Sourdough Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake

by penji1

Another delicious recipe brought to you by my sourdough starter!

PECAN STREUSEL

3/4 cup whole cane sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup chopped pecans

CAKE

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

1/2 cup sourdough starter

1/4 cup milk

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk or sour cream

1 Heat oven to 350. Spray 9 x 13″ pan with cooking spray.

2 For the streusel, mix all streusel ingredients together.

3 For the cake, beat together honey and butter until well blended. Beat in vanilla, eggs, sourdough starter, and milk until well blended.

4 Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

5 Beat in half the flour mixture, then all the buttermilk/sour cream, then the rest of the flour mixture.

6 Spread half the batter into the pan then sprinkle half the streusel over the batter then repeat with remaining batter and streusel.

7 Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

recipe from Cultures for Health

Thanksgiving Cornucopia Cookies

by penji1

This would be a fun Thanksgiving treat to make with the kids and then eat with the kids!

1 bag Wilton Candy Melts

1 package Golden Oreos

1 bag Bugles

1 bag mini M&S’s, green and blue M&M’s removed

1 Melt candy melts according to package directions.

2 Dip a Golden Oreo into the melted candy melts with a small spoon and tap gently to remove excess. Place on parchment paper or wax paper and immediately place a Bugle towards one edge then carefully sprinkle with a few mini M&S’s.

3 Allow chocolate to set before handling.

inspiration from Chelsea’s Messy Apron

Easy Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

by penji1

This is one of the best soups I’ve ever made! It was delicious!

1 pound Italian ground sausage

4 tablespoons butter

1 white onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

6 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

4 – 5 yellow potatoes, cut into bite size pieces

3 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups heavy cream

3 – 4 cups finely chopped kale

1 cup crumbled bacon

Parmesan for topping

1 In large Dutch Oven or pot, saute sausage for 5 – 6 minutes or until browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a plate and set aside.

2 To the same pot, add butter and onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and saute for an additional minute or until fragrant.

3 Add broth, water, potatoes, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are tender. Stir in kale and heavy cream. Add sausage and bacon. Serve garnished with Parmesan.

recipe from Creme de la Crumb

Biscoff Bundt Cake

by penji1

Isn’t that a beautiful cake? And it tastes just as good, if not better, than it looks. Highly recommend!

FOR THE CAKE

18 Biscoff or Speculoos Cookies (you can find Biscoff cookies at Costco)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

4 eggs, at room temperature

2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

FOR THE FILLING AND BISCOFF/COOKIE BUTTER DRIZZLE

1 cup Bisoff or Cookie Butter Spread, melted (you can find cookie butter at Trader Joe’s, make sure to get the smooth and not crunchy version for this cake)

FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1 For the cake, heat oven to 325. Spray 12 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray for baking.

2 Pulse Biscoff cookies in a food processor until finely ground and resembles flour.

3 Whisk together Biscoff crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

4 In a mixer bowl, beat together butter and sugars on medium until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Beat for 2 minutes on medium.

5 Add 1/3 dry ingredients, followed by half the buttermilk, then 1/3 dry followed by the last half of the buttermilk, ending with the last 1/3 of dry ingredients, beating well between each addition. Scrape down bowl and beat for an additional 30 seconds.

6 Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Drizzle half of melted Biscoff over the batter then top with remaining batter. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes. Allow to cool completely in pan before removing.

7 For the drizzle, heat cream in microwave for 30 – 60 seconds then pour over chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth then drizzle over cooled cake along with remaining melted cookie butter.

recipe from Cake By Courtney

Halloween Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcakes

by penji1

I made some Halloween themed cupcakes for Porch Treats (click here for an explanation of Porch Treats) and decided to experiment with marshmallows in cupcakes and the experiment went very well! You can’t see the marshmallow because it’s covered up by the frosting but it’s there and made these cupcakes super sweet!

1 box cake mix plus ingredients to make cupcakes

1 bag large marshmallows

1 batch of homemade buttercream icing or 1 tub of store bought frosting

various Halloween themed sprinkles, candies, candy eyes, etc

1 Make cupcake batter as directed on cake mix box. Line 2 muffin tins with Halloween themed cupcake liners. Fill cupcakes about 1/2 way full then push 1 marshmallow into each batter filled liner. Bake as directed on cake mix box.

2 When cupcakes are done, you can remove from oven to cool or if you want more marshmallow, you can top each cupcake with another marshmallow and return to oven for 1 – 2 minutes or until marshmallow is soft. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.

3 When cooled, frost cupcakes and top with sprinkles, candy, etc.

Sheet Pan Pancakes

by penji1

We’ve started a new tradition at our house of having breakfast for dinner every Sunday night, so far it’s been great. I made this last night for dinner and it was so good! We topped it with syrup, Nutella, more fresh strawberries, and/or homemade whipped cream. My only change would be to not bake the strawberries in the pancake as the texture was not ideal so I think I’d stick with just putting them fresh on top.

