chocolate covered pumpkin-walnut bars

I had started out wanting to make pumpkin cookies with no chocolate, but thought you gotta have chocolate chips/chunks when you make pumpkin cookies--I mean they just go so well together. Then I wanted to do butterscotch chips in pumpkin, and then finally I settled on bars. My mind changes so fast. To be honest, I'm not that into pumpkin. Butternut squash I love, just not pumpkin. The only time I made an exception is when I made the pumpkin cheesecake with nutella glaze--Oooo that was good. Just about anything in cheesecake form is good though.
These bars are good, if you like pumpkin. I got the thumbs up from several friends; I was not a good taste tester on this one given my lack of enthusiasm for pumpkin. But I am making pumpkin recipes for you. Ya'll requested them, and I'm delivering. Couple more coming your way soon. Any pumpkin creation requests?

chocolate covered pumpkin-walnut bars
print recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts baking powder
A scant 1/2 ts pumpkin-pie spice (this gives a ‘gentle’ spice flavor, if you like stronger add in a touch more)
A dash or two of cinnamon
1/4 ts salt + pinch
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
15 ounces pure pumpkin puree
¾ - 1 cup of rough chop walnuts, optional but wonderful (make sure to toast walnuts before using)
6-8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin-pie spice, cinnamon and salt.
Using a spatula or an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in the egg and egg yolk, mix till smooth.
Next add in half the pumpkin puree, mix. Then add in half the flour mixture, mix till just combined. Then add in the rest of the pumpkin puree, mix till just combined, then add in the remaining flour and mix till just combined. Do not overmix. Add in the walnuts and gently fold in.
Grease up a 9 X 13 baking pan
Spread batter into pan, making sure to get the edges. Using a wet spatula will help spread the batter.
Bake until mixture is puffy and edges are golden, 25-30 minutes. Or until a cake tester comes out clean or slightly clean.
As soon as the bars are done, remove from oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top, let them melt, then spread with spatula. Let chocolate topping harden before slicing into bars.

Makes about 15-20 bars depending on how you cut them.

Giveaway! Bakers Field Guide Books

CONTEST CLOSED. CONGRATS TO #76 @SPIFFYCOOKIE!



The kind folks over at Harvard Common Press has donated a free set of the Baker's Filed Guide by Dede Wilson. Four books total including: bakers' field guide to chocolate chip cookies, baker's field guide to holiday candy & confections, baker's field guide to cupcakes (my favorite), and baker's field guide to christmas cookies. I was over the moon thrilled to do this giveaway as this are some of the best cookbooks I've come across in a while. Very detailed, very easy to follow and the size of the book is handy for in the kitchen--nothing big and bulky.


click me for details

Each book is set up in a unique, practical, and engaging “field guide” format that gives home bakers the lowdown on every little, delicious detail of each creation, making the baking process fun—like it should be!—for adults and kids alike. Whimsical creations come to life through each recipe’s breakdown, complemented by vibrant four-color photography that makes mouths water even before the first aromatic
whiff of fresh cookies seeps out through the oven door.
And nobody makes a better “field guide” than Dede Wilson, a contributing editor for Bon Appétit. She has written over a dozen baking books and continues to receive national recognition for her creations and baking innovations. Her baking prowess and her wit shine in these well-loved Baker’s Field Guides, now available for the first time in paperback (and at lower prices), making them more accessible and userfriendly
than ever before! All four guides—Cupcakes, Holiday Candy & Confections, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Christmas Cookies—promise festive, fun treats for the whole family.
Dede Wilson has written over a dozen books, including Christmas Cooking for Dummies, Appetizers for Dummies, and The Wedding Cake Book. She is a contributing editor to Bon Appétit, for which she writes articles as well as makes frequent television appearances on NBC's TODAY and Dr. Oz, among other shows. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

I'm partial to the cupcake cookbook. It has a huge variety of cupcakes as well as frostings. This one recipe is bookmarked.


Can you see all the tips they give for each recipe? I love that. Brilliant idea.



To win ALL four cookbooks, all you have to do is leave a comment here telling me which book you would open first. Which one is calling to you. Is it the cupcake, the chocolate chip, the holiday candy & confections, or the christmas cookie?
I will do the drawing on November 6, 2011.
PLEASE ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.
MULTIPLE ENTRIES WILL GET VOTED OFF THE ISLAND.

pumpkin bread w/ cream cheese filling

I have to admit, I've never been a big fan of cake mixes, bread mixes for fear of crappy taste. But hands down this instant pumpkin bread mix from Trader Joe's is really good. Has really good pumpkin flavor and definitely not too sweet. It rises perfectly and holds up well to add in's. I've experimented with this bread mix before, adding in chips, spices, nuts and now cream cheese swirl. It's really good. And if you're strapped for time this is it; so quick and easy to assemble, the only long part is the baking. I've made the cream cheese swirl with espresso and plain using a hint of vanilla extract. Feel free to experiment here. One could even add in pumpkin pie spice to the cream cheese filling; just taste test as you go along as pumpkin pie spice is strong and can dominate flavor fast.
I also love the Trader Joe's Gingerbread mix--come see what I did to that one!
Gingerbread cupcakes with white chocolate-cream cheese ganache

As you can clearly see it's a moist bread. Give this one a go, I'm certain you'll love it no matter how you kick it up.

pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling
print recipe

Pumpkin bread batter:
1 box of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread
A dash or two of cinnamon

Cream cheese filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, very soft
Pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
3-4 TB white sugar (more if you like it sweet)
If you want espresso flavor use a ½ of a Starbuck’s Via
If you want plain flavor use 1 oversize teaspoon vanilla extract
If you want pumpkin pie flavor use a couple dashes of pumpkin pie spice blend

Mix bread mix according to directions on box. Set aside. Preheat oven to what it says on box.
In a separate bowl mix the cream cheese with the egg yolk, salt and flavor of your choice. Mix well.

