Zucchini Carrot Muffins

Zucchini Carrot Muffins

1 cup flour (½ wheat, ½ white)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup pure honey (or pure maple syrup, or pure organic cane sugar)
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated zucchini
½ cup grated carrot
½ cup raisins


Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.
Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a small mixing bowl until well combined. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the butter, honey, egg, and vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir together until just barely combined.
Add the zucchini, carrot and raisins and stir gently until just distributed.
Fill each cup in the mini muffin pan approximately ¾ full.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

Despite a rather gloomy Memorial Day here in my neck of the woods, we still found a way to celebrate. We took Zingy to see Papa and some more of his family. I meant to concoct a delicious strawberry rhubarb something or another to share with the fam, but nothing in life is guaranteed with a baby. So hours later after we returned home, the baking itch hit and I needed to make SOMETHING. I didn't want to have to run to the store, so this is what I found from The Farm Chicks.
When I went through the recipe, I decided that I didn't want to blend the strawberries. I am a fan of tasty strawberry chunks in my baked goods, so I just cut them up into about 1/2 inch pieces and folded them into the cake batter.

Skubz can't seem to keep his hands off this cake, I would be surprised if it makes it through the night.

Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

3/4 cups butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar (not packed)
3 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2" - 3/4" chunks
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs

2 heaping cups fresh strawberries, cut into 1/2" chunks

Add 3/4 cups of butter and brown sugar to a saucepan and cook over medium high heat until butter is melted and sugar has dissolved. Pour into a 13"x9" baking pan. Top with the rhubarb chunks and set aside while you prepare the cake batter.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda to a mixing bowl and stir together. Add melted butter and milk and beat at medium speed, scraping bowl as needed, for one minute. Add eggs and beat on high for two minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Fold in the strawberry chunks. Pour batter atop the Rhubarb Topping in the baking pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the cake is set in the center, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for five minutes. After five minutes, loosen cake from edges of the pan with a spatula and invert onto a cooling rack or platter.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

So as if we don't have enough to keep us busy with our little 5 month old Zingy baby, but we have some upcoming nuptials. As in, our own! Yes, the Mimz and Skubz are finally going to make it official next month. We aren't much to make a spectacle, so the wedding is going to be a small, private affair. I decided that a wedding cake is just too cliche for us, so I am making cupcakes. I'm still in the experimental stage, and just tried these Pink Lemonade Cupcakes. They are fantastic! I like baking cupcakes too much to say for sure that they are the winner, but they are definitely worth sharing. They are everything about a warm summer day, in a cupcake liner. So Here they are!

I found this recipe from The Awesome Recipe Collection.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Yeild: 10-12 cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 cup thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 cup buttermilk
few drops red food coloring


Lemonade Buttercream:
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Red food coloring

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate.
Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth.
Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.
Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full).
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.
For the buttercream frosting:
Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined.
Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink.

Pudding Poke Cakes

This has been my obsession lately. On Pinterest, I found a banana pudding poke cake, as well as an Oreo pudding poke cake. Since then, I have been trying to come up with all sorts of cake/pudding combinations. The most recent one that I tried, was a "strawberry shortcake" type. I barely feel the need to post an actual recipe, this is so simple. Here is the idea:
Mix, and bake, a boxed cake mix.
Let the cake cool completely
Poke holes in the cake
Prepare two boxes of instant pudding.
BEFORE the pudding sets, pour over cake
Spread cool whip over the top
Finish with any additional toppings you see fit

Some examples would be:
Chocolate cake, Oreo pudding, and crushed oreos on top.
White cake mix, banana pudding, crushed vanilla wafers on top.
Strawberry cake, vanilla pudding, crushed vanilla wafers on top.
Pineapple cake, coconut pudding, graham cracker crumbs on top.

Oh, the possibilities are endless.
Feel free to share some of the pudding poke cake ideas that you have tried.

Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars

Wow, one hell of a week! Skubz and I have been busy bees setting up the nursery and doing all the little home repairs that need to get done before December. Just 7.5 more weeks until my due date, what a crazy thought! We haven't been doing anything in terms of Halloween festivities this year (even though it IS my favorite holiday). I'm just too big at this point and our money has been going towards baby stuff, baby stuff and more baby stuff!
Little guy isn't even here yet and he is already getting spoiled.
So I haven't had as much time or energy to cook in depth meals... we have been eating "cheater meals". Chili dogs and such.
Still good to me!
But I did manage to make these tasty little morsels.

Cinnamon roll cookie bars! I found this recipe from Blissful Whimsy. What I loved about it was that it was like a "half-cheater recipe." It takes a boxed cake mix, yet there are some other ingredients involved as well. So I didn't feel so terrible about the idea of simply making a boxed cake.

I will be honest, I did not measure the amount of cinnamon I put in them. It suggests 1 1/2 Tablespoons, but I can guarantee I did not use that much, and the bars were already heavily spiced. I may have used 1 Tablespoon at the most. I also needed to add more milk to the icing portion, otherwise it didn't spread over the entire pan.
In the end, it really does taste like a cheater cinnamon roll. No rolling and cutting involved!

Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars
Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
Icing
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions
Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9"x13" baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.
When perfectly baked remove from the oven and pour icing over the top.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread

Mmm, when I found the picture of this from the website An Edible Mosaic, I was totally sold. I'm sure it's no secret by now that I LOVE pumpkin anything. Unfortunately I don't own any mini bread pans, so this makes only one regular sized loaf.

It was as good as it looks.
To be honest, I was a little intimidated by the recipe, it seemed like a lot of ingredients and a lot of preparation  But once it was all said and done, it really was very simple.
Skubz hasn't been home to try it yet, so that will be the ultimate test!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 large egg, room temperature, lightly beaten

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Pumpkin Spice Batter:

3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

2 large eggs

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon cloves

Directions:

For the Cheese Batter:  Use a handheld electric mixer to beat together all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

For the Pumpkin Spice Batter:  Preheat oven to 350F; lightly grease 3 mini loaf pans with butter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs until light and fluffy, then stir in the pumpkin, canola oil, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.  Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet, being careful not to over-mix.  Divide the pumpkin batter between the 3 loaf pans, then pour the cheese batter on top.

Bake until golden around the edges, about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean or with just a couple crumbs.  Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Cherry Cheesecake Dip

I had been waiting for a good excuse to make this one for a while now. I have seen this from so many blogs and websites, that I don't know what the origin of the recipe is, but I followed the recipe from Chameleon Girls.
The Bronco's game was on last night, and Skubz was sure as hell going to be watching it. Although we are from WI (and I am 110% Packer fan) my Skubz has always been about the Bronco's.
So I decided that I would get a little something out of this situation and make cheesecake dip!
I have wanted nothing more than to eat cheesecake every day through this pregnancy. Of course I am too concerned about my bloated waistline to do that, but this was a nice alternative that made me feel (just a little) better about eating cheesecake.

This is such a light and fluffy dip, that I don't feel like I am stuffing my gut with that heavy, rich cheesecake. Skubz really enjoyed it also, even though he isn't the biggest fan of cherry. I'm sure you could use blueberry or raspberry if you felt like it.

The recipe that I had used did not specify which size pan to use, so I put mine in a 9x13 and it seemed to be just the right fit. A pan any larger would make it difficult to add the pie filling on top.

Cherry Cheesecake Dip
1 pack soften cream cheese
1/2 jar marshmallow fluff
1 small tub Cool Whip
1 can cherry pie filling
Pack of graham crackers

Ingredients
Mix cream cheese and marshmallow fluff until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip Spread into 9x13 dish.Cover with cherry pie filling. Break the graham cracker into sticks to use for dipping.

