Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

1 cup shortening

2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 cups canned cooked pumpkin

Filling:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Dash salt
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shortening
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract



In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger; add to creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets; flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-11 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

For filling, combine the flour and salt in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth; cook and stir over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until thickened. Cover and refrigerate until completely cooled.

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening, confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Add chilled milk mixture; beat for 7 minutes or until fluffy. Spread on the bottom of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Store in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Date Bread

1 cup applesauce

1 cup canned pumpkin
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped pecans

Topping:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; mix well. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in dates and pecans. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans.

Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Orange Spider Web Tart

1 box refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

1 box (4-serving size) orange-flavored gelatin

3/4 cup boiling water

1 cup orange sherbet, slightly softened

1 cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping

2 tablespoons miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

 

Heat oven to 450°F. Make pie crust as directed on box for One-Crust Baked Shell using 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom or 9-inch glass pie pan. Trim edge if necessary. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

 

Place gelatin in medium bowl. Stir in boiling water until gelatin is completely dissolved. Spoon sherbet into gelatin mixture, stirring until melted. Place in freezer until soft set, about 5 minutes.

Stir sherbet mixture. Stir in whipped topping until well blended. Spoon mixture into cooled baked shell.

In small resealable food-storage plastic bag, place chocolate chips and oil; seal bag. Place bag in bowl of very hot water. Flex bag several times to melt chips. Cut small hole in bottom corner of bag. Working from center to outer edge, pipe chocolate to form spiral design. Working from center of spiral to outer edge, draw tip of knife lightly through spiral to form web design. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes or until serving time.

Pourable Fondant Icing

This recipe is great for all cupcakes and petit fours. You can make amazing Halloween cupcakes with this recipe. Try adding purple (bats), orange (pumpkins), or neon green (slime balls), black (spider webs), and white (ghosts) coloring to it. Once this icing is set you can decorate on top of it with buttercream!

6 cups sifted powdered sugar (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp clear almond extract
Icing Colors, if desired

Makes: About 2 1/2 cups of icing.



Cover cupcakes lightly with buttercream icing. Let set 15 minutes. (optional)

Place sugar in saucepan. Combine water and corn syrup; add to sugar and stir until well-mixed. Cook over low heat. Don't allow temperature of mixture to exceed 100°F. Remove from heat; stir in extract and icing color.

Place cooled cupcakes or mini cakes on cooling grid positioned over cookie sheet or pan to catch excess icing. Cupcakes which will be covered completely should be turned bottom side up. Pour icing on center of cupcake using pan or measuring cup. Or, pipe icing from a cut decorating bag. Cover the cupcake completely, or use your coating as a glaze to simply cover tops and drip over the sides. Touch up any bare spots with spatula. Let set.

Excess icing may be reheated just to pouring consistency. Don’t overheat the icing as it will lose its shiny finish.

Pictured: Ghost and Pumpkin were cut out of can baked on a jelly roll pan, using a cookie cutter. To make the spider web cut a cupcake in half, or use a whole cupcake.

More Owls! Easy Owl Cupcakes

12 cupcakes baked in paper liners
24 mini cupcakes baked in paper liners
24 cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies (or any creme filled sandwich cookies to your liking)
48 mini cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies (or any creme filled sandwich cookies to your liking)
2 cans (16 ounces) Chocolate frosting
2 tablespoons Vanilla frosting
12 small banana shaped hard candies (Runts)
24 yellow candy coated chocolate covered sunflower seeds
24 mini chocolate covered mints (Junior Mints)
48 brown mini candy coated chocolates (M&M's Minis)

These are just what were used in the above photo, you can get creative and use all kinds of candy!

Split the sandwich cookies, regular and mini, in half crosswise, keeping the cream side hole (microwaving a few cookies at a time for several seconds helps to keep the cream side solid). Use a paring knife to remove any excess crumbs from cream filling.

To form the ears make 2 parallel cuts with a serrated knife in the large plain chocolate cookies 1/2 inch from each rounded side, discarding (or eat :D) the 1/2 inch strip that remains from the center of the cookie. Cut the mini plain cookie in half.

Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate frosting and the 2 tablespoons of the vanilla frosting into separate ziplock bags; set aside. Spread the remaining chocolate frosting on top of the standard and mini cupcakes and smooth.

To make the ears, attach the large cut cookies on top of the 12 standard cupcakes with some of the chocolate frosting, round side facing each other, at an angle, about 1 1/2 inches apart and hanging over edge of cupcake about 3/4 inch. Repeat process with the mini cut cookies and mini cupcakes, with a 1/2 inch overhang.

