Pumpkin Crunch Cake and Homemade Yellow Cake Mix

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest. This recipe is super easy, just make sure you break your eggs one at a time in a separate dish before adding to your main dish... why would I say that you might ask... well, we have fresh eggs, laid by our awesome chickens. I however didn't do that with this batch of cake because I was in a hurry, I broke open a couple eggs and they were fine, then I got to the last egg, and it was rotten... YUCKY! It broke right over the bowl, that I had the evaporated milk, other eggs, and pumpkin. All of that needed thrown out and started over, not to mention the smell! yuck. I had to scrub the sink, the bowl, the disposal drain everything and then spray air freshener (fabreeze). Yes, not a pleasant experience. I recommend even if from the grocery store... you should always break your eggs separately one at a time adding each individually before adding to the dish your making.  I digress... 

I have made this recipe a few times in the last couple of months, It is so good that one of my son's asked for it to be his birthday cake this year. I'd say that's huge! I hope you enjoy it! :) The original recipe does not call for brown sugar to be sprinkled on the top but I believe it makes for a better topping. More of a praline topping, so delicious. Next time I may even do some cinnamon and sugar on top with the brown sugar. Who knows, so many possibilities :) Enjoy!

I also, did not use a store bought cake mix. I found another recipe on line for homemade yellow cake mix. I used that in place of the store bought cake mix. Can I just say, it was WAY better then when I've made it in the past with the store bought mix, plus it didn't have all those other additives. To me that's a double win!

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix (made mine homemade)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup margarine, melted

1 cup brown sugar
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix well, and spread into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture, and pat down. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the cake mix, then drizzle with melted margarine, and sprinkle with brown sugar.
Bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until done. Top with whipped topping when ready to serve.

Note: My oven cooked it in 60 min. Every oven differs in temperature. Monitor closely after 60 min. You do not want to over cook this. 

Homemade Dry Yellow Cake Mix

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1/2 cup non-fat dry milk

Directions:

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and non-fat dry milk. Stir with wire whisk until blended together.  Use dry ingredients in place of store bought dry mix for any dump cake.

Note:  I did not add any other ingredients to the mix, and only used this. The original recipe has what should be added if making a straight yellow cake. 

Enjoy! :)

Creamy Pumpkin soup

Today it's cold outside. I have the day off, and I wanted to make some kind of soup with pumpkin. It just sounded so good. Something rich and creamy. Doesn't that just sound so yummy? Well, first I posted in FB that I wanted to make a pumpkin soup and asked if anyone of my friends had a reliable soup recipe using canned pumpkin that was good. I got suggestions to look at a few websites for pumpkin soup recipes. So I looked around and found a few. Most of the recipes had mixed reviews to being too bland, yucky, good, and GREAT all on the same soup recipe. So, I decided to go to the expert pumpkin source lily pumpkin's website. They had a recipe for pumpkin soup. I read it and it sounded good. So, I started making it... then I realized I wasn't following the recipe the way they wrote it, so here's my version of their pumpkin soup. I think it's got a great flavor, but not overpowering the pumpkin flavor. Let me know what you think... :)

Ingredients:

1- large can of puree'd pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
2 tbsp Pampered chef Thai Peanut sauce
3 packed tbsp brown sugar
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 stick of butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 can water
salt and pepper to taste
2 dashes pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan add the butter, onions, garlic and brown sugar. cook until the onions become translucent. Add the chicken broth, water, and pumpkin. Cook 15 minutes until boiling. Add the salt, pepper, pumpkin pie spice, evaporated milk and Thai Peanut sauce. Stir to incorporate. Let cook another 5 min. Stirring occasionally.  With a submersible mixer or blender blend until smooth or desired consistency. let simmer 5-10 min. and Enjoy!

