Category: Desserts - Simple Everyday Food

glazed pumpkin coffee cake

Posted by :Amy On : October 18, 2013

Have you ever looked at a recipe and just knew it was going to turn out to be delicious?

Well, a few weeks ago I got that feeling and it took me by surprise – I never like to get too overconfident when I’m in the kitchen just to avoid the disappointing letdown if something doesn’t turn out the way I had it pictured in my head. However…. when I saw this recipe, something in my head told me it was going to turn out great – so great that I needed to make two of them so I can bring one to work to share with my coworkers.

I’m glad to tell you that that little voice in my head was right, and I’m sooooo incredibly glad that I made two coffee cakes. I know those coworkers that got to try it were glad I made two also!

Enter Part 4 of my latest obsession with pumpkin desserts – a rich, moist pumpkin coffee cake complete with a thick, crumbly layer of streusel topping and a vanilla glaze.

When I had my mind set on making two of these cakes, I pre-measured the streusel ingredients (minus the butter) and dry ingredients into separate tupperware bowls the night before, just to make my life easier when I’m ready to make them the next day. I have to say, it really did save me quite a bit of time on baking day, because all I had left to do was to measure out the wet ingredients and add the two together. I’m totally going to be prepping this way from now on!

These cakes were also made with a little love from Brian… here’s the story: when I decided on making two cakes, I realized that we would be short of pumpkin puree and ground cloves. The syrup we had on hand also expired August of 2011… so I sent him to Target to pick things up for me while I got things ready. You know baking season is in full swing when Target has absolutely no ground cloves whatsoever. None. So being the loving husband that he is, he drove to Wal-Mart just to get me the ground cloves that I needed. That deserves a pat on the back in my book :)

glazed pumpkin coffee cake

2013-10-02 15:24:14

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For the streusel

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the cake

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup milk

For the glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons pumpkin spice coffee creamer or milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

Make the streusel

Combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, add in the cold butter and mix until you get pea-sized clumps of butter. Set aside.

Make the cake

In a large bowl, add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix until combined. Using a medium bowl, add in the pumpkin, brown sugar, oil, maple syrup, and milk. Mix. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Do not overmix.
Pour the batter into the baking pan, spreading out the batter with a spatula to create an even surface. Generously sprinkle the streusel topping onto the cake, pressing them slightly down into the batter.
Bake the cake for 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool.

Make the glaze

While the cake is cooling, make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of creamer/milk together until smooth. If it's too thick, add another tablespoon of creamer/milk. Add more creamer/milk until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over cake and enjoy!
Store cake in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

By Simple Everyday Food

Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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When you mix everything up, the batter will be thick – don’t panic! That’s totally normal and it’ll turn out great in the end, trust me. What makes the dessert over-the-top amazing is the thick layer of streusel topping. I think I could probably bake a whole cake pan of the streusel and be okay with it. If you have pumpkin spice creamer on hand (which I did), use that instead of milk to make the glaze for a more intense pumpkin flavor! If you don’t have pumpkin creamer, you don’t have to go out and buy a whole bottle of it – using milk would work just fine too. Depending on how thick/thin you like your icing, add less/more milk to the powdered sugar accordingly. I went a little pumpkin-creamer-happy on one and the glaze turned out to be a little thinner than I would’ve liked. Either way, it’s not going to affect the taste or texture of your cake – it’s just a matter of personal preference.

Vanilla glaze dripping down the sides… don’t you want to just reach through the screen and catch some of that glaze with your finger?!

This cake can either be served warm or at room temperature, so there’s no need to wait for it to cool! It’s a good thing no cooling is required, otherwise I would probably have to leave the house for an hour so I wouldn’t be tormented by constant wafts of delicious smells!

Happy baking!

Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

© Simple Everyday Food. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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orange creamsicle cookies

Posted by :Amy On : October 9, 2013

Category: Desserts

Tags:cookies, creamsicle, dessert

Have you ever set a list of goals of what you need to accomplish by a certain day, only to realize that you’ve gotten little to none of it done when the day comes?

