Caramel-Apple Bread Pudding

Never did you see a treat so versatile (dessert, brunch, breakfast, snack...) yet so festive and appropriate (full-swing Fall and Thanksgiving preparations, anyone?)

 

Although it looks pretty with the ice cream, I think I preferred this sans a la mode and JUST with the dreamy, decadent BUTTERMILK SYRUP from Our Best Bites.  Oh my gosh it was caramel-apple heaven.  Just do it.  I think this would make a perfect Thanksgiving breakfast.  A "pre-gorge-yourself" kind of meal that, at the same time, sets the stage for a day that is only appropriate when it includes all-out, decadent, comfort foods.  Yes, this fits the bill.

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

from Our Best Bites 

5-6 c. stale French bread cubes (about 1/2 of a standard loaf cut into 1″ cubes)

3 c. apples, peeled and chopped into small pieces

4 eggs

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. heavy cream

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

2 tsp. pumpkin or apple pie seasoning

1 Tbsp. butter, chopped

1 recipe Buttermilk Syrup

*If possible, cut the bread into cubes and leave it out for several hours or overnight. If not, place the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the bread cubes are dried out but not toasted.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease or spray a 9×13″ baking dish with shortening or non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, toss together the bread cubes and the apple pieces. Transfer to the baking dish. In the same large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients except for the butter. When combined, continue to whisk while pouring over the bread/apple mixture (just to make sure the spices are evenly distributed). Gently combine the bread and egg mixture, making sure each piece of bread is soaking in part of the egg and milk mixture. Allow to stand for at least 15 minutes (longer, if you can; you could even do this the night before, cover it tightly, and then bake it in the morning).

When the egg/milk mixture has mostly soaked into the bread, dab the butter over the bread and place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the center is set but not dry or burned.

Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Cut into pieces and serve with warm Buttermilk Syrup (and vanilla ice cream if you really want to walk on the wild side.)

Halloween Candy Corn Cookie Bark

It is not even Halloween yet but let me tell you: I am already done with sweets! I feel like there is candy and treats everywhere you go this time of year! I mean don't get me wrong, I LOVE candy, cookies all everything else that has sugar in it (major sweet tooth here) but there occasionally comes a time when I realize that my consumption has probably, definitely exceeded what I should've consumed! I still don't regret making this Halloween-ish, candy bark.  It is so festive and cute and yummy! It is extremely rich and a little piece is pretty much all you need! The good thing is that this is super easy and quick so you can whip it up in 10 minutes tomorrow on Halloween and be good to go! So... make this first and THEN retire from sweets for a while! ;)

Halloween Candy Corn Cookie Bark

adapted from: YourHomeBasedMom

14 whole Oreos, broken up (use Halloween Oreos if you can find them)

1 1/2 cups pretzels - any shape, broken into pieces
16 ounces almond bark or white chocolate melts (I actually used around 24 oz. because I didn't think 16 was enough)
3/4 cup dry-roasted, salted peanuts
1 cup candy corn
black and orange colored sprinkles

Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Spread broken cookies, pretzels, peanuts and about 3/4 cup of the candy corn onto the prepared cookie sheet in a 9x13 shape. Place almond bark in a container and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with spatula if needed to coat evenly. It may seem like it's not enough but just try to evenly spread it. The ratio of chocolate to toppings will be off if you add more almond bark/white chocolate. Sprinkle remaining candy corn and colored sprinkles over the almond bark/white chocolate while it is still wet. Do not let it harden. Place cookie tray into refrigerator until set and firm. Remove and gently break bark into small pieces - it's really rich. Makes around 20-24 pieces. Store in air tight container.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Low-fat Candy Corn Cupcakes

I LOVE Halloween and whenever it comes around I am always wanting to make fun, festive or spooky treats and food! This time of year can be so hard to eat healthy though. It seems like everywhere you go, you are tempted with candy, cookies, pie and treats galore! It's definitely not IMPOSSIBLE to eat healthy, though.

These cupcakes are actually Hungry Girl's recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes.  All I did to make them Halloween appropriate was divide the batter into two, dye one-half orange and other half yellow.  I layered each cupcake liner with half yellow batter, then orange.  You can't see it by this picture but it is really fun to bite into the cupcake and find a bright two-toned cupcake! And these may be guilt-free (164 calories and 3g fat per cupcake), but they are delicious!

HG's "Candy Corn" Cupcakes
recipe adapted from Hungry Girl

Ingredients:

For Frosting
1 1/4 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed
1 1/2 tbsp. Jell-O Sugar Free Fat Free Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

For Cupcakes
Half of an 18.25-oz. box (about 1 1/2 cups) moist-style yellow cake mix
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup Sprite Zero (or another diet lemon-lime soda), room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup liquid egg whites or (about 4) raw egg whites
yellow food color
red food color

For Topping
candy corn
Halloween/fall colored sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the frosting, combine Cool Whip with pudding mix in a bowl, and mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix with baking powder and stir until free of lumps. Add soda and vanilla extract, and stir or whisk until batter is smooth. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with a handheld electric mixer set to medium speed until fluffy, about 1 - 2 minutes. Gently mix egg whites into the cake batter until thoroughly combined.