Place the large cream sided cookies, cream side up, on the upper half of the large cupcakes. Do the same for the mini cupcakes with the mini cookies.

Snip a small corner (1/8 inch) from the bag with the chocolate and vanilla frostings. Pipe the chocolate frosting in vertical lines over the cookie ears to cover. Starting at the outer edge of cupcake pipe the feathers with the chocolate frosting around top of cupcake and under the eyes.

Press the yellow candies in between the cookie eyes as the beak. Attach the chocolate covered mints on top of the cookies with some of the vanilla frosting on the larger cupcakes and the mini brown candies for the smaller cupcakes. Position the eyes in different directions to give the owls character. Pipe a white highlight on the eyes.

Here are some other variations to give you some ideas:

Super Cute Smores Owls

graham crackers
marshmallows
chocolate chips
yellow candy melts
candy corn

1.Cut one marshmallow in half and place both pieces on a large graham cracker (2 stuck together).


2.Put a candy melt on top of the marshmallows.

3.Heat in the microwave for about 2-5 seconds, just enough to make the marshmallows puff up, but not get too hot.

4.Take out of microwave and add a chocolate chip on the yellow candy melt and the candy corn beak while the marshmallows and candy are still warm. Everything should stick together nicely.

5.Let cool and serve! You can make these the night before a party and everything is still very tasty.

Brownie Trifle

1 box fudge brownie mix
2 cups (1 pint) whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling or any fruit pie filling
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds

Heat oven. Make brownies as directed. Cool completely.

In medium bowl, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. In small bowl, combine pie filling and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.

Cut brownies into 1-inch pieces. In 3-quart glass (trifle) bowl, layer half of the brownies; top with cherry pie filling and half of the whipped cream. Top with remaining brownies and whipped topping; sprinkle with almonds. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

Turtle Cookie Bars (from a cookie mix)

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
24 caramels, unwrapped
1 tablespoon milk
3/4 cup pecan halves
3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon shortening

Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir together cookie mix, butter, egg and 1/2 cup chopped pecans until soft dough forms. Press evenly in ungreased 8-inch square pan. Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat caramels and milk over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.

Carefully spread melted caramels evenly over warm bars; sprinkle with pecan halves. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 hour.

In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted and smooth. Drizzle over bars. Let stand about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.

Gelatin Cheesecake

1 (12-ounce) container low-fat (1 percent) cottage cheese
2 (0.3-ounce) boxes sugar free strawberry gelatin, plus 1 box
2 ready-made light graham cracker crusts
1 pint fresh strawberries, plus extra for garnish
1 (8-ounce) container frozen light whipped topping, thawed

Put cottage cheese in a blender. Make 2 boxes of the gelatin, using 1 cup of hot and 1 cup of cold water. At once, before it jells, add to cottage cheese. Blend until smooth. Pour evenly into crusts and refrigerate until set. Cut up fruit and place on top of pie. Make remaining package of gelatin as per instructions on box. Pour it on top of fruit and put it in refrigerator until set. Put whipped topping on top. Garnish with more fruit.

Valentine's Day Trifle

1 (7 ounce) package jellyrolls, each cut into thin slices
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk
3 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries


Arrange jellyroll slices on sides and bottom of a 2 1/2 quart glass bowl or trifle dish.

Prepare pudding according to box directions, except use only 1 1/2 cups milk; let sit for 5 minutes to thicken. Fold in 1 cup whipped topping.

Arrange 1/2 strawberries on jellyroll slices; top with pudding, then remaining strawberries and whipped topping. Garnish with strawberry halves, if desired.

Cover and chill for 8 hours; serve.

Mascarpone Mini Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze

8 ounces mascarpone cheese (about 1 cup), softened
2 egg whites
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 box white cake mix (make sure it's a moist one)
1 cup water
1/3 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the mini tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl combine the mascarpone cheese, egg whites and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, beat the ingredients until combined and creamy. Add the cake mix and water and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Fill the mini cups to just below the rim and bake until puffed and golden, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly in the tin then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack.

Meanwhile, puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor. Place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Pour in the strawberry puree and whisk until smooth. Top the cooled cupcakes with the strawberry glaze. Let the cupcakes sit for a few minutes for the glaze to firm up, then serve.

This cake recipe is also enough for one 8", 9" or 13"x9" cake pan.

Pumpkin Brulee

4 cups heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
16 egg yolks
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup white sugar


Preheat oven to 325­°F.

Heat the cream and vanilla in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer.