Here’s the thing: When my quarter break started, I wrote down a list of things that I wanted to get done before the new quarter started. Well, my break has been over for almost a week, the new quarter has started already, and more than half of the things on my list still hasn’t been crossed off yet. The garage is still a mess, the vacuum and Keurig filters haven’t been cleaned, I have piles and piles of laundry that needs to be done, and I haven’t gotten a chance to spend quality time with my Kindle (i.e. read a book).

Where the heck did my time go? More importantly, what have I been doing with my time?! Well, I guess having a list of 3-4 recipes I wanted to make during break doesn’t really make matters better either.

Oh well. Baking comes first. Studying and laundry can come second (until I run out of socks).

Good thing these cookies are super easy to make! And what’s even better is that they taste great too!! Remember about a month ago I made these orange creamsicle puppy chow? Well, I turned them into a cookie, and they taste equally as good – or in Brian’s words, “the best cookie [I’ve] ever made”.

These cookies are soft and chewy, bursting with bright citrus-y flavors, and white chocolate chips are guaranteed in every single bite. Seriously, when I was rolling these into little dough balls, there were times I thought I was rolling balls of white chocolate rather than balls of cookie dough… As with my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, I baked these for 8 minutes, slightly flattened them out with the back of a spoon, and baked them for another 1-2 minutes. Flattening the cookies out in between gives them the cracks and crinkles that I adore so much in cookies.

soft and chewy orange creamsicle cookies

2013-10-02 19:44:31

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Ingredients

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 light brown sugar
1 large egg, to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 (12 oz) bag white chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, then gradually add in the dry ingredients. Mix under medium speed until combined. Stir in the orange zest and chocolate chips.
Using a medium cookie scoop (I used one that holds about 1.5 tablespoons of dough), scoop dough out onto the prepared baking sheet. Roll into balls with your hands.
Bake cookies for about 8 minutes, take them out of the oven, slightly flatten them with the back of a spoon, then bake for another 1-2 minutes or until they start to slightly brown around the edges. Let cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wired cooling rack for them to completely cool.
Store in airtight container for up to 7 days.
Yields 30-32 cookies.

By Simple Everyday Food

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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So when you’re missing summer this fall/winter season, make these! Or you can make these too. Or you can make both, because you can never have too many cookies, right?

Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

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pumpkin n’ spice cream cheese truffles

Posted by :Amy On : September 30, 2013

Category: Desserts

Tags:dessert, no bake, pumpkin, truffles

I think I have a problem, guys. Now that I’ve caved in and made my first pumpkin dessert of the year, I can’t seem to stop. I have a bunch of pumpkin recipes lined up on my “make before the end of October” list already! I made these a few days ago, and today I’ve already made my 3rd pumpkin dessert in 2 weeks. Don’t worry, that recipe will also be on Simple Everyday Food here soon too.

I present to you today: pumpkin n’ spice cream cheese truffles.

Yep, you heard that right. Pumpkin + gingersnap cookie crumbs + pumpkin spices + cream cheese + almond bark. These little balls of deliciousness are bursting with plenty of pumpkin flavor! Smooth, velvety pumpkin n’ spice mixture encased in a thin, crunchy white chocolate-y almond bark.

‘Tis the season, right?

The whole process of making these can take a good 3-4 hours, but the result is totally worth it! You first mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl. I chose to use an electric mixer to make sure everything was thoroughly incorporated. Then you freeze the filling for at least an hour. Then you take the filling out, roll them into balls, freeze them for at least two more hours. If they don’t seem hard enough, freeze them longer. Then you melt your almond bark and coat the truffle balls in them and throw them in the fridge until ready to serve. Waiting for everything to set will be the hardest part! It’s truly a test of patience, but I promise it’ll totally be worth it :)

pumpkin n' spice cream cheese truffles

2013-09-30 12:07:15

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Ingredients

1/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 and 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs, finely pulsed, plus an extra 1-2 tablespoons for garnish
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 cup white chocolate chips
12 oz vanilla almond bark
1 tablespoon shortening

