Pumpkin Pecan Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are a decadent treat that bring back fond memories. Delicious dough smothered in cinnamon and cream cheese frosting... the thought of it makes my mouth water! What can be better than that? Well, I've got just the thing for you... Before I tell you about it, I have a funny story to share.

Several year ago I found a recipe for Pull Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread. It was an enriched pumpkin dough that was covered in cinnamon sugar and sliced and stacked in a loaf pan for baking. I've made it a few times, and it's always quite tasty. Late last year, I suddenly realized that it actually was just a pumpkin cinnamon roll! So, I made that recipe again, but after I rolled it out, I rolled it into a log and sliced it for rolls. I put the same glaze on that I used with the Pull Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread. It was good, but I thought it could be better.

The second attempt, I added more spices, switched from white sugar to brown sugar, replaced the sugar in the dough with maple syrup, changed the frosting to a maple cinnamon cream cheese, and filled the inside and the top with toasted pecans. These are so very rich and decadent. If you like all things fall, such as maple, pumpkin, pecans, and fall spices, you're going to want to try these. If you do, please tell me how you like them!

Bread ingredients

2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (room temperature; I microwaved mine for 20 seconds to warm it up)
2 1/4 tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour

Inside sugar and spice mixture

2 cups brown sugar
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups chopped pecans, toasted (reserve 1/2 cup for topping)



In a saucepan over medium-high heat, brown 2 tablespoons of butter, letting it bubble up and turn a dark golden brown but being careful not to allow it burn (turn black).



Once browned, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the milk, return to the stove and heat through.



Pour the milk and butter into the bowl of standing mixer (fitted with a dough hook) and allow to cool so it is no longer hot but also not cool (about 100-110 degrees F). Once it has reached a warm but not hot temperature add the yeast and 1/4 cup maple syrup and allow to proof (this can take up to 8 minutes, the top will look foamy and the liquid cloudy).



Then add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour.

Stir until combined then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. If the dough is too moist, add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel.



Allow to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.

While the dough is proofing, mix up 2 cups of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and the allspice until combined.

Also toast the 2 cups of chopped pecans over medium heat. I use a skillet on the stove and stir them frequently until they are fragrant. In another bowl, melt 1/2 cup unsalted butter.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and flip out onto a clean floured surface and knead with your hands for 1-2 minutes. Roll dough into a 20×12 inch rectangle.



Brush dough with melted butter.

Spread the brown sugar and spice mixture thickly and evenly across the dough leaving about a 1/2 inch border.

Spread about 1 1/2 cup of the toasted pecans evenly across the sugar. Reserve about 1/2 cup for topping the rolls.

Carefully begin rolling the dough trying to keep as much of the cinnamon sugar mixture and pecans inside. Use a little of the butter to seal the edge, rolling the edge to the bottom for cutting.



Trim off the ragged edges, then as close as possible, cut the roll into 12 even pieces. place in a 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper.

Allow to proof for 30-45 minutes until the dough is soft and puffy and nearly twice the size.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is a deep golden brown.

Icing

8 oz unsalted butter

8 oz cream cheese

2 lbs powdered sugar

2-4 Tbsps maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8-1/4 tsp salt

***1/2 tsp maple extract (if you want a stronger maple flavor without thinning it too much)

In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth and combined. Start adding the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. After about half the powdered sugar, add the cinnamon and salt. Once you've gotten most of the powdered sugar added, begin adding the maple syrup and alternate with the remaining powdered sugar until you've reached a firm but spreadable consistency.

Slather the rolls with icing and top with extra toasted pecans. Enjoy! Store leftovers in the refrigerator. When ready to eat, warm in the microwave in 15 second intervals until warm and the icing is melted.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Have you ever heard of or had caramel cream cheese frosting? No? You don't know what you're missing. Everyone should have this in their life. Every... one... and often. This little creation is very likely one of my best, and I'd bet money that if you like coffee flavor, carmel, pecans and chocolate, then you will LOVE this cupcake. One of my coworkers said it was the best cupcake he'd ever had, while another said that if I was ever able to enter a cupcake contest, then I needed to enter this one!

