MINI PUMPKIN PIE PANCAKE MUFFINS

 

I'm so behind in my posts sharing. I have had a post each day this week so far. It's been a while since I did that. I got behind two weeks ago when we had our stair railings and spindles replaced. They look so good. I'll share some before and after pictures at the end of the post.

We were lucky that we could reuse the posts and only had to replace the railings and the spindles. That meant work for me though because Chris Webb who replaced the carpet in our house 14 years ago and laid down hardwood flooring doesn't do any painting. Fortunately I do paint and usually enjoy it.

I had to sand the posts that had been stained and then paint them. "Iron Ore" was recommended to me for the color paint to use and it was perfect. I also had to prime and then paint the new oak railings. I did that painting in the garage so that meant my Ford EcoSport had to stay outside for about 5 days. Poor thing.

It took Chris and his assistant Jake 2-1/2 days to do their part. After they left I had to patch and touch up where the old railings had been attached to the posts. I'm so glad I had painted everything first so I only had to touch up. I can't imagine having to paint everything after they finished.

It looks so pretty, I'm just sorry we waited so long to decide to do them.

Now about the recipe. I had found the recipe and even though the recipe was only supposed to make 16 (I got one extra.) and I ask everyone to bring 3 dozen of their treat for the Cafe Treats, I just wanted to make the recipe. It sounded so good. I also made it sugar-free by using stevia for the 1/4 cup sugar.

They turned out so good, too. It would be easy to just double the recipe, if you needed more. My chocolate chips were not real big, but if yours are, I would recommend using mini-chips so there will more in the mix.

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MINI PUMPKIN PIE PANCAKE MUFFINS

1      cup buttermilk baking and pancake mix

1/4   cup sugar

1      teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1      egg, beaten

1/4   cup milk

1/4   cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/4   cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 24-mini muffin cups pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the baking mix, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, egg, milk, and pumpkin until blended.

(If your baking mix looks lumpy, break up the lumps with a whisk, first.)

Stir in the chocolate chips. (You could use mini chocolate chips, if you like.)

Divide the batter among the mini muffin cups. I use my tablespoon (cookie) scoop to fill the cups. I made 17 mini muffins. So that the muffins will bake evenly, pour a little water in the empty cups.

Bake about 10 minutes or until golden brown and tops spring back when lightly touched with your fingers.

Cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack. I used a plastic knife to run around the edge of the muffins to aid in removing them from the pan.

Before pictures of our stair railings and wooden spindles:

This picture shows the before and after in the same picture. The spindles on the landing haven't been replaced yet, but the other ones have (with the 1 spoon wrought iron spindles). That's Charlie in the picture checking out the work after Chris and Jake left for the day.

After pictures...

Charlie and Parker, our cats, can't go between these new spindles since they are up to code now with no more than 4 inches between spindles. They loved going between the wooden ones. Here are some pictures of Charlie studying the new ones and disappointed he can't go between.

BUTTERMILK CINNAMON BARS

Not everyone likes pumpkin or zucchini and both of those are favorite ingredients in cakes and quick breads especially this time of the year. If that describes you, then this recipe is just what you have been looking for.

But maybe you like pumpkin or zucchini in cakes and quick breads, then you will definitely enjoy this Buttermilk Cinnamon Bars that Friend and Cafe Treats Baker Barb made for us last Sunday to offer in the Cafe at church.

Barb cut the pieces small just like I requested, but I have to admit I couldn't eat just one. I love the frosting, too. I usually just "dust" with powdered sugar to reduce the calories, but a good frosting  on top is a delicious addition. 

Barb made two batches to share and said she forgot the coconut in the crust in one of the batches. So if you don't like coconut, you can omit it in the recipe and it will be fine. Since she brought so much, I did freeze about 18 of the bars for another Sunday. 

 

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BUTTERMILK CINNAMON BARS

1-1/4   cups sugar

3/4      cups brown sugar

2         cups sifted flour

1/2      cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2      cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/2      cup coconut

1         egg, well beaten

1/2      teaspoon salt

1         teaspoon cinnamon

1         teaspoon baking soda

1         cup buttermilk

1         teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking dish. Set aside.

Mix the sugars and flour with a whisk. Cut in butter. 

Measure out 2 cups of the mixture and add the nuts, if you are using them, and the coconut. Press into the prepared pan to make a crust.

Combine the egg with the remaining ingredients, beating until smooth. 

Add the remaining crumb mix and beat til combined. Pour the mixture over the crust.

Bake for 35 minutes. 

When cool, frost with the icing. (Can sprinkle additional chopped nuts, if using, on top.)

WHITE BUTTER FROSTING

2       cups powdered sugar

1/4    cup ( 1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened

2       tablespoons cream

1/2    teaspoon vanilla extract 

Beat the powdered sugar and butter until smooth. Add the flavoring and then the cream gradually to desired spreading consistency.

