Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars (Cake)

Tried a new recipe this weekend. We were thinking pumpkin cookie bars, but this is really a cake.

We used white chocolate chips instead of semi sweet and it turned out great. It has a really nice pumpkin spice flavor. I didn't have pumpkin pie spice so I used 1.5 tsp cinnamon, .5 tsp nutmeg, .5 tsp ginger, and .5 tsp cloves instead.

Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bars/

Mini Pigs in Blankets

1 pkg mini sausages (little smokies)

2 tubes refrigerator biscuits

sliced cheddar cheese

Use 1 sausage, a thin strip of cheese about the length of the sausage, and 1/3 biscuit for each. Assemble just like the classic version and bake as directed on the biscuits package.

Cookies and Cream Fudge

It's amazing - white chocolate and oreos all on one beautiful bite. Recipe is here.

Tips:
skip the sugar (it's super sweet without)
we used mini marshmallows instead of marshmallow cream (about 2 heaping cups for this recipe)
it may set up in an hour or two, but it is much better after chilling overnight
half a recipe made plenty for our family

Cute and Festive Thanksgiving Cookies

One of my coworkers made the cutest little dessert turkeys for our Thanksgiving potluck:

We oohed and aaahed when she brought them in, and then all crowded around to snap pictures with our phones. We were all thinking the same thing - 'One day I'm going to make these'.

She was kind enough to give us the instructions. Starting from the bottom up, here's what you need:

feet - flower-shaped butter cookie
body - mini Reeses peanut butter cup
tail feathers - striped shortbread cookie
beak - candy corn
eyes - pre-made sugar eyes (she got them at a baking store, although I'm sure you could improvise with frosting)

glue the whole thing together with melted chocolate chips

Thanks to Brianna for sharing this with us!

Fun With Cupcakes

When we volunteered to make cupcakes for a Halloween party, we were really venturing into the unknown. To keep with the harvest festivity, we decided to transform pumpkin chocolate chip and carrot cakes with plain cream cheese frosting into cupcakes. Here's what we learned.

- a recipe that makes a 9x13 cake makes about 30 cupcakes
- bake cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes (they're smaller so they cook faster)
- fill each cupcake about 2/3 full, or about 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake
- allow cupcakes to completely cool before frosting
- leaving cupcakes open to the air so the tops aren't too moist makes them easier to frost
- frosting for a 9x13 cake will frost all 30 cupcakes
- use about 1 tablespoon of frosting per cupcake
- while frosting, spread as little as possible for the most beautiful effect
- frosted cupcakes can be stored uncovered for about a day with no ill effects. After that they're still moist but it's harder to get the wrapper off. After more than about 28 hours ... well we can't tell you, we gave most of them away and have eaten the rest.