Tag: sweet

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Since Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, I thought it was time to break out the pumpkin. To be completely transparent, historically I’ve never been a fan of pumpkin. Pumpkin spice lattes are not my thing and I find pumpkin pie to be quite overrated. In the last 2 years, I’ve been trying to branch out and I have discovered that I do like pumpkin in cake forms. Pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread have become one of go to recipes around this time of year.

Are you looking to change up your Thanksgiving dessert this year? If so, I have the perfect recipe for you! Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting are a cross between a muffin and a cupcake. The reason I can’t completely classify this as a cupcake is because the pumpkin cake is not overly sweet, so it eats more like a muffin. Maple syrup and cinnamon slightly sweeten this pumpkin muffin. Top this muffin with a rich and decadent cream cheese frosting and then this muffin is transformed into a crossbreed of muffin and cupcake. The frosting is super sweet, which is a nice compliment to the muffins since they are not overly sweet. Perfectly spiced pumpkin muffins topped with a sweet cream cheese frosting will make a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table. Heck maybe don’t even wait until dinner and indulge in these bad boys for Thanksgiving breakfast. I won’t judge!

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 Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
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Prep Time 20
Cook Time 30
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Pumpkin Muffins
Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep Time 20
Cook Time 30
Servings
Ingredients
Pumpkin Muffins
Cream Cheese Frosting
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Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Place ½ cup of butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until completely melted. Let it cool while you mix together your dry ingredients.
  3. In a separate bowl mix together all your dry ingredients, 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, a heaping ¼ cup of white sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice and ½ tsp salt.
  4. In a stand mixer, combine your wet ingredients. Crack 2 large eggs into the mixing bowl, add 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 1 cup of pumpkin puree, ½ cup maple syrup and ½ cup of melted butter. Mix on low until combined.
  5. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing on medium speed until thoroughly combined.
  6. Line a muffin tin with liners. Fill each muffin liner up ¾ of the way with the batter. Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove the muffins from oven and place them on a cooling rack to cool.
  7. Finally, while the muffins are cooling make the frosting. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine ½ cup of softened butter (1 stick), 8 oz of softened cream cheese (1 block), 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 3 cups of powdered sugar on medium speed until smooth.
  8. Once the muffins have cooled, frost them and decorate as desired.
Recipe Notes

Muffins must be refrigerated if topped with cream cheese frosting.

October Birthdays Galore

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October is flying by! Whew! As I mentioned in my last post, October is always an exciting month because it’s a month of birthdays! Almost all of my family member’s birthdays are in October, including mine. It was a very eventful month, so I felt it was necessary to give a recap of the birthday festivities and share some photos of the amazing food we’ve indulged in over the last month. After all, I appreciate eating food just as much as I enjoy cooking it, if not more.

Jurassic Park themed cake by Sandra’s Cake Studio.

My husband celebrated his 30th birthday on Oct. 1 and we celebrated by throwing him a surprise birthday party in Baltimore! Back story, I’ve been asking Derek for months what he wanted for his birthday and he continued to tell me he wanted a surprise party. Who asks for their own surprise party? I think that is a little contradictory to the whole premise of it being a surprise. I continued to shut him down on his request for a surprise party, telling him it was too much work, too expensive and ridiculous that he would ask for his own surprise party. Little did he know that I was going to make his birthday wish come true and he was SO surprised!

Surprise!

All our family, friends and co-workers joined us for a fun night in Baltimore. The party theme was Jurassic Park (one of Derek’s favorite movies). We even had a beautiful Jurassic Park themed cake designed by Sandra’s Cake Studio. The cake was a strawberry cake, filled with strawberry butter cream with fondant accents. It looked and tasted amazing!

Derek’s 30th surprise birthday party.

On Oct. 4, I celebrated my 28th birthday. I unfortunately had to work, but luckily my mom drove out to my office and took me to a birthday lunch at The Grill at Harryman House, a local restaurant in Reistertown, MD. This is one of my favorite restaurants near my office. It’s super quaint, the servers are super friendly, and the food is delicious. I had a cobb salad, topped with blackened chicken that was perfectly seasoned. After work, Derek and I celebrated with dinner and a quiet, relaxing night at home.

Lunch at The Grill at Harryman House with my mom.

