Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

Last year after I made my Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies, I kind of fell in love with everything gingerbread. This year after making the cookies once again, I decided to try to make a gingerbread hot chocolate, which really isn't that hard--you just add gingerbread ingredients (molasses, ginger, clove, and cinnamon) to the hot chocolate. It was almost like drinking one of my gingerbread cookies.

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate with Homemade Marshmallows

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
4 cups water or milk
1 1/3 cup hot chocolate mix (homemade or store bought)
2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove

Directions:
Heat water or milk in a pan or in the microwave. Dissolve hot chocolate mix, molasses, and spices in water or milk. Pour into 4 mugs. Add marshmallows or Reddi Whip, if desired.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Drink Recipes:
Butterbeer from Harry Potter 
Pumpkin Hot Cocoa
Spiced Cinnamon Tea 
Spiced Cranberry Juice 
The World's Easiest Spiced Apple Cider 

Apple Pancakes

These pancakes are perfect for a crisp fall morning. There is no better way to describe them.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
dash of salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sweet apple, finely chopped

Directions:
In a medium bow, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl combine milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. It's okay if mix has some lumps; you don't want to overmix. Fold in apple.

Grease a skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter on the skillet. Cook until small bubbles form on the edges of the pancakes, about 1 or 2 minutes, then flip. Cook other side until golden brown, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with maple syrup.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Apple Recipes:
Baked Apple Chips
Savory Apples Stuffed with Sage and Sausage
An Apple Cider Birthday Cake
Apple Cider Cookies with Spiced Rum Glaze
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Delicious Apple Pie 
Apple Rings!
Peanut Butter Baked Apples

Pumpkin Mug Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

The great thing about mug cakes is that are a generous single serving which means two things: you can't over indulge and you don't have to share. And this pumpkin mug cake is the most moist mug cake I have ever made. It really hits the spot on a chilly autumn day.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Cake
4 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Frosting

1 ounce cream cheese, softened

1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions:
Cake
Spray the inside of a mug with cooking spray. Add all the ingredients in the mug and mix until well combined. Microwave for 50 to 60 seconds or until the cake is set in the middle. Each microwave works a little different so start at 50 seconds and slowly increase from there.

While cake cools, make the frosting.

Frosting
In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and powder sugar. Place on top of pumpkin mug cake.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Mug Recipes:
3-Ingredient Gluten-Free Mug Cake
Brownie in a Mug
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Mug
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake
Chocolate-Hazelnut Mug Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Fluffernutter Mug Cake
French Toast in a Mug
Quiche in a Mug

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

Pumpkin Cream Cheese French Toast Bake

Pumpkin and French toast, a match made in heaven! Not to mention perfect for a crisp, fall morning. This bake doesn't require maple syrup, but I will admit, a small drizzling of syrup does add a nice finishing touch to this dish. Besides, can you really have French toast without syrup?

Oh, and this pumpkin bake is amazing (dare I say, even a little better) as leftovers!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin French Toast
6 slices of sandwich bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Filling
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Crumb Topping
2 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon butter, cut into cubes

Directions:
With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese filling ingredients on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy--about 3 minutes. Set aside.

In a seperate bowl, whisk together milk, pumpkin puree, egg, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla.

Lightly grease an 8x8 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange a layer of bread cubes in the dish. Pour half of the pumpkin mixure evenly over the bread. Then spread cream cheese mixture on top of that. Create another layer of bread cubes and pour the remaining pumpkin mixture of the bread.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerator for a least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make the crumb topping by combining the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add cold butter and toss together. Use your finger to work the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle evenly ontop of the French toast bake.