GOOEY CAKE MIX COOKIE BARS

 Friend and Cafe Treats Baker Judy almost didn't bring these awesome Gooey Cake Mix Cookie Bars to church for the Cafe Treats. Our Sunday school class was having a picnic the day she signed up to bring a treat to the Cafe at church. She also signed up to bring cookies for the picnic. Since she had two places she was making the cookies, she made three different ones for a variety. When I saw her at the picnic, I told her how popular her Gooey Cake Mix Cookie Bars were, her husband Tom laughed and said she almost decided to not bring them since she wasn't sure how they would work. 

When the cookies had cooled and she started to remove them from the pan, she said they were a little crumbly. Not liking that, she decided to put them in the refrigerator overnight and then they were fine when she removed them from the pan. So she recommended that step in the recipe which I included in the directions. 

All I could say was how much I liked them. They were perfect as far as I was concerned. So ooey, gooey! Judy said different combinations of chips could be used such as salted caramel and semi-sweet chocolate chips or peanut butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

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GOOEY CAKE MIX COOKIE BARS

1       (15.25 oz) box white cake mix

1/2     cup canola oil

2        eggs

1/2     cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2     cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2     cup butterscotch

1        (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1        teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4     teaspoon salt, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly grease a 9 x 13 - inch baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat together the dry cake mix, canola oil, eggs, and vanilla; mixing until the mixture just comes together.

Divide the batter in half and press one half into the prepared baking dish to form an even layer.

In a medium heat-proof bowl, add the butter, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.

Stir the condensed milk and salt, if using, into the chocolate chip mixture until completely mixed up. Pour over the base cake layer.

Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter over the chocolate chip layer.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cool.

Once cool, cover and place in the refrigerator. (Judy left hers overnight in the fridge.)

Slice into bars when ready to serve.

DOUBLE BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING COOKIES

 

Butterscotch has always been a favorite of mine. When I was younger, I would order a butterscotch sundae instead of the very popular hot fudge sundae. It has been a while since I have enjoyed a butterscotch sundae since I now usually get the hot fudge sundae. That doesn't mean I don't like butterscotch anymore though. That's why when I saw this recipe for Double Butterscotch Pudding Cookies, I knew I had to make them.

Recipes using mixes as a shortcut, only takes a little bit of time off of the prep time, but it certainly is nice. I do like to find recipes for enriching mixes and making something better than just the mix.

I didn't have any sea salt called for in the recipe so I substituted some Himalayan pink salt. It worked well. I still remember the moment when one of our pastors, Mat, took one to eat, bit in it, and tasted the salt. He looked at me, smiled, and said "Sea salt. I love it!"

I have to admit, the salt was an excellent additive. 

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DOUBLE BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING COOKIES

1       pouch (17.5 oz) sugar cookie mix

1       box (3.4 oz) butterscotch instant pudding mix

1       stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

2       tablespoons water

1       egg

1       cup butterscotch chips

1       teaspoon coarse sea salt (I used Himalayan pink salt)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, mix the dry cookie mix, dry pudding mix, softened butter, water, and egg with a spoon until a soft dough forms.

Stir in the butterscotch chips.

Drop dough by a level tablespoon scoop onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are set.

Immediately sprinkle each cookie with sea salt. Cool 2 minutes before removing the cookies from the cookie sheet

to a wire rack to finish cooling completely, about 20 minutes.

Store in an airtight container.

FRUITY OATMEAL BARS

 I have a recipe for some fruity oatmeal bars that I found a month or so ago that I kept wanting to make but always found an excuse not to. Now I don't know which cookbook where I found it. I will look for it though when I have some time since I have too many potential cookbooks right now to skim through. I am interested in how similar the recipe is to this one. 

The recipe was called Apricot Oatmeal Bars but since I needed to make something sugar-free and I didn't have any sugar-free apricot jam, I did what I often do...I made the recipe my own and made Strawberry Oatmeal Bars and made them S-F.

When I sat down to write this post, I decided to call it Fruity Oatmeal Bars since you could use any fruit jam/preserves and have a delectable treat. I'm not adding Sugar-Free to the title of the post, since I don't want anyone to not check it out because they don't make sugar-free desserts. So many times when I make something sugar-free it wasn't written that way. I just substitute sugar-free ingredients for the regular sugar ingredients. 

As I said earlier, feel free to use any of your favorite jams/preserves in the recipe. I have a feeling I will be making these again and using a different sugar-free jam to give it a different flavor. I will write the recipe for sugared ingredients and then add my sugar-free option in parentheses.

