The rich aroma of coffee paired with delicate scent of spices will fill your kitchen with warmth and your heart with joy when enjoy this Dunkin’ Donuts® Spiced Gingerbread Coffee.
Summer has come to an end in my house.
Fall is here and it is officially cozy sweater and rain boots season!
One of my favorite things to do when the kids go back to school is invite a girlfriend over for coffee.
As soon as I kiss Matty and wave goodbye as he goes to school on the bus, I hurry home to prepare for my coffee date!
Sometimes a cup of black coffee with a splash of creamer is enough.
However with Fall approaching and the weather turning colder, I wanted make a special spiced coffee for this morning.
Dunkin’ Donuts coffee is a staple in our household.
In fact, I used to send Dunkin’ Donuts Original Blend coffee to my husband when he was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Dunkin’ coffee got him through some long nights!
For my coffee date with my girlfriend, I used Dunkin’ Donuts Original Blend coffee to make a perfectly seasoned Spiced Gingerbread Coffee.
Putting this Spiced Gingerbread Coffee together is very simple. I combined whole milk, coffee, maple syrup, molasses, and fall spices together in a pot a whisked until smooth. And, you can find the coffee and ingredients all at Walmart!
I let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes or until it reduced by a quarter. What is left is a rich, creamy, smooth, perfectly seasoned Spiced Gingerbread Coffee that is out of this world delicious!
In fact, it’s so rich and creamy that I have to sip it slow otherwise I’ll drink too fast and get a sugar rush!
I got some pre-made gingerbread men cookies, whipped cream, ground nutmeg and extra cinnamon sticks to garnish. However, all those things are optional!
The Spiced Gingerbread Coffee is delicious even without all the toppings!
Spiced Gingerbread Coffee
Yield: 4 cups
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 16 minutes
The rich aroma of coffee paired with delicate scent of spices will fill your kitchen with warmth and your heart with joy when enjoy this Spiced Gingerbread Coffee.
Ingredients
3 cups brewed Dunkin’ Donuts Original Blend coffee
4 cups whole milk
1 tsp molasses
2 Tbsp brown sugar packed
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2 cinnamon sticks (plus more for garnish, optional)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
In a medium pot, whisk together all ingredients over medium-high heat.
Cook until it begins to bubble but not quite to boiling, whisking occasionally. (6-8 minutes)
Once it bubbles, reduce to a hot simmer and let reduce by one quarter, whisking occasionally. (4-5 minutes)
Strain coffee using a mesh strainer to get out the cinnamon stick and any other unwanted bits.
Serve hot topped with whipped cream, ground ginger, a cinnamon stick and ginger cookie.
This post is sponsored by Mattel. All opinions are my own.
Reward your kids who do their chores by letting them pick out their favorite Disney-Pixar Cars toys at Walmart and a Cars 3 Play Date!
What kid likes to do chores? My kids certainly do not. I definitively do not like chores either.
However, if someone were to offer me a lunch at my favorite restaurant or a massage to clean my room I would absolutely get my chores done!
That concept of rewarding good behavior is exactly what I have done with my 6-year-old son Matthew this summer.
Matty loves his toys and Matty loves to make a mess of his toys. I suppose that’s true of all kids his age.
However, I’m trying to also teach Matty the value of cleaning up, living in a home that isn’t messy and cluttered all the time, and being rewarded for good choices.
There are a lot of ways to keep track of your kids chores.
I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel by creating a new chart, however the internet is already full of some really great charts and trackers.
For Matty’s reward, he wanted to invite our new neighbor boys over for a Cars 3 Play Date!
I called my neighbor Chelsea and we set a date for her two boys Grayson and Cohen to come over one morning.
Mattel supplied us with so many great Cars toys from Walmart that Matty wanted to share them with his friends.
Each boy got to pick their favorite Cars toys to play with and keep.
The boy had so much fun shooting the cars out of the launcher!
Cohen, the little guy, carried around Lightening Mcqueen like the car was his best friend. So cute!
The incentive for new Cars toys from Walmart has really encouraged and excited Matty to get his chores done.
Of course, there are days where I have to ask him over and over to pick up his toys… but on a whole, the reward system really worked!
I also made jumbo blueberry muffins for the kids to snack on. Grayson and Cohen weren’t fans, but Matty and Chelsea loved them! Get my bluebery muffin recipe here.
So if you’re looking for a way to reward your kids for good behavior, make a chore chart and then head to Walmart to let your kids pick out some super fun Cars toys!
This post is sponsored by OXO, however all opinions are mine.
The marriage of crisp almonds and chewy cake bring these Swedish Visiting Cake Bars to life making them a classically delicious dessert!
I’m thrilled to be participating in Cookies for Kid’s Cancer again this year!
