Fall Wish List

Summer is still upon us though the cooler weather as of late has gotten me thinking about things I'd like to buy for the fall. 

Usually this consists of sweaters and warmer outfits.

This fall, however, I'm going to stay away from clothes because my size is expanding every day. 

I did get a gift certificate to Thyme for my birthday and plan on buying at least a few more maternity pieces. 

But thinking about other things to purchase, I came up with this small list below.

1. New Toms in black. I currently own a green pair that have seen better days. My big toes are starting to poke through the ends of both shoes. I love these shoes for work though. They're easy to slip on and so comfortable to wear. 

2. Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polish (in 'Wine Stock' and 'Dig Fig'). Yes, those shades are very similar. Yes, I still want them both. This miracle gel polish is supposed to be as good as shellac manicures without the need for a UV light to set it. Worth a try.

3. Asymmetrical 'E' necklace. For the ever-growing Baby E. Only probably not the one in the picture as that one is quite pricey. I took a quick peak on Etsy but was unable to find an asymmetrical E on my first hunt. I've got a few more night shifts to go during which I can spend searching in my down time. 

4. Kate Spade 18 month planner. My current planner is a small calendar I got from my nursing union. It does the job but I kind of want a big flashy one. Especially since at the start of 2015 I won't have any work shifts to put into it and it'll likely only be doctors appointments and maybe penciling in visits from friends (it'll give me something to put in the planner and make me feel like my days aren't just spent changing diapers every 2 hours in between regular feedings).  I can also keep track of sweet things like E's first non-gas/poo related smile, first giggle, when she can hold up her head, etc. 

And that's it.

That's all I've got so far. 

I'm currently on night 4 of a 7-in-8-nights string of night shifts (I know, I booked these shifts accidentally and will never do it again) so I'm thinking a shopping spree is going to be my reward for making it through the rest of these shifts alive!

Monday might just be Treat Yo' Self day.

Candy Apple Cake Pops

There are definitely nice things about nursing shift work - I can more or less customize my schedule, I can pick up additional shifts to bolster my paycheque, etc - but there are definite downsides as well.

One is that we don't have the luxury of closing down on holidays.

So this long Thanksgiving weekend I worked away and as a result my family decided to postpone our Thanksgiving dinner to later this week so that we all could celebrate (read: stuff our faces) together.

 

So tomorrow is our Thanksgiving dinner!

I'm going to my parents' place straight from work where I'll sleep for a bit then help my dad and sister get food prepared.

I know my mom has called dibs on a desert but I want to try to make this cool desert I saw the other day.

Hopefully she won't mind... realistically they may taste okay but they're not going to look like they do in the picture below.

I'm optimistic but more realistic.  

 

In my search for all things Halloween I stumbled upon this recipe

and knew immediately it was one I was going to have to try.

 

(recipe and photo from Season of Sweet)

 

Candy Apple Cake Pops

 

1 box Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix

2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
4 eggs

• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl (batter will be thick).  Using a small cookie scoop, fill each reservoir.  Bake for 4 minutes.  Remove to cooling rack and repeat with remaining batter.  Makes about 4 dozen.

 
Candied Apple Syrup

 2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

• Line a baking sheet with buttered parchment paper; set aside. Insert sticks into cake balls; set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, corn syrup and food coloring. Bring to a boil over high heat.  Once boiling, reduce to medium-high heat. Insert candy thermometer and continue to boil until temperature reaches hard crack stage (between 300-310 degrees), about 20 minutes. 
• When mixture reaches temperature, immediately remove from the heat. Working quickly dip cake pop in sugar mixture (careful not to twist) until completely coated.  Let excess drip then transfer to prepared baking sheet and allow to cool.

Hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend full of turkey and all the fixings, family, and everything they could be thankful for.

Orange Velvet Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream

After a bit of a delay - and missing the pre-thanksgiving mark - here is the other pumpkin cupcake recipe with the best fall sinpired icing you"ll ever make.

 

Orange Velvet Cupcakes

(recipe from Southern Shelle)

To make these delicious cupcakes, you'll need:

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1/4 cup dutch process cocoa
• 1 tsp. salt
• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. liquid red food coloring
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. distilled white vinegar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 container of orange gel dye

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, cocoa, and salt into a bowl.

Beat butter at low speed until creamy. Add sugar; blend on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each. Scrape bowl; add food coloring and vanilla.

To get the perfect shade of orange you are going to add the entire container of orange gel food coloring. I know, gel food coloring is so concentrated that you don't normally need that much, but unless you want University of Texas Burnt Orange, add the whole container. I also used approximately 15 drops of liquid yellow food coloring to take away some of the burnt undertones.