Instructions

Using an electric mixture, combine the pumpkin puree, cookie crumbs, powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cream cheese together.
Melt the white chocolate chips using a double boiler. Add the white chocolate in with the rest of the filling, combine until smooth.
Transfer the mixture into a small bowl and freeze for an hour or until filling is fairly hardened.
Using your hands, roll the filling into 1" balls, and set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until hardened, about 2 hours.
Once the balls are frozen, melt the almond bark and shortening using a double boiler, stirring occasionally until smooth. Using a spoon and a fork, dunk a filling ball into the almond bark until it's completely covered. Remove the ball from the almond bark using the fork, and remove the ball from the fork using the spoon onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat for all filling balls. Top each ball with a pinch of gingersnap crumbs before the coating hardens.
Place the coated balls in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Store in airtight container for up to a week.
Makes about 20 truffles

By Simple Everyday Food

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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The magic ingredient in these truffles are the gingersnap cookie crumbs. They share a lot of similar spices as those found in the traditional “pumpkin spice”, so not only does the cookie crumbs give the extra “umph” to the pumpkin spice, it also serve as a binding agent to bind all the wetter ingredients together.

Because the filling balls are made up of ingredients that don’t hold their shape up well under heat, you’ll have to work quickly when you’re ready to coat them with almond bark. Since I melt my almond bark over a double boiler, I found out that my filling balls tend to start to slowly fall apart if I leave them in the coating mixture too long.

They’re not as cake-y as the traditional truffles I’m used to making due to the amount of wet ingredients required (i.e. pumpkin puree), but the soft velvety texture sort of reminds me of pumpkin pie. Everyone that was lucky enough to try them raved about how good they were!

Poor Bentley wanted to be my taste tester… it was pure torture.

Bring on the fall baking season!

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven

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ooey gooey pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Posted by :Amy On : September 27, 2013

Category: Desserts

Tags:chocolate chips, cookies, dessert, pumpkin

First of all, is that even how you spell “ooey“? Initially I started typing it as “ooy” but that didn’t look right. “Oo-y” would’ve worked too, but I don’t think that’s how people spell it either. Ooey will just have to suffice for now.

I’ve been boycotting posting anything pumpkin-related on here ever since I found out my local Caribou coffee decided to start promoting their pumpkin drinks at the end of August (that obviously changed today).

August – really? Can’t we just enjoy one season at a time? It’s like a competition between chain coffee stores nowadays to see who can come out with fall drinks the earliest. Why are these stores rushing the months away? I want to enjoy my summer to the fullest, then I’ll savor the fall scents and flavors when the time comes. It only makes sense – that way there’s something to look forward to every month, right? Am I the only one who feels this way? I mean, summer’s not even over yet in August, for cryin’ out loud. The days are still (relatively) long, it’s still hot out, and if it’s still warm enough for me to be out in shorts and a t-shirt, it’s sure not the right time to be sipping pumpkin-anything just yet.

In my world, pumpkins are synonymous with Halloween, which occurs in October, therefore pumpkin drinks and desserts should be saved for the month of October only.

Hooooweveeerrr… I caved in. Yes, that’s right, I caved in and made these cookies before the month of October even arrived. Well, I guess it’s technically fall now, and October is just a few days away… so I’ll forgive myself for jumping the gun a little bit earlier this year.

I’m not as big of a fan of pumpkin as many of my other food blogger friends, but I don’t mind it I guess. I won’t go out and eat a whole slice of pumpkin pie, but an occasional bite or two of it is okay with me. I think I associate pumpkin desserts with pumpkin pie and pumpkin puree, and I’m not a fan of the texture of either of those. They’re mushy. I don’t like mushy. It’s also the reason why I don’t eat hummus or guacamole… yeah, I don’t like guacamole. I’m weird.

This recipe is simple and straight forward. You don’t even need an electric mixer for it! The cookies turn out to be super soft and bursts with plenty of pumpkin flavor and pumpkin spices. I think the cookies would’ve been delicious enough by itself, but then you add in chocolate chips and guess what – it becomes even more amazing. Bites of soft pumpkin cookie with chocolate chips… because chocolate chips always make cookies taste better!