My brother Dylan’s birthday was Oct. 13 and his girlfriend Anna’s birthday was on Oct. 11. Finally, my mom’s birthday was Oct. 17. So to wrap up our birthday season, we had one last big birthday dinner towards the end of the month to celebrate all of our birthdays. We exchanged birthday presents, laughed a lot and topped the night off with some yummy desserts. It’s always so wonderful to celebrate birthdays with our family.

Our second annual October Birthdays Celebration.

Now that it is almost November, I am super pumped to post some fall inspired recipes I’ve been working on. Be on the lookout for two new recipes I will be sharing in the coming weeks, which include a fall inspired side dish and a pumpkin dessert that is perfect for Thanksgiving! And soon to come, Christmas treats galore with my annual Christmas cookie baking frenzy. Fall really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Sweet Strawberry & Chocolate Chip Muffins

I’m not going to lie, but it’s been difficult to get back into my normal routine post honeymoon. I’m still reminiscing back to our mornings of sleeping in and our long, laid back, beachfront breakfasts. Derek and I rarely take the time to sit down and have breakfast together at home. We are more of the spring out of bed, grab a granola bar and go-go-go type of people, which again is why it’s been hard to get back into the swing of things.

Our nice leisurely Jamaican breakfasts were such a treat and the perfect way to start the day! So now that we are back, I’m vowing to cook us a home cooked breakfast at least once a week. Sitting down and having breakfast together is such a nice way to spend quality time together, especially on the weekends.

One of my favorite breakfast items in Jamaica were the freshly baked pastries. We indulged in English muffins, bagels and of course delicious muffins. I love muffins because it’s kind of like eating dessert for breakfast. Feeling inspired after our trip, I spent a Saturday morning whipping up these delicious Sweet Strawberry & Chocolate Chip Muffins. Strawberries are in season and they have been amazingly sweet this summer. Also, I’ve been picking up 16 oz containers of strawberries for less than $2 at my local grocery store, which is awesome!

Strawberries and chocolate are the ultimate pair. These muffins are sweet, moist and the perfect summery morning treat. Whether you prepare them for a leisurely Sunday brunch or so that you  can easily grab one out of the fridge on your way to work, these muffins are sure to be the perfect start to your day.

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 Sweet Strawberry & Chocolate Chip Muffins
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings
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Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Melt 4 tbsp of butter in a microwave safe bowl and set aside to cool.
  3. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, gently whisking together 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of sugar, 4 teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt.
  4. In a stand mixer, crack 2 large eggs into the mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of milk and ½ cup of vegetable oil to the eggs and mix together for 2 minutes on low speed. Next, add the melted butter and 1 tsp of vanilla extract to the egg mixture, mixing on low until combined.
  5. In small batches, slowly mix in the combined dry ingredients, mixing on medium speed, until the batter is completely combined and lump free.
  6. Next, wash your strawberries and pat them dry with a clean towel. Dice your strawberries. Once your strawberries are diced, put them in a clean bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of sugar. The extra sugar will help to bring out that sweet strawberry flavor even more.
  7. Add the chocolate chips and diced strawberries to the batter. Mix in the fruit and chocolate on low speed until combined.
  8. Line your muffin pan with muffin liners. Scoop the batter into the muffin liners, approximately 2/3 of the way full.
  9. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes until the muffins are golden brown. Remove the muffins from oven. Immediately remove the muffins from the tin and place them on a cooling rack.
  10. After the muffins cool completely, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes

I prefer these muffins cold, so most definitely refrigerate these after they are cool for the best results.

Easy Lemon Sheet Cake

Today I’m sharing a delicious recipe for an Easy Lemon Sheet Cake that is to die for. Before I get to that, I wanted to catch you up to speed on the rest of my bachelorette party.

For those of you who may have missed last week’s blog post about my struggle with epilepsy, I had a seizure while in Florida for my bachelorette party and was hospitalized. Although the situation was not ideal, I was still able to enjoy the weekend thanks to my bridesmaids and some very special cast members at the Walt Disney World Resort. I wanted to take some time to share my experiences at Walt Disney World and how they made my bachelorette weekend truly magical, and something that I will never forget.

Enjoying a beautiful night at the Magic Kingdom.

Being hauled off by ambulance and hospitalized for a day was obviously not part of our bachelorette party itinerary, so I was super bummed knowing that we were missing out on all the fun. When I had the seizure, I was at the pool at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and one of the resort managers rushed to the scene to help. He provided my friends with his card and told them to contact him if we needed anything.

Goofing around with my Maid of Honor at Epcot’s 2018 Flower and Garden Festival.