This has a nice flavor and very tasty. I made this and then set it in my slow cooker on warm, to keep it heated all day. Dinner was done quickly and easily this morning.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins with a toasted almond crumb topping

This evening we had FHE (Family Home Evening). We usually have a song, prayer, little lesson, another song, another prayer and a treat. So tonight I was doing my usual last minute "oh no... we need a treat" thing and going through my pantry. I know I'm the only one stressing over treats for the snack. But I know that is how I can get my kids to semi obey and behave for the lesson is if I bribe them with yumminess. Some times its just a cookie, or we go out to ice cream some place cheap. Or even have ice cream at home. Tonight however, I remembered I had bought on sale at Walmart some Pumpkin quick bread mixes. I didn't think they would quite go for pumpkin bread, so I was trying to think of something to do with the mix. When low and behold.... I found a recipe on the side of the box. I quickly read through the ingredients and decided I had everything I needed to make the side recipe, well all except the pecans (my husband is allergic to them). So I found some almond slivers and decided that if I ground them up smaller and toasted them... they would be DELICIOUS! I was so RIGHT!. They are so good. A nice nutty, toasty flavor is just what the doctor ordered. That way they are something (if my husband wanted some) would be able to eat.

Ingredients for cream cheese filling:

1 - 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened (i microwaved mine for 30 seconds to soften)

1 egg

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp lemon peel, grated

Ingredients for Muffins:

1 - 14 oz pkg Pillsbury Pumpkin Quick Bread mix

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 egg

Ingredients for Crumb topping:

1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds (it originally calls for pecans -non toasted)

3 Tbsp melted butter

3/4 cup pumpkin quick bread mix

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Spray 12 muffin cups with no-stick spray.

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer in a medium bowl until soft. Add egg, sugar and lemon peel. Beat until smooth.

Empty pumpkin bread mix into a large bowl. Remove 3/4 cup mix and set aside for the topping mixture. Add milk, oil, and egg to remaining mix in large bowl. Stir 50 strokes or until blended no lumps.

Fill each muffin cup with about 1/4 cup batter. (a medium scoop works perfectly). Make indentation in batter with small measuring spoon sprayed with no-stick spray, Or just spoon on top. Put one heaping Tbsp cream cheese mixture in the center of each muffin.

Add melted butter to reserved dry mix. Stir with fork until crumbly. Add nuts (pecans or toasted almond). Crumble about 1 Tbsp over each muffin.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove muffins from pan. Place on baking rack to finish cooling.

The verdict... I ate 2... Braeden ate 2 and wanted more. So delish and tasty. If you like cheese cake and pumpkin quick bread. They are heavenly together.

Pumpkin chocolate butterscotch cookies

I love baking cookies! Don't you? Doesn't everyone?! I can't see why not. I love the joy of eating the cookie dough, the smell of the cookies baking in the oven, and the warm cookie with a cold glass of milk... ah... the good stuff, that's the joy of life... isn't it... I think so...

Well, enough about me and my obsession with cookies, well, baking in general. I believe that cookies make the world a little brighter place. Today's recipe came about because at first I was going to make some pumpkin chocolate chip bread. Then i thought, I know a scary thing... Can I make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I liked the recipe that used oil instead of butter, since I'm out of butter... I know another travesty... So, I decided I would double the recipe so I have enough for my kids to have some and for me to give some away. (I love sharing food with others :)) So, in doing that, I realized that I had 1/2 a bag or 1 cup of butterscotch chips that needed used, and I wasn't wanting to put them in regular chocolate chip cookies. I thought (I know I need to stop that) these would be good in my pumpkin cookies.... So here is what ingredients I used :) Enjoy!

And yes, I've already had some of the dough and a fresh warm cookie... mmmmm tasty... I think I will eat another one soon... now I'm craving them! Darn them!!!

Ingredients:

2 cups canned pumpkin

2 cups white sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 egg

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons milk

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips*

Directions:

Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

Add vanilla, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips*.

Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Makes at least 4 dozen cookies

Recipe from Allrecipe.com