Tag Archives: autumn

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Fall Into It: Favorite Fall Recipes

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I know I’ve been beating you all over the head with the, “OMGeeez!! I luuuuuv fall-time guys! Leaves and pumpkins and sweaters and boots and cider! WHEEE!”

I mean, good gourd, I just want to spread the love of my favorite season of all the seasons, in all the lands. I busted out my Halloween and Autumnal themed decor from a year of deep storage. Right this very second, a Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle is ablaze.  I’m about to be neck deep in decorative pumpkins… M-F-ing gourds better watch out, too (speaking of gourds, THIS).

Since I can’t really glitter bomb you all in black and gold and orange (watch out pumpkins & gourds!), the second best way to spread my seasonal love is with food, so, I’ve gathered my favorite recipes from this blog, PLUS recipes from around the web I’ve been eyeing/drooling over.

1. Not to give myself too may props, but, these Herbed Turkey Burgers with Goat Cheese and Cranberry Sauce are the business. They are like fancy Thanksgiving, but a burger so, also, kind of casual.

2. I adapted these Pear Cranberry Muffins from a Shutterbean recipe and they were a major hit with Sean, his gang of brothers, and my father-in-law.

3. Those little Banana Cream Pies might look super classic, but there happens to be browned butter tucked into the pudding that sends them over the top. The caramel sauce doesn’t hurt either. These are hands-down, one of the best things I have ever made.

4. Not only are these super soft Malted Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting delightful, they made a believer out of my former pumpkin-hating husband…FTW!

5. What can I say about these Chewy Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies that will convince you to make them ASAP? They are chewy and crunchy, deeply spiced with bits of dark chocolate throughout. I love these cookies and dream of them often.

6. I lovingly transported these Alfajores through the skies to NYC last fall while visiting a friend. A pilot kept eyeing them in the terminal and eventually asked me about them! I didn’t have any to spare–they were a gift, man! But, I took it as a good sign (note to self, airline staff appreciate cookies too). They are super rich and super delicious.

7. This Pumpkin Semifreddo is a textural dream–rich, yet feather-light, cool, crunchy, gooey–it has it all. Plus, it’s a total beauty queen.

As you know, there’s about a billion drool-worthy recipes cropping up every-single-day on the internets. These are just a few that I’ve been eyeing the last few weeks.

Nutella Pumpkin Donut Muffins by Reclaiming Provincial…there isn’t a thing I don’t like about that. Carey even used her own Homemade Nutella. Whoa, girl!

I swoon for a fancy layer cake and this Pumpkin Cake + Ganache + Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting from Use Real Butter sounds like decadant, fall-time heaven.

Spiced Pear, Gorgonzola, and Toasted Walnut Pie in Buttermilk-Leaf Lard Crust by Local Milk, is quite the mouthful, but I bet it’s a delicious one.

Tracy’s Baked Pumpkin Pecan Doughnuts and Megan’s Mini Version with caramel, have been haunting me for days! I need to get with the party!

I love a funnel cake at the fair and these Bite-Size Pumpkin Funnel Cake Crispies by Dine and Dish, evoke hay rides, fresh cider, and all things good about fall.

There’s nothing inherently autumnal about Horchata, but I LOVE it with all of it’s cool rice and spice flavored goodness. This Horchata Smoothie by Notations of a Novice Cook sounds like perfection to me.

I think fall is the perfect bonfire season and any bonfire isn’t worth it if there isn’t marshmallow toasting involved. These Speculoos-Nutella-Candied Bacon S’more’s by Diane A Broad sound amazing PLUS…candied bacon!!

What are YOU all excited about baking/making/eating this fall? or, for you Southern Hemisphere-ians, this spring?!

 

 

 

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Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

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I do this fun thing when I’m sleeping…and by fun, I mean obnoxious.

Throughout the night I will either kick blankets or hoard them. I may start out the night kicking the blankets right off the bed and onto the floor. Then, I will wake up in the wee hours of the morning, shivering, only to roll myself up into a burrito of warmth. Add my tendency to sleep-talk, and I am a dream (read, nightmare) of a bedmate. I just want to have it all, all at once–blankets, no blankets, conversation, and sleep. I mean, at least I don’t sleep-walk…anymore, right?

