Pumpkin cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting

These cupcakes were a huge hit at our Thanksgiving Soiree, so I will be making these again.


Home-made Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS:


8oz cream cheese, room temperature ( I used fat-free)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature (I used light)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
3 cups powdered sugar (add more as needed)

Prepare:

While cake is cooling, make the frosting. Blend together the cream cheese, butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon until smooth. Add in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until you've reached a stiff, smooth frosting. In other words, if you use a spatula to pick up the frosting from the bowl and the frosting is dripping off your spatula, you need more powdered sugar. Set the frosting aside or put in covered container in the fridge until cake is cooled and ready.

Enjoy!!! 

New Years Day 2012 Truffles

The best way to start off any New Year is with Chocolate.  So the girls and I celebrated with some Oreo Truffles.  These things are sinfully delicious.  Its my first time to make them and I'm in chocolate Heaven.

Here is the recipe and a picture of my finished product!  These are so yummy, I'm adding them to the Cookie Swap Recipes this Christmas.

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
• 1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 (8 ounce) packages BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

Directions

1. Crush entire bag of Oreos to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl.(Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.)  Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.
2. Dip balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Add Sprinkles, I chose white for these.  
3. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

Footnotes:

• How to Easily Dip Truffles:
• Place truffle ball in melted chocolate to coat; roll if necessary. Lift truffle from chocolate using 2 forks (this will allow excess chocolate to run off) before placing on wax paper.

Creamy Chicken Florentine

This is my version of Kraft's Creamy Chicken Florentine:

1lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup halved red pepper strips

1 pkg.(6 oz.)baby spinach leaves

1 tub(10 oz.)PHILADELPHIA Savory Garlic Cooking Creme

1 tub(10 oz.) Philadelphia Original Cooking Cream

1 box hot cooked penne pasta(add salt to water)

Spices: Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Salt and Pepper

Directions:  Cut Chicken in bite sized pieces, lavishly coat with all spices listed, Cook chicken and peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 to 6 min. or until chicken is done. Add spinach; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until wilted. Drain all but 1 Tbsp. liquid. Add cooking creme; cook and stir 3 min. Stir in pasta, let warm a few minutes.  Ready to serve and eat immediately.

The Kraft recipe calls for pine nuts, but I didn't put them in.  I also didn't have any peppers tonight, but it was still delicious.  I also added the plain cooking cream to the recipe to, because I made a double batch of this and cooked a whole box of noodles instead of 2cups. :)

Italian Chicken and Pasta Dish

I came up with a new recipe I think you all will enjoy! And its super fast and so easy. This is so similar to my Chicken Pesto, but it has an Italian flavor instead. I added my Chicken Pesto link from ehow as well at the bottom of this recipe if you are interested.

1lb Chicken Breast
1 box Penne Pasta
1 tub of Kraft Philadelphia Cooking Cream, Italian Cheese and Herb flavor
Handful of Mozzarella Cheese
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper
4 Tbsp EVOO(extra virgin olive oil)
1/2 Bag of fresh Organic Spinach
Spritz of "I Can't Believe its Not Butter" Spray


Lay chicken on firm cutting board, cover with saran wrap, tuck under the cutting board and beat with a wooden mallet. Remove saran wrap and cut into square bite size pieces. Flattening it makes the pieces more even.
(If you're short on time like I was tonight, place chicken breast into skillet then pull from skillet and cut it up into bite size pieces after its cooked, the pieces won't be as even, and they made shred a little, but its faster.)

Pour EVOO into skillet on med./medium-high, place Chicken in skillet lavish with salt and pepper, onion and garlic powder on all sides and cook thoroughly. Let the EVOO cook out and it will glaze the chicken a little bit with the spices to give it a sort of grilled taste.

Cook pasta as directed on box, spray with "I can't believe Its not Butter" spray to keep from sticking and set to the side.

Place 1/2 bag of spinach into skillet, cook until wilted along with chicken, approx. 3minutes. Add Kraft cooking cream and pasta, mix together for about 5min. until warm. Sprinkle a handful of Mozzarella Cheese on top for extra cheesy flavoring.

Enjoy! :)

Chicken Pesto link from ehow: http://www.ehow.com/how_5193998_make-easy-chicken-pesto-dinner.html?ref=fuel