Bake for 35  to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pumpkin Recipes:
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes
Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage 
Pumpkin Bread!
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Caramels!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin Gnocchi with a Parmesan Sauce
Pumpkin Hot Cocoa 
Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cranberries
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Pumpkin Pie Rice Krispie Treats  
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Roasted Pumpkin Chickpeas
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Drunken Cherry Chocolate Cake

Every year for my birthday, I don't ask for presents, just that Eric bake a cake for me and we spend the day together. He started with boxed cake mixes, last year it was a smores pie, and this year he made his first cake from scratch. He woke up early and only asked for a little help--I more supervised and fetched ingredients for him than anything else. And it turned out absolutely delicious. The cake was moist and very chocolaty and the cream cheese frosting has become my favorite frosting. You can't forget the drunken cherries either--divine. I am so proud of him.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Cake
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk, warmed
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder (we used Hershey's Special Dark)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt

Filling

4 cups black cherries, pitted (about 1 pound)

1/2 cup whiskey (next time I think we'll use brandy)

1/4 cup cold water

Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

4 tablespoons of reserved cherry-whiskey syrup

Directions:
Drunken Cherries
Rinse, drain, and dry your cherries. Pit the cherries and coarsely chop them. Place them in a medium bowl and add whiskey. Let the cherries marinate at room temperature for 1 hour then drain cherries, reserving the liquid.

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

With a standing mixer or electric hand mixer, whisk together 4 tablespoons butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whip on high for 7 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy. Whisk in warm milk.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the batter is just combined. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of each cake has set. 

Once the cakes are cool enough to handle, remove from pans. Place the cakes on a wire rack and cool completely.

Frosting
In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk butter on low until fluffy, gradually adding powdered sugar one cup at a time until well combined. Add salt. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until mixture is pale and fluffy (2-3 minutes).

Add cream cheese 1 ounce at a time and mix until well combined. Once all the cream cheese is incorporated, whip for about 1-2 more minutes.

Stir in 4 tablespoons of reserved cherry liquid. Reserve the rest of the remaining cherry liquid. Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.

Assemble

Remove the frosting from the fridge and allow it to set about for 10-15 minutes. 

Cut each cake in half horizontally using a serrated knife. Place one layer (cut-side up) on your plate or cake stand. 

Add water to the reserved cherry syrup. Brush the layer with 1/3 of the cherry-whiskey mixture. Frost the layer and add 1/3 of the drunken cherries. Repeat with the next three layers, however, do not put any syrup on the top layer. Refrigerate cake for about 20 minutes.

Frost the outside of your cake. Decorate with extra cherries, chocolate curls, or chocolate chips. Instead of using whole cherries, Eric decorated with a few drunken cherries. Cover and store cake in fridge. Allow cake to sit at room temperate for about 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cake Recipes
Strawberry and Chocolate Checkered Cake 
Three Layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
An Apple Cider Birthday Cake
Chocolate on Chocolate Cake 
Chocolate Swirl Cake (Made with Swiss Cake Rolls)
Honey Cake
Rice Crispy Birthday Cake 

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

I had originally planned on making strawberry rhubarb muffins but the rhubarb at the grocery store was looking a little rough, so I decided on strawberry chocolate chip muffins. I sent these to work with Eric, and they were quite the hit. He said he caught one person practically licking the plate.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Muffin
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Crumble Topping
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine all the crumble topping ingredients until you have a texture of coarse crumbs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

In a second bowl, combine egg, oil, and milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir (be careful not to over mix). Fold in blueberries.

Divide equally between the 12 cups. Generously sprinkle crumble on top of the muffins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the center of the muffins set.

Strawberry chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins

Strawberry chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins

Strawberry chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
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 
  Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins, two of my favorite breakfast meals. When I saw the blueberries, all pretty and plump and blue, at the grocery store--and on sale--I had to get some. First thing I did with them was make muffin (I will soon be making blueberry pancakes and maybe even chocolate covered blueberries). I love these muffins because they aren't super sweet and they have a delicious crumble on top.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Muffin
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cup blueberries*

Crumble Topping
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, but if you're using frozen blueberries, do not thaw; just toss them in frozen.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine all the crumble topping ingredients until you have a texture of coarse crumbs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

In a second bowl, combine egg, oil, and milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir (be careful not to over mix). Fold in blueberries.

Divide equally between the 12 cups. Generously sprinkle crumble on top of the muffins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the center of the muffins set.