These muffins came to be because of my inherent desire to have it all. Yesterday, mid-morning, all I wanted was something warm, pumpkin-y, spiced, streusel AND glaze topped. I wanted the perfect fall muffin–not too sweet so I could glaze it, slightly healthy (pumpkin AND wheat germ, holla!), moist yet sturdy, spiced without getting face-punched, a muffin with a hint of brown butter and a bit of crunch. I made it happen and got my way… as it often goes around here when it comes to muffin baking and blanket-hoarding/shunning.

So, tell me, are you a sleep kicker, blanket stealer, talker or walker? Or, are you the type who, once your head hits the pillow, you’re there to stay?

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins w/ Cream Cheese Glaze

Makes 12-14 muffins (depending on how you fill the cups).

Adapted from Damn Delicious. 

I reduced the flour from the original recipe and added wheat germ for health and science. I also tinkered with the spices and browned up the butter for good measure. These muffins–sans glaze–are not very sweet, which is how I think a muffin should be. While the insides are moist and tender, a pat of butter smeared on a warm muffin would be totally appropriate. I like to place the streusel in the refrigerator while assembling the batter–I find it encourages more pebbly/rocky streusel as opposed to a crumbly/sandy topping.

Spice Mix:

1/2 heaping teaspoon kosher salt

2 hefty teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Streusel Topping:

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, browned

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup vanilla sugar (or plain or brown)

3 Tablespoons sunflower seeds (optional)

1 teaspoon spice mixture

Muffin batter:

3 Tablespoons wheat germ

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sugar

remaining spice mixture

1 cup plain pumpkin puree

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, browned

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

2 ounces softened cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-3 Tablespoons milk

Preheat your oven to 350*F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well.

Begin by browning your butter, 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons, divided. Jessica from How Sweet It Is recently posted this great step-by-step. Set aside the butter to cool slightly.

Make the streusel: Mix together 2 tablespoons of the browned butter with flour, sugar, spices, and sunflower seeds, until the mixture clumps together when pinched between your fingers. Place the streusel topping in the refrigerator until ready to use.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the wheat germ, flour, baking powder, sugar, and remaining spice mix. Set aside and in a seperate bowl whisk together pumpkin, remaining butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry and fold until just combined. Fill the prepared muffin cups 3/4 full (I did 2/3, making them a litte under filled). Sprinkle with the streusel mixture and bake in the center of the oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes before glazing. While muffins cool, make the glaze by stirring the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together, adding milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Best enjoyed warm from the oven. Can be kept in an airtight container for 3 days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tea Time: Apple Cider Steeped Tea

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There are a lot of things I love about this time of the year in the northern hemisphere.

The cool weather, the sound of crisp leaves under foot, long walks (where I don’t end up sweating bullets!), the clothes, the smells, the baking and cooking, and possibly one of my very favorite things…warm drinks.

Like tea and hot apple cider.

I love them!

When I saw this brilliant idea on The Kitchn via the October issue of Martha Stewart magazine, I knew it would become an instant fall-time favorite. It combines two of the best hot beverages I can imagine and the results are simply perfection.

I have been drinking this nearly everyday and have tried it with both a spiced black tea (like this one) and a green jasmine. I love the sweetly spiced flavor and aroma that the black tea imparts, while the green tea makes for a light and floral scented cup. You could use any tea you fancy, I’d love to try it with a chai or orange tea. I also think that you could add a little shot of bourbon or rum for a twist on hot toddy!

It’s warming and seasonal and seriously good.

Apple Cider Steeped Tea

I like a ratio of 1 part apple cider, 1 part hot water, to 1 tea bag. You could use just apple cider for this and it will be even more apple-y and delicious. 

for one cup:

3 ounces apple cider (unfiltered, local stuff if you can get it)

3 ounces hot water

1 tea bag of your choice

Heat apple cider in a small pot on the stove or in a heatproof glass measurer in the microwave. Add hot cider, water, and tea bag to a mug and steep for 3-5 minutes. Cozy up and drink!

 

 

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Recipe: Malted Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

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Sean and I have this ongoing thing where he claims to dislike a food and I step up to crush him.

I make him eat his words.

Quite literally.

Then I laugh maniacally and he rolls his eyes.

It’s part of our thing.

See, not only do I feel an overwhelming sense of victory when I prove his begrudging tastebuds wrong…

We end up liking the same foods.

It’s a total win-win kinda deal.

Anyway, for years now Sean has been hating on pumpkin. I mean, I get his dislike of pumpkin pie (gasp! I know…) I don’t love it either. But, to write off all pumpkin goodness because of a dislike of a single dish, not even okay. There’s pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffins, and cookies!