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer was founded by two OXOnians (OXO employees) who were inspired by their son Liam’s battle with pediatric cancer, a disease which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease.
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer provides inspiration and support to allow anyone to easily get involved in fundraising to find a cure for pediatric cancer.
OXOnians regard each other as family. The news of Liam’s diagnosis hit them hard and they have been personally involved with this worthy organization from the beginning.
As part of Cookies for Kid’s Cancer this year, OXO selected group exclusive group of bloggers to to receive an exclusive recipe and a set of coordinating baking products and tools to make that recipe.
For each blog post and recipe shared, OXO will donate $100 to Cookies for Kid’s Cancer (up to their $100,000 commitment).
How incredibly awesome is that!
The recipe I was given to recreate is Dorie Greenspan’s Swedish Visiting Cake Bars.
Dorie shared her thoughts on particiapting in Cookies for Kid’s Cancer saying,
I have been a supporter of Cookies For Kids Cancer from before Day 1 and with good reason: It’s a targeted source of funding for research into pediatric cancer treatments. That pediatric cancer is so prevalent and so poorly funded is a terrible paradox. Cookies for Kids Cancer is changing this and I love helping them reach their goals.
These are a mash-up of two recipes I love: almond-meringue topping, which I usually use on fruit tarts and (a variation of the) Swedish Visiting Cake, which is usually unadorned. I can no longer remember when or why I married these two, but once I did, the knot was tied for life — the crisp almonds and chewy cake make a perfect couple.
The cake is supremely satisfying and the topping is unusual in that it bakes to a meringue finish, but there’s no whipping involved. You just mix egg whites and confectioners’ sugar together — I do it with my fingers — swish sliced almonds around in the mix and spread it over the batter. The oven does all the work.
Since 2011, JavaCupcake has participated in raising awareness and money for Cookies for Kid’s Cancer.
We started with the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap and now we’re working with OXO!
Thanks to OXO for providing me the following products:
It’s a fantastic way to give back to the community with my fellow bloggers.
OXO and it’s chef-supporters of Cookies for Kids’ Cancer hope this inspires people to host their own Cookies for Kids’ Cancer bake sales!
Join in the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer challenge by registering your event online. If you mark that you were inspired by OXO when you register, we’ll match proceeds from your bake sale up to our annual commitment.
Check out these cookie recipes from past Cookies for Kid’s Cancer fundraisers!
When we think of French desserts, we usually imagine fancy pâtisseries with pyramids of pastel-colored macarons and glossy fruit tarts. But when the French bake at home, they keep it simple. This French Apple Tarte is simply delicious.
This post and recipe was created for #EasterSweetsWeek. I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies but as always opinions are 100% mine.
About a year ago, I met, my now good friend, Fanette who is originally from France. Like me, Fanette loves to eat dessert and I find myself yearning to know what her favorite French desserts are!
When it was time for me to choose a recipe for #EasterSweetsWeek, I found out one of the sponsors, Rainier Fruit, was supplying us with fresh Washington Apples.
I knew this was the perfect opportunity to make a French Apple Tarte using an authentic French recipe.
This recipe is a part of #EasterSweetsWeek! Make sure to scroll down after the recipe to ENTER TO WIN some great prizes from our sponsors!
I showed Fanette a few recipes I found online, however none of them were truly the authentic way to make a French tarte… know in France as a Tarte Tartin.
So, she dusted off her French baking cookbook and found the perfect recipe for me to use. However, it was all in French. Thank goodness for Google Translate!
The dough for the French Apple Tarte was very similar to our American pie dough. However, when rolling out for the crust of this tarte it would be much thicker than American pie dough.
I also used a food processor to put together this dough, however the actual recipe in the French cookbook said to put it together by hand on the counter. Either way though I think would be okay since it produced the same result.
The most unusual part of this tarte is that it bakes upside down from how it’s actually served. The crust winds up on the bottom and the beautiful apples are on top when the tarte is cut and served.
Think of a pineapple upside down cake… but as a French Apple Tarte!
If I were to make this tarte again, I’d be sure to stuff more apples into the pie plate before baking. They shrink up a bit and I don’t like how there are holes of apples in the finished tarte. Oh well. It was still caramelly, tarte, and delicious.
Is caramelly a word? Probably not. Oh well.
Of course, no French Apple Tarte would be complete with out some fresh cream. I didn’t include the recipe for chantilly cream below, however it’s super simple to make.
Heavy cream in a bowl, whisk until fluffy. If you don’t want to whisk by hand, use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Easy peasy.
I really hope you try and love this French Apple Tarte as much as I do!
