Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I feel that Pumpkin and fall go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Delicious.  These cookies are so delicious and the best part about them is they are pretty healthy and I don't feel guilty eating them like I may feel with other cookies.  These cookies are from my childhood.  My mother used to make these when I was growing up, but she would usually put raisins or nuts in instead of the chocolate chips, which is the way I prefer. So here is this wonderful quick and easy recipe.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Pumpkin
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Powder
2 1/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Chocolate Chips (I prefer Dark Chocolate)

Preheat your oven to 400 F.  Place the sugar, butter, pumpkin, egg and vanilla in a bowl and blend until smooth.  Then add all the dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Then bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool on the cookie sheet for about 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack. Then enjoy the wonderful taste of these cookies and the cool weather and changing leaves.

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Quick 10 Minute Caramel Apples

When fall comes around there is nothing I love more than some delicious baked treats, but fall would not be the same without caramel apples.  I was craving caramel apples one day, but the thought of making caramel on the stove with a candy thermometer quickly turned me off to the idea.  I remembered reading somewhere that you can make microwave caramels in about 7 minutes or something.  So the search began and I found a pretty quick and easy recipe to share.

First you need to find some good apples.  Everyone's preference for the type of apple to use for caramel apples vary so use whatever apple you want.  I usually purchase my apples from the local orchard because they are delicious and there isn't any wax on the apples.

Start by washing your apples and make sure they are really dry.  If the apples are wet the caramel won't stick to your apples.  Make sure that you also put some wax paper down and just to be sure spray it with some non-stick cooking spray so the apples will be easy to get off.  Then put a stick in the middle of the apple and make the caramel.

Super Easy Microwave Caramels   

Originally found at Eat Cake For Dinner adapted by Rachel.  

Makes 4 Caramel Apples plus some extra caramel to eat.

5 Tablespoons Butter

1/2  Cup Honey

1/2 Cup White Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk*

1 Teaspoon vanilla

Place Butter, honey, sugars (white and brown), and milk in a large microwave safe bowl (the bigger the bowl the better otherwise you will have a big mess to clean up in your microwave).

Microwave the caramel mixture for 6 minutes stirring every 2 minutes.  Depending on your microwave will make a big difference on how long you will need to cook the caramel for. The caramel looked pretty good after I did it for 4 minutes.  Once the caramel is cooked stir in the vanilla.  Then take your apples and start dipping them in the caramel.  Then enjoy these delicious fall snacks or treats.

*If sweetened Condensed Milk isn't something that you have on hand it is really easy to make.  I usually have powdered milk in my pantry so it is easy to make just the amount that I need.  To make just enough sweetened condensed milk for this recipe you place 1/4 Cup Hot water, 1/2 Cup Dry Powdered Milk, 1/2 Cup Sugar, and 1/2 Tablespoon Butter in a blender and blend very well.  This recipe should make you enough for 1/2 cup of sweetened condensed milk.

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This weeks dinner menu

I like to choose about 5 meals a week to make so that one day we can have leftovers one night and we can go put to eat if we choose.  Here is the menu for this week.

Barbeque Salmon with roasted garluc caulifloer and asparagus.

Bean and Cheese Burritos with a garden salad

Veggie Pizza ( Whole wheat crust with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, olives) with a salad

Turkey chili with Cornbread

Puttanesca pasta with Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

I am so excited for dinner this week.  What is on your weekly menu?

Chocolate Gelato

Well the weather has been a lot warmer recently so than means that I have been wanting to eat foods that are cold, especially after a trip to the park.  So when I say food I really mean dessert.  I think one delicious thing to eat in the summer is Gelato.  I adapted the recipe that I found here because I didn't have all the ingredients that it called for, but my improvising worked just fine.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch of Salt

2 1/2 Cups of milk, divided (original recipe called for whole milk, but I used what I had)

5 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine the 1st three ingredients, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Then gradually add 1/4 cup of milk while whisking to dissolve the cornstarch. Then whisk in the remaining 1 3/4 milk. (reserve 1/2 cup for the end)

2.  Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to a boil (this takes the longest).  Allow to boil for 1 minute, stirring occasionally then remove from heat. 

3. Add the chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

4. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.  Mix in the additional 1/2 cup of milk and the vanilla. 

5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.

6. Place your gelato into your ice cream maker and freeze according to your manufacturer's directions.

Enjoy!

Please excuse the terrible phone pictures but my camera battery charger is broken and a new one is on it's way.

 

Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Cake

As I was looking through this blog I found a couple of drafts that I began and never finished. This was one of those drafts that I began a while ago. But after making it again I decided it was time to share. So here is a really yummy dessert for you. If you are looking for a really easy dessert that you put in the slow cooker and serve it when you are ready then this is the recipe for you. This cake is pretty good, and although this picture that I have doesn't show the hot fudge but it is really good. The cool thing about this cake is that the hot fudge you end up mixing on top of the cake but during the baking process the hot fudge ends up being on the bottom.

Ingredients:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
3 Tbs, unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbs melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. Mix together 1 cup brown sugar, flour, 3 Tbsp. cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
2. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla. Spread over the bottom of slow cooker.
3. Mix together 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over mixture in slow cooker.
4. Pour boiling water. Do not stir.
5. Cover and cook on high 2-3 hours until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream

I hope you enjoy trying this delicious cake and sharing with your family and friends.

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