Back in October on our anniversary trip, my husband and I visited a number of small-batch distilleries in Tennessee and Kentucky. It was a fun trip. We got to sample many different types of alcohol and see how these small distilleries created their concoctions. We found several we enjoyed and purchased them for our collection. One of those gems we found was a liqueur from Nelson's Greenbrier Distillery in Nashville. It's called Louisa's and it has a coffee, caramel and pecan flavor. And it is amazing. I've used it in brownies; I made a frosting with it - which came out delicious; and then I decided to make a treat around those flavors so I could use it again. What you will read is the result! Fluffy, moist flavorful chocolate cake baked with Louisa's liqueur and caramel cream cheese frosting topped with toasted pecans. The only thing I may try to add next time is a little drizzle of caramel sauce. I bet it will look beautiful and taste amazing!

Cake

2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder 
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp instant espresso
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil (vegetable works fine, but I use olive)
1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup Nelson's Greenbrier Distillery's Louisa's liqueur
1/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin tins with liners. If you want to make this a cake, grease and flour two or three 9-inch round pans depending on how many layers you want, and then place parchment paper in the bottom of your pans. 

To make the best cake you can, unless you want this in your cake batter:

You must sift the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, espresso and salt, together into the bowl of your stand mixer.

In a separate container, a glass bowl or large measuring cup, mix the oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla, and whisk to combine.

Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed. Then increase speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes.

Combine the 1/4 cup boiled water and the 1/2 cup of Louisa's liqueur in a container. I use the same container as my wet ingredients to wash out any of the oil or buttermilk left. 

Scrape sides of the mixer and then slowly pour in the water/Louisa's with the mixer on low speed. Increase speed to medium for 20 seconds, and then increase to medium-high for 40 seconds to add some more air to the batter.

Use an ice cream scoop to portion the batter into 24 muffin tins.

Bake 14-18 mins until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the inside cupcakes come out clean.

Frosting

8 oz. softened cream cheese (full fat version)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

2 tsp pure vanilla bean paste

1/4 tsp salt

6 cups powdered sugar

1-1 1/2 cup toasted diced pecans

While the cupcakes are baking, put the diced pecans in a medium-sized skillet and toast over medium heat until slightly darkened and fragrant. Stir them often to avoid burning them.

Cream the butter and cream cheese in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment until smooth.

Add caramel topping and vanilla and whisk until combined and smooth.

Add powdered sugar and salt and whisk on medium speed until combined, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Once combined, turn the speed up to high and whisk for a minute or so until fluffy. Don't overmix or you could make the cream cheese runny. If you want to up the decadence of these cupcakes, core them out and add some of the frosting in the center before frosting the cupcakes.

Then, frost the cupcakes. You can go old school and use a knife, or use a disposable bag and a tip for a beautiful frosting mound that looks professional. Then dip the top of each cupcake lightly into the toasted pecans. The pecans, in addition to the wonderful flavor they impart, help to keep the cupcakes from being too sweet - I mean, caramel cream cheese frosting. Come on! Then enjoy and share these with those you love. They will be very grateful.

Apple Spice Cake with Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

I love autum. I always have, but that love has definitely intensified througought my adult years. 

In my childhood, fall always meant new beginnings for me. That's when school started and everything was new. New schools, new friends, new relationships. It was a time for beginnings, even as nature began exploding with the colors and smells of dying. 

I love the temperature change, the crispness to the air, and the smell of smoke from fireplaces and outdoor fires. I love carving pumpkins and roasting pumpkin seeds and creating pumpkin treats such as Pumpkin Spice Bread. 

I also love apples - a good crisp sweet and tart apple to enjoy, especially a Granny Smith coated in hard red cinnamon candy... you know, candy apples, and making apple sauce for my daughter with as many varieties of apples as I can get my hands on. The batch I made for her the other day had 10 different apples in it. That is what makes a delicious apple sauce! 

Which leads me to my new adventure - using apples in cakes. Y'all. Seriously. This is a cake you need to make. I use some brown sugar for a more caramel flavor to the cake and a ton of spices, which I love. But if that isn't enough fall goodness for you, I then top the cake with a Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing. Yep. It's a mouthful, but it is amazing. Let me know if you give this cake a try and how you like it!

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda 

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp clove

1/4 tsp allspice

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups olive oil (vegetable oil works as well; I've just really been enjoying the extra flavor and moisture of olive oil).

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts - walnuts or pecans will work

Another 1/4-1/2 cup nuts for toasting for garnish

3 cups shredded apples - honeycrisp, Granny Smith, gala, Fuji, Macintosh, or pink lady are good options (you have more flexibility here - if you like chunks of apple, just dice these small, or use the large or small shredder depending on the texture you want from your apples. The smaller you shred, the more it will just melt into the cake)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a skillet over medium heat, toast pecans until fragrant; shift them around often so that they don't burn. Allow to cool completely. Combine the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, and spices into a large bowl. Use a whisk to combine all the ingredients together. If your flour is clumpy, you should seriously consider sifting it into your bowl. If you don't you might end up with flour clumps throughout your batter.

Shred the apple. If you want color and more texture, don't peel your apples. If you don't, then peel them. It's your preference here. I ended up peeling two of my apples and not peeling two of them for a bit of color and texture.

Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir until combined.

Fold in the apples and nuts until mixed.

Spread batter into a prepared 9x13 or bundt pan. Spray it, use crisco and flour, or use parchment paper.

Bake 35-45 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. If baking cupcakes, bake 15-20 minutes until done. It can have a few moist crumbs, but you don't want the toothpick to be wet.

While the cake cools, prepare the frosting.

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz unsalted butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1-1 1/2 tsp maple extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of salt

In a large bowl or stand mixer cream the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy with the whisk attachment. As with the flour, you might want to sift your confectioner sugar if its clumpy. Add part of the confection sugar and blend in. Add the remaining confectioner sugar and combine. Add the vanilla and maple extracts and the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.Whisk until incorporated; scrape down sides, and then mix some more. Turn speed up to high and whip some air into the frosting until it's light and fluffy. Frost the cake, and then top with toasted pecans. Now, enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

There's not much that evokes memories of childhood and can make you salivate at the same time... but chocolate chip cookies fit the bill. I grew up making chocolate chip cookies with my daddy, and it's one of my fondest memories. I found a recipe several years ago that I tweaked a little that became my Triple Chocolate Cranberry Cookies - and I get a lot of compliments on that cookie. So, I decided to tweak it some more this past Christmas for my chocolate chip cookies that I make every holiday season, and I was hooked! They came out amazing. Dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, pecans, and a little espresso in intensify the chocolate, and oh my goodness!

1 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking soda
2 tsps cornstarch
1 tsp salt

1 tsp instant espresso
9-10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
9-10 ounces dark chocolate chips
1 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl mix the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt and espresso.

In a large bowl or a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar.

Add the eggs and vanilla; mix well.

Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips (and nuts if using them; I prefer pecans in chocolate chip cookies) and stir until evenly distributed. Here's the tip with the chocolate chips - you can use a whole bag of both semi-sweet and dark chocolate, and they are still pretty good. However, there just didn't seem to be enough "cookie" around the chips, so I cut it back to about 3/4 of each bag, and I loved it. Add to your taste.

Use a 1.5-inch cookie scoop to portion cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

I use my index and middle finger to very lightly flatten the tops of the cookies. That helps them bake more evenly and creates a flatter, less rounded top.

Bake cookies 8-10 minutes until just starting to brown at the edges. The tops will likely still look doughy (as shown below).  This is not a bad thing. This will give you beautifully soft pillowy chocolate chip cookies.

Remove cookies from the oven and allow to rest on the cookie sheet about 5 minutes until the cookies set (they will still be warm though). Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy a warm, soft, pillowy, super melted chocolatey, amazingly delicious cookie! Store in an air-tight container.