French Apple Tarte
Ingredients
250g all-purpose flour
40g granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg white
50ml water
22-26cm pie plate with tall sides
1.5-2lbs fresh apples (about 4-5)
50g granulated sugar
50g graunlated sugar (you need this amount twice - it's not a typo)
3 Tbsp water
40g unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 tsp white vinegar
20g unsalted butter, cubed
Instructions
Crust
In a food processor, add the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse together.
Add the butter and pulse on and off until the consistency is like coarse ground crackers.
Pour in the egg white and water and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball.
Turn the ball out onto a piece of plastic wrap and gently press into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for one hour.
Apples & Caramel
Preheat the oven to 450F degrees.
Butter the pie pan and set aside.
Peel, core and quarter the apples and place in a bowl.
Toss the apples in 50g sugar and set aside.
Take the chilled dough out of the cooler to come slightly to room temperature while you prepare the caramel.
In a heavy bottom pan, over medium-high heat, whisk together the water and 50g sugar. Cook until the sugar turns a rich, golden brown stirring occasionally. This will take 5-8 minutes depending on your stove. Be careful, once the sugar starts to turn brown - it goes quick so keep an eye on it.
Once the sugar turns golden brown, add the 40g cubed butter and vinegar and mix until incorporated.
Pour the caramel into the buttered pie pan so that it covers the bottom of the pan.
Place the apples, cut side up, into the bottom of the pan. Place them in tight because they will shrink a little during baking. Make sure the apples are level in the pan.
Add the remaining 20g cubed butter to the top of the apples.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out until it's the size of the top of the pie plate.
Carefully move the dough over to the pie plate and cover the apples. Pat the dough so it's tight against the apples. Press the sides down into the pan creating a seal - if you don't do this, juices will come out instead of staying inside where we want them.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is dark golden brown.
Remove from the oven to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
To remove, place a serving platter on top of the pie dish and quickly flip it over. The tarte should slide out.
Serve apple side up with chantilly cream.
Welcome to this year’s #EasterSweetWeek event hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife. We’re so glad that you’ve joined us for this week long event of Springtime and Easter dessert recipes! We’re sharing tons of treats this week plus a few fantastic giveaways! You’re going to love what we have in store for you.
This year we have are 28 fantastic bloggers participating in this year’s Easter dessert event! Throughout the week we’ll be share tons of great Springtime and Easter themed dessert recipes with you. With over 75 sweet dessert recipes being shared this week we just know that you’re going to want to save some of these recipes to make again and again! We even hope that some of these recipes end up in your Easter recipe keepsake collection! Plus, don’t forget that we have 5 (five) great giveaways for you this week thanks to our amazing sponsors!
Scroll down to take a look!
PRIZE #1
Prize #1 — Dixie Crystals is giving away one (1) Instant Pot (8 Qt) to one lucky winner!
PRIZE #2
Prize #2 — Adam’s Extract is giving one (1) winner 5 different extracts including a bottle of Pure vanilla and a color pack.
PRIZE #3
Prize #3 — Rainier Fruit is giving one (1) winner a box of Apples and some wonderful Apple themed goodies from Sur La Table
PRIZE #4
Prize #4 — Anolon is giving one (1) winner a Anolon® Vesta™ 9-Inch Square Baker in Cobalt Blue
PRIZE #5
Prize #5 — Microplane is giving one (1) winner a Twist & Zest, grip & strip and a classic zester/grater
Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older.. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsors to winners, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from Marh 26th – April 1st at 12AMEST. Winners will be selected soon afterwards and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 5 (five) prizes and therefore we will have a total of 5 (five) winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.
Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week long event, #EasterSweetsWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like Thank our amazing sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Adam’s Extract, Rainier Fruit, Anolon and Microplane!These wonderful sponsors provided the prize packs for our giveaways and also sent samples and products to the #EasterSweetsWeek bloggers to use in their recipes.
Check out the amazing #EasterSweetsWeek recipes from our bloggers today!
Using whole wheat flour, seeds, and oil, this “healthyish” Banana Nut Bread is a guilt-free alternative to a traditional banana bread recipe.
I was provided products from OXO for this post, however all the opinions are my own.
When I started writing this post, I got to thinking about how many different banana bread recipes I’ve made. Turns out that this Banana Nut Bread is the 8th different banana bread recipe I’ve shared on The JavaCupcake Blog.
EIGHT!!! Can you believe it?
Other awesome banana bread recipes from JavaCupcake:
In the book, this recipe is actually titled ‘Seeded Whole Wheat Banana Bread’ and can be found on pg. 59. Big thanks to OXO for gifting me with this book and the tools to make this bread.
What I love about this book is that Abrams takes recipes we all know and love and just gives them a healthy twist.
For example, this banana nut bread uses oil instead of butter, whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour, less sugar and adds sesame and poppy seeds as well as pecans.
Unfortunately, I can’t eat nuts because I’m allergic to them… however my photographer Fanette of Frenchly Photography said this Banana Nut Bread was out-of-this-world delicious!
