Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are such a fun added bonus to the pumpkin carving experience! They're a great blank canvas for sweet or savory seasonings, and I thought I'd go with a little bit of both for this recipe. It's autumn overload in the best way - Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds! Sweet and spicy Pumpkin Pie Spice mixes with salt and sugar for a perfectly festive fall snack.  

Featured in La Petite Fashionista Magazine!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds with Pumpkin Pie Spice

Makes 1 cup

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1 tsp white sugar

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Clean pumpkin seeds in a colander under running water. Remove any pumpkin membrane.

3. Pat seeds dry with a paper towel.

4. Mix all ingredients together.

5. Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

6. Bake for 15 – 17 minutes. All ovens are different, so watch the seeds carefully at the end of the cook time. 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Clean the fresh pumpkin seeds. It can be a messy job getting those seeds out! They're a wonderful added bonus to pumpkin carving though, a tasty roasted autumnal snack.

2. continued - Place the seeds an a colander under running water and rinse rinse rinse.

 2. continued - The goal is to get rid of all of the orange membrane from the pumpkin. Remove any orange pieces you see.

2. continued - Nice and clean!

3. Place the seeds in a relatively flat pile on a paper towel and pat dry.

3. continued - Make a little paper towel-pumpkin seed sandwich and pat off as much moisture as you can. The seeds will roast better if they are dry!

4. Mix all ingredients together.

5. Spread the pumpkin seeds out as evenly as possible on a baking sheet. I almost always line my baking sheets with aluminum foil (regardless of what I'm cooking) for easy clean-up! I didn't find it necessary to grease the baking sheet. The oil on the seeds make them release just fine! 6. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Watch the seeds closely towards the end! Every oven is different and the seeds can quickly go from golden brown to burnt.

Apple Crisp

I present - my fiance's great grandmother's FAMOUS Apple Crisp! Paul's mom was kind enough to share the family recipe with me, and I'm delighted to share it with you all! Paul's mom made Apple Crisp this past Thanksgiving when our families celebrated together, and there were more than a few "I like this better than apple pie!" statements made.

The filling, with sliced tender apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon, is everything you want in an apple pie type dish, but I WAY prefer this crumble topping to the classic pie crust. It's buttery and sweet with slight texture variations from it's crumbly nature. Absolutely heavenly.

The family serves it cold, but I couldn't wait when I pulled this batch out of the oven - I loved it warm too! Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon and prepare for your life to be changed.

I would like to thank my future in laws for sharing the recipe with me :)

Grandma Daniel's Apple Crisp

Makes 10-12 servings

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Baking Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients

8-10 Macintosh apples

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup flour

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

Whipped cream for serving

1. Grease a large baking pan (at least 9 x 13).

2. Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix half the brown sugar mixture with the sliced apples and place in the baking pan.

3. Mix white sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Mix one egg into the sugar and flour mixture with a fork until the mixture is uniformly crumbly. Pour crumble topping over the apples.

4. Sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar mixture over the apples. Pour melted butter on top. (Refrigerate at this point and bake later if you would like) 

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Serve cold (or warm!) and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  

 

Aren't these beauties?! These are Fuji apples - my grocery store didn't have Macintosh apples. Go with Macintosh if you can!

Grease the baking pan and preheat the oven. Peel...

Core (or cut around the core)...

And slice the apples. Try not to eat too many as you go.

Look, Ma! I almost peeled it all in one piece! :P

Mix the brown sugar with the cinnamon. The melted sugar becomes kind of syrupy when the apple crisp bakes and it complements the tart apple flavor perfectly.

Mix half of the brown sugar mixture with the sliced apples.The other half of the brown sugar will be part of the crumble topping!

Place the apples in the large greased baking pan.

Mix the white sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder. Now for the crumbly part! Mix in one egg with a fork, kind of grinding it in, until there is a uniform crumble happening.

 It's coming along, but keep mixing...

There we go! Crumbly goodness.

Pour the crumble mixture over the apples.

Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar mixture on top.

And now... For the grand finale... Drizzle an entire stick of melted butter over the whole damn thing.

There are no words....

 Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Salivating....

Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

I hope you all make this wonderfully sweet, tart, buttery dessert and enjoy it as much as I do!

P.S. I just discovered Tasty Tuesday blog hops? What is this?!