Once I was discharged from the hospital, I really wasn’t sure if we should even use our park tickets. We had purchased two-day park hopper tickets and I wasn’t sure if it would be worth the money spent to use them when we were only going to be in the parks for partial days. One of my bridesmaids called the manager at the resort, explained our dilemma and he kindly offered to give myself and each of my bridesmaids two 1-day park hopper tickets, free of charge to use in the future. I was beyond thankful for the kind gesture because we were able to use the tickets we already purchased and enjoy the parks, without stressing about getting our money’s worth.

Lunch at The Garden Grill Restaurant in Epcot.

When I got back to the resort after being discharged from the hospital, the resort had also sent a complimentary wheel chair and a gift basket with bridal Mickey ears and four beautiful champagne glasses. People always ask me why I continue to travel back to the Disney Parks repeatedly, and this is exactly why. Despite the circumstances, Disney did their best to make me feel comfortable and make my weekend as special as possible. Even though we only got to spend a short amount of time in the parks, we still had a blast! We were even able to get a reservation for a character meal and the resort manager got us VIP access to a special viewing of the fireworks at Epcot. It was truly magical!

Complimentary VIP viewing of Illuminations Reflections of Earth fireworks at Epcot.

Now I’m back home and getting back into the regular grind, work, blogging, wedding planning and school. With all that has been going on, I’ve felt the need for some sweet treats to brighten up my spirits. When I’m feeling down, stressed or anxious I head to my kitchen to bake. For me, baking is so therapeutic. Now that spring is officially here, I felt compelled to bake something fruity and lemon cake sounded like the perfect spring time treat! And lemon things just make me happy! This lemon cake is great because it’s just the right amount of lemon and the flavor isn’t overbearing. I love this cake because it has such a complex flavor. It’s dense, but very moist with a slight lemon flavor and a buttery finish. This cake is pretty much perfect. So if you are having a rough day or just feeling a little down in the dumps, don’t fret! When life gives you lemons, you make lemon cake!

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 Easy Lemon Sheet Cake
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Passive Time 35 minutes
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Lemon Sheet Cake
Lemon Frosting
Prep Time 30 minutes
Passive Time 35 minutes
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servings
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Lemon Sheet Cake
Lemon Frosting
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Instructions
Lemon Sheet Cake
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13 pan with butter.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk together.
  3. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave and set aside.
  4. Add the eggs, melted butter, sour cream and lemon juice to the flour mixture. Beat until smooth.
  5. Pour the mixture into the greased pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Remove the cake and press a tooth pick or fork into the cake, ensuring that it comes out clean and that the cake is completely baked. Set the cake aside to cool, while you make the frosting.
Lemon Frosting
  1. In a stand mixer, beat 1 cup of softened butter on medium speed.
  2. Zest a lemon and measure out 1 tsp of lemon zest.
  3. Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice to the butter and beat on medium speed until combined.
  4. Finally, add in powdered sugar to the mixture, one cup at a time and mixing until thoroughly combined and the frosting is smooth. Frost the cake once it’s completely cool.

Cookies and Cream Brownies

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, and I have the perfect chocolate dessert for you to share with your special someone. Over the weekend, our friends Shelby and Matt had us over for dinner and I opted to bring dessert. Anything chocolate is always my go to. I must confess that I am a chocoholic.

My friend Shelby and her husband hosted us for dinner. She is also a fellow food blogger.

Our weekend was busy as usual, so I knew that I wouldn’t have time to bake anything from scratch. Instead, I opted to spruce up a boxed brownie mix and top them with the dreamiest cookies and cream frosting.  I love boxed brownie mixes because they are extremely versatile. You can very easily mix in a variety of ingredients into your brownies such as, chocolate chips, candies and you can also top your baked brownies with a gourmet frosting. To be honest, I have yet to find a homemade brownie recipe that I have liked more than the boxed mixes. Rich fudgy brownies, topped with a cookies and cream frosting are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

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 Cookies and Cream Brownies
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 25 minutes
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brownies
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Brownies
Cookies and Cream Frosting
Prep Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 25 minutes
Servings
brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
Cookies and Cream Frosting
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Instructions
  1. Prepare the brownies as directed on the box. After baking, set the brownies aside to cool.
  2. In a stand mixer, combine 1 stick of butter, 1 tsp of vanilla, 1 lb of confectioners sugar and 4 tbsp of whole milk. Set the mixer speed to low and mix for approximately 2 minutes and then increase the speed to medium. Mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined and until the mixture resembles a frosting like consistency.
  3. Place 24 chocolate sandwich cookies into a gallon sized plastic bag and seal the bag. Crush the cookies on the counter, using your hands to break the cookies into small pieces.
  4. Dump the cookie crumbs into the stand mixer with the frosting. Set the mixer speed to low and mix until combined.
  5. Finally, spread the cookies and cream frosting on top of the brownies and if desired you can crumble a few extra cookies over top of the brownies.
Recipe Notes

If you feel like your frosting is too thick, feel free to add in an extra 1-2  tablespoons of milk.

