Spicy Mexican Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

I found this recipe in Better Homes & Gardens but I gave it a bit of spin after a few rounds of making it. The texture of the chocolate pumpkin layer has a French Silk Pie texture. And the heat from the chili powder and cayenne pepper gives it a nice bit of zing. It's my new favorite. Cold pie spicy chocolate pie with some hot coffee, yes please!

Spicy Mexican Pumpkin Pie:

1 Frozen Deep dish Pie Crust
1 3.1 oz disc of Mexican Chocolate (I found Nestle Abuelita Mexican Chocolate at Cub Foods)
2 TBSP butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp mild chili powder (I use 1/2 tsp regular chili powder)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I use 1/4)
1 15 oz can pumpkin
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup half and half
1 recipe for Chocolate Ganache (see below)

Prepare the piecrust, set aside to cool.

Preheat over to 350. In a small saucepan heat the chocolate disc and butter over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, just until melted. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl combine brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir in pumpkin and eggs until combined. Gradually stir in half-and-half until combined.

Stir 1 1/2 cups of the pumpkin mixture into the cooled chocolate mixture. Pour into the piecrust. Then pour the remaining pumpkin mixture over the chocolate layer. Cover the edges with foil. Bake 60 minutes or until edges are puffed and the center appears set. Cool on wire rack. Chill within 2 hours.
Spoon Chocolate Ganache over top.

Chocolate Ganache:
3.1 oz chopped semisweet chocolate and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. In a small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup whipping cream to simmering, pour over chocolate. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.

When ready to serve top with shaved chocolate and chili powder to your liking.

Banana Egg Pancakes

Banana Egg Pancakes. (Gluten Free, Whole30 Compliant, Paleo and delicious)

2 eggs
1 banana
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:
Peel the banana, slice it then smash the banana down to a puree like texture. Crack two eggs into another bowl, whip them up nicely. Combine egg with banana, then add the baking soda and cinnamon. Heat up coconut oil in a small frying pan on medium heat. Pour approximately 1/3 cup pancake mixture per pancake. It makes 3-4 pancakes.

Baked Donuts

For years, I have intended to make baked donuts. Finally, this week I bought a mini donut pan at TJMaxx and went for it. They are freaking awesome. So easy to make and the kids loved them. The chocolate donuts were fantastic. Next up Apple Cinnamon and then maybe Green Tea with toasted coconut.

Chocolate Donuts (Makes 12 donuts- I would just double the recipe if you have kids in the house)
combine in a medium bowl
1 cup flour (you could easily use GF flour)
1/2 sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 tsp baking soda

combine in small bowl
1/2 tsp  vanilla extract
1 egg
6 TBS sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1/4 vegetable oil (or coconut oil)

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl, then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Grease the donut pan, then evenly fill the pan. Bake for 8 minutes or until the tops spring back upon touch.

Let the donuts cool in the pan a bit before removing. Meanwhile make the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze (enough for 24 donuts, so you should just double the donut recipe!)
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed
1 TBS light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
2 cups powdered sugar (I don't bother sifting, but it's probably a good idea)

Combine the butter, milk, corn syrup and vanilla in a medium sauce pan or medium heat until the butter has melted. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate and whisk till melted. Turn off heat, add the powdered sugar and whisk till smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the tops of the donuts immediately. Take one donut at a time and carefully submerge the top, lift out of the glaze, flip over and allow to cool on waxed paper or a wire rack. Allow the glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving. I love sprinkles, so of course I add sprinkles before the glaze sets.

GF Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting

I cannot get enough of this Gluten Free Carrot Cake with homemade Cream Cheese frosting.

It takes a bit of work to make but it is worth the effort.

I have had a few requests for the recipe, so it's time to share. 

Gluten Free Carrot Cake

2 eggs (room temperature)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 raw sugar (I used coconut sugar)

1/2 cup butter (melted)

1 tsp vanilla

zest of one orange

combine then add to the mix:

1 1/2 All purpose Gluten Free flour (I like Trader Joe's best)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

combine then add to the mix:

2 cups shredded carrots

1 peeled and grated apple

1/2 cup chopped green grapes

juice of one orange

Stir in:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (my kids are allergic to all nuts. So this can't happen at our house)

Grease and flour cake pans. Makes two thin layers. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. 

