Pumpkin Spiced Whoopie Pies

This is my second year making these Whoopie Pies for our Halloween Potluck at work and they were a huge hit again so I thought I would share this holiday treat with you. I tried these for the first time at my aunt's house and have been in love with them ever since. They are so simple to make and so yummy! This is what you will need:

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 Cup Butter Softened
1 Package Spice Cake Mix
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Can of Cream Cheese Frosting

Cookies:

Beat the pumpkin puree and butter together until smooth. Add 1 spice cake mix, eggs, and milk. Beat on low until mixed and then increase the speed to medium, mix until smooth, about 1 minute.

I use a melon baller to make to cookies but you can choose whatever size you would like your whoopie pies to be. Place the mounds of dough on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, spaced about 3 inches apart.

Bake at 375for about 15 minutes. If you are making bigger whoopie pies than I would increase your time by about 5 minutes.
Once the cookies are baked pull out of the oven and let them cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet.

I like mine to be perfect circle's so I take a round cookie cutter and take off anything excess cookie around the edges. You will then take your cream cheese frosting and 2 cookies. On 1 cookie spread as much cream cheese frosting as you desire and take the other cookie and place on top to make a cookie sandwich. Continue until you have used up all your cookies. Now its time to enjoy this delicious holiday treat.

If you want to make your own Cream Cheese Frosting here is a great recipe.

2 (8 oz) Packages of Cream Cheese softened
1/2 Cup Butter Softened
2 Cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

In a bowl cream together cream cheese and butter. Add in vanilla and gradually add in powdered sugar. Mix until combined and smooth.

Enjoy!

Print here for printable recipe

Banana Bars

 I saw this recipe on pregoandmommychat.blogspot.com not long ago and I had to try it. My husband is a fanatic over banana bread so I figured this would be right up his alley. After making them I have decided this will be a staple in my dessert repertoire. SOOOOOO GOOD! The cake is awesome but topped with the brown butter frosting and it knocks it out of the park. It would also be great with cream cheese frosting too. Great treat to hand out around the holidays to neighbors and family!

1 1/2 C sugar
1 C sour cream
1/2 C butter
2 eggs
3 or 4 ripe bananas
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 C walnuts (optional)

Beat together sugar, sour cream, butter and eggs.
Add bananas and eggs. Cream together well.
Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well incorporated.
Add nuts.




Pour into greased jelly roll sheet. (Also known as large cookie sheet ) Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Brown Butter Frosting
1/2 C butter (need to use real butter, not margarine)
3 C powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp milk

Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Let butter brown to a deep golden brown. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Whisk together. Will be thinner than standard frosting.

Pour and spread over bars while they are still warm. Enjoy!
Download a printable version.

Candy Corn Hot Chocolate

What you'll need
Mini muffin pan
Sucker sticks
Yellow and orange Wilton Melts
Mini marshmallows

These are super easy and so cute! I saw the recipe at http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/candy-corn-hot-chocolate-stick/. As soon as I saw it I knew I was going to try it! They are perfect for a teachers gift or Halloween party. I gave Dylans preschool teachers each one and they loved it!

Instructions
Melt about half of a pack of yellow Wilton melts in a glass bowl in the microwave. Once they are melted if it seems too thick add a touch of vegetable oil. Fill the muffin tin about half full with the yellow melts. Tap the muffin tin on the counter to get the chocolate to smooth and settle out. Let sit for about 5-10 mins.  Don't let it harden all the way.

 

Then melt the orange chocolate and fill to the top of the muffin tin. Insert a lollipop stick and top with mini marshmallows. Then allow to completely harden.

 

 

 

Once they have hardened they should come right out by pulling on the stick. If they are hard to get out tap the muffin pan on the counter and they should come out. To eat heat one cup of milk and let it melt in the milk. Then garnish with whipped cream and candy corn or sprinkles for a yummy treat! For the cute gift idea get small sucker sized bags to put them in and tie with bakers twine. The cute tags can be printed for free at the link above.

 

 

 

Sloppy Joes

This is Jake's Grandma's recipe. Takes a bit more time then just opening a can of sloppy joe sauce and adding to hamburger but I promise it is worth the trouble. This is so good with red peppers and brown sugar. It gives it a tangy sweet flavor. Delicious!

2 lbs hamburger
1 small onion diced
2 Tbsp butter
Brown together and drain

Add:
1 red pepper chopped
2 C ketchup
1 1/2 C water
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp chile powder
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp Worchester sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Simmer for 45 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns and top with cheddar cheese.
Hint: As a "Round 2" recipe you can heat up the left overs with a can of kidney beans (or chili beans) and a bit of water to loosen it to a wonderful chili. You can also use left overs as a topping for baked potatos. This is always a hit around my house!