Spray a bread loaf pan with non stick spray. Pour in half the batter, then dollop the middle with clumps of the cream cheese mixture; don’t let the cream cheese mixture go to the ends as it will run out as it bakes. Cover top with remaining batter. Bake according to box directions. You’ll know when it’s done when you see light brown edges and the bread mix when tested with toothpick comes out clean. Don’t test the middle of the bread is it has the cream cheese and no batter.
You have to let this cool for a while before slicing as the cream cheese filling needs to firm up.

pumpkin bars w/ cider-cream cheese frosting

Do you remember that show "DoorKnock Dinners" with Gordan Elliot? Almost 11- 12 years ago on food network? Back when food network was just starting out? I do. And I remember the episode when Gordan went knocking on Paula Deen's door. This was waaaay before she was famous. Oh she had such a warm, inviting personality when she answered the door. Surely that was what Gordan was drawn too, her bubbly personality; for he knew she would be great on the show. Smart man. And from there Paula started her journey into food. Granted from interviews with Paula now she states she always wanted to do something with food--just wasn't sure what exactly. She was doing a lot of catering well before she opened her restaurant. Amazing to also find that back in her late 20's she suffered from panic attacks and agoraphobia that literally kept her housebound. After reading that I just find it so hard to believe with her very bubbly personality and tremendous self esteem that shines through on her shows, book events, guest appearances, etc... Apparently it took her a few years to get well, when she then ventured out to have a job as a bank teller, then onto a small catering business, a large catering business, then meeting Gordan Ramsey, and the rest is history. Fascinating how she turned her life around at such a late age and finally realized/accomplished her dream of being int he food business.

Onto the bars. These moist pumpkin bars are from Paula Deen with a kicked up frosting from me. I finally have some of the 'pumpkin baking bug'. Took a while but it's here. While I have you--any kicked up pumpkin requests? Love to hear them!
(sorry the photos are so dark, we've had a ton of rain here on cape cod).
Since I get emailed (a lot) about where do I get the sprinkles from. I all mine from Whole Foods. They have such great colors and varieties of sprinkles and they're all natural too; no chemicals or dangerous food dyes in them.

pumpkin bars with apple cider-cream cheese frosting
bars by paula deen, frosting by vanillasugarblog.com
print recipe

Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:
1 cup +/- confectioners sugar, sifted
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp (nice & soft)
1 ts ground cinnamon
A dash or three of pure apple cider (apple juice really won’t work here for that full flavor of apple, stick with the cider)

Orange sprinkles, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 X 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting:
In a medium bowl add in the soft cream cheese with the sifted confectioners sugar, cinnamon, and a couple dashes of the apple cider (in batches--don’t add in all the cider at once; it’s better to add in small doses than larger ones).
Get out the handheld mixer and beat until well mixed, no lumps are present. You can add as much or as little apple cider depending on how thick you like your glaze. I like to place mine frosting in the fridge for a while to harden up before frosting/piping onto the cake. For a decorative cake like mine, you can use a piping bag to frost or a knife. But make sure the cake is cooled before frosting.
Dust with orange sprinkles if desired.

sunset photos, beach photos, etc..

There hasn't been a lot of sun here on cape cod lately, it's as if our winter (which is mostly rain and snow) is starting too early for me. I'm missing the summer sun and all its brightness. We did have a couple stellar days where it was high 70's, low humidity and bright sun. The sunset for those couple of days were amazing; a spectacular sunset that brought people out of their houses and onto the beach to just stand, be silent and watch. It was almost like being back in California--it was breathtaking; the colors, the air, the calmness of the ocean.

These photos were taken at corporation beach in dennis, mass. Can you imagine living in this house with those views?


Love finding little critters in the ocean at low tide.




Found this little guy in my backyard swimming in the sun.

You know for a couple years now I've been waiting for the perfect timing to occur and capture a shot of the cape cod railroad. Finally got one! If you ever come to the cape you should try this, it's fun in the off season months like october when it's not as packed. The rail travels along the great cape salt marsh to cape cod canal; they're infamous for traveling through the cow tunnels: one cow high, one cow wide. They give you a scenic/narrated tour along the trail, along with a great lunch or dinner. It's worth it if you are a history buff.

We still have massive seal sightings on the cape cod national seashore. Can you see the seal? They are huge; some of them are just as big if not bigger than a shark. It's moments like this when I wish I had a fancy camera, but the iphone gets great shots for now.

I love when the tide is low and you can wade through the water, searching for all kinds of critters.



Remember last winter when I introduced you to Mabel? She's back, having her pre-evening stroll. She's quite the character, and must say hello to EVERYONE on the beach before walking home.

The swells at cape cod national seashore have been pretty big, well pretty big for cape cod. A good handful of surfers out making the most of it. The weather this weekend was perfect. I'm really going to miss summer, so not ready for winter.