Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Filling

Trick or Treat!! I had been thinking about making these pies again this fall, and almost let the season pass without them... That was, until me and the sis hit the mall yesterday and found a pumpkin shaped whoopie pie pan. Damn Crate and Barrel really gets you huh? These things are so good, I might have to make them again for Thanksgiving. But be forewarned, eating multiples happens before you know it.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Filling

From: Brown Eyed Baker

For the Whoopie Pies:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Maple-Cream Cheese Filling:
3 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Or, if you're like me- bust out your brand spanking new whoopie pie pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Use a small cookie scoop or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth with no visible lumps, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.

To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving. **note: the whoopie pie pan made ginormous pies, so I cut them in half and put the filling in between instead of using two separate pies for the top and bottom.

Rhubarb Crumb Bars

Hey All! Mr. Smith and I have been having some serious technical difficulty with our computer so I haven't been here in a bit. That mixed with some VERY bad recipes have not made for good postings. But never fear, baby sis and her trusty laptop have me back up and running with recipes that actually did work out. So without further delay, I present you with rhubarb crumb bars. I never quite knew what to do with these unappealing stalks at the farmers market, but I came across this recipe and figured I would give it a try. I now realize that the trick to making them pink, beautiful, and tasty is sugar, lots of it, which take the stalks from hard, green, couldn't possibly be good... to me eating a whole batch.

Rhubarb Crumb Bars
From: Everyday Food, May 2009

For the streusel:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus room temperature butter for pan

1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan

1/2 cup packed light- brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the cake:

1/2 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 tablespoon light- brown sugar

1 cup all- purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter an 8" square baking pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2" overhang on two sides. Butter and flour parchment and pan, tapping out excess flour.

Make streusel: whisk together butter, brown sugar, and salt. Add flour and mix with a fork until large crumbs form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Make cake: in a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup flour. In another medium bowl, whisk 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy: beat in eggs, one at a time. With mixer on low, beat in vanilla, then flour mixture. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with rhubarb and top with streusel.

Bake cake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 45- 50 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake from pan and cut into bars.

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts

Hey there! I'm still here... doing a bit of rescheduling in our lives, but I hope to be back in the kitchen more often now. Now on to the good stuff...
The very first thing I ever baked was a batch of brownies for my Mofa many moons ago, so they hold quite a bit of nostalgia for me. But the melting chocolate, or worse yet- using the cocoa packets that have already softened, adds one too many pans for my patience. But low and behold- a recipe that is quick and amazing delicious. Browned butter adds a nice nutty component and keeps them soft and chewy. Enjoy!


Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts
From: Bon Appetit, February 2011
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, chilled
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup walnut pieces

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies.
*Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Chunky Monkey Cookies

When my favorite little person had a big birthday party last weekend, I knew I had to bring something with bananas in it. Well.... that and the fact that chunky monkey ice cream has a very special place in my heart. So I present you with Chunky Monkey cookies. Cake like banana cookies studded with walnuts and chocolate chips and frosted with yummy vanilla and banana frosting. These are truely trashy.


Chunky Banana- Chocolate Chip Cookies
From: Betty Crocker's Cookies & Bars no.48
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies

2 1/2 medium ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup vanilla frosting (I totally trashed it up and used Rich and Creamy out of a tub)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts and/ or mini chocolate chips (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mash 2 of the bananas to measure 1 cup mashed; reserve the remaining 1/2 banana. Beat sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs and mashed bananas in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in chips and 1/2 cup walnuts.

Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased large cookie sheet.

Bake 11- 15 minutes or until edges begin to turn light golden brown. Cool 1 minute and remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely- about 30 minutes.

Mash enough of remaining 1/2 banana to measure 2 tablespoons mashed. Mix frosting an mashed banana in medium bowl with spoon until well blended and spreadable. Spread each cookie with about 1 tablespoon of the frosting and sprinkle with mini chips or walnuts if you are using them.

Granola Bars

Mr. Smith and I headed out of town this past weekend to celebrate our friend M's birthday in Martha's Vineyard. Since we have been doing this mid-winter get-away for a few years now, I knew that we were going to need as much nourishment as possible to survive the weekend full of deep belly laughs and full glasses. Low and behold, Smitten Kitchen was whipping up a batch of granola bars that I thought will fit the bill just right. Full of delicious dried fruits and nuts, there are tons of ways to make these your own. I also encourage you to click over since she's got lots of great tips on making these bars just right!



Granola Bars
From: Smitten Kitchen, Adapted from King Arthur Flour
1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats
3/4 cup granulated vanilla sugar
1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (I used 1 cup dried cranberries, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup sesame seeds, 2/3 cup chopped dried apricots)
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan with a non-stick spray.

Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter, maple syrup, peanut butter and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan.

Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on the tops too. They’ll still seem soft and almost under baked when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool.

Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. (Alternately, after about 20 minutes you can use your parchment “sling” to lift and remove the bars, and place them in their paper on the rack to cool the rest of the way. This can speed the process up.)

Once cool, a serrated knife to cut the bars into squares. If bars seem crumbly, chill the pan of them further in the fridge for 30 minutes which will fully set the “glue”, then cut them cold. To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it’s best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.

Hermits

Now when I say hermits, I don't mean crazy uncle Henry that only comes out on the holidays- I'm talking about delicious, molassas and spice tinged goodness. I can remember my parents buying these at the Smith farmstand near where I grew up. The bakers taking them fresh out of the oven, and there I was tuning up my nose and ordering an M&M cookie. What a fool I was! Thankfully my tastes have changed, and I'll take a batch of these anytime! Now don't make the same mistake I did the first time I worked with molasses- stay away from the Blackstrap which is too strong in flavor to use in anything but medicine. In place use a "first" molasses that is meant for baking (there is a brand called Grandma's you can find in almost any baking isle).

Hermit Bars
From: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion

1⅓ cups Sugar
½ cup plus 2 tbsp Vegetable Shortening
4 tablesspoons Unsalted Butter (1/2 stick)
¼ cup Molasses
¾ teaspoon Salt
¾ tteaspoon Ground Allspice
¾ teaspoon Cinnamon
1¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
2 Large Eggs
5 cups sifted Cake Flour
⅓ cup Water
2 cups Raisins

Glaze
3 tbablespoons Milk
1 cup sifted Confectioners’ Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan, or into a 9 x 9- inch square pan and a 9- inch round cake pan.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, shortening, and butter, beating at medium speed until fluffy. Add the molasses, salt, spices, and baking soda. Mix for 1 minute, then stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half the flour. Once it’s mixed in, add the water, then the other half of the flour. When the batter is mixed completely, add the raisins and stir until combined. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
Bake the hermis for 18 to 20 minutes, until the edges are light brown. If you are using the two pan method, check them at 15 minutes to make sure they do not overcook. They’ll puff up in the oven and the top will get shiny. As soon as you see this, pull the pan from the oven. The top will fall back down and the interior of the cookies will have an almost fudgy consistency. If you leave them in the oven longer, you’ll get a product that’s more like a cake-type brownie, and it won’t be as moist and irresistible. Remove the hermits from the oven and cool them in the pan on a rack before glazing.

To make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the milk and confectioners’ sugar until smooth, the glaze will be quite thin. Use a pastry brush to brush it on top of the hermits before cutting the bars.