Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

October 7, 2012 by 9 Comments

A few days ago I picked up a new cookie jar.  But, not just any cookie jar.  An owl cookie jar!! It’s probably one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen!! Not only will it be great during the Fall season, but it’s gonna look adorable in my kitchen all year round!

So to fill my cookie jar, I needed an awesome Fall cookie!  I’ve been craving snickerdoodles for a while now… something about the bite they have and that cinnamon on the outside that I just can’t get enough of.  BUT… it’s Fall so I suppose I should add some pumpkin to the recipe too, right?!!  So yup… that’s what I did.  Pumpkin Snickerdoodles.

I did a little research and read a bunch of other recipes and the comments on them for this cookie on some of my favorite blogs.   Most other people who said they made these cookies said they were a little dull in the pumpkin flavor and too cake/muffin like…  but overall were really super yummy.  So, I set out to make mine heavy on the pumpkin flavor and more chewy like a cookie, not a muffin.

I took my go-to snickerdoodle recipe and tweaked it to accommodate the extra moisture of the pumpkin and added some spices to bring out the pumpkin flavor in the topping.  I think they turned out spectacular! A must-make every Fall!

Let me know how they turn out for you!!!

Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

51

Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Yield: 4-5 dozen cookies

The perfect soft & chewy, spiced pumpkin snickerdoodle cookie.

Ingredients

    Cookies
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened but not quite to room temp
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • Topping
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 3/4 tsp ground allspice

Instructions

  1. Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on high until incorporated.
  3. One at time, add the eggs, mixing after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Beat on high 2-3 minutes.
  4. Mix in the vanilla and pumpkin. Beat on high for 1 minute.
  5. Add the flour mixture and mix on medium speed until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix 30 seconds.
  6. Cover and freeze for at least an hour or until the dough firms... or until ready to make cookies. NOTE: This batter is very sticky and it works so much easier when you have firm dough to roll the balls.
  7. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  8. Prepare the topping by whisking together all ingredients in a small bowl.
  9. Drop 1in balls of dough into the sugar. Roll ball around until completely covered. Place on a cookie sheet. 12 balls per sheet. Freeze unused dough between batches.
  10. Bake on the center rack for 10 minutes.
  11. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Filed Under: cinnamon, cookies, pumpkin, recipes, seasonal, snickerdoodles, spiced

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes and an Owl Tutorial

October 5, 2012 by 4 Comments

The winds are blowing, the leaves are rustling around the streets and the rain is falling from the grey skies.  Fall is upon us here in Bavaria!

And what is better for Fall than another pumpkin recipe! This cupcake is a one bowl batter that tastes just like pumpkin pie! Because I wanted to decorate these with owls, I had to top them with a chocolate frosting.  Instead of my favorite chocolate fudge frosting that calls for melted butter and baking chocolate, I used a basic chocolate buttercream which used cocoa powder.  I needed something that I could easily pipe and spread and my chocolate fudge recipe can get a bit thick.  This buttercream worked perfectly!

I know these cute owls on top have been floating around the internet, but I just had to give them a try!  Especially since I kind of have this fascination with owls.  (Our son Matthew, now 7 months old, well his baby theme is owls!) Below the recipe, you’ll find a full tutorial on how I made them!

Enjoy!

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Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: 12-16 cupcakes

Cupcakes that taste like pumpkin pie topped with a spicy chocolate buttercream! Nothing better!

Ingredients

    Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
    • Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Frosting
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Hershey's Dark Chocolate cocoa
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1lb powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

    Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line cupcake pan with liners.
  2. In a medium bowl, melt the butter in your microwave.
  3. Whisk in the sugars, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin puree.
  4. Sift the dry ingredients onto the pumpkin mixture and whisk until just combined. It will still be lumpy at this point.
  5. Add the milk and whisk until smooth.
  6. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. NOTE: Don't be afraid to fill these liners full! These cupcakes do better with more batter in the cups and puff up nicely!
  7. Bake 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
    9. Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Frosting
  9. Cream together the butter, cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla.
  10. One cup at a time, add the sugar and beat on high until smooth.
  11. With the mixer on low, slowly add the heavy cream until you reach your desired consistency. NOTE: If you're just going to basically frost your cupcakes, you'll want the frosting stiff enough to pipe onto your cupcakes. If you're making the owls, make it a little looser so that you can easily decorate your owls.
  12. Mix on high for 4-5 minutes or until fluffy.
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Owl Cupcake Tutorial