Frosting:

16 oz cream cheese (softened)

8 Tbsp butter (softened)

1 cup powdered sugar (I went without this and it's great)

1 Tbsp vanilla

Garnish with more orange zest!

If you make mini cupcakes bake 10 minutes. For regular sized cupcakes, bake 18-20 minutes.

Watermelon Rice Kripies

Watermelon Rice Krispie Treats. I promise this is easy. The pretty treats above were created by seventh graders.

You will need:
Rice Krispies
Butter
Mini marshmallows
Vanilla extract
Red food coloring
Green food coloring
Mini chocolate chips
Small circular cake pan
Slightly larger circular cake pan

Recipe for Rice Krispies:
3 TBLS of butter
4 cups of mini marshmallows
5-6 cups of Rice Krispies (I lean toward 5, to ensure there is enough marshmallow goodness)
1 tsp of vanilla extract (I add this, the classic recipes does not have this)

We ended up making two watermelons and a bit extra of just plain green Rice Krispie bars (they would make great Minecraft Creeper Treats). For the first batch of Rice Krispies, melt the butter, marshmallows completely, then add the red food coloring. Next add the Rice Krispies. Let this mixture cool a tiny bit, then press into a small cake pan. Be sure that the pan is coated nicely with some butter. I find it easiest to really butter up your hands and press the treats in the pan.

While the red Rice Krispies are cooling a bit, mix up the green Rice Krispies. Butter two slightly larger cake pans, flip the red Rice Krispies into this larger pan. Then add the green Rice Krispies around the red Rice Krispies. Let it cool a bit more, then add the mini chocolate chips. If the treats are too hot the mini chocolate chips will melt, so be patient.

We are thinking of making oranges, lemons and limes next!

Fruit Cake

For weeks and weeks I was pinning Fruit Cakes on Pinterest. And now, here it is! Layers of watermelon, with melon cubes in between and topped with kiwi, peaches, blueberries. I added kabob skewers to hold everything together. This fruit cake puppy went for car ride to a friends' party and everything was just fine.

I wanted to try the version with coconut cream frosting slathered with sliced almonds. That will happen. Stay tuned.

National Donut Day

Hello Donuts! National Donut Day is the First Friday in June. A clever gent at our office wrangled this gathering of donuts from around town. Woulette, Old Fashioned Donut Shoppe, Kowalskis, Lunds&Byerlys, Doughnette, Saloman, A Baker's Wife, Meloglaze, Sarah Jane, Glam Doll, Yoyo Donuts and Bogarts!

I counted 22 boxes of donuts and one lucky summer guest!

Sugar Cream Pie

Sugar Cream Pie is heavenly, a bit like creme brulee. I found a few recipes online and made a new tweaked version. My first attempt looked terrible but tasted fantastic. I altered a few of the details make the beauty above.

Makes One 9" pie:
1 Deep Dish Frozen Pie Crust 
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar
2 TBS Flour
Pinch of salt
2 cups Heavy Cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Bake the pie crust according to the directions. Set aside, to cool a bit.
pre-heat oven to 375˚F
2. In a medium mixing bowl combine, the sugars, flour, and salt.
3. Gently stir in the heavy cream with a spatula. Do not overmix or the pie will not set properly
4. Stir in the vanilla extract in the mixture
5. Place your baked Pie Crust on a tin-foil lined baking sheet. (do not skip this step)
6. Slowly pour in the mixture into the baked Pie Crust.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate 180˚ then bake another 20-25 minutes. Large bubbles should cover the surface of the pie. The pie will not set when it comes out of the oven.
8. Cool to room temp, then chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours (or overnight). Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.

This pie tastes best, cold with a hot cup of coffee.

S'mores Cakepop Truffles with Graham Cracker Crumbles

OMG. So good, Chocolate S'more cakepop truffles with graham cracker crumbles. I made a basic chocolate cakepop truffle, dipped it in chocolate candy melts. Then I drizzled Wilton's S'mores Candy melts on top and sprinkled a bit of crumbled graham crackers for texture.

I can't find the S'more Candy Melts online. I bought them at my local Michael's Arts and Crafts (Minnesota).

Rice Krispie Carrots

 

Spring is all about Easter business. My kids are allergic to eggs, so we usually make Bunny Bread, Frosted Sugar Cookies, Carrot veggie pizzas and now… Rice Krispie Carrots! 

