Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Tart

Just made a pumpkin caramel pecan cheesecake tart... i say tart because i only had 2 packages of cream cheese lol I took my cheesecake recipe, added 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Then made caramel and added pecans! :♥)

Fig "newtons" Bars

Bought some frozen figs and didnt know what to do so ...fig newtons it is!

The recipe I got from here: Fig newtons

Filling:
1 cup finely chopped dried Black Mission figs
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup apple juice (I used a little more apple juice and a little less water)
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon grated orange zest

Cookie Dough:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 large egg white
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

(If I were you, I’d make a batch and a half of dough to go with a single batch of filling…otherwise, you’re going to have leftover filling…which you could use as a spread…kind of similar to apple butter…but with figs.)

1. Make the filling: Combine the figs, water, apple juice and sugar in a medium sauceapan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook at a bare simmer for 1-2 hours until the figs are so soft that they’re spreadable.

2. Transfer to a food processor or blender, add the orange zest and process until smooth. Remove from the food processor and allow to cool. (I made it the night before.)

3. Make the dough: Cream together the butter, sugar and orange zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, for 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl and paddle. Add the egg white and vanilla and beat in. Scrape down the bowl and paddle again. Add the flour and beat on low speed until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. (I refrigerated it overnight…it was easier to work with that way!)

4. Place racks in middle and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12 x 16 rectangle. Cut into 4 equal strips, each 12 x 4 inches. Spoon a line of filling down the center of each strip. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges together. Place on the parchment-lined baking sheets, seam side down. (Don’t roll the dough into a rectangle this large if you want your job to be easy…I rolled the dough a little smaller and a little thicker and it worked great!)

6. Using a serrated knife, slice each log on the diagonal into 10 cookies. (I popped them in the freezer for 10 minutes before slicing them.) Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

Streusel Topped Blueberry Muffins

I wanted to get to my blueberries before the birds did so I hunted and found this recipe. I added lemon juice to the milk! :♥)

Streusel Topped Blueberry Muffins 
recipe by just another day in paradise

Streusel Topping
3 Tablespoons white sugar
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
4 Tablespoons melted butter

Muffins
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1/8 cups sugar, plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon water
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 with rack in the middle.

First make the streusel topping. Combine sugars and flour. Then slowly pour in the butter. You may or may not need all of it. Slowly combine with a fork until it comes together in a crumb mixture. Set the topping aside.

Place 1 cup of the blueberries into a small sauce pan. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and the water.
Heat over med high heat and mash potato masher (or a fork). Stir and cook for until mixture reduces and thickens. About 6 minutes. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Whisk sugar and eggs together in mixer. Combine until thick completely mixed. Slowly mix in butter and oil until combined. Mix in buttermilk and vanilla. Using a spatula, carefully fold egg mixture and remaining cup of blueberries into the flour mixture until the batter is just moistened. The batter will be lumpy, there will be some flour spots in there AND it is okay, that is how it supposed to look. Take your muffin pan filled with paper liners and fill up each muffin cup. 

Next, grab the blueberry sauce made earlier. Dollop about a teaspoon in the middle of every muffin. Then swirl it through. Now it is time to top delightful with more delightful. Generously top each muffin with the streusel topping.

Bake muffins at 425 degrees for 17-19 minutes until tops are golden brown. Cool muffins for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack and let them cool slightly longer before serving.

That is if you can wait that slightly longer. If you can't...not my fault if you burn your tongue!

Da Cinnamon Roll

my one and only recipe i'll ever use again for cinnamon rolls!

1/2 cup shortening

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until crumble.

Stir in buttermilk to form a soft dough. Roll out dough on a lightly floured into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread some butter

Sprinkle some brown sugar, cinnamon and a little nutmeg.

Roll up the rectangle, with a sharp knife slice into pieces however thickness you want. 

bake at 350 or 375 until golden brown, about 15-20 mins.

Best Banana Bread

this is a keeper for sure! :♥)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

4 bananas, finely crushed

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and crushed bananas. Combine well.

Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla. Pour into greased and floured or parchment lined loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.

Keeps well, refrigerated.

Homemade whole wheat Cheese Crackers

man i love love pinterest, there are so many great things on there, including awesome simple delish recipes, like these cheddar crackers! Cheesy with a little kick! :♥) 

1 1/2 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

4 tbsp unsalted butter, soften and diced

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (you can use white)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350˚

Place everything except the milk in a food processor. Pulse the processor, 5 seconds at a time, for about 5 or 6 times, until the dough is in coarse crumbs. Add the milk and process until the dough gathers together in a ball.

Roll the dough out on a floured board with a rolling pin that has been floured until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife or pizza cutter.

Place the crackers at least ¼ inch apart on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown.  Place the baking sheet on a rack and let the crackers cool completely. Eat! Or store in a covered container to eat within a day or two.

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

sometimes you have to wonder what exactly they put in pet food. most times you are paying for junk filler stuffs. since getting rosco and him getting sick on beneful puppy food, i am more cautious on what i give him. so i found some great homemade healthy doggy treats! :♥)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 large eggs

2/3 cup pumpkin purée, canned or fresh

3 tbsps peanut butter

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Place all ingredients in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium for about a minute or until the dough looks like a bunch of little dough balls. If you pinch a piece and it crumbles, add a little water.