Strawberry and chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins

Strawberry chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins

Strawberry chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
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 
Pumpkin Oatmeal \
Quiche in a Mug

Fries with Garlic Cheese Sauce

I'm normally a ketchup girl when it comes to my French fries. No ranch dressing, mayo, or mustard for me. But when I made this garlic cheese sauce, I was willing to change my ways. I usually make my own French fries, but I don't quite have the skill or tools to make my own curly fries so when I saw curly fries on sale at the grocery store, I indulged. And what's better, the hubby was out of town when I made this so, I got all the sauce and fries to myself.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 ounces cream cheese
2 to 4 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
Melt cream cheese in a small sauce pan on the stove over medium high heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons milk and garlic powder. Add cheddar and stir until smooth. If you want a thinner sauce, add more milk until you reach the desired consistency.

Drizzle over your fries or serve on the side as a dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Side Recipes
Pepper Jack Cheez-its 
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Roasted Peas 
Bacon Barbecue Green Bean Casserole 
Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
Pull-Apart Spinach and Cheese Bread
Ranch, Cheddar, and Bacon Potatoes

Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

All it took was one bite and the husband was already asking me to make them again (despite the full pan we still had). Forget about those cans of cinnamon rolls you can buy at the grocery store. The dough is always dry and tasteless. If you're going to indulge in a cinnamon roll, really indulge with something sweet and buttery and gooey. It requires a bit more work than popping open a can, but it is so worth it.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe adapted from here.
Cream Cheese Frosting recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients: 
Dough

1/4 -ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

Filling

1/2 cup butter,melted (plus more for pan)
3/4 cup brown sugar (plus more for pan)
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 

Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon milk, optional

Directions:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside. In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, butter, salt, and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and combine until well incorporated. Pour in yeast mixture. Gradually add in remaining flour until the dough becomes easy to handle. Knead dough on a floured work surface for 5 to 10 minutes (this can also be done with the hook attachment on a standing mixer). Roll dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow dough to rise until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.

When it doubles in size, punch down the dough and roll it out into a 15x9-inch rectangle on a floured work surface. Spread softened butter (from the list of filling ingredients) over the dough. Mix cinnamon and sugar together then sprinkle over buttered dough.

Start at the 15-inch side and roll the dough into a log, pinching the edge together to seal. Cut the log into 12 sections.

Grease the bottom of a baking pan with butter then sprinkle with sugar (if desired). Transfer the cinnamon rolls to the pan, placing them close together. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 25 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned.

While the rolls bake, make the frosting. In a large bowl, whip cream cheese, butter, and extract until creamy and well combined. Gradually add powdered sugar. If your frosting is too thick, add milk and stir.

You can either wait until cinnamon rolls are completely cooled to frost or you can let them cool slightly then frost. This will cause your icing to melt a bit, but there is nothing better than a warm cinnamon bun in my book.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes
French Toast in a Mug

Homemade Hash Browns
Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins 
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

With the weather finally warming up, we brought out the ice cream maker once again. What flavor to make . . . why chocolate of course!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Directions:
Prepare your ice cream maker according to machine directions. Ours requires ice, salt, and a chilled canister.

Combine the milk sugar, salt, and cocoa powder. Stir in heavy cream. Place the mixture in your ice cream maker and churn for 1 hour or until the ice cream thickens. 

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Also try:
Red Wine Ice Cream
Going Bananas: Dairy-Free Ice Cream
Chocolate Syrup
Homemade Caramel Sauce 

Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce

Fruit sauces--cherry, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry--so perfect for summer. They go on ice cream, brownies, and breakfast food like waffles, French toast, and pancakes. Well, my raspberries were about to go bad and I didn't know what to make for dinner--which usually means breakfast for dinner (or canned soup).

For the pancakes I used Martha Stewart's recipe, but you can use boxed pancake mix too.

Ingredients:
Pancakes
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg

Raspberry Sauce
3 cups raspberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Directions:
Pancakes
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the milk, butter, and egg. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine. Be careful not to overmix.

Grease skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.

Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto the skillet to make one pancake. Cook until surface of pancakes develops bubbles and a few of the bubbles have burst, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the underside, another 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. (Recipes makes approximately a dozen pancakes).

Raspberry Sauce
Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a saucepan. Stir in water. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens. Add raspberries and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 10 minutes.

Pour raspberry sauce over pancakes.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
French Toast in a Mug
Homemade Hash Browns
Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins 
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug