Doggie Birthday Cupcakes

A couple weeks ago, I saw a picture of Eric's cousin, her husband, and their beautiful dog on their wedding day. My immediately thought (other than awww, that's so cute!) was: why didn't we do that? The answer is simple: we didn't adopted Arya until about a month after our wedding. But it feels like she has been with us forever and we sometimes forget that there was a time before her.

October 16 marked 1 year since our little puppy love came into our lives. To celebrate, I baked her doggie friendly cupcakes! Both cake and frosting are made mostly from pumpkin puree. Canned pumpkin has a ton of fiber and beta-carotene and can be used to treat both diarrhea and constipation in dogs. However, don't let your own puppy love eat all (8) of these cupcakes at once. Like everything else, too much of anything is bad and could make your dog sick. (Source)

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin-pie mix)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

Frosting
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup pumpkin puree

Kibble/dog treats, garnish, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 8 paper liners.

Combine all of the cake ingredients in a medium bowl. Divide evenly between the muffin tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the center of the cupcakes set.

Allow cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.

Whisk together cream cheese and pumpkin puree. When the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost the cakes.

Remember to take off the paper wrapper before giving it to you pup!

Licking the batter bowl clean!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Cinnamon Glazed Apple Muffins

This was the third year in a row we missed out on picking apples. The first year it was a bad crop and no one had apples. Last year our favorite orchard closed the weekend before we planned on going at the end of October. This year, we went in early October so not to miss out again. Well, we did. There was a rush of people the weekend before we planned on going and they picked the orchard clean. But they did have some pre-picked apples we could buy. So I've been going apple crazy. Some were sucesses like these muffins and my apple pie salsa. The apple and sausage mac and cheese, not so much.

Next time, I'm going to give these muffins a crumb topping and drizzle them with a cinnamon glaze. A muffin just isn't a muffin without a crumb topping.

Recipe adapted from here.
Makes approximately 2 dozen muffins.

Ingredients:
Muffins
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups diced apples, peeled and cored (about 3 apples--I used Mutsu)

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Muffins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffan pan with paper cups.

In a large bowl, cream sguar, eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. In a second bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ones and mix until well combined. Fold in diced apples.

Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes or until muffins are set in the middle. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Glaze
In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until well combined. Dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze.

Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
Basic Homemade Bagels  
Blueberry Muffins
French Toast in a Mug  
Homemade Hash Browns 
 Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins  
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 
Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes  
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Snickerdoodles for Cinnamon Lovers

I don't know if there is a bigger cinnamon lover out there than me. I drink cinnamon tea. I heap a ton of cinnamon into my oatmeal every morning. I even put it in my hot chocolate. You would think that snickerdoodles would be my favorite cookies. While I like them, I never really think about them and hadn't made them before. Well, a couple of weeks ago my husband and I had some snickerdoodles from a bakery and were highly disappointed. They were dry and bland. Eric commented that snickerdoodles are always rather bland. I was about to argue with him, but then I realized he was right. Right then and there I decided I would make a snickerdoodle that was amped up and couldn't ever be considered bland.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar
 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

Cream butter, shortening, and white sugar in a large bowl. Mix in eggs.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until combined.

Shape dough into balls, approximately  with a 1 1/4-inch diameter. Mix brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, and cayenne in small bowl. Roll balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixtures and place on the cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies set.

Place cookies on a wire rack to cool. 

Now, the cayenne pepper might seem a little weird or scary, but it really adds depth to these cookies. And it was Eric's favorite thing about them.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cookie Recipes:
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug!
Cinnamon Meringue Cookies
Easy Rum Balls
Edye's Molassess Krinkles
Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Healthified Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Smores Cookies!

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Out of all the chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, I think Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies are my favorite. The recipe calls for nuts--usually walnuts--which I have always left out. Well, this time I decided to add in the nuts--hazelnuts. Let me tell you, they take the cookies to a whole other level. I handed Eric one fresh out of the oven; he took a bite and just starting nodding his head and said "Uh-huh," which in Eric-speak means: yep, you nailed.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups hazelnuts, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

You can shell your own hazelnuts (as I did), buy whole shelled hazelnuts, or purchase prechopped hazelnuts. Spread the hazelnuts out on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until the nuts slightly brown. If you're using whole hazelnuts that still have the skins on them, wrap the hazelnuts in a dish towel and allow them to sit for about 1 minute. Then rub the nuts in the towel to remove the skins. Chop. (I like larger nut chunks, Eric like them small).

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until mixture is creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Gradually, beat in the dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips and hazelnuts.

Drop of rounded tablespoons of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the cookies are a golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cookie Recipes:
Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies 
Creamsicle Chocolate Chip Cookies
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Brown Sugar Cookies
Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Grandma Betty's Banana Bread and The Creaking Tree

This recipe comes from Eric's grandmother and made an appearance in my novel, The Creaking Tree. A grownup fairy tale, the book tells the story of Louisa, a food-writer, and her trip to the Other Side of the Creaking Tree (read synposis below the recipe). The book is peppered with recipes, including this one. I couldn't think of a more perfect banana bread recipe for the book than the one that belonged to Eric's grandma. Eric's mom added the chocolate chips and I've enjoyed it more than once. In fact, I may have eaten the majority of the last loaf . . . it's just so good!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
dash of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 very ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together; set aside.

In a small bowl, mash bananas and combine with the eggs; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream shortening with brown sugar. Mix the banana mixture into the shortening mixture. Gradually add the flour mixture into the third bowl while mixing. Combine well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into loaf pan.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the center of the loaf sets.

Enjoy!

The Creaking Tree

Nestled in a little riverside cabin in northern Michigan, food-writer and newlywed Louisa is working on her first cookbook, a collection of delectable recipes inspired by the foods found in fairy tales. The only nuisance to disrupt her work is a creaking tree across the river. All summer long it grows louder and more persistent. When Louisa can no longer take it, she splashes across the river to silence the tree once and for all. But little does she know that the creaking tree is more than just a tree; it’s a portal to an ensorcelled forest of kings and queens, witches and huntsmen.

Hopelessly lost in this strange and wonderful sylvan land, Louisa crosses paths with licentious dwarfs, follows a breadcrumb trail, and encounters a rogue huntsman, Roan. Roan explains that the Other Side is ruled by the nefarious King Lyall, who is more concerned with the state of his cock than his kingdom. He has imprisoned the mysterious Queen Anora in the enchanted Apple Grove. In order to return home, Louisa must travel deep into the forest and save the Queen . . . as well as herself.

Click the My Books tab at the top of the page to check out more of my works.

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Mug 
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Homemade Pita Bread
Parmesan Onion Rolls 
Pull Apart Pizza Bread  
Pull-Apart Spinach and Cheese Bread
Pumpkin Bread!
Sour Cream Dinner Rolls 

Caramelitas

Eric keeps taking a spoon to my jar of homemade caramel sauce and I knew if I didn't make these caramelitas soon, I wasn't going to have any caramel left to make them. Obviously, we are both big caramel fans, which makes it incredibly strange that neither of us have had a caramelita before. Needless to say, we both loved them. Eric's not even sulking that I used up the rest of the caramel sauce making them. In fact, he wants me to make more so I can make more of these bars!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup homemade or store bought caramel sauce
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with tin foil then grease generously with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vanilla, and brown sugar. Pour in flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well combined. Pour half the mixture into the prepared dish and smooth with a rubber spatula (Don't worry if it looks like you won't have enough dough--this concerned me at first, too, but it all worked out).

Bake for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the first layer of cookie. Pour the caramel over the chocolate chips, spreading it slowly and equally. Drop little bits of the remaining cookie dough evenly over the top of the bars. The caramel will still show through in some places--that's okay!

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the top turns a golden brown.

Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan. If you try removing them from the pan or slicing them before the caramel has had time to firm up, you'll end up with a gooey mess. I refrigerated mine for 2 hours after the pan reached room temperature. Store bars in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Dessert Recipes:
Congo Bars, Blondies, or Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?
Michigan Cranberry Brownies
White Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Pie
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies 
Yummy Butterscotch Cookies
 

The Best Sugar Cookies

I'm not going to lie, this sugar cookie is a little bit of a pain to make, but it's so worth the sink of dirty dishes. For that reason I haven't made them for the last few Christmases. However, Eric loves his sugar cookies something fierce. And I wanted to use my delicious sugar cookies to make stain glass cookies. I turned the leftover dough into regular cookies.

This recipe comes from my mom, but because it dirts sooo many dishes, she has been on the search for an easier one that is just as good. She tried the store bought cookie mixes and I don't even know how many other recipes--she tested out yet another one for Thanksgiving. I ate one cookie and that was more than enough. Since I don't make sugar cookies often, I'm sticking to making the best sugar cookie recipe when I do, no matter the mess it makes.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

Directions:
Medium Bowl: Combine flour, tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Small Bowl: Stir together eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

Large Bowl: Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed for approximately 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Alternating, add a little bit of the flour mixture then a little bit of the egg mixture to the butter mixture while beating. Once ingredients are combined, wrap the dough in wax paper and chill for 2 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to 1/4- to 1/8-inch thickness. (I like to roll out dough between two lightly floured pieces of waxed paper). Use cookie cutters to make cookies. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are a light golden brown.

If desired, frost with royal icing.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Christmas 2013 Baking List
Dark Chocolate Cover Cranberries
Michigan Cranberry Brownies
Honey Cake
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies 
Christmas Kiss Cookies 
Gingerbread House 2013
Three Chocolate Truffles: Mint, Rum, and Orange
Cherry Snowball Cookies
Stained Glass Cookies