When our youngest was little, he would say "Tarrots are Tasty. Bunnies love Tarrots". Now he is big and was a great little helper arranging bunches of edible grass. 

Ingredients:

3 TBS butter or margarine

1 pkg 10 oz mini marshmallows

Orange food coloring (the amount you would like)

6 cups Rice Krispies

Edible Easter Grass

Green Candy melts

Orange Candy melts

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter/margarine, add the marshmallows and then the orange food coloring. In greased bowl, measure out 6 cups of Rice Krispies. Start pouring the melted mixture into the bowl of Rice Krispies, mix as you go. Nicely grease a 9x13 pan with butter/margarine and evenly spread the orange Rice Krispie mixture. Press it down evenly and let it cool. I cut the pan into 24 carrot shapes (long triangles). 

For the grass topper, I used Edible Easter Grass from Target. It is Green Apple flavored but I really could not taste it. It comes in long strands, I cut them smaller and made bunches of 5-7 strands. I used Wilton Candy Melts as "glue" to hold the grass together. Once that bunch of grass is cool, carve a little hole in the carrot and add the grass bunch with a bit more of the candy melts. 

For the final detail, you could add orange candy melt drizzle for carrot texture. I placed the melted candy melts in a sandwich sized Ziploc bag, snipped the corner in order to drizzle the carrots.

Bunny Bread

A few years ago, we made Bunny Bread. My kids loved it, so we hopped to it once again this year. It looks complex, but it really isn't. I tossed some poppy seeds to add visual depth for the bunny ears.

 

The key is to let the dough rise after the bunny is shaped. Do not skip that step. This photo shows the bunny before we baked it.

Click here for more detailed directions.

coconut curry creamed spinach

Super easy, Whole30 compliant and very tasty. Coconut Curry Creamed Spinach.

1 Red Onion (sliced)
4 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1/2" piece of fresh Ginger (minced)
2 8oz bags of Spinach (I used Fresh Express)

1 14oz can of Light Coconut Milk (Trader Joe's)
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Smoked Paprika (it is worth the purchase)
Add salt as needed

Heat up some olive oil in a pan, while you slice the Red Onion. Then saute the onion 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and ginger, saute another minute. Then start adding handfuls of the spinach, it will wilt as you go. Just keep adding. I added one bag, then pour in the entire can of coconut milk. Saute a bit more and add in the spices (Cayenne Pepper, Curry Powder, Smoked Paprika). Finally add in the last bag of spinach. Simmer till all the spinach is the consistency you like (5 minutes should do the trick). This dish has a bit of a kick. If it was me, I would add more heat.

Recipe found from here and tweaked a bit!

gingerbread houses + dinosaurs

At our house we made about 12 tiny gingerbread houses. I found this awesome new cookie cutter at Target over the holidays. I cannot find the Sweet Creations Cookie Cutter at Target.com. But I did find it here.

Back to the houses. I had the kids assemble them on paper plates. We decorated the freshly frosted houses with with Smarties, licorice, gumdrops, Holiday candy corn, candy melts, reindeer graham crackers, shredded coconut and mini M&Ms. After the houses were dry, we trimmed the plates close to the edge of the frosting. Then I snapped this photo with shredded coconut and dinosaurs (for a sense of scale). This cookie cutter would work for any seasonal celebration, Valentine's Day, Easter, 4th of July or Halloween.

Next, I would like to offer the houses to the neighborhood squirrels and wild turkeys. The hubby is not a fan of this said "plan".

Here is the cookie cutter. The photo is from goodcook.com

Melting Snowmen

So adorable, right? Yes! The snowman head is an Oreo Truffle or a Cakeball Truffle coated with Bright White Candy melts. I made the heads first, allowed them to set. Then I made the melting puddle of white candy melt, place the snowman head in the melted puddle. Be sure to add the buttons before the chocolate puddle sets. The carrot nose is a Candy Coated Sunflower seed (from Trader Joe's). I drew the faces with Wilton's Edible Markers.

The hat is a mini Oreo cookie (just one side) with a Rolo. I used Candy Melts to secure the Rolo to the cookie. Be sure to attach the hat to the snowman head before the Candy Melts set. I also added a tiny slice of Twizzler to be a flower.

I also tried to make the snowmen faces with mini chocolate chips. I found it to be really tricky. I like the edible markers better. Just use your 40% coupon at Michaels or JoAnns to purchase the edible markers.