Whisk together the egg yolks, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and pumpkin in a bowl. Slowly pour 1 cup of the cream mixture into the egg mixture, stirring continually. Then pour the entire egg mixture into the saucepan; whisk briskly for 1 minute.

Pour the mixture into ramekins. Arrange ramekins on a baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven until set, about 15 minutes; refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.

Before serving, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over the top of each creme brulee. Use a kitchen torch or your oven's broiler to caramelize the sugar. It may take 2 to 3 minutes in the broiler. Serve immediately.

Ghosts in the Graveyard

This recipe is from Kraft.

15 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies , crushed
3 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4 serving size) Jell-o Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 (12 ounce) tub Cook Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Assorted decorations:
3 Cameo Creme Sandwich Cookies
decorating gel
5 candy pumpkins
10 pieces candy corn


Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir in 3 cups of the whipped topping and half of the cookie crumbs. Spread evenly into 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the remaining cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, decorate creme sandwich cookies with decorating gel to resemble tombstones. Set aside until ready to use.

Insert decorated cookies into top of dessert just before serving. Add candies. Drop large spoonfuls of the remaining whipped topping onto dessert to resemble ghosts. Cover and store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

Fall Harvest Baked Apples

8 red apples, cored
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 tsp ground ginger
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 350°F. Place apples in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, lemon juice and vanilla. Bring to a boil, and drizzle equally over apples.

Cover with foil, and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove cover, and continue to bake for 10 minutes, or until apples are tender. Serve warm.

Apple Walnut Cake

4 cups apples, cored and chopped
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts


Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Combine apples and sugar. Make sure apples are measured exactly or cake will be too heavy and mushy. Let stand a few minutes.

In a large bowl, beat eggs slightly, then beat in oil and vanilla. Mix in flour, soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir in apple mixture and chopped walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Applesauce Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup water


Preheat oven at 350°F. Grease and flour three 8x4 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, instant pudding mix, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add the applesauce, oil, eggs and water. Blend for 3 to 4 minutes using an electric mixer. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
5 tsp orange juice
2 Tbs grated orange zest


Preheat oven to 350°F Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add mashed sweet potatoes and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time (the batter will look curdled). Add flour mixture to potato mixture. Beat on low until combined.

Pour batter into 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool cake for 20 minutes in the pan, then invert onto serving plate.

To make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine confectioners sugar with 3 to 5 teaspoons orange juice to achieve drizzling consistency. Spoon over warm cake and sprinkle with orange zest if desired.

Caramel Apple Eclair Cake

5 pounds Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp flour, or as needed (optional)
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant French vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (14.4 ounce) box cinnamon graham crackers
1 (18 ounce) container caramel apple dip


Combine the apples, cinnamon and sugar in a saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender. If the mixture ends up with a lot of liquid, mix in a little bit of flour, and simmer until thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, whisk together the instant pudding and milk until smooth. Stir in the sour cream and fold in the whipped topping.

To assemble the cake, line the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with a single layer of cinnamon graham crackers. Use a slotted spoon to make a thin layer of the apple mixture. Top with a generous layer of the pudding, about 1/3. Repeat layers until you have three layers of apples and pudding and four layers of crackers.

Warm the caramel apple dip in the microwave oven until it can be easily poured. Pour this over the top layer of graham crackers. Refrigerate for at least overnight, but up to 24 hours before serving.

Easy Slow Cook Caramel Rice Pudding

3 cups cooked white rice
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Spray inside of 2- to 3 1/2-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients except sugar and cinnamon in cooker.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 3 to 4 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Stir pudding.

Sprinkle pudding with sugar and cinnamon. Serve warm.

Panna Cotta

1 cup almond milk, divided
1 (1/4-ounce) package unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon plus
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate fudge syrup, for garnish

Pour 1/3 cup almond milk into a small bowl and stir in gelatin; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, stir together heavy cream, remaining almond milk, and sugar. Bring to boil over medium heat, watching carefully as the cream will quickly rise to the top of the pan.

Pour gelatin and almond milk into cream mixture and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract and vanilla extract and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour into 6 (4-ounce) individual ramekins.

Leave ramekins uncovered at room temperature to cool. When cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (can be left overnight.)

To remove, run a knife around the sides of each ramekin and invert over a serving plate. Or serve in ramekins.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup chocolate fudge syrup with 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.

Drizzle over the top of the panna cottas to decorate top, as desired.

TIP: If panna cotta do not drop freely from ramekins, carefully dip the bottom of the ramekin in hot water. Be careful not to get water in the ramekin.