Oh, my.

So, to bust his hatin’, I decided to make it a point to help him overcome his discriminatory ways.

I saw this recipe on Martha Stewart’s website and knew that if anything would win him over, this would.

Browned butter…hello!

I added some malt to the mix for good measure.

Never can be too safe with those haters…

…and, it paid off!

He took one bite, and for once, kept his eye rolls to himself.

I’m the winner.

Oh, sweet victory!

Huzzah!

Malted Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

Adapted from Martha Stewart

I halved the recipe, so I used ounce measurements instead of my usual cup measurments.

Makes about 48 cookies.

11 ounces all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons malt powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 ounces softened, unsalted butter

9 ounces brown sugar

2 teaspoons fresh, grated ginger

1 large egg, room temperature

6 ounces pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

3 ounces milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, malt powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, dry ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream together butter, sugar, and fresh ginger. Add pumpkin puree and combine. Add egg and mix to combine, scraping the bowl as needed. Add milk and vanilla, mix well. Pour all of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix in short bursts until just combined. If there are some streaks of flour, fold lightly with a rubber spatula.

Prepare a piping bag fitted with a large, round tip and spoon half of the batter into the bag. Pipe rounds of dough onto the prepped sheet pans and repeat. Bake cookies in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are done when the bottoms are lightly browned and the tops spring back to the touch. Cool for a few minutes on the sheet and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.

Browned Butter Frosting

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 tablespoon malt powder

pinch of salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl whisk together sugar, malt powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together milk and vanilla.

In a shallow skillet heat butter over medium low until butter solids become golden brown and smell like toffee. Do not walk away as you do this, the butter can go from perfect to burnt in moments. Once browned add to confectioner’s sugar mixture and whisk well, whisk in milk and vanilla. If the frosting is still stiff add small amounts of milk to achieve desired consistency. Can be used as soon as cookies are cooled.

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Recipe: Apple-Pecan Crumble Bars for Fall

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Autumn or Fall, whatever you call it, is my very favorite of seasons.

It’s when the air turns crisp, mornings become cool, days become mild, the light begins to change, and the verdant landscape bursts into a spectrum of golds and reds. It’s the perfect season for long walks, hot beverages, sweaters and hoodies, tights and boots, cozy socks and new slippers, and warm meals full of comfort.

This is my first fall in Michigan and already I can feel how different it is here. Anyone familiar with northern Nevada will tell you that there are only 2 real seasons–Summer and Winter. The changing leaves never stick around, gusty winds carry them away with a quickness. If you’re lucky maybe a few spring and fall days will be scattered in between, but the weather there is fickle and tends toward extremes.

Fall here is the real deal.

Sean and I took the dogs for a walk this yesterday on the river trail and I couldn’t help but snap photo after photo. There was still a lot of green, but even this morning the lanscape has changed. Fallen leaves litter our yard and our trees are a mottled landscape of green and yellows, oranges and reds.

All of this change in a single day.

Simply amazing.

This is the season when baking is at it’s best–days when the oven on for hours doesn’t feel oppressive, but welcome.

I baked something with apples, that quintessentially autumn ingredient, to celebrate this favorite season.

Never a big fan of apple pie, I opted to go with these apple crumble bars. They were a suggestion from my blogger friend Megan, who has become a real deal friend since my move here to Michigan. We share a lot of likes (and dislikes!), fall included. We’ve both been dreaming of cozy, fall baking for a better part of the summer and now it’s finally here!

Hooray!

For fall, for friends, and for baking!

Apple-Pecan Crumble Bars

Adapted from Take A Megabite

I added more spice, some candied ginger, and pecans to make these bars my own. I just like things extra spicey and a little nutty.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh, grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon fresh, grated ginger

3 tablespoons chopped, candied ginger

1/2 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3 apples–cored, peeled, and diced

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 inch pan with foil or parchment and grease well. Set aside.

In a large bowl toss together flour, salt, spices, sugars, nuts, and candied ginger. Using your fingers rub butter into dry mixture until the crumb mixture clumps together when pressed. Divide the crumb mixture in half. Mix half of the mixture with the apples. Divide the remaining crumbs and press half into the bottom of the pan. Bake the base for 10 minutes.

Allow base to cool slightly and top with apple/crumb mixture. Top apples with remaining crumbs and press down. Bake for another 45 minutes. When it is done the tope will be golden brown and crumbly. Cool pan on a wire rack and cut into squares.