double chocolate muffins stuffed with cookie butter

Cookie butter.
Who knew this would be so popular?
Don't you kind of wish you invented it?
Me too.
Although had I invented it, I never would have thought to use those kinds of cookies; what are they again?  The cinnamon cookies that make the cookie butter?
I think I would have used nutter butter cookies or the vanilla Oreo's.

Did you know that stuffing muffins with cookie butter is really genius?
It is, and you need to try these asap.


Yes those are my giant white, fuzzy slippers. With my bad knees I'm supposed to wear more supportive
cooking clogs in the kitchen.
Why can't they make fuzzy, slipper-like, supportive, comfy chef clogs?
Can someone get on this one?


These are so easy to make. So so easy.

double chocolate muffins stuffed with cookie butter

Muffin base adapted from King Arthur  

print recipe

1 3/4 cups flour

2/3 cup dutch-process cocoa

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

1 ts baking powder

1 ts espresso powder (or half a pack of single Starbuck Via)

1 ts baking soda

3/4 ts salt

2 eggs

1 cup whole milk or half & half

2 ts pure vanilla extract

2 ts apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

½ cup semisweet choco chips

½ - ¾ cup of cookie butter (+/-)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large muffin pan with paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend; then add in the chocolate chips.  No need to beat these muffins, just make sure everything is well combined. Lumps are good!

Scoop half the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Next using 2 spoons or a very small cookie scoop, place a medium-large dollup of cookie butter on top of the batter and in the middle. Fill the cups with remaining batter, making sure to get the sides with batter.  Do not push down!

Baking times:

Because of the vinegar added in the mix, baking times will vary greatly.

I suggest baking for 9 minutes, rotating pans, then baking for another 6-7 mins.

My muffins were done at the 15 minute mark.  So keep this in mind when you’re baking.

You can always see if they’re done with a cake tester inserted in the SIDE of the muffin comes out clean.

And the tops of the muffins will be firm.

Should make about 12 regular muffins. You can make jumbo size muffin tins, just watch the baking times. 

friday links

Happy Friday!



Homemade sesame sticks! And from reading the recipe, it looks easy.

Delish high-fiber snacks.

Benefits of raw honey.

Best sources of Vit C.


The Bobine: What a great invention for keeping your iphone free-standing.


Why not take your pumpkin cookie and make it into pumpkin cookie bark?

Natural remedies for muscle pain.

Acupuncture may offer real pain relief after all.
I would LOVE to know who has done acupuncture and does it work?

Why you need biotin (and what does it do?)


Excellent idea! How to label your leftovers from organizinghomelife.com

How to freeze cooked brown rice.

Tips for really good smoothies.


Waffles made with.......beer.  Yes, indeed.  A whole new depth of flavor.

How to eat a cupcake.  Yes, there is a video for this. (cute!).

Excellent lineup of some of the best recipes for veggie burgers.

How to make spaghetti-pizza.

How to make Tonkatsu sauce (Japanese style BBQ sauce).

Warm chocolate risotto.

Dorie Greenspan has a new cookie store open: Beurre & Sel

A place I want to visit--soon: Danny Macaroons!

Peppermint patty brownie cups.

Oh my! cinnamon-cream cheese breakfast bars! (bookmarked)


kitty litter cake for Halloween!  Isn't this the best?

Tooth fairy receipts.  How cute are these?

Finally a candy with no chemicals or dyes--all natural.  Unreal Candies.


Pet Peek windows!  Cute!

9 ways to develop true self-esteem.

What gets in the way of your exercise routine?

Breast cancer: knowing the signs.


Salted whiskey caramels.

Homemade tootsie rolls!


I've been slowly inching my way closer towards a paleo/primal lifestyle, and I have to say giving up carbs isn't that bad.  I replaced carbs with bacon.  (kidding).