Simple Sugar Cookies

As I am writing this post, Skubz is getting our supper ready all by himself. Tonight on the menu is BLT's. This is a rare event, but I am not complaining! I get to put my sore preggo feet up for an afternoon.
That wasn't the case for this morning. We went binge-cleaning this morning, AND I had time to whip up some simple sugar cookies.
I consider it a gift to myself for working so hard on the house.

I am not exaggerating when I say SIMPLE sugar cookies. They were all the sweet taste of a sugar cookie, but took no time to prepare. No chilling or rolling out with these.

I got the recipe for this one on Taste of Home. It's an old Swedish recipe that seems to be a hit, according to the reviews. I give it a thumbs up for sure!

The website there says that it should make 5 dozen. I guess if you like penny sized cookies. I also used powdered sugar to coat them instead of granulated.

Honestly I don't have a good reason as to why I did that.

Overall, the day was a success. A clean house, supper that I didn't have to make, and cookies!!


Simple Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar

1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Additional sugar

In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture.
Shape into 1-in. balls. Roll in sugar. Place on greased baking sheet; flatten with a glass. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.  

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I wasn't kidding when I said I was a pumpkin addict. So I thought, why not just continue with some fall foods that I have made in the last few weeks to celebrate my favorite season!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles anyone?
I'll take 5. These didn't last long in my house. Between my very hungry Skubz, and my very pregnant self, they last maybe 4 days.
This was a recipe was one that I had stumbled onto thanks to Pinterest. It comes from Pennies on a Platter. Since I have pumpkin on hand at all times in the fall, this one was a no-brainer.

Now these were really fantastic. I will admit that I didn't follow the recipe completely. Honestly, I almost never do.

Instead of adding nutmeg to the cookies, I added pumpkin pie spice. I also used pumpkin pie spice instead of ginger and allspice on the coating.
Because I am spontaneous like that.
I would get at these if I were you, this soft amazing fall treat was just what I needed.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Yield: 3-4 dozen
Serving Size: 2 cookies

Cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 3/4 cup of flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Coating:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Dash of allspice

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Stir in the pumpkin puree, then beat in the egg and vanilla.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until fully incorporated. Cover and chill dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liner. Mix the coating ingredients in a small bowl. Scoop equal dough balls and roll into the sugar mixture. Set on cookie sheet about two inches apart. Dip the bottom of a flat drinking glass into water, then into the sugar mixture and use it to slightly flatten the dough balls. Recoat the glass as needed.

Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or until baked through. Let cool on the baking sheet about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. 

Toasted Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie

So for the last few months on facebook, I started a "Dear Skubz" article. Skubz is my husband, and he has been working two jobs so that we can prepare for our new addition while still living with all the wonderful comforts that we have. He really is amazing, and I am one lucky Mimz. So I try to make something delicious for him every few days, and I would post a picture of it on facebook while he was at work so that he would see it before he came home.
I was getting so many requests for the recipes that it was part of my decision to move over to a blog.

But now I have some catching up to do.

So I'm going to start with this Toasted Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie.
The idea was something I came up with in my own head, though I am sure it has been done before. When we were grocery shopping, there came this magical moment when I spotted PUMPKIN SPICE MARSHMALLOWS!

Now, I am a woman who loves her pumpkin. Anything pumpkin. Hell, I would just eat a pumpkin raw.
So obviously, in my cart they went. And thus, the Toasted Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie was born.

I started out by making just a typical Libby's Pumpkin Pie. Nothing crazy there. I did let the pie cool for about an hour so that the marshmallows wouldn't melt sitting atop that steaming mountain of pumpkin deliciousness.


So I set my oven to broil, and topped my pie with those magical marshmallows. This is the part that got a little scary. I was afraid that instead of toasting, they would become a big ugly mallow mess. They only needed about 3-4 minutes in the oven before they were beautifully toasted brown (and not ugly, yay!)

After warding off a hungry Skubz, it managed to cool again for another 2 hours, and into the fridge it went until after supper.
So how was it? It was AWESOME. I don't think I can find the right words to describe how it tasted, but it was worth it. We will be making this again for sure.