Kickoff Cupcakes

Aren't these just the cutest things you've ever seen?! My mom used to make Easter cupcakes with green grass made of coconut and little eggs candies on top. This is the football season version! The flavors are from one of my favorite candy bars - chocolate, coconut, and almonds. Festive, bite sized, and sweet :)

Featured in La Petite Fashionista Magazine :)
Kickoff Cupcakes
Makes 5 dozen mini cupcakes
Baking Time: according to cake package
Decorating Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
1 package chocolate cake mix and required ingredients (usually eggs, water, and vegetable oil)
1 lb vanilla frosting
2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
3 oz whole plain almonds
Green food coloring

1. Prepare cake mix according to package and bake in mini cupcake portions.
2. While the cupcakes are cooling mix coconut flakes and green food coloring 3 or 4 drops at a time until a medium green shade is achieved.
3. Mix half vanilla frosting with green food coloring 3 or 4 drops at a time until a medium green shade is achieved. Fill a pastry bag or a zip top bag with one small corner cut off with the remaining white frosting.
4. Frost the cupcakes with green frosting. Sprinkle coconut on top until covered and pat down. Use extra frosting as glue and place the almond on top of the coconut. Pipe small lines of white frosting on top of the almond like the laces on a football.

The little minis are so cute! Prepare cake mix according to package and bake in mini cupcake portions.

While the cupcakes are cooling mix coconut flakes and green food coloring 3 or 4 drops at a time until a medium green shade is achieved.

It kind of looks like a galaxy! Mix half vanilla frosting with green food coloring 3 or 4 drops at a time until a medium green shade is achieved.

Fill a pastry bag or a zip top bag with one small corner cut off with the remaining white frosting. Cut as small of a corner off as you can and  do some test lines to see if the size will work. I'll admit, I had to transfer the frosting to a few bags before I got the right size! But they're just zip lock bags, so no biggie.

Frost the cupcakes with green frosting.

Sprinkle coconut on top until covered and pat down. Green grass!

Use extra frosting as glue and place the almond on top of the coconut.

All ready for the final touch!

Pipe small lines of white frosting on top of the almond like the laces on a football.

They're just adorable! And bite sized which is perfect for finger food at a tailgate party! These fun and festive cupcakes will be a hit at any football celebration!

Summer (Fruit) Lovin' Bread

I inherited a giant box of organic produce this week! I'm excited to have a ton of delicious fruits and vegetables to experiment with. One fruit we have plenty of (and I don't mind one bit) is plums! I ate them all the time as a child but I don't remember the last time I had them besides this week. I few of my friends even tried them for the very first time when I made this recipe! The batter is inspired by an awesome banana bread recipe that never fails me. I've adapted it a few times and made Mango Banana Bread a few months ago that was FANTASTIC. I love the little chunks of plum and cherry in this bread. You get a background sweetness from the batter that balances the tartness of the fruit nicely. Maybe I'll even throw in some blueberries next time!

Summer (Fruit) Lovin’ Bread

Makes 1 loaf
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 plums

1/2 cup chopped cherries

3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 Tbsp butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened (1/2 a block)

1/4 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Wash, remove pit, and chop plums and cherries.

2. In a large bowl mix together butter and cream cheese. Mix in sugars and vanilla until evenly combined. Mix in egg.

3. In a separate bowl mix together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter and cream cheese mixture until fully combined.

4. Mix in cherries and plums. Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan in a 350 degrees F oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool for a little, and enjoy!

Aren't they beautiful! I love the deep colors of the plums and cherries. So scrumptious. Clean, remove the pit, and chop the cherries and plums!

Mix together butter and cream cheese until combined. Add sugars and vanilla and mix.

Add the egg and mix until combined.

Mix white flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. I find that using half wheat flour doesn't compromise the texture at all.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and cream cheese mixture until fully combined.

Add the sweet summer fruit! The batter is VERY dense so you have to kind of pat in down in the loaf pan.

Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan in a 350 degrees F oven for an 1 hour and 10 minutes. Stick a toothpick in and if it comes out clean, it's done!

This bread warmed up and your morning coffee = breakfast heaven. I love the colors and the little bits of fruit you get that are still juicy. And the bread is so moist and dense from the cream cheese. MMmm. Use your beautiful summer fruit for some warm Summer (Fruit) Lovin' Bread!