These cookies don’t spread much when they’re in the oven, so you can either 1) bake them in the oven for 8 minutes, take them out, flatten them with the back of a spoon and bake for another minute; or 2) flatten them first and then bake them for 8-10 minutes. I chose the do the former simply because I loved the little cracks and crinkles that are created once you flatten out a semi-cooked cookie :)

ooey gooey pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

2013-09-26 16:07:05

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Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) - use a little bit more if you want more pumpkin flavor
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, if desired
1/2 cup (90 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and the two sugars together, whisk until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth and set aside.
In a large bowl, add in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Slightly mix with a spatula. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and mix some more. Cover the dough and chill for 30-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
Roll about 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough into balls. Bake for ~8 minutes. Take the baking sheet out and slightly flatten the dough balls with the back of a spoon until they're about 1/2" thick. Bake for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. If the cookie dough still doesn't seem flattened enough, flatten them out a little bit more after you take them out to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Makes about 20 cookies

By Simple Everyday Food

Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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The only complaint I have about these cookies is that they don’t make enough! I had to debate long and hard on how many to bring to school to share, and how many to keep at home for ourselves. Next time I’m totally making a double batch of these!

Now that I’ve gotten my first pumpkin dessert of the way, stay tuned for more yummy pumpkin-related desserts in the next few months!

I’m sure a certain someone would love to see more pumpkin puree used around the house!

I’m just glad I haven’t seen any Christmas decorations out on the shelves in September…. yet.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

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soft and chewy coconut lime sugar cookies

Posted by :Amy On : August 31, 2013

Category: Desserts

Tags:coconut, cookies, dessert, lime

I’ve been on a real huge “lime” kick this summer. I’ve been adding it in drinks…

In main dishes…

In appetizers…

…And in an assortment of baked goods such as bars…

(okay, these are key lime pie bars, but still close enough to “limes”)

Donuts…

And now… cookies!

I’m a big fan of coconut and coconut flavored anything, so even though the recipe says to toast 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, I “accidentally” spilled a little bit more onto the baking sheet…. oops :)

If you’ve never toasted coconut before, you really have to stand right by the oven to keep an eye on it. It was my first time toasting coconut – I set the timer for 5 minutes, and when I peaked at it after 2-2.5 minutes, they were already brown and on the way to being burnt! The second time I only had them in there for 1.5 minutes and they turned out way better.

Before you put the cookie dough balls into the oven, slightly press the dough balls down with a few fingers to flatten them out a bit. This allows the cookie to spread out a bit more as they cook in the oven, resulting in a nice round flat cookie complete with little crinkles and cracks on the top :)

soft and chewy coconut lime sugar cookies

2013-08-24 20:56:37

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Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lime
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½~1 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
First, toast your coconut. Place the shredded coconut on a baking sheet. Spread it out as much as possible. Place in oven and toast for 1-2 minutes, keeping an eye on it the entire time - they can burn fast! Once done, remove from oven and let cool.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In an electric mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium~medium high until smooth and fluffy. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, lime zest, and lime juice. Mix well.
Slowly add in the flour mixture and toasted coconut while mixing under medium speed until everything is thoroughly combined.
Drop tablespoon sized dough balls into the sugar and place onto the baking sheet, about 1.5" apart. Gently press the dough balls down with your fingers so they're slightly flat. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes, then remove cookies onto wired cooling rack and cool completely.
Makes about 4 dozen.

By Simple Everyday Food

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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These cookies are light, chewy, soft, with a hint of lime and coconut – it’s “summer” in a cookie! The coconut flavor isn’t super pronounced, but as you chew on every bite, you get hints of coconut with the shredded coconut flakes inside. If you really want the coconut flavor to pop, adding a few drops of coconut extract wouldn’t hurt either. The lime zest gives it a slight tart flavor which really balances out the sugar cookie itself. Nothing is too sweet, too overpowering. It’s a delicate balance in flavors.

I even had a little visitor during my photoshoot :)

Even Brian, who complained I didn’t make something “more traditional” (a.k.a. peanut butter cookies), ended up having at least 5 or 6 as they sat on the counter to cool. I don’t think he was as disappointed with my choice of cookie in the end… he even admitted that they were pretty good, even though I was secretly hoping he wouldn’t like it so I could have all of it! Mwahahaha!

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

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