Divide batter into two equal parts.  In one half, add 3-4 drops of yellow food color (or more if it needs it) and mix well.  In the other half, add a 1:3 ratio of red to yellow food color until you get the orange color that you like. (I think I did 2 drops red, 6 drops yellow- yikes!)

Line 9 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute the yellow batter into the cups, then evenly distribute the orange batter on top of that.

Bake for 15 - 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out fairly clean. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

Once cupcakes have cooled, top each evenly with the frosting and decorate with candy corn and/or sprinkles.

Nutriton: 164 calories per serving, 3g fat

Apple Streusel Pie Bars

 

Apple Streusel Pie Bars. What could be a better fall dessert? Probably nothing, because these are amazing! I like apple pie, I would never turn it down, but this apple dessert had me swooning! I'm not sure how many pieces I ate... definitely more than I should've... :/ haha but you too will see how good these are if you make them! Definite keeper recipe! And so easy!

Apple Streusel Bars

 

SWEET PASTRY:

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. real butter, softened (no substitutions!)

1 egg, beaten

 

APPLE FILLING:

1/2 c. white sugar

1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 c. (about 3 medium) sliced, peeled baking apples (I've used Granny Smith in the past, although this time around I used Gala and they were fabulous)

 

GLAZE:

2 c. powdered sugar

About 3 Tbsp. milk (whole milk is best)

1 tsp. almond extract

 

To prepare crust, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish. Preheat oven to 350 and set aside.

To prepare apple filling, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Toss with apples and spread apples out on prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. When finished, allow to cool completely.

To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, almond extract, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Place glaze in a Ziploc bag and cut off a very small portion of one of the corners. Drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to harden (you can place it in the freezer to hurry things along). Cut into bars and serve.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Yup it's THAAAT time again, finally! I'm so excited fall is here! (I know, this is about the 3rd or 4th post that I've said that.. but really, I'm so happy!) These babies (actually they were pretty ginormous) are fabulously fall-ish and so, so yummy! They definitely got me in the Autumn/Halloween mood.  I love baking with pumpkin, probably because you only can one time a year ;)

This recipe came from Brown-Eyed Bakers' blog and it is a keeper! I'd suggest making them smaller than you think is normal, as they will turn out perfect.  I made them a little too big. Definitely didn't hurt on the taste factor but they would've been cuter and a little less guilty if they were smaller!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Brown-Eyed Baker

Yield: About 4 dozen assembled whoopie pies (will vary depending on how large you make them)
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 10 to 12 minutes

For the Whoopie Pies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Maple-Cream Cheese Filling:
3 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.
5. Use a small cookie scoop or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.
7. To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth with no visible lumps, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.
8. To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving. (They are also good room-temperature, though, too.)

Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread

In case you weren't aware, it is almost mid-October.  Halfway through! It seriously blows my mind and I often wonder where the heck the time goes.  If you're any kind of baker at all, you know very well that the fall baking hype is in full swing- with pumpkin this, caramel apple that- not that I am complaining!

I LOVE fall desserts.  

Maybe I should have waited until farther until the fall season to post this recipe. I mean, the leaves are just barely starting to change colors.  But then again, who am I kidding?! It's not like this is the only seasonal baking I'll do this year.  This month.  This week.  (Okay, maybe not this week, but you get the point.)

My mom has a killer pumpkin bread recipe that she's made for as long as I can remember (and by killer, I mean the BEST I have ever and will ever have- I will have to post that later...) but I wanted to try this new, pumpkin bread infused with a cinnamon-pumpkin-spiced cream cheese from Jessica at How Sweet It Is.  Ummm can you say decadent?!

It was very delicious, however the only thing I think I'd change is: 

1.  Use my mom's pumpkin bread recipe instead of this one (even though it is a good, standard recipe)

2.  Add a little more sugar to the cream cheese than the recipe calls for (it needed just a touch of sweetness!)

Spiced-Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread 
from How Sweet It Is

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix pumpkin and sugar together until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, oil, and vanilla and continue to mix.  

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  Alternate adding dry-ingredients and buttermilk to pumpkin mix- beginning and ending with dry ingredients.  Pour into 3 mini loaf pans or 1 regular loaf pan, just halfway to the top.  Spread cream cheese mixture over first layer, then cover with more pumpkin batter, leaving about 1/2 an inch to the top.  For mini loaves, bake 35-40 minutes.