Supplies:

  • 1 package OREO cookies
  • 1 box Junior Mints candy
  • 1 box Reese’s Pieces candy
  • Frosting (recipe above)
  • Spatula or knife

Directions:

  1. Prepare the OREO cookies by separating one cookie layer from the cream center, leaving the center in tact.
  2. Pipe a drop of frosting onto each cream center and place a Junior Mint candy on top.  This will create the eyes for the owl.
  3. Separate out the orange Reese’s Pieces candies and set aside.
  4. Using the spatula or knife, frost cupcake creating a flat surface.  At the top of the cupcake, make two little points with the frosting for the owl ears.
  5. Place two eyes on the cupcake, making sure to leave room for the beak and not to cover the ears.
  6. Place an orange candy under and between the eyes for the beak.

 

Filed Under: buttercream, chocolate, chocolate frosting, cupcake recipes, dark chocolate, frosting and icing, halloween, holiday, pumpkin, pumpkin cupcakes, recipes, seasonal, spiced

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes

October 21, 2011 by 47 Comments

I’ve made apple cupcakes a million times. I’m most known for my Tree Hugger Apple cupcakes which I debuted at Cupcake Camp Seattle a few years ago. I’ve made them dozens of times for family and friends. The only problem with these cupcakes is the amount of time they take and the number of steps needed to make them. I wanted to come up with a simpler, yet equally as delicious version of an apple cupcake that could be made in one bowl.

Now, there’s no getting around prepping the apples in butter, sugar and spices. That’s just a MUST for these cupcakes, especially if you want them filled. If you wanted to skip the filling step, you could add the cooked apples to your batter before baking and omit the raw apples from the batter. You’d have swirls of cinnamon and apple throughout the cupcake. YUM!

But, I wanted filled cupcakes this time so I chopped up half a large apple and put that in the batter. I’ll fill the cupcakes when they’re cool with the cooked apple mixture.

I topped these cupcakes with an apple, cinnamon and caramel buttercream… it took has chunks of apples running through it. Super good… super sweet!

Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk (you could use apple juice too)
1/2 cup chopped apples

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line your cupcake pan with liners.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugars.
  3. One at a time, mix in the eggs. Add the vanilla then beat on high for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
  4. Sift into the batter the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix by hand about 5-6 strokes.
  5. Add the milk and mix only until all the flour and milk are incorporated.
  6. Gently fold in the apples. Do not over mix!
  7. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Leave in pan for 3-4 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling
1 large apple, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk mixed with 1 heaping tbsp corn starch

  1. In a medium pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat.
  2. Add the apples, sugars and vanilla and stir. Cook until bubbling, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the milk + cornstarch mixture and bring to a bubble. Cook for 1-2 minutes until thickens.
  4. Remove from heat and continue to stir for about 1 minute.
  5. Set aside to cool.
  6. Fill cupcakes and reserve remaining apple mixture for buttercream.
Apple Cinnamon Buttercream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 tbsp heavy cream
remaining apple mixture
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
  1. Cream together the butter and shortening.
  2. Add about 1/2 the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  3. Add 1-2 tbsp cream and mix until combined.
  4. Add all of the remaining apple mixture, cinnamon and salt.  Mix until smooth.
  5. Add remaining powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
  6. Add enough cream until you get the consistency you desire.
  7. Scrape sides of bowl and mix on high for 1 minute.
  8. Frost cupcakes and drizzle your favorite caramel sauce over frosting.
Assembly
  1. Core the center of your cupcakes out.
  2. Fill with apple filling.
  3. Top with apple cinnamon buttercream.
  4. Drizzle with your favorite caramel syrup.
Filed Under: apple, buttercream, buttercream, caramel, cinnamon, cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, fruit frosting, fruity cupcakes, recipes, seasonal, spiced, top posts sidebar

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

September 10, 2011 by 16 Comments

Jenn and I planned to make caramel apple cupcakes without even chatting about it first!  I guess those Fall flavors are just in the air and we’re ready to get baking!! Apples, cinnamon, nutmeg… OH MY!

You may remember the Tree Hugger Apple cupcakes I made before!  I brought them to my first Cupcake Camp and they were a HUGE success!  My very first recipe I came up with on my own from scratch!  I knew I didn’t want to make these caramel apple cupcakes exactly the same, but some elements of it I knew were too good to pass up.

