The Pumpkin Shortbread Baby

Hello Sweets,

I have had a terrible weekend :(  As if it wasn't bad enough that I felt sick, but Nathan sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers for valentines day.  No that is not the bad part, the bad part is Canpar gave a fake phone number to call the driver to ensure I get them in time O_o  Yup, a fake number!!!!!  It's a holiday Monday here in Canadia and they don't deliver on weekends, so my beautiful flowers will sit in a cold warehouse for five days.  It's hard enough to be in a long distance relationship on valentines day, but finding out that he sent me a stand in gift until we're together to celebrate and the company screwed it all up is heartbreaking.  I'll be sure to share with y'all what the bouquet looks like when it finally gets to me, at least I know the card and vase will still be intact.  I'm very fortunate that I have a thoughtful boyfriend, it just makes things harder when we're in different countries.  Well it could always be worse, he could be in Japan lol.

Since valentines day was on Friday, I did make a sweet treat but I won't be sharing that will y'all today lol.  I know I'm cruel, but I had one more recipe to get caught up so I decided to write about this one instead.  Lately I've been making a lot of pumpkin themed food, but that's only because the can is big and there are always leftovers.  When I found a recipe that included my favorite cookie, shortbread, I didn't have to look any further for what to do with the leftovers.

Pumpkin Shortbread

Ingredients

cookie

1 1/4C flour

1/2C cornstarch

1 1/2tsp pumpkin spice (I made my own as usual ;) cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger)

1/2tsp salt

3/4C butter, room temperature

3/4C powdered sugar

glaze (I opted not to use this)

2C powdered sugar

2-3Tbs milk

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray 9" tart pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2)  In a bowl; whisk together flour, pumpkin spice, cornstarch, and salt.  Set aside.

 

3)  With a mixer beat the butter and powdered sugar until smooth.

 

4)  Add in pumpkin and beat until combined.

 

5)  Turn mixer to low and add in dry ingredients until just incorporated.

 

6)  Spread dough into the prepared pan, smoothing with a rubber spatula.  Bake 60-70 minutes until formed and golden brown.

 

7)  Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

 

 

8)  Mix up glaze in a bowl, stirring until there are no more lumps.  Pour on top of shortbread.  Let glaze set, slice and serve immediately.

so yummy!

 The pumpkin flavor is so very subtle and not over powering, anyone that is unsure of pumpkin will warm up to this little cookie.  My grandparents thoroughly enjoyed it, and that makes me very happy.  Since I didn't use the glaze, it's best eaten with a glass of milk because shortbread isn't a very moist type of cookie.  This is definitely a keeper for me, I love shortbread so when I find a variation of the treat, I'm sold.

So I finally finished Nathans valentine gift, but cannot share it with y'all until after I see him because as you know he is the editor of my little baby.  I want to share it with y'all so bad, but I can't so I won't lol.  All I'll say is, I think it's the perfect gift to give someone who is in a long distance relationship.  I've also have the itch to start a new painting, I do have a painting currently in progress but I really have an idea I need to get on canvas.  First I'm going to make myself some dinner, and the perfect dinner is......breakfast!!  Yup, I'm really looking forward to it lol.  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

A Little Bit of Everything

Hello Sweets,

Saturday is coming up super fast :D, thankfully Nathan will be here tomorrow to take all my last minute stress away.  I've been making daily trips to my new place, bringing over any small items that I can manage.  I even picked up a step ladder today, that way I can reach everything in my apartment without hurting myself more.  I am super excited and cannot contain it anymore!!!  The only thing that would make it better is going to be here tomorrow, until then I will just keep doing busy work.

Even though most of my groceries are now at my new place, I was smart enough to leave the basics behind.  Of course that means, baking supplies!  I cannot have people helping me move without supplying some treats, but I can't just do what I've done before lol.  Y'all know me, I've just got to try something new :)  Tonight's treat is something really unique, and something that would be perfect in the fall during harvest season.  The main ingredient is something I love working with and have done a few different recipes, can you guess what the main ingredient is?  It's pumpkin!!  I love pumpkin so much, but as you may or may not recall I do not care for pumpkin pie >_<  But what if I turned to whole pumpkin pie upside down and inside out?  That is almost what this recipe is like, but at the same time it's not lol.  How about I let y'all judge it for yourself.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Ingredients

1 1/3C flour

3/4C sugar, divided

1/2C brown sugar

3/4C butter, cold

1C quick cooking oats, uncooked

1/2C pecans, chopped

1 pkg brick cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

1 can (19oz) pumpkin

1Tbs pumpkin pie spice (I mix my own)

 

Directions:

 1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 13"x9" pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over the sides; spray foil with cooking spray.  Mix flour, 1/4C sugar, and brown sugar in medium bowl until blended.

 

2)  Cut in butter with pasty blender or with 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

 

3)  Stir in oats and nuts.

 

4)  Reserve 1C oat mixture and set aside.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the  prepared pan.  Bake for 15 minutes

5)  Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and spices with mixer until blended.

 

 

6)  Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

 

 

7)  Bake for 25 minutes, cool for 10 minutes.  Use foil handles to remove dessert from the pan.  Transfer to wire rack, all to cool completely before cutting.