 If it’s really sticky, it’s too wet and you’ll need to add a little flour. Gather the dough together and form into a ball. Place on a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to about 1/4-inch thickness. You can either use a cookie cutter to cut out cute shapes or use a knife to cut squares or strips.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet. They can be crowded pretty close together since they don’t expand much. Bake 15-20 minutes for softer treats or 30 minutes for hard treats! :♥)

these are Rosco approved!!

found the recipe on pinterest 

the caramel dip

i love love my caramel apple dip! its only three ingredients! Block of cream cheese, 1/4 cup brown sugar and half a can of dulce de leche sweetened condensed milk. whip together. topped with pecans and drizzled with more dulce de leche! that easy! :♥)

French Onion Soup

i made homemade french onion soup and its sooooooooooooooo good!! i used mozza cheese though cause i dont like swiss cheese and gruyere is in the swiss family, also used red wine instead of the cider! lol i saw this being made in a masterclass on masterchef austrailia and talk about drool. 

the recipes at

http://www.masterchef.com.au/recipes/french-onion-soup-with-gruyere-toasts.htm

or below

1 tablespoon olive oil

50gbutter

2kgbrown onions, peeled and thinly sliced (chill to minimise vapours)

200ml dry good quality cider (or sherry or Armagnac)

1Lhomemade beef stock

2fresh bay leaves

2thyme sprigs

2sprigs rosemary

8 x 1cmthick slices of sourdough ficelle (Iggy’s bread) or small baguette, lightly toasted

250gcoarsely grated gruyere

100gfinely grated parmesan

1. Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan over a medium low heat. Add onions, cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lid and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and caramelized.

2. Add stock, the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer, simmer soup uncovered for 10-20 minutes or until slightly thickened.

3. Ladle soup into ½ cup capacity oven-proof bowls set on an oven tray. Sprinkle a little gruyere and parmesan onto the top of each bowl of soup. Top each with two slices of toasted ficelle then sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Place under a hot grill for 3-5 minutes of until cheese is melted and light golden. 

Dark Chocolate Pecan Cookies

simple yet delicious cookie! gotta love pecans!

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup pecans 

1 cup dark chocolate chips

cream first three, scrape sides. add one egg at a time. add vanilla. blend and mix in remaining ingredients. spoon on parchment lined pan or stoneware pan. bake at 365 for 8-10 mins or until golden brown!

melt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips with 1 tbsp peanut butter, drizzle over cookies! :♥)

topped Whole Wheat Cookies

these turned out really well, i love my simple basic recipe for cookies and do a twist like add whole wheat flour instead! you only need a thin coat of chocolate, they also get softer the next day.

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

cream first three, scrape sides. add one egg at a time. add vanilla. blend and mix in remaining ingredients. spoon on parchment lined pan or stoneware pan. bake at 365 for 8-10 mins or until golden brown!

melt 1 cup dark chocolate chips with 3 tbsp peanut butter, spread over cookies and sprinkle with your choice of nuts! :♥)

Butter Rum Caramels

Caramel Asian Pears

Lemon Blueberry Macaroons

Chocolate Chip Cookies

best cookie there is! :♥)

1 cup crisco golden shortening (chilled)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 bag dark chocolate chips

cream first three, scrape sides. add one egg at a time. add vanilla. blend and mix in remaining ingredients. spoon on parchment lined pan or stoneware pan. bake at 365 for 8-10 mins or until golden brown! 

Beavertails!

Ever since I had my first Beavertail topped with apple pie filling, I have been wanting to see if I can make it myself! What I made was so finger licking good, soft and crispy with a sweet cinnamon crust, like the brand name! In this batch I had to use bananas instead of eggs, they act like a great binding agent which is what an egg does. You will get a hint of banana but OMG.. bet its better than eggs! :♥)

1/2 cup warm water

5 tsp dry yeast 

1 pinch sugar

1 cup warm milk

1/3 cup sugar

 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs or 2 small ripen bananas(mashed,no lumps)

1/3 cup oil

4 1/4-5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast, warm water with pinch of sugar, allow to stand for a couple of minutes. In another bowl, stir together sugar, milk, vanilla, eggs or bananas, oil, salt then add to the yeast, blend. Add in 4 cups of flour and knead 5-8 minutes by hand or with a dough hook, adding flour as needed to form a firm yet soft, smooth, elastic dough. 

Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise about 30 minutes. Gently deflate and knead for 30 seconds and then pinch off a golf ball size and stretch into a beaver like tail shape, thinning them out and enlarging them as you go like a pizza.  

In a deep fryer about 375 temp, fry the dough, turning only once until the undersides are golden brown or a little darker.


 Toss the tails in some cinnamon and sugar to lightly dust the dough!

Serve warm! You can try different toppings like jam or apple pie filling or chocolate or whip cream, fruits and nuts for added yumminess! 

Here is the site http://www.beavertailsinc.com/ to get ideas from!