On low speed, beat in flour mixture in thirds, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. In small bowl, stir together vinegar and baking soda. Stir into batter.

Line cupcake pans and fill 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan and then move to wire rack to let cool completely.

Then for the full absolutely irrisistably autumn effect, top them with the most delicious thing you'll ever make, ever:
 

 

(as you can see, I should have splurged and bought orange gel food colouring instead of trying to combine red and yellow for the desired effect!)

 

Pumpkin Buttercream

(recipe from Nancy Creative)

 

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 Tablespoons canned pure pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons half & half or milk

Cream the butter, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and vanilla, blending well. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time, blending well after each addition. Add half & half or milk and blend well.
NOTE: This makes a very thick buttercream frosting. If you want a thinner, creamier frosting, add more half & half or milk until you get the desired consistency.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

*Note: as soon as I can get my phone to connect to the internet I'll be posting an even tastier recipe for pumpkin-inspired cupcakes*

 

Moving on to the tried and true, cupcakes were the obvious next choice.

I did try to make pumpkin cream cheese truffles but they turned out kind of icky and I didn't like the way they tasted so they got wasted.

Yep. That rhyme just happened.

Anyway, I made a batch of mini cupcakes and I have to say the maple cream cheese icing is so good. I cleaned the bowl (a luxury I often pass up as it's John's favourite part but - lucky me - he wasn't home when these were made so the bowl was allllll mine).

 

 

recipe from sweetopia.net (where there is also a great tutorial for fondant pumpkins)

 

For the cupcakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin purée
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the icing:

• 1 block cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tbs real maple syrup
• 2 cups icing sugar

Instructions

For the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger, into a medium bowl.
3. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.
4. Divide the batter among the muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Set pumpkin cupcakes aside to cool completely. These are delicious frosted with cream cheese icing or just as is!
For the Icing:
6. Cream the cream cheese, butter and maple syrup in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Slowly add the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
7. Once your cupcakes are cool, ice them with a butter knife or large piping bag and tip of your choice.

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

Continuing on with my desire to bake everything pumpkin, I left the world of bread and moved to another breakfast-y option, one which I have experimented with before.

 

Cinnamon rolls!

 

The pumpkin gave it a nice almost savoury flavour but the cream cheese and the white chocolate chips I added gave it the sweet edge one normally expects in a cinnamon roll.

 

Worth giving a try and this recipe would perfectly compliment a pumpkin spice latte.

 

 

 

You will need:

 

package package fast-acting active dry yeast

1-1/4 cups White Whole Wheat Flour

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2/3 cup warmed almond milk (120 degrees) *I used vanilla soy milk

1 tablespoon earth balance butter spread

 1 egg

3/4 cup pumpkin puree, fresh or canned

 

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons butter

 

Instructions

 

In a large bowl, stir yeast, white whole wheat flour flour, 1 cup of all purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice, sugar, and salt together.

In separate bowl, mix pumpkin puree, butter, almond milk and flaxseed meal mixture together. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until well blended. Turn out onto counter coated with some of the remaining flour. Knead the remaining flour into the dough until it is used up and you have a smooth, elastic dough.

 

Put dough into a bowl coated with cooking spray and lightly spray the top of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped walnuts and raisins in a small bowl, set aside. Transfer the risen dough to a work surface, and pat or roll it into a 16" x 12" rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

Roll the dough into a log the long way. Next, cut the rolls into even slices Place slices in a greased 8 inch squar baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap (not tightly) and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until they turn golden brown across the center.

Remove from oven and let cool about 15 minutes. Drizzle with white chocolate chips and cream cheese icing.

Pumpkin Spice Bread with Cream Cheese

This week I've been baking up some pumpkin recipes. Some have worked quite well, others.... ended up in the garbage.

 

The first that I came across was one that reminded me of an autumn version of banana bread.

 

 

 

• Preheat oven to 350F; lightly grease 3 mini loaf pans with butter.
• For the cheese batter, use a handheld electric mixer to beat together 1 pkg cream cheese, room temperature, 1 large egg, room temperature, lightly beaten, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract  
• In another bowl whisk together 3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed with 2 large eggs until light and fluffy. Stir in 3/4 cup pumpkin puree, 2 tbsp. canola oil, and 1 tsp vanilla. 
• In a separate bowl, sift together 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ginger, and 1/8 tsp cloves.  
• Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix together.
• Divide the pumpkin batter between the 3 loaf pans, then pour the cheese batter on top. Bake until golden around the edges, about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean or with just a couple crumbs.
• Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

 

This recipe got good reviews and in my opinion is best served still warm out of the oven.

 

 Take advantage of pumpkin season and find ways to incorporate it into your favourite recipes.

More to come!