Saturday, November 19, 2011

Thanksgiving-in-a-Rush: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Turkey Day!  My roommates and I hosted this year's Thanksgiving potluck at our apartment and the food was so yummy! Props to all the amazing chefs and grocery shoppers :P  My contribution actually came from a recipe my mom just tried that I tweaked a bit, it should be easy but I had some difficulties due to a crappy oven and my short attention span.  But I made a simple and easy pumpkin spice cupcake recipe and tried to make cinnamon cream cheese frosting which actually turned out pretty yummy.  Here we go!





What You'll Need:
1 box of Spice Cake mix (my mom did carrot cake and said it was yummy too)
The ingredients said mix calls for
1 15oz can of pumpkin
1 can cream cheese frosting
cinnamon




First, make the cake mix according to the directions on the box.




Then add in the can of pumpkin.




Pour the mix into lined cupcake tins, you'll have more batter than you can use due to the pumpkin.




Bake according to the box, here's where I ran into trouble.  My cupcakes wouldn't bake in the middle, and then I forgot they were in there and they burned, not to the point of being inedible, just dry.


Then move the cupcakes to a rack to cool, if they're burnt like mine cut the tops off and disguise with frosting.


To make the frosting simply mix together the frosting and as much cinnamon as you see fit, it'll be more than you think you need.



Then frost and enjoy!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Hey All, it's been a while since I've posted anything, blame my diet.  So, here I go again, unfortunately, this post is going to be sub par picture wise as I totally dropped the ball and only took a few and none of the finished product.  I guess I got to distracted towards the end having to go bake at the guys' place.  Anyway, here are the cookies I made for Chris when he came to visit over Veteran's Day Weekend :)



What You'll Need:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 large banana, mashed
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips



First, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. 



Next, combine butter and sugars, mix until smooth.


Then add in vanilla extract and egg.


Next, add the banana. Beat well.


Slowly add in flour mixture until just combined. 


Stir in oats and chocolate chips.





Place the cookie dough in large tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets and  Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until golden. 


Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.




Enjoy!!!