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FRUITY OATMEAL BARS 

1        yellow cake mix ( I used a zero sugar yellow cake mix)

3        cups old fashioned oats

3/4     cup chopped pecans (I omitted to make it nut-free)

1        cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1-1/2  cups (12 oz jar) your favorite jam or preserves (I used a sugar-free strawberry preserves.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray or grease a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan. Set aside.

Combine the dry cake mix and oats in a large mixing bowl to evenly distribute the oats with the cake mix.

Add the melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are wet.

Spoon half of the mixture into the pan and flatten with your fingertips. (I didn't do a very good job guessing half and had more on the top than on the bottom for a crust. Worked out okay, but next time, I will error on the side of a thicker crust. This picture isn't my "half", I always work with little amounts. That way I don't have to work hard trying to get it evenly spread out. )

Spread the jam with a spatula evenly over the pressed crust.

Sprinkle the rest of the cake/oats mixture over the top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until brown on the top. (I baked mine for 25 minutes, but it never got brown.)

Allow to cool completely before cutting into serving-size pieces.

I baked mine the night before, covered and stored in the refrigerator before removing the bars from the pan. That way they didn't crumble as I removed them from the pan. It also allowed the strawberry flavor to be enriched.

 

MRS. HAGAN'S COOKIES

Cafe Treats Baker Judy made these delicious cookies back in the spring, but never gave me the recipe. So when Judy made and brought them two weeks ago, I made sure I got the recipe this time to share with you. 

Mrs. Hagan is a member of the our church, but I don't know the story of how Judy and her husband Tom got the recipe. I would love to meet her so I could let her know how popular her cookies are. They never last long when Judy brings them.

The directions have you form the dough into rolls wrapped in wax paper and refrigerated. To bake the cookies, you slice the roll. It did say that you could roll the dough into balls, roll in sugar and press down to bake. I asked Judy what she did and she said that she formed the balls and then rolled them in the sugar. She didn't press them flat. Personally with the ingredients in the cookies, I would find it difficult to slice the chilled roll and would definitely do as Judy and use my cookie scoop and then roll the scoop in the sugar and bake.

Since the Cafe Treats is a nut-free zone, Judy omits the 1/2 cup of nuts. Tom often complains because I won't let them include nuts, but the cookies taste great without them and people who have nut allergies don't have to worry about choosing any of the treats to eat.

PRINT RECIPE.

MRS. HAGAN'S COOKIES

1/2     cup sugar

1/2     cup brown sugar

1/2     cup corn oil

1/2     cup butter or margarine

1        egg

1/2     cup rice krispies

1/2     cup oatmeal

1/2     cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/2     cup coconut

1/2     teaspoon vanilla

1/2     teaspoon baking soda

1/2     teaspoon salt

1/2     teaspoon cream of tarter

1-1/2  cups flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Mix the ingredients in the order given.

Using a tablespoon cookie scoop form balls and then roll in sugar.

Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake 11 - 12 minutes.

Makes 48 cookies. 

 

CARAMEL-APPLE PUDDING CAKE

 Last night our Tasty Bunch met for an early dinner at Hereford House and then on the Hosts Tates for dessert. We have been meeting together for several years and it is always a fun evening, good food, a fabulous dessert, and great fellowship. 

Last night was no different. Patricia served his Caramel-Apple Pudding Cake with ice cream and for a couple of minutes no one said a word. Well maybe some sounds of delights could be heard. But you know what I mean.

Patricia said the recipe indicated it would serve 12 but since it was made in a 2 - quart baking dish, she didn't see how it would serve more than 9 at the most. There were 8 of us and she had one serving left in the pan. (See picture below.) It would have been a fairly small serving to serve 12.

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CARAMEL-APPLE PUDDING CAKE

2     cups thinly sliced peeled and cored medium tart cooking apples like Granny Smith or Jonathan

3     tablespoons lemon juice

1/2  teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8  teaspoon ground nutmeg

1     cup flour

3/4  cup packed light brown sugar

1      teaspoon baking powder

1/4   teaspoon baking soda

1/2   cup milk

2      tablespoons butter, melted

1      teaspoon vanilla

1/2   cup chopped pecans or walnuts

3/4   cup caramel ice cream topping

1/2   cup water

1      tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2 - quart square baking dish. Set aside.

Prepare the apples in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice; and then the cinnamon and nutmeg that you have mixed together. Set aside.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add the milk and the 2 tablespoons of melted butter along with the vanilla. Mix well. Stir in the nuts. 

Spread (break-up) the mixture over the apples.

Combine the caramel topping, water, and the 1 tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan; bringing to a boil. 

Pour the sauce mixture over the crumbled mixture in the baking dish.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until center is set.

Spoon warm individual servings into dessert dishes and

add a scoop of ice cream, if you like. (We ate ours cold and it was delicious.)

The ninth serving...

and an earlier picture of more in the pan. (Patricia started dishing it out before I got to take a picture of it.)