  

Although the name says pie in it, the only real pie part about it is the pumpkin layer.  The top is like a steussel, but the bottom taste closer to a shortbread cookie.  My nephew even gobbled it down, so it's kid approved.  If you're getting sick of having traditional pumpkin pie year in and year out, try this out for a change.  It's definitely a crowd pleaser, not to mention it's easy on the pocket book.  I want to thank Philadelphia cream cheese for the amazing recipe.

Well I am down to the final box and I couldn't be more thankful.  The worst part about this whole moving thing, like I've been saying for the last few weeks, packing is the worst!  At least Nathan will be here tomorrow, eeekkkkk I can't wait.  All I have to do is get through the next 18 hours, *tick tock* *tick tock*Until next time...

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

The Hearty Little Cookie

Hello Sweets,

Happy Monday y'all!  Lol okay maybe Monday isn't the day most people look forward to, but if there's cookies involved people might be more receptive :)  My day was full of phone calls and migraines :( but the show must going on right?  Since tomorrow is the birthday of this very blog, I have much to do and no time to do it lol.  I'm trying to narrow down a special recipe to celebrate this occasion and I'm looking at thousands lol.  I also have a sad announcement to make :(  A website that originally started as a monthly subscription and ignited my passion to creating in the kitchen is closing in 2 weeks.  Grandma's Kitchen has always been an inspiration to me, but she is retiring to spend more time with her grand kids, so I can understand.  I will, however, miss all her helpful tips and and suggestions.  So naturally I am scouring through every recipe on her site (which is a LOT), and writing down every recipe that sounds to delicious to be lost forever.  If you're an enthusiast of all things delicious and love to create them too, head over to the site and take a look. You won't be disappointed ;)

Enough sad news, lets get to something delicious and will bring a smile to any face.  As I've mentioned over the last few weeks I've been craving oatmeal cookies, but I wanted to try something new and a little unusual.  So I've been searching and searching but never found what I was looking for.  That is until I received the email letting me know of grandma's retirement. I should have known to look on her site.  I found a recipe that was sort of what I was looking for, and I made a few changes to suit exactly what I had been craving.  The original recipe called for white chocolate, but I'm not a big fan of chocolate anyways (I know *gasp*) so I replaced it with pecans.  I adjusted some of the ingredient quantities, and also added some spices for a little more dimension.  You can find the original recipe, for the next two weeks anyways, on Grandma's website!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with a Canuckette Flare

Ingredients

1 1/2C raisins

3Tbs orange juice

3/4C sugar

1/2C butter, softened

2 large egg

2tsp orange zest

1C flour

1tsp baking soda

1 1/2tsp cinnamon

3/4tsp nutmeg

1 1/2C rolled oats

1C pecans, chopped

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F, grease two baking sheets.  Combine raisins and orange juice in a small bowl, allow to sit for 10 minutes.

 

2)  Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

 

3)  Beat in egg and orange zest.

 

4)  Mix in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda in a small bowl.

 

5)  Add to butter mixture and mix well.

 

6)  Add raisin mixture, oats, and pecans mixing well.

 

 

7)  Drop by rounded teaspoonful 2" apart on baking sheet.  Flatten with a fork.  Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes.

 

 

These cookies are unlike any other oatmeal cookie, there soft and chewy like normal but the orange juice and zest really enhance the flavor of the raisins.  I wasn't sure how it would blend but I am very glad I didn't omit it, I actually might even try this little trick with other recipes that include raisins or any fruit.  On grandma's site she says that the acidity works with the natural sweetness of the front and enhance the flavors.  She's one smart lady, and I'm really going to miss all her wonderful recipes and wisdom!

I wanted to share something with y'all that I'm pretty darn proud of :D  In preparation for this weekends birthday booking I wanted to make sure my logo for the box was perfect, presentable, and had contact information if any of the guests wanted to contact me

 

aren't they cute :)

They're printed on sticker paper so that is goes on seamlessly.  Next thing to tackel is business cards, but that will have to wait until there are funds to do so.  Until next time.....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxoxo

Only Good Crumbs About

Hello Sweets,

So lately I have been having pretty "crumby" luck with my health, although I should never be surprised.  Which means my baking and cooking have been sporadic at least, but today is the first part of the very special dessert I made for Nathan for our jointly cooked dinner to celebrate our two year anniversary.  Normally if I asked Nathan what he'd prefer as our dessert he would request his favorite, coconut meringue pie.  However, for our anniversary he decided for something a little more unconventional........normally this is where I would tell you what it is, but I'm not lol.  That is for tomorrows post, until then we will lay the foundation for this tempting treat ;)

You know what some of my favorite commercials are focused on selling?  Oreo's, lol but seriously they're always cute little windows into the imagination of children.  The last one I saw was of two little boys, one of whom had just moved not only into the neighborhood but the country as well.  To the amazement of the other little boy, even though he was from half way around the globe he still knew how to eat Oreos the go to way for years (twist and dunk).  I personally am not a huge Oreo fan, that is until they brought out golden Oreo's with chocolate filling.  I have a serious addiction to those bad boys, to make matters worse I cannot for the life of me find them in Canadia, and this makes me very sad :(

Our anniversary dessert is chocolate based, no chocolate themed.  This was something new for me to make so  I had my challenges during construction, but now I know what to do differently next time.  For now we prepare the base and assembly will begin tomorrow :)

Oreo Cookie Crust

Ingredients

24 whole Oreo cookies, crushed into meal texture

1/4C butter, melted

 

Directions:
1)  In a medium sized bowl or food processor; add the Oreos and blend until it becomes the texture of coarse meal or crumbs.  I put them all in a freezer bag and smashed them to bits!  I guess you could say cheap therapy lol.