I started these Caramel Apple Cupcakes with the same pan cooked chopped apples that I used with my Tree Hugger Apple cupcakes.  Sugar, apples, lemon, and spices cooked on low heat to create a ooey gooey apple filling.  Seriously, I could eat it by the spoonful.

Apple Mixture
Makes about 2 cups apple mixture

3 Granny Smith apples, diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp hot water + 1 tbsp corn starch

  1. Over medium high heat,  mix together all the ingredients in a frying pan on the stove.
  2. Bring to a boil then reduce to low and cook for about 10 minutes.  Stirring frequently.
  3. Set aside to cool completely.

Apple Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup apple mixture
1 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

  1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment.
  2. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  3. Mix in the vanilla.
  4. Add the apple mixture and mix on low until just combined.
  5. If mixture is too thick, add a tbsp of heavy cream to smooth out.
Caramel Buttercream
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1lb powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp caramel syrup
  1. Cream the butter and brown sugar together.
  2. Mix in the vanilla.
  3. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
  4. Add the cream to loosen.
  5. Mix in the caramel syrup and mix until smooth.
  6. Beat on high for 30 seconds, scrape the sides of the bowl and beat again.
  7. EAT!

Apple Cupcakes
Makes 18 full size cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes

2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

1 cup apple mixture

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pans with liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil, applesauce, juice and vanilla.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk/sift together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  4. Add the flour to the wet mixture and mix together just until combined.
  5. Fold in the apple mixture.
  6. Fill regular size liners about 2/3 full.  Fill mini liners 1/2 full.
  7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Rotate pan after 12 minutes of baking.
  8. Cool in pans for about 7 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Assembly
  1. After cool, cut a cone out of the center of each regular size cupcake.  Trim off the bottom of the cone.
  2. Core out the center of each mini cupcake using an apple corer.
  3. Fill each cupcake with the cream cheese apple mixture.  Replace to tops of the regular size cupcakes only. (I used a small ice cream scoop to fill the regular size cupcakes and a piping bag to fill the mini’s)
  4. Top with caramel buttercream and then rim with your favorite topping. (Nuts, candy, sprinkles, caramel sauce)
  5. Insert popsicle stick or lollipop stick into center of cupcake.
Filed Under: apple, caramel, caramel cupcakes, caramel frosting, cinnamon, cream cheese, cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, fruit, fruity cupcakes, mini, recipes, seasonal, seasonal and holiday cupcakes, spiced

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes

December 14, 2010 by 14 Comments

I’ve never used molasses before, I’ve never made gingerbread before. To be honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever had more than maybe a couple gingerbread anythings in my life. So why am I making gingerbread cupcakes and cookies? Because it’s Christmas!! [Read more...]

Filed Under: cinnamon, Coffee, featured, gingerbread, seasonal, spiced

Holiday Chex Mix

November 24, 2010 by 3 Comments

Every year growing up my grandmother made Chex Mix.  She’d make enough for every person in the family to have their own bucket full of this yummy snack. [Read more...]

Filed Under: cereal, holiday, misc. baked goods, pretzels, recipes, seasonal, spiced, whole wheat

Guest Blogger: Jennifer shares her Halloween cupcakes

November 8, 2010 by Leave a Comment

One of my oldest friends, Jennifer, made cupcakes for her Halloween party this year!  I asked her to take lots of pictures and to put togehter a recipe for my readers!  Thanks Jennie!  [Read more...]

Filed Under: cinnamon, cream cheese, guest blogger, pumpkin, seasonal, spiced

Pumpkin Spice Bread

November 7, 2010 by 5 Comments

It’s the season of pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and squash!  I’ve been in the mood to try so many new recipes with these ingredients that I could hardly wait until I got home from vacation to get back in the kitchen!  It’s 10pm on a Sunday night and I’ve got bread baking in the oven. [Read more...]

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, cinnamon, misc. baked goods, pumpkin, recipes, seasonal, spiced

Spiced Mocha Cupcakes – a new recipe!

October 19, 2010 by 1 Comment

It’s been a while since I’ve been creative in the kitchen and come up with a new recipe!  This last weekend for the Tacoma Harvest Fair, I wanted to create cupcakes using fall flavors, but one that would stay moist for a couple days because I was baking ahead of time. [Read more...]

Filed Under: buttercream, chocolate, cinnamon, Coffee, recipes, seasonal, spiced