In my last friday link roundup I shared with you how I am prone to getting SAD (seasonal affective disorder) during the dark and cold months of jan, feb & march here in new england.
I was shocked, and very comforted on how many people emailed me telling me they have it as well.
And a few of you asked what I do to help ease the symptoms.
I get outside as much as possible, even on the cloudy days.  They say even if it's a cloudy day, the light illumination is still there (more so than being inside).
I do weightlifting to help boost/move the blood which helps boost the mood.
I take a lot of fish oil and a good amount of Vit D3. (make sure you get enough of the D3)
If you can, get high quality fish oil that is tested for the highest levels of omega 3's and is low in impurities.
In the photo above,  I use Vital Choice fish oils and TwinLab Tri-boron.  I don't take all the fish oils the same day, rather I alternate one day is krill oil with astaxanthin and the next day is the salmon oil with the astaxanthin....
Do they help?  Yes they do.  There was one winter where I did not take the fish oil for about 2 months and noticed a significant change in my moods.
Maybe Vital Choice will see this post and offer up a giveaway for my fans and perhaps a discount?
Feel free to share with us what works for you in combating SAD?
I would love to share your tips!


Last week it was my birthday as well as my wedding anniversary.
Hubby and I celebrated (and broke our diets) by going to one of our favorite places to eat: Kelly's Roast Beef.
If any of you are from boston, you know how good Kelly's is.
They haven't changed a thing there, no downsizing of meals, no cutting back on quality--same old roast beef sandwich perfection. (that bag of fries? it's a small :-)

What I want to read (don't these sound good?):

Gourmet Slow Cooker 

The Paleo Slow Cooker

FoolProof Freezer Cookbook

Saving the best for last on this friday link roundup......
For those of you that are nostalgic cape cod fans (myself included) here is a wonderful video of the cape cod canal circa 1939.


I am having a really hard time saying goodbye to summer. :-(

NY style pumpkin crumb cake

I've had on my "to create" list a pumpkin crumb cake since last fall.
Finally got around to making it.
Why did I wait so long?


I wasn't sure how much pumpkin to sour cream ratio to add to make a perfect cake. Yep, that was my dilemma--so I put it on the back burner.
Since pumpkin puree is such a moisture packed ingredient you have to be careful how much you add to you don't have a super moist/almost runny cake.
But as the cooking luck would have it, the first batch came out perfectly.
I was lucky. Should I do this all over again is there one thing I would change?
Not really, I might want to see what happens if I bake this in a glass dish rather than metal.
The metal gave me crispy edges, which is good actually.  But you don't like crispy edges then try a glass dish (9x13) and see what happens. Just watch the baking times; glass dish might need a bit more baking time.



As much as I LOVE NY style crumb cake, this pumpkin crumb cake takes it's place.
This was so good.  It has a gentle pumpkin flavor. Not a fan of the highly scented and flavored pumpkin goodies at all--I like a gentle undertone.

NY style pumpkin crumb cake
recipe from vanillasugarblog.com (please don't steal it!)

print recipe

Crumb topping

¾ cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 and ½ ts pumpkin spice

½ - ¾ ts salt

1 and ½ cups unsalted butter, melted (3 sticks)

2 1/2 cups  + 2 TB all purpose flour

Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 ts baking soda

¾ ts baking powder

1 ts pumpkin spice

½ ts salt

12 TB unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

¾ cup plain pumpkin puree

½ cup sour cream

Cook notes:  using a glass pan will result in a moister cake without crispy edges.  A metal pan will have crispy edges (which I prefer).  A metal pan might have shorter baking times. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with non stick spray or grease up with butter. Set aside.

For the crumb topping:

In a medium bowl, mix the sugars salt, pumpkin spice, and flour.  Add the melted butter and stir with spatula until combined. Set aside.

For the Cake:

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl.  Add in the pumpkin spice, stir.

Using electric mixer, or mixer beat the butter and sugar in large bowl until smooth.

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Next add in the sour cream and pumpkin puree; mix until just blended. Lastly add in the flour mixture in batches—I did two batches, until all is just combined. Do not overmix once the flour is added; lumps are good!

Pour the batter into the greased baking pan, spread batter evenly.  I had to wet my hands to spread batter into corners.  It’s a sticky batter so using wet hands will work best. Next add on the crumb topping by dropping clumps (2-3 inch clumps) of it on to the top. Do not push crumbs down!

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean (mine was done at the 48 minute mark).  Please rotate the pan halfway through baking time.  You will know cake is done when there is no more jiggle in the middle of the cake.

Keep cake covered.  Should only last 2-3 days at room temperature. 

Doesn’t stay moist that long, sadly. 

friday links

Happy Friday!

I've got a lot to share with you.
First, let's get right to the pumpkin recipes!


Pumpkin pop tarts with buttermilk glaze


pumpkin & vanilla Oreo ice cream


pumpkin funnel cake crispies

pumpkin pie french toast

pumpkin walnut granola

creamy pumpkin smoothies

pumpkin muffins

pumpkin-coconut bread

pumpkin-nutella fudge puddles

pumpkin cinnamon rolls

pumpkin cheesecake buns

pumpkin quiche with caramelized onions, sage & gorgonzola

savory kale & pumpkin scones

pumpkin chocolate chip bars

pumpkin cheesecake with nutella ganache


pecan pumpkin butter rolls with bourbon cream cheese icing


2-ingredient pumpkin brownies


quick & easy pumpkin-cream cheese cinnamon rolls

Isn't this a gorgeous site? I want to go there next summer. (Surf Lodge)

Apple cider vinegar for soft/detangled hair.
Who has tried this?
Does it truly work? I'm scared to try.

Keep cats off kitchen counter.

Amusing video on how ramen noodles are made.

The best life advice from William Faulkner


Some of the best homemade egg rolls I've seen (and 3 types of sauces).

Real video (time lapse) of flight-deck. Do NOT watch if you are afraid of heights!

The evolution of the scrollbar.

4-types of breast cancer. Must read.

BPA (plastic) and your ovaries.


Photos from an airplane graveyard.


I love this tentacle cake stand. (pricey though!)


The ostrich pillow! A safe cocoon for naps.
I totally need this in my life!

Plot-toon: a battalion of toy soliders traverse the dangerous landscape of a garden vegetable patch.
(great video).

Google street view now has under the sea!

Jamy smart toaster.

Yoga for runners: 3 poses for your hamstrings.

Yoga Is: a documentary film.

chipotle chicken fajitas with black bean spread.

slow cooker Sindhi beef curry (I can only imagine how good this must smell while cooking)

chicken tikka salad

frosted speculoos cookie bars



Have a wonderful weekend!

pumpkin-walnut snack cake (lightened up)

Have you, like me, go to Starbucks, see all the edible goodies behind the glass and think "oh that cake was too sweet, that one was too dry, the one I like the most is just too fattening....?
Do you do this?
I do.
And as much as I love their blueberry snack cake or is it called blueberry loaf?
It's just too sweet and always slightly under-baked.
And then their pumpkin loaf is just too dry and bland.
Don't get me started on how bread-like their croissants are.
Definitely not a real croissant, just bread shaped like a croissant.



There are days when I bring my own cake or snack with me when I go to Starbucks.  Now that it's Fall I wanted to do a lighter version of a pumpkin snack cake.  Flavorful and with texture, but not too heavy or too sweet.  I think you'll like this one and it keeps great too.
Keep in mind that I do not like a lot of pumpkin pie spice, so if you do want to make this, you might want to add more; mine is on the low-end of spice flavor scale.



Taste-test the batter and see how you like it before you bake it.



I also used a Pumpkin Via for that hint of espresso in the cake--quite tasty.  Up to you if you want to add this in.  If you don't add it in then maybe double the amount of pumpkin spices.

Pumpkin-walnut snack cake (lightened up a bit)

print recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

a pinch or two of salt

3/4 cup white sugar

¾ can (15 ounces) of pure pumpkin puree (use only ¾ of the can)

½ cup sour cream

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

¾ cup chopped walnuts

spices:

- if you want to have a hint of espresso: use 1 Starbucks Pumpkin Via and ½ - ¾ ts pumpkin pie spice

- if you do not want espresso: use 1 ts – or more of pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Add sugar, and spices; mix. 

In a separate bowl whisk pumpkin, sour cream, eggs, and oil together.

Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in ¾ of the walnuts.

To make a cake: spread batter into greased 8 or 9 inch pan, top with remaining walnuts. Then bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

To make muffins: greased up muffin tins about 2/3 full, top with remaining walnuts.  Then bake for 12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.