the life of a wife: fall baking ideas

Showing posts with label fall baking ideas. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars

It's the first day of fall: cue all things pumpkin! Truth be told, I don't even like the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks (horrors!), but I do love pumpkin baked goods. These bars were a new recipe find, and I really liked how they turned out. They're incredibly moist and super chocolate-y, just how I like my baked treats.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp for sprinkling

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large microwaveable bowl. Let cool, then add the egg, pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Whisk until smooth. Add the flour and stir until just combined; do not over-mix. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips. Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top gently with a spatula. Evenly sprinkle the 2 Tbsp of chocolate chips across the top.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until done. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs. Allow bars to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Store in an airtight container. Makes 16 bars.

source: recipe slightly adapted from a dash of lovely, originally from averie cooks

Monday, October 1, 2012

Pumpkin Bread

Can you believe it's already October?! I thought it would be fitting to start of this month with my newest favorite pumpkin recipe. This recipe is from Joy the Baker, which means it's delicious, but it also is actually a vegan recipe. I'm not vegan by any means, but I think it's good to know a few good recipes of the vegan or gluten-free type when baking or cooking for others with those dietary preferences. This recipe makes two loaves so I stuck one in the freezer to have on hand when we have company later this month. Happy Monday!

Vegan Pumpkin Bread
3 1/4 cups flour
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water
1 cup pecans or chocolate chips (optional)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8x4x3-inch loan pans and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, carefully whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, maple syrup, and water.

Add the oil mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Use a spatula to fold the ingredients together. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl well, finding any stray bits of flour and sugar that might have been left behind. Fold in the chopped pecans or chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Let rest in the pans for 20 minutes on a wire rack, then remove loaves from pan.

Loaves can be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 5 days. This bread also freezes well; leave at room temperature to thaw.

source: slightly adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

I think this pumpkin bread is magical. When I was pouring the batter into the pans, I miscalculated (what else is new) and didn't have enough batter to cover the cream cheese filling in the middle. Half-way through baking when I checked on the bread, the cream cheese had puffed way up over the edges of the pan, with like no pumpkin bread part in sight. But when the bread was done, the cream cheese filling had somehow settled down more into the bread and it turned out just fine! So moral of the story is, even if you aren't much of a baker, you can't screw this bread up! :)

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

for the cream cheese filling:

8 oz pkg of cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 Tbsp flour

for the pumpkin bread:

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To make the filling, process the cream cheese in food processor just until smooth. Add the sugar and process until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, processing until just incorporated. Do not over process. Stir in the flour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the sugar and melted butter and whisk until blended. Stir in the pumpkin, water, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter in half. Take one half and divide it evenly between the two prepared loaf pans. Divide the cream cheese filling in half and place each half of filling on top of the batter in the two pans, smoothing the tops. Top with the remaining half of the batter, placing small dollops of batter over the cream cheese filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Place pans on wire racks and let cool for 10 minutes before removing bread from pans. Store bread in the refrigerator.

source: recipe adapted from joy of baking

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Pumpkin Apple Bread

Sometimes when I'm doing my fall baking, I like to pretend I'm Amish. I'm not sure why because I really like all of the amenities of life in the 21st century. I think it must have something to do with how cozy Amish life sometimes appears: with the candlelight and buggies and the big families getting together to eat all of that delicious food. And fall is just a cozy season, don't you think? This pumpkin apple bread was the first fall baking that I've done and I loved that it made our house smell like fall! I've never made anything with apples and pumpkin together, but I think the blended flavors epitomize everything I love about fall baking. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Apple Bread

for the topping

1 Tbsp flour

5 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

for the bread

3 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 (15 oz) can solid-pack pumpkin

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (about 2 cups)

Make the topping: Blend together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Make the bread: Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon into a medium bowl*. Whisk together pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients, stirring until well combined. Fold in apples.

Divide batter between two buttered 9x5" loaf pans. Sprinkle half of the topping evenly over each loaf. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in center of bread comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack for 45 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, about 1 hour. This bread keeps, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil and refrigerated, for up to 1 week. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month.

*Note: I eliminated the remaining spices in the bread due to personal preference. If you like a spicier pumpkin bread, add 1 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, and 1/4 tsp ground allspice to the dry ingredients.

source: recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook

Friday, September 16, 2011

Cooking in the Fall

Yesterday I busted open my first canned pumpkin of the season! Having our house smell like pumpkin definitely got me in the mood for baking and cooking this fall. Here is some of my fall cooking inspiration from pinterest.

Caramel Apple Cider