Salted Caramel Fudge

Happy Holidays! This week, I finished my final exams and I’m officially in full holiday mode. I’m so ready for Christmas. It’s such a fun time of the year, filled with friends, family, traditions and sweet treats. One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making fudge. Every Christmas, my mom and I made chocolate fudge and it’s a tradition that I have continued in my own home.

This year, I put a fun spin on our standard recipe and dreamed up this decadent Salted Caramel Fudge. Typically, my mom and I make The Original Fantasy Fudge recipe. To make my Salted Caramel Fudge, I simply melted down some caramel candies, added salt and swirled the melted salted caramel into the fudge mixture. Combined, the saltiness of the caramel balances out the rich sweetness of the chocolate. The two ingredients are a match made in heaven. I gifted this fudge to my co-workers and they loved it!

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 Salted Caramel Fudge
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
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Instructions
  1. Grease a 9x13- inch pan with butter.
  2. Unwrap all of your caramels and set them aside.
  3. In a large pot, melt down the butter, add in 2/3 cup of evaporated milk, 3 cups of white sugar and stir together over medium heat. Continue stirring and bring the mixture to a full boil for 5 minutes. Do not stop stirring!
  4. Remove the sugar mixture from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until melted. Add in the marshmallow fluff and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Set the fudge on the stove over low heat to keep it warm while you make the caramel sauce.
  5. To make the caramel sauce, microwave your caramels in a microwave safe bowl, following the directions on the bag. Once melted, add in ½ tsp of salt. Mix until combined.
  6. Pour the fudge into the greased 9x13 pan and then drizzle in the melted caramel, over top of the fudge. Using a fork, swirl the caramel throughout the fudge. Lastly, sprinkle the salted caramel fudge with some coarse ground salt for extra saltiness and a bit of flare! Let the fudge set for a couple of hours before cutting.
Recipe Notes

Note: If you refrigerate the fudge, the caramel will get hard and it eats like a praline. For a more chewy caramel, leave the fudge out on the counter at room temperature.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This past week has been insane. Not only have I been extremely busy, but I’m also trying to knock this awful cold. I don’t know about you, but when I’m sick, all I want to do is to chill in front of the TV and take a nap. Unfortunately, that’s not a choice for me this week. It’s my last week of classes and I have to wrap up all of my school work to turn in before the end of the semester. So I am continuing to push through and keep reminding myself that this time next week, I will be on winter break.

But what do we do when we are feeling stressed? Stress less and cook more. I took a mental health break the other night and baked some of my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I would argue that I’m actually a better baker than cook. Baking is how I got my start in the kitchen. There is something so therapeutic about baking and for me it’s the perfect stress reliever. Also, there is something so comforting about a chocolate chip cookie. It’s so familiar, simple and so delicious.

This is my signature chocolate chip cookie recipe, a cross between an oatmeal raisin cookie and a traditional chocolate chip cookie. I add cinnamon and just a little bit of oats, to give it a flavor similar to that of an oatmeal raisin cookie. Another great thing about these cookies is that they are so easy to make. This recipe can be easily prepared on a weeknight, with very little effort. The end result, warm and gooey chocolate chip cookies that will make you forget all of your troubles.

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 Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
cookies
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Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease the cookie sheet with butter.
  2. Using a mixer, cream ½ cup of salted butter (1 stick), ¾ cup of brown sugar and ¾ cup of white sugar together.
  3. Add 2 eggs, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, ¾ tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of salt and mix until combined.
  4. Add 2 cups of flour to the mixture, one at a time and mix in between so that flour doesn’t get all over the place.
  5. Lastly, add ¼ cup of quick oats and 1 bag (12 oz) of milk chocolate chips.
  6. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the cookie sheet and place in the oven. For a softer cookie, bake for 12 minutes and for a firmer cookie bake for 14 minutes. Remove from oven and place cookies on a wire rack to cool.