In fact, for the 2 days it was in her house, Fanette said this Banana Nut Bread was the only thing her 1 year old son, Jules, would eat! Now, if that isn’t the ultimate compliment… I don’t know what is!
So if you’re looking for a ‘healthyish’ version of banana bread, you must try this recipe for Banana Nut Bread!
Banana Nut Bread
Yield: 1 loaf
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Batter
1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
1 cup mashed banana, very ripe (3 large bananas)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (190g) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup (35g) poppy seeds
1/4 cup (46g) sesame seeds
2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (120g) chopped pecans
Topping
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease & flour a loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients: oil, bananas, eggs, and vanilla.
In another large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, seeds, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In two parts, add the dry flour mixture to the wet oil mixture. Fold until just combined.
Add the chopped nuts and fold gently to incorporate.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and seeds.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle sugar/seeds over the top.
Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the edges are dark golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the bread in the pan for 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.
Simple, buttery, and delicious, these shortbread cookies made with Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour are the best treat to make for the holiday season!
I love giving the gift of baked goods, especially shortbread cookies. There is just something special about a batch of homemade shortbread cookies in a bakery box, tied with a bow, and accompanied by a sweet note that makes the recipients heart happy.
So when Bob’s Red Mill asked me if I wanted to bake some cookies using their flour to give as a gift, I knew the answer was yes! Bob’s Red Mill provided me with the highest quality all-purpose flour I’ve ever used which really made these shortbread cookies shine!
As long as I’ve been baking and blogging, I’ve been gifting my baked goods to my friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers. Whether it was Valentine’s day gifts or biscotti for Emily’s teachers or desserts for soldiers & families at a dinner at an overseas military base in Germany… I know that it feels so good to give to others.
Mindfulness is something I try to practice daily and it makes sense why baking and mindfulness go hand in hand.
The article goes on to say… “That’s one of the interesting things about cooking, is that if you look at all the psychological benefits, there’s a cumulative effect: it’s self care, it’s taking care of others, it’s physical care, it’s mindfulness, and it hits on meeting basic needs for yourself and others. There are a lot of pieces that come into cooking a meal for others.”
These shortbread cookies were made with one person in mind. My new boss Kevin at ThanksUSA. I met Kevin last year because he’s also on the Board of Directors at Dog Tag Inc. where I was a Fellow in their program. I didn’t know much about him then, but knew that he had accomplished great things as a Lt. Col in the Marine Corp and then as the founder of Hiring Our Heroes.
I realized quickly what an incredible leader Kevin is and found myself excited by his ability to see the leadership potential in me. For me, this meant everything. The last 3 years have been full of uncertainty and for Kevin to see so clearly in my abilities was the reassurance I needed that I had made the right decision to take a full time position with ThanksUSA.
So, one Friday after a busy morning of presentations and meetings… I stopped Kevin in the parking lot and said I had a gift for him. I handed him the box of shortbread cookies with a note and told him I baked them, hugged him and wished him a good weekend.
It felt good to acknowledge how much his leadership meant to me. It felt good to do something nice for him. It felt good to bake something that I know would brighten his day.
And that… that is why it’s so important to bake and give to others.
The past week on two separate days, I had cookies and brownies for all the neighborhood kids as they got off the bus after school. One of the mom’s looked at me and said, “Oh… so you’re THAT MOM.”
Yes. I am that mom… and nothing will ever change that.
Shortbread Cookies
Yield: 8 dozen
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 57 minutes
Ingredients
2 cups unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
4½ cups Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Flour
nonpareiles
melted chocolate
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together cold butter and brown sugar.
Add the salt and 3½ cups of the flour and mix on medium-low speed until combined.
Replace paddle attachment with the dough hook. Sprinkle ½ cup flour and turn the mixer on low-medium. Allow the hook to knead dough adding as much of the remaining ½ cup flour as needed to make the dough soft, pliable, and similar to play-dough, not sticky.
Divide dough into three sections and pat into a disc. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes or until slightly firm enough to roll out.
On a floured surface, roll disc of dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the dough and place each cookie inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
If decorating with sprinkles, pour sprinkles into a bowl and press the side of each cookie into the sprinkles and then place on the baking sheet.
Using a fork, poke holes in the top of each cookie.
Bake 12-20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. The bake time will depend on the size of your cookie cutter. Smaller shapes 1in-2in will need 12-15 minutes - while larger shapes will need up to 20 minutes.
Repeat with the remaining dough, working in batches so dough stays chilled and workable.
Cool completely on wire rack before serving.
Store cookies in an air tight container at room temperature.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.
This post and recipe was created for #EasterSweetsWeek. I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies but as always opinions are 100% mine.
by Lindsay Maitland Hunt.