8 tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup blueberries

1 cup thickly sliced strawberries

toppings to include maple syrup, Nutella, fresh fruit, whipped cream, etc

1 Heat oven to 400.

2 Use 2 tablespoons of melted butter to grease bottom and sides of 18 x 13″ half sheet pan.

3 In a blender, add eggs, milk, and vanilla. Next add flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Blend just until combined, about 30 seconds.

4 Pour mixture into prepared pan. Scatter chocolate chips, blueberries, and strawberries as desired. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

recipe from Food Network/The Pioneer Woman

Halloween Fun with Candy Melts

by penji1

Don’t mind me over here just making Halloween treats until it’s time to go to bed! All of these are super easy and all were made with Wilton Candy Melts (which you can get at Michaels, Zurchers, and even WalMart).

RICE KRISPIE MONSTERS

1 box Rice Krispie treats

1 bag Wilton Candy Melts

1 package candy eye balls

Unwrap treats. Melt candy melts according to package directions. Dip half a Rice Krispie treat into melted candy melt. Set on parchment paper or wax paper. Press 1 – 2 candy eyes into place then let sit until chocolate is set.

OREO WITCH HAT

1 bag Wilton Candy Melts

1 package Oreos

Melt candy melts according to package directions. Spoon chocolate into witch hat mold (I think I got it from Michaels), top with an Oreo and put in fridge until set. Attach candy stars or bugs or whatever to hat with a dab of melted candy melts.

BROOMSTICK PRETZELS

1 bag Wilton Candy Melts

1 bag pretzel rods

Melt candy melts according to package directions. Pour melted candy into mold (similar one found here) then place pretzel rod into mold, turning carefully to coat with chocolate. Place in fridge until set. Attach candy bugs, etc with a dab of melted candy melts.

VAMPIRE TEETH LOLLIPOPS

1 bag Wilton Candy Melts

1 pack Halloween paper straws (I actually found these cute ones at the Dollar Store)

Melt candy melts according to package directions. Pour candy into mold (found here), tap gently to release air bubbles, then place straw in mold and turn to coat. Place in fridge until set.

MONSTER PRETZEL FINGERS

1 bag Wilton Candy Melts

1 bag pretzel rods

Melt candy melts according to package directions. Pour into finger mold (similar one found here), place pretzel in mold and turn to coat. Place in fridge until set. Attach bugs, etc with a dab of melted chocolate.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Sourdough Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

by penji1

I do love me a good chocolaty muffin! And these fit the bill.

1 cup sourdough discard

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup oil or melted butter

1/4 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips plus more for sprinkling on top

1 Heat oven to 400. Line 1 – 2 muffin pans with paper liners.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together sourdough discard, milk, oil/butter, sour cream/yogurt, and egg.

3 Add sugar and vanilla and mix well.

4 Add cocoa, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine then fold in chocolate chips.

5 Scoop into muffin pans and top with additional chocolate chips.

6 Bake 15 – 20 minutes or until tops are firm and toothpick comes out clean.

Yield: about 18 muffins

recipe from Bless This Mess

Cookie Butter Truffles

by penji1

These were delicious!

And so very easy to make.

I’ve made them twice since I found this recipe – one batch of Halloween themed truffles and another batch just to experiment with different things to roll them in (see above picture) and they were delicious both times. Highly recommend!

1 1/2 cups pretzel sticks

2/3 cup cookie butter (head to Trader Joe’s for this)

1 tablespoon cocoa

various toppings – Halloween (or any holiday) themed sprinkles, chocolate jimmies, mini chocolate chips, mini M&M’s, toffee bits, or you can even just leave them plain

Pulse pretzels, cookie butter, and cocoa in a food processor until well combined. Refrigerate until firm. Roll into 1″ balls and then roll balls into desired topping.

recipe from Food Network

Sourdough Peach Cobbler

by penji1

The hubs loves peach cobbler and said this was a good one.

Me? I’ll choose chocolate every time over a fruity dessert. But I love him so I make him peach cobbler. Occasionally.

FRUIT LAYER

3 pounds whole ripe peaches

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon corn starch

BISCUIT LAYER

1/2 cup flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks

1 cups sourdough discard

2 tablespoon butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

1 Heat oven to 375.

2 For the fruit layer, wash and slice peaches into thin slices. Place slices in a bowl and add sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, Mix well. (Taste now and add more sugar if desired.) Stir in corn starch. Spread peach mixture into bottom of a 9 x 9″ pan.

3 For the biscuit layer, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut butter into flour mixture until largest butter pieces are the size of almonds. Stir in sourdough starter.

4 Drop spoonfuls of sourdough mixture over the top of the fruit layer, leaving some space around the edges for steam to escape. Drizzle the melted butter over the top then sprinkle with sugar.

5 Bake 35 – 45 minutes or until biscuit layer is golden brown around the edges.

recipe from Feed the Malik