Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every year at Halloween I make these...and every year, they go like hotcakes when I take them to work. This year was especially memorable...I decided to triple the recipe to use the whole can of pumpkin, and the amount of cookie dough in the stand mixer covered the beater! It took 3.5 hours to finish making the cookies, 7 batches later. (oops) Needless to say, everyone else benefits from the mass-cookie-giveaway! These are a little bit pumpkin pie, a little bit cake, a little bit chocolate chip cookie. All-in-all, a delicious Halloween snack.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c canned pumpkin
1 c white sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 egg
2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t milk
1 T vanilla extract
2 c semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir into dry ingredients. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

2. Add vanilla and chocolate chips.

3. Drop by heaping spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown. (cookies will be slightly soft, but will no longer be shiny)

makes ~2 dozen medium sized cookies

Apricot, Pecan, & White Chocolate Bread

I recently took a very important licensing exam. I studied several months in preparation for this exam, and had very little free time. As soon as I was home from the exam, I wanted to bake. I wasn't sure what, but I came across this recipe and thought the apricot would be appropriate for the upcoming Halloween festivities. This bread turned out to be so delicious that my nearly 89-year old grandmother said it was "the best ever"! Despite the chocolate, it was definitely not too sweet...the apricots are a little tart, the chocolate a bit sweet, and the pecans balance it all out. Bring this to the next family gathering, and everyone will love you (even more)!



Apricot, Pecan, & White Chocolate Bread

1/2 c snipped dried apricots
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c milk
1/4 c cooking oil
1/2 c chopped toasted pecans
1/2 c white chocolate baking pieces

1. In a small bowl, combine dried apricots and enough boiling water to cover. Let stand for 15 minutes, then drain.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan (or use foil as the original recipe calls for). In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil. Add liquids all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (may still be lumpy). Fold in pecans, baking pieces, and drained apricots. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

5. Cool bread completely on wire rack (may cool 10 min in pan before removing). Wrap and store until serving. Slice and enjoy!

Salmon Adventures, Part IV (Honey Mustard Salmon)

Well, it's been a hectic few weeks here, with under two weeks until my big exam! Somehow, we managed to try another recipe for salmon. It turned out really well, although it might have been even better had we actually had honey dijon mustard! (we had to use honey and dijon) I love the way the bread crumbs held the flavor on for baking. Delicious, and very easy!

Honey Mustard Salmon

4-4 oz salmon fillets
3 T honey dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c Italian style bread crumbs
1/4 c melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a shallow baking pan with foil for easy cleanup. (If you don't use nonstick spray, the skin should stick to the foil so you can serve just the fillet.)

2. Place the fillets skin side down in the baking pan, and spread with a thin layer of the honey dijon mustard.

3. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Cover with Italian bread crumbs.

4. Drizzle with butter before placing in the oven for 15 minutes or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Salmon Adventures, Part III (Tsatsiki Salmon)

My mom sent me a salmon recipe a couple of months ago, and we finally got around to trying it. This one was very simple and delicious, and well worth the wait. The salmon was basically prepared plain, then served with the tsatsiki sauce. Yum!

Tsatsiki Salmon

3/4 cup cubed, seeded, peeled cucumber
1 cup fat-free sour cream or yogurt
1 T chopped green onions or chives
1/4 t dried dill
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t salt
4 salmon filets
salt and pepper to taste

Combine first 6 ingredients in small bowl. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Place fish, skin side up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 6 minutes. Turn fish over, grill 4 more minutes.

Serve with sauce on the side.

***Note-May also add 1/2 teaspoon horseradish before chilling for a little extra kick!

Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole

I made enchiladas a couple of months ago, and we loved them! They take awhile, by the time you boil and "pull" the chicken, so I wanted to give this a try...fast, easy enchilada flavor. Plus, who doesn't like a good casserole when the weather cools? This was a delicious meal! I customized it a little bit by using black beans instead of pinto beans and leaving out the onions (blech). The flavor was very mild with the sour cream. Next time I might cut back a little on the sour cream just to add more punch, but it was just fine this way, too! I will aslo remake this using chicken. It would be great with any meat! I found the recipe here.

Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 c chopped onion (I left this out and didn't miss it)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 15 oz can black beans (or pinto), drained and rinsed
1 4 oz can diced green chili peppers
1 8 oz carton sour cream or light sour cream (less if desired)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
8 6-in corn tortillas
1 10 oz can enchilada sauce (or 1 10-1/2 oz can tomoato puree)
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a large skillet, cook the ground beef, onion, chili powder, and cumin unti meat is no longer pink and onion is tender. Drain. Stir in beans and undrained chili peppers. Set aside.

2. In a small mixing bowl, stir together sour cream, flour, and garlic powder until combined. Set aside.

3. Place half of the tortillas in the bottom of a lightly greased 2-quart rectangular baking dish, cutting to fit if necessary. Top with half of the meat mixture, half of the sour cream mixture, and half of the enchilada sauce. Repeat layers. Cover dish with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

4. To finish and serve: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap; cover dish with foil. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 additional minutes.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Chocolate Glazed Donut Muffins

My cousin invited us to a brunch for the long Labor Day weekend. I always feel empty-handed unless I bring something, but I figured they'd have all the main food...what to bring? A no-brainer, once I saw this recipe here! It's like the joy of a donut without the deep-fried ugliness! They turned out really well, and the only change I might make would be to put less dough in the muffin tins to increase the ratio of "glaze" to "donut". You'll want to try this one with a glass of milk!

Chocolate Glazed Donut Muffins

2 cup flour
1 cup sugar (slightly less)
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 t Allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, oil, butter, milk and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients, combining gently until smooth.

Grease the muffin pans. Divide the batter between the muffin cups.

Bake for about 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan on rack for about 5 minutes, then turn on out on rack to cool. Cool completely before glazing.

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the ingredients together in a heat-safe glass bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring often.

Pour glaze into small, shallow bowl. Dip muffin tops in glaze and set upright. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired, while glaze is still sticky. Let sit until glaze firms. Enjoy!

Better-than-Brownies Chocolate Cookies

I had a fun girls' getaway planned with my best friend, and I wanted to make some treats to bring with. It turns out, I only had time to make one, but it was SOOOOO worth it! This cookie has everything going for it...lots of rich chocolate flavor, soft brownie texture, and melted chocolate goodness! Warning: You Cannot Possibly Eat Just One! Be sure you've got a glass of milk nearby, 'cause this one's rich! I found the recipe here, and wouldn't change a thing.

Better-than-Brownies Chocolate Cookies

Makes 24 large cookies

2-2/3 cups (about 16 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

4eggs

1-1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth.

3. In the meantime, stir together the eggs, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.

5. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir to combine well. Slowly add the dry ingredients, folding them into the batter. Once all of the flour is incorporated, stir in the chocolate chips.

6. Scoop 1½ tablespoons of dough (a medium cookie scoop’s worth) onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm on the outside. Like brownies, do not overbake! Leave to cool completely on the baking sheets.