Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins

Fall is in the air. Really. It may not always feel that way in October in the Deep South but Halloween is coming up quickly, which means Thanksgiving isn‘t far behind. These yummy muffins are just the thing to get us all in the spirit. This recipe comes from the April 2013 issue of Coastal Living magazine. I saved it for the fall because there’s just something about pumpkin and cinnamon and cloves that just seems perfect for this time of year.

Pumpkin-Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups sugar, divided
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
4 tablespoons chilled butter
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Like 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with paper liners.

Stir together cream cheese, vanilla extract, and ½ cup sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine ½ cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl; cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender until large crumbs form. Set aside.

Combine remaining 3 cups flour, remaining 1 ¾ cups guar, remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, oil and milk in a medium bowl; stir in egg mixture into flour mixture, just until moist. (Do not over mix.)

Spoon half of batter into prepared muffin pans. Dollop about 1 tablespoon reserved cream cheese mixture in center of batter, and top evenly with remaining batter. Sprinkle with reserved streusel mixture.

Bake 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.

Makes 2 dozen muffins.

White Sheet Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This recipe comes from the September 2013 issue of Southern Living. I rarely ever need a sheet cake recipe. But when I do, it seems that I'm always adapting. I love that is for a sheet cake.

 

The frosting isn't new. This recipe has been around for ages. I would suggest that you refrain from adding all the milk until you're sure you will need it. I've found that with the weather here in the South, sometimes you don't need as much as you do at other times.

 

This issue of Southern Living also includes a wonderful tutorial on how to make a Caramel Sauce and some more fabulous recipes.

 

White Sheet Cake

1 1/4 cups butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
7 large egg whites, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until fluffy. Gradually add egg whites, one-third at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together cake flour and baking powder. (I just use a whisk.) Gradually add to butter mixture alternately with 1 cup water, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13 x 9-inch pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. This takes about 1 hour. Remove from pan to a serving platter. Spread top and sides of cake with frosting.

 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 (16-oz) packages powdered sugar

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

Stir together milk and vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

If desired, add food coloring to tint to your favorite color.

Hot Chicken Dip

This is another recipe from craft night at the County Extension Office. This is a little more detailed than the Pumpkin Dip but is wonderful too. Mary, the lady who made it, did not use the garlic or put the cheese on top. She put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and then in the oven for about 20 minutes.

 

I'll probably leave off the garlic but definitely use the cheese. I love cheese! One of the wonderful things about cooking is you can adapt recipes to fit your own taste buds.

 

Hot Chicken Dip

1/2 cup light mayonnaise
8 oz. package cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (you can save a little to melt on top the last three minutes of cooking)
2 cans chicken, drained
1/2 teaspoon garlic power or minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder or minced onion
1 can Rotel, drained
1 small jar chopped pimento, NOT drained

Mix together and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly and hot throughout.

Serve with corn chips, tortilla chips or crackers.

Pumpkin Dip

Once every quarter the County Extension Office hosts a do-it-yourself craft event. We pay $10 per person and leave with three completed projects and deeply happy hearts. It is just plain fun. Last month we decorated tiles, etched a candle holder and made a pumpkin out of scrapbook paper.

 

A highlight of the evening is the snack. Remember these ladies are all about crafting and cooking and canning and such. Anything they make is good. They served this Pumpkin Dip with ginger snap wafers. It was sooooo good I had to go back for seconds. I wasn't the only one. They didn't seem to mind.

 

Just look at it: Three ingredients mixed together and you've got a dip people enjoy so much they return for seconds. That is MY kind of recipe!

 

Pumpkin Dip

1 carton Cool Whip
1 box vanilla instant pudding
1 can pumpkin

Mix it all together.

Serve with ginger snaps and graham crackers.

Mini Bacon Broccoli Quiches

This recipe comes from the October 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine. The photo make the little quiches look too yummy not to try. The only thing I did different was substitute regular bacon for turkey bacon. I know. Turkey bacon is healthier but I just don't like the taste.

Mini Bacon-Broccoli Quiches

3 cups broccoli florets
4 oz. (6 strips) bacon
9 eggs
3 egg whites
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add broccoli. Cook 3 minutes; drain. Roughly chop and cool slightly. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon until slightly crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Dice and set aside to cool.

Whisk eggs, egg whites and milk. Stir in cheese, salt, pepper, broccoli and bacon.

Coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Ladle mixture among cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until cooked through.

Cool slightly. Remove quiches with a small offset spatula. Cool completely and refrigerate.

To serve: Wrap in a paper towel and microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, until warm.

Makes 12 quiches.

Ultimate Lime Pie

I almost didn't save this recipe. I've already posted another Lime Pie recipe (provided by Carnation) that is similar. So I put the Woman's Day magazine aside. But I kept going back to it, comparing it, considering it. I finally decided it was worth a try. What do you think?

The recipe is in the July 2013 issue and was shared by Susan Grubb from Hudson Valley, NY.

 

Ultimate Lime Pie

12 graham crackers
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated lime zest

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and 2 tablespoons sugar to form fine crumbs (you should have 1 1/2 cups crumbs total). Add the butter and pulse to combine.

Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Pour the mixture into the cooled crust; bake until the center is set, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to the wire rack; let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Just before serving, using an electric mixer, beat the cream and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the pie and sprinkle with zest.

Canning Tomatoes

It's that time of year again. The tomatoes are ripening and it's time to can them. Now, I must be honest. When I talk about tomatoes ripening, I'm referring to the tomatoes my uncle grows. He can grow anything and everything. And he does. We're very blessed that he shares.

It's not that we don't try to grow tomatoes. It's just that something always seems to happen, be it varmints or too much water or fertilize or something. Now, we do grow grape tomatoes. In abundance. Grape tomatoes are not to be confused with cherry tomatoes. Grape tomatoes are the size of, well, grapes. We have them everywhere. Have I mentioned that I don't eat tomatoes?

But I'm getting away from the purpose of this post. I do cook with tomatoes so it's important to know how to can them. I've been asking a great many questions. I don't like all the answers. Question: How long do you cook them. Answer: Long enough. It's what happens when you're dealing with someone who has just always done something a certain way because her mother did it that same certain way. No timing involved. You just kind of know. And that makes it hard when dealing with a mother who, unlike her mother, doesn't want to teach or have help in the kitchen.

This recipe is for me probably more than for you. I want to remember just in case there comes a time when I need to.

Canning Tomatoes

 

Tomatoes

Salt

Wash and dry jars. We use pint jars.

Peel tomatoes, making sure to remove the ends. Put tomatoes in a large container and bring to a boil. Be sue to stir frequently to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. How long do you cook them? Until they're mushy. (I did warn you!)

Place tomatoes in jar. Put 1/2 teaspoon of salt in. Do not try to mix this in with the tomatoes. Just leave salt on the top. He will disappear into the tomatoes. Place boiled lid on top, then screw on a ring top and tighten.

Put aside and wait for the pops to begin. The pops come when the lid seals. It's a joyous occasion!

Be sure to label and date all your canned goods. You think you'll remember but, trust me on this, you won't.