunday Supper, all three perfect for your Oktoberfest party.

This time around, I chose a sweet dish since every good and hearty meal should end with dessert, don’t you think? I'm pretty sure all German meals are good and hearty.

Blackberry German Butter Cake (Brombeere-Butterkuchen) 

This recipe is adapted from several I found on the internet. Here are three: ChefKoch.de, Lecker.de and GermanFood.org. Don't let the yeast scare you! This cake is really quite simple to make.

Ingredients
For the sponge:
1/4 cup or 31.25g flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 cup or 120ml lukewarm milk (110°F or 43°C.)
1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the cake dough:
2 cups or 250g flour
1 large egg, at room temperature
7 tablespoons or 100g butter, softened, plus a little for buttering your baking pan
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the topping:
1/2 cup or 75g fresh berries, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
9 tablespoons or 127g butter, softened

Method
To proof the yeast, we first make a sponge. Place flour in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Sprinkle in the dry yeast and add the teaspoon of sugar. Mix in the lukewarm milk.

Let the sponge sit in a warm place for 15 minutes. It should get foamy and increase in size. If it doesn’t, toss it out and start again with new yeast.

Assuming you have good, active yeast, add in the flour, egg, the softened butter, sugar and salt to the yeast mixture.

That's the foamy "sponge" on the bottom right. Good yeast! 

Mix until the dough is smooth and forms a ball.

One of the recipes I consulted online says to add up to 1/2 cup additional flour if necessary but I decided to leave my dough slack to make it more cake like, and less bready. So it didn’t really form a stiff ball. This probably makes it unauthentic, but, hey, I’m not even a little bit German plus I’ve added wild Jersey blackberries, so that makes it unauthentic already.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Press the dough out into a lightly buttered 8x8in or 20x20cm pan. Let it rest again for 15 minutes while heating oven to 375°F or 190°C.

Wet your hands slightly (so they don’t stick to the dough) and use your fingers to create dimples in the top of the dough.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together with the berries and sprinkle evenly over dough.

Cut topping butter into small pieces and dot them evenly all around the cake. Mine was pretty soft so it was more a matter of spooning small bits on.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and the sugar on top has caramelized. There is still going to be quite a bit of butter bubbling on top but don’t worry, it will sink in as the cake cools.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month’s host, Sue of Palatable Pastime for choosing our theme and her behind the scenes work. It’s almost time for Oktoberfest! How will you celebrate?

• Autumn Crockpot Apple Sauerkraut by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Bierocks by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Braised Red Cabbage with Apples by Caroline’s Cooking
• Brombeere-Butterkuchen – Blackberry German Butter Cake by Food Lust People Love
• Chicken Schnitzel with Dunkelweizen Sauce by Palatable Pastime
• Chicken Schnitzel With Garlic Mayo by Sneha’s Recipe
• German meatballs with spaetzle by Cookaholic Wife
• Nusskämme (German Hazelnut Combs) by Tara’s Multicultural Table

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

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Country Applesauce Pecan Muffins #MuffinMonday

Made with thick homemade applesauce, these country applesauce pecan muffins are rich with the flavors of brown sugar and cinnamon. They are a great breakfast muffin or afternoon snack.

Weekend before last, ahead of a routine test on Monday, my husband was instructed to start on a soft food diet. We headed to our big hypermarket for a shopping trip, picking up clear soups and other tasty morsels he could eat. “How about applesauce?” he said. “Sure,’ I replied. I turned back towards the fresh produce, as he turned toward the cans and jars. We both stopped.

“We are not going to buy applesauce!” I exclaimed. “You know how easy it is to make applesauce!” Plus, I pointed out, we were having pork chops for dinner – his last solid meal for a couple of days - so we’d need applesauce for those as well.

Sure, it takes a while to peel and core the apples (and toss them in a little fresh lemon juice), but you know exactly what you get when you are done. Pure applesauce, with a hint of lemon. If you choose your apples wisely, you don’t need to add sugar.

How to make applesauce:
Put the juice of one small lemon in a large mixing bowl. Peel, core and chop 3 Granny Smith apples and four Red Delicious, tossing the chunks in the lemon juice to stop them turning brown.

Place the lot in a heavy saucepan with 1/4 cup or 60ml water. Keep the fire on medium low and cover the pot with a tightfitting lid. Check it often, stirring the apples when you do. Cook until the apples are very soft and can be mashed easily with the back of a spoon. Taste the applesauce and add a little sugar, if necessary. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Country Applesauce Pecan Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup or 125g pecans
2/3 cup or 132g brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup or 80ml canola oil, plus a little extra for greasing muffin pan
1 large egg
1 rounded cup or 250g applesauce (see instructions above or use store-bought sauce)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180C°. Toast the pecans on a dry baking pan as the oven preheats. Watch them closely and shake the pan occasionally so the pecans don’t scorch.  This won’t take long. Remove from the oven and chop coarsely.

Grease 12 standard muffin cups with a little canola or line the pan with paper liners.

Divide the chopped pecans, setting aside a generous handful to sprinkle on the muffins before baking.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, the larger pile of chopped pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another smaller mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk the oil, egg, applesauce and vanilla extract together.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just mixed.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Top with the reserved chopped pecans.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to Karen from Karen’s Kitchen Stories for hosting this edition of Muffin Monday while I am on the road from the east coast to the west with my daughter. We are in New York state right now and are headed to Cleveland, Ohio this morning. As I mentioned in my last post, my Instagram feed is always kind of a weird mix of images, but for the next eight days, it's going to be filled with sights from our cross country trip. Do follow along!

Meanwhile, make sure to check out all the other goodies my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today!

• Banana Cookie Butter Oatmeal Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Blueberry-Peach Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Cherry Surprise Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Corned Beef Stuffed Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Country Applesauce Pecan Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sour Cream Muffins with Mixed Berries from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Chili Maple Bacon Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

Soft on the inside and chewy on the outside, these chili maple bacon cookies are also the perfect combination of sweet, salty and spicy.

This is the cookie for your bacon-loving friend who doesn’t usually eat cookies. (Like me.) The subtle maple flavor and the fresh kick of chili from the spiked syrup balance the smokiness and salt of the bacon. But make no mistake, these are still plenty sweet enough to be called cookies.

I’m not much of a cookie eater but these guys with bacon and chili have me hooked! If you like cookies with bacon, you might also want to try my Brown Sugar Bacon Cookies or my Bacon Dark Chocolate Bourbon Cookies.

Ingredients - for 2 dozen cookies
1 lb or 450g smoked bacon, divided (11-13 thin slices)
1/4 cup or 60ml maple syrup
1 small hot red chili pepper
2/3 cup or 156ml canola or other light oil
1 cup or 200g sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups or 250g flour +62g

1/4 cup or 60g turbinado or demerara sugar for rolling

Method
Mince the chili pepper finely and put it in a microwavable measuring cup or bowl with the maple syrup. Warm the syrup (about 30 seconds should do) and then leave to cool so the chili pepper flavor and heat will infuse the syrup.

Fry the bacon until crispy then drain on paper towels. Once cool, mince it finely. Divide the bacon bits into piles of about two-thirds and one-third. We’ll mix the bigger pile into the cookie dough and use the smaller one for rolling the dough balls.

Note: Once the maple syrup is cool, you can strain out the chili pepper if you’d like. I like to leave mine in.

In a mixing bowl, stir together oil, sugar, egg, maple syrup, baking soda, salt and vanilla.

Add in the bigger pile of minced bacon.

Mix well, then stir in the flour, stirring just until it is mixed in.

Refrigerate until stiff.

Preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C and line two or three cookie sheets with baking parchment or silicone liners. These cookies do spread out so I baked them only six at a time.

Mix the turbinado or demarara sugar with the reserved minced bacon in a bowl.

Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll the dough pieces into balls and then roll in the sugar and bacon.

Place the balls on the prepared cookie sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.

Cool on the cookie sheets then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

This month my Creative Cookie Exchange friends are sharing cookies with chili. Check out the great list of recipes:

• Black Pepper Romano Herb Shortbread from Cream and Butter Baking
• Chile Chocolate Coins from The Spiced Life
• Chili Maple Bacon Cookies from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Cayenne Cookies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Ginger-Chile Caramel Cookies from All That's Left Are The Crumbs

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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