pumpkin-cream cheese cinnamon rolls

It's amazing the amount of emails I receive, thanking me for the Trader Joe creations. To be honest, I wasn't sure if they might go over well, but glad to hear most of you enjoy them. I know most of them are semi-homemade, but in this tough economy saving money when making meals is a top priority of mine; you can imagine the amount of money I spend on food for creating recipes. Thank goodness Trader Joe's products are so versatile, user-friendly, what else (besides cheap?). Oh you know where I'm going with this......

I do get a lot of inspiration when Trader Joe's has the product sampling. Does yours do sampling? I imagine they all do. Last time I was at Trader Joe's, four days ago, they had samples of the rice balls with marinara, they were good. But what really caught my attention was the girl behind the counter serving the samples was quieting working on these cake ball like things. So being the chatty person that I am I asked her what she was making. She took the TJ's pumpkin bread mix, made them into cake balls with some agave, let them chill/firm up in the fridge and then was dipping them in white chocolate. She had made a small batch for the employees to try before launching onto them to the public. Interesting for sure. Pumpkin bread cake balls; might give that a try....would you?

Remember the peanut butter cream cheese cinnamon rolls topped with bacon that I did a while back? Well that is where I got the inspiration for these pumpkin ones. The instant cinnamon rolls from trader Joe's are so good, so easy and always beg to be kicked up somehow.

pumpkin-cream cheese cinnamon rolls
print recipe

1 pack of Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Rolls (in the can)
2-3 TB plain pumpkin puree
4-5 ounces of cream cheese, room temp
A few dashes of pumpkin pie spice
A few dashes of cinnamon
¼ cup of crushed pecans or walnuts, optional

Note: I thought I was going to need a bit of confectioners' sugar, but I did not. The icing pack that came with the cinnamon rolls was plenty sweet.

Bake cinnamon rolls according to package directions.

Take the icing pack that came with the cinnamon rolls and place in a bowl along with the pumpkin puree, cream cheese, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Stir until well mixed. Set aside.
When rolls are done baking, immediately put the pumpkin-cream cheese mix over the rolls. Top with extra spices if desired and crushed nuts.
Serve immediately.
(they don’t keep well for the next day)

apple-pecan blondies

I do love a good kicked up blondie. A blondie is the perfect vessel for housing different flavor combo's. The blondie base is the perfect ratio of butter, sugar, flour and eggs, leaving you to fill in the flavor gaps. And I did just that with sauteed apples and pecans. And the best part? It's easy peasy to throw together. What add in's would you use?

Head over to Nescafe Dolce Gusto Facebook Page for the recipe. This Blondie recipe can be found under "recipes" on their FB page. See you there!

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.