Cookie Business

This holiday I just went for it, I made 10 batches of my Great Grandma Marie's Famous Frosted Sugar cookies. No I did not count how many cookies 10 batches renders. I am sure my chiropractor would tell you that I should take a break. The cookies really are the BOMB. They are so smooth and I sneak a bit of lemon extract in the frosting for something different. Lemon extract was never in the original recipe. It's my own addition. My Aunt Betsy also makes these famous cookies. She would NEVER stray from the original recipe. I enjoy a little shake up. I have never been one to conform.

Orange Cranberry Pinwheels

Orange Cranberry Pinwheels are delicious! My hubby was bummed that they were "fancy" ones. He was hoping for the standard Mexi pinwheels. I do not care. I wanted to make something new.

Recipe:
4 flour tortillas
2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese (softened)
1 cup of dried cranberries (you could use any sort of flavor)
2 bunches diced green onions
1 tsp of garlic salt
1 orange for the juice and zest

Directions:
Mix the cream cheese and garlic salt together until well blended. I used my KitchenAid mixer. I zested one entire orange and added the zest to the cream cheese mixture. Then add in 1 tsp of freshly squeezed orange juice.  Spread this mixture evenly over the tortillas.

In a small bowl, mix the cranberries and green onions. Sprinkle this mixture over the cream cheese spread. Lightly press the cranberry/onions into the cream cheese.

Roll up the individual tortillas, trim off the ends and wrap up in plastic wrap. I place them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. Then take them out and slice each tortilla into about 10 even sized pieces.

peppermint mocha cakeball truffles

Archer Farms Peppermint Mocha cupcake mix makes some dang good cakeball truffles. Everything you need is right in the box, the frosting, crushed peppermint bits and mini chocolate chips. Seriously this cake was awesome! This mix is not sold online, only in stores at Target. I am guessing it is a seasonal offering, so hop to it!

spicy cakeball truffles

Spicy Chocolate Cakeball Truffles with Cayenne Pepper and Chili Powder. I have been intending to make these for months. I finally just gave it a go. I baked a basic chocolate cake, let it cool and then crumbled it in my KitchenAid mixer. I added about 1- 1 1/2 cups of chocolate frosting until the mixture is similar to Playdoh. 

For the spicy part, I added about 2 teaspoons of both Cayenne Pepper and Chili Powder. That is what worked best for my taste level. Start out with just one teaspoon of each and taste test a bit. Chill the mixture in the fridge for a bit, then roll balls. I dipped them in melted chocolate. I love gold glittery sugars with red hot details. 

They are the perfect treat with a cool coffee drink.

Gingerbread

Gingerbread is heavenly. I could sniff these cookies for hours. My daughter feels the same way. This year I bought new cookie cutters that allow the cookies to sit on the edge of the coffee cup. Obviously I need to try a different gingerbread recipe. Next time they will be functional.

If you want to give it a try, the cookie cutters can be found at Ingebretsen's in Minnesota. Not in Minnesota? No problem. I am sure you could find this on the internet, like right here!

Chinese Bakery : Keefer Court

I have been going to Keefer Court Chinese Bakery for what seems like, my whole life (I just checked online. They officially opened in 1983). Now I take my kids there too. This last weekend we stopped by the bakery after the morning swim meet only to find some awesome new graffiti artists at work. I naturally had countless questions. They have been working on the wall for three weeks and plan for one more week of work till completion. I love it. The building feels more like an official landmark with this new dragon on the corner!

Amazing, they are not smacking each other, their eyes are open and one of them is smiling. Of course it's the one that really wants a few coconut buns, immediately. He knows the quicker he takes a good photo, the sooner he can eat that coconut bun. Get in my belly, coconut bun. NOW.

The Coconut Custard bun is my all time favorite. When I was little, I called them coconut footballs. There is a white stripe of coconut on each end, which makes it look just like a football. I also love the egg tarts, sticky rice balls, sesame balls and coconut tarts.

Keefer court also makes amazing cakes with fresh fruit on them. Don't make the mistake of going there on Tuesdays because they are closed. I wish liquor stores were closed on Tuesdays and opened all weekend. Keefer Court knows what they are doing.

Oh one more thing, no credit cards. Cash or check only. They have an ATM machine in the building too.

YUM!