5 Spice Pumpkindoodles

I bought Chinese 5-spice this week and discovered that it goes beautifully with pumpkin. I've always wanted to try pumpkin cookies, so I took this opportunity and used my homemade 5-spice pumpkin butter and made snickerdoodles with it. YUM! The warm spicy mix is perfect on sugar cookies warm from the oven...

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup pumpkin butter (see recipe HERE)
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp Chinese 5-spice
Heat oven to 400.
Mix butter, shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly. Blend flour, cream of tartar, salt, and soda. Stir into butter mixture. Mix well. Shape dough into 1” balls and roll in 5-spice sugar (1/4 cup sugar and 4 tsp 5-spice mixed together).

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes

Ginger Blondies

I have enjoyed blondies (aka Butterscotch Brownies) since I was a kid. But in order to make them taste a bit more like Fall, this time I made them with dark brown sugar and crystallized ginger. Perfection!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9” square baking pan.

Melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour and salt. Fold in ginger pieces.

Spread into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes or until set and golden brown.

Cool on wire rack.

Overnight Oats

This is a quick, easy breakfast that has almost endless possibilities: pumpkin butter, jams, fresh fruits, curd...

pumpkin butter

blueberry lemon curd

chocolate banana

strawberry jam

Just follow this simple formula for whatever you choose.

Mix equal parts of oats, yogurt, and milk. Stir in whatever add-ins you want and 1 teaspoon of chia seeds.

Cover in small jar or bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Apple Cider Donuts

I really wanted a good apple cider donut recipe. I tried one and it was a total flop. So I just tweaked one of my other recipes and it worked. This is a nice small batch of donuts which is a good thing because you really have to eat them right away. They do not hold.

First: Pour 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice in a measuring cup. Add milk to the 1/2 cup line. Let sit for 15 minutes. Stir.
Next take 1 1/2 cups of apple cider and boil it on high heat until it has reduced to 1/2 cup. Let it cool to the temperature of your hot tap water.
Then pour 1/2 cup of the hot apple cider into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of yeast on top of the water. Sprinkle 1/8 cup flour on top of yeast. Lightly mix and let sit 5-10 minutes, it will start to get foamy.
Add the milk and the following ingredients to the yeast and cider mixture.
3 Tablespoons melted butter, cooled slightly
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour (I used a bit of whole wheat flour, too)
Stir to make a soft dough. Add more flour if needed to make it stiff enough to knead.
Knead for 5 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Knead in more flour if it is sticky. You will end up using about 2 1/2 to 3 cups total.
Roll out to about 1/2” thick. Cut out with donut cutter. (I used a biscuit cutter and an apple corer for the centers)
Place on baking sheet, cover with thin towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for about 30-45 minutes. (I turn my oven to the lowest temp for about 5-10 minutes while kneading and then turn it off)

before rising

(I also used the scraps)

Heat oil in deep fryer to 375.

Carefully place donuts, a few at a time, into the hot oil. Cook until golden brown and then flip to cook the other side. Watch them carefully! They cook kind of quickly and turn dark. I think it is due to the cider in them. 

Place on a paper-towel lined plate to drain. 

Then toss in sugar mixed with a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

You can also make a glaze from sifted confectioners sugar and apple cider. Pour over while donuts are still hot.

Chai Cider

Chai tea tastes like India and Autumn. On cold rainy days, a hot, creamy sweet chai tea warms you from the inside. But on warm sunny fall days,a chai cider hits the spot. What is chai cider? Cold chai tea and apple cider.

Mine was made with my homemade chai and the cider we pressed on Saturday.

To make chai, simmer 3 black tea bags in 6 cups of water with your favorite blend of spices for 15-20 minutes. I haven't found a combination I didn't like...

Choose from these spices: (always use whole spices, not ground)
cardamom
allspice
black pepper
cloves
cinnamon
nutmeg (whole grated)
star anise
fennel
ginger root

Serve hot with cream and sugar or cold with apple cider.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

This was a pretty simple casserole and a good way to use up leftover ham and/or chicken breast.

Cook and drain 1-12oz bag of egg noodles.

Saute some cut up ham, onion, fresh mushrooms and chicken in butter. Do not cook them too much. Mostly just to sear them a bit and get rid of some of the extra moisture.

Mix 1 can cream of chicken soup and some milk.

Add meat and veggies into the pan of noodles. Pour soup mixture over it and stir well to coat. Stir in pepper and marjoram to taste.

Place in greased casserole dish.

Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 oven.

Remove and top with thin-sliced Swiss cheese. Place back in oven.

Mix about 1 cup bread crumbs with 2 Tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle on top of casserole.

Continue to bake until crumbs are browned and the casserole is heated through.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Brownies

These brownies don't look the prettiest but they are amazing! They are also best served cold from the fridge with a big glass of cold milk! Yum!

First make a batch of my homemade Better Than Box Brownies.

Let cool.

Then make a batch of this peanut butter frosting:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix until smooth and creamy.

Add about 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar. Mix until smooth. You may have to add more or less depending on how thick you want your frosting.

Spread over the pan of brownies.

Place in freezer to chill a bit.

While the brownies are chilling, melt about 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Remove brownies from freezer. Spread melted chocolate over the top of the frosted brownies.

Place brownies in fridge to let chocolate set.

Store any leftover brownies in fridge.

Beer Cheese Batter Bread

This is just the right bread to serve with a hearty soup or stew on a cold day. It has a muffin-like texture that tastes like just the right amount of beer. The trick is the double-sifting of the flour. Don't skip it!

3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar

Spoon flour into measuring cup and level with knife edge. Then sift or shake flour through a sieve into a large mixing bowl. Mix in baking powder, sugar and salt. Then sift again.

Toss with some finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Pour in 12 oz of room temperature beer. Lightly stir in.

Add 1/4 cup melted butter. Stir in but be careful not to overmix batter so that your bread will rise.

Pour batter into greased bread pan.

Pour 3 Tablespoons of melted butter over the top of batter.

Bake at 375 for about 1 hour. Cool 1 minutes before removing from pan to cool.

Serve warm.

Norwegian Style Rice Pudding

This probably isn't terribly authentic but it makes a delightful breakfast served warm with melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top.

3/4 cup short-grained rice
1 1/2 cups water

Bring to a boil. lower heat, cover and simmer for 13 minutes.

Mix:
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
ground cardamom, to taste
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Add milk mixture to the rice, 1 cup at a time. Turn to medium heat and stir and cook until thick before adding the next cup of milk. This will take about 40 minutes or so.

Remove from heat.

Serve warm with melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top.

Chill leftovers. Can be served cold or reheated in microwave.