2)  Add the melted butter and blend until well combined.

 

 3)  Place the ground crumb mixture in to a 9" pie dish and press onto the bottom and sides evenly.  Try to make the crust about 1/8" thick evenly all the way around.  *If you find the mixture to be a little dry, just add a little bit more of butter*

 

4)  Refrigerate for at least one hour before continuing with your dessert, this will prevent cracking when you cut it :)

 

It was funny while we were walking through the grocery store Nathan said "you know they make pre made Oreo crusts right?".  That's when I turned around and said "yea, but they won't taste as good as a fresh one", not to mention I will be able to control the cracking easier.  Needless to say when the whole thing was put together he agreed that mine most likely did taste better, I already knew that but still love to hear it from him lol!

I wanted to share a sneak-peak photo from the date half of our anniversary celebration, Nathan took me on a sunrise flight over Texas.  Getting up at 6am is well worth it when you have the right company and a pretty view to look at ;)  Until next time.........................................................................

3

A Medley of Marriage

Hello Sweets,

Well the weekend is coming to an end, and unfortunately I am feeling extremely awful :(  An intense migraine coupled with being nauseated and shoulder/neck pain, is causing me to be an unhappy camper.  I think  I did too much on my own yesterday, normally I have some assistance to help me with things around the house but I was home alone (cue the "AHHHH" lol).  Even though I managed to get through what I needed to do, my conscience was telling me I'd most likely regret it in the morning and here I am.  But since I haven't done too much today I figured I would try and get y'all the last wedding cookie recipe :)

So far we've had a banana cookie, a peanut butter cookie, and a chocolate chip cookie.  The last cookie was going to be in the shape of their newly shared last name initial "Z", so I wanted to "marry" the first three flavors together as to depict the vows of my sister and (now) brother in-law.  I know, I'm a complete romantic but I just thought it would be a really unique, fun, and different way to do a wedding cookie.  A single cookie that represents; my sister, my brother in-law, and my amazing nephew and their new endeavor as a married family.  My sister originally wanted me to do just a regular (possibly sugar) cookie, but when she heard my idea she liked it very much :)  So I present to you the "Zamora"!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1/2C + 1Tbs butter, softened

1/2Tsp cinnamon

1/4Tsp nutmeg

1/4Tsp cardamom

2/3C super fine sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2Tbs milk

1 ripe banana, mashed

1/2C milk chocolate chips

1 1/4C self rising flour

1/3C peanut butter

Directions:
1)  Preheat oven to 375F, lining two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.

2)  Gradually add in the egg, beating well after each addition.

 

3)  Mash the banana and add it to the mixture, beating well until smooth.

 

4)  Add the peanut butter and mix thoroughly.

 

5)  Sift together the flour and spices into the mixture, folding in with a spatula.  Add the milk to give it a soft consistency, then fold in the chocolate chips.

 

 

6)  Drop tablespoons of the batter onto the baking sheets, spacing well apart.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.  Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire rack.

 There you have it, the final cookie in what I am now dubbing "the wedding series".  This cookie is soft and not too sweet, it was a big hit.  Even though all the cookies weren't finished at the wedding, I packed them up and sent the married couple home with them.  Needless to say I got an email about a week later stating all the cookies were gone lol.  And now as promised I'll share some of the wedding photos with you :)

 

on our way!

 

my cutie nephew playing the shy guy

 

the kiss

Nathan, myself, Jose (groom), Asha (sister/bride), my mother Trish, and my step-dad Dan 

  

yea we're pretty awesome (except for my paleness :( )

 

celebrating and a special moment between mother and son <3  

 

"THE" cookies, in all their glory :)

 

tiny little table (so cute) for the kids

 

the candy bar, yum!

 

family dance :)

 

yup it's true I caught the bouquet and a special moment between my love and I during our dance

 

Finally caught him for a picture at the very end of the night

I hope you enjoyed the four recipes, if you have any questions or feedback regarding them just drop me a line :)  I also hope you enjoyed the pictures of my sisters special day that I've shared with you.  It was a day full of love, laughter, celebrations, and most importantly family.  It's a day that will forever hold a place in my heart and there were plenty of memories that were made.

Now that the matrimonial posts are all done and finish, we can get back to just creating more delicious treats in the kitchen to share with you :)  With that being said, tomorrows post will be another celebration for a very good friend of ours.  Yes it will be a birthday themed post, only because I was requested to bake his cake for him (apparently my reputation is spreading).  Until next time...................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo