(From the Philippines) "Manila" Chip Cookies

I thought I'd try out our oven and make a small batch of vanilla chip cookies for the office elders, and of course Elder Hiatt.  I had to do some ingredient substitution, due to the few dairy products here in the Philippines.  Dad helped with oven degrees and time.

Vanilla Chip Cookies - Manila style

1 cup plus 2 T. Flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Scant 1 cup brown sugar

1/2 c. shortening 

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 c. vanilla flavored pieces

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl with a fork.  Mix by hand shortening, sugar & vanilla.  Add egg.  Stir in flour mixture.  Form cookie size balls and put on baking sheet.  Bake 190 c for about 15 minutes.

(This is for sea-level baking. Increase baking time as needed to reach desired cookie consistency - I like mine looking a little bit chewy and bubbly when they're pulled out of the oven - and bake at 350 degrees on regular American ovens.)

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Super Easy Yummy Soup

This is a great soup that takes only about three minutes to make, which is awesome on a night when you don't have very much time to make dinner before your husband gets home. I changed some of the things from the original recipe. 

South West Chili

1 can sweet corn

1 can cream of corn

1 can tomato soup

1 can ranch style beans

1 can of chicken and rice soup

1 can rotel tomatoes

1 cup of water with one chicken bouillon cube

1 cup of shredded chicken

Things I Changed

- I got rotel tomatoes with green chilies

- I got ranch style beans with slices of jalapenos

- I added some Louisiana hot sauce

Here are what ranch style beans look like

Put everything in a pot, let warm through and for extra good flavor let it simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with Fritos scoops, cheese, and sour cream. 

The Smell of Fall in the Kitchen

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cupcakes

Adapted from madeinmelskitchen.com, Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1 c. UNSALTED butter, melted and cooled (I accidentally used salted butter, and it made the cupcake a little too salty in my opinion. I didn't tell anyone though, and everyone seemed to love them anyway)
• 4 eggs, lightly beated
• 1 can pumpkin

Salted Caramel Buttercream

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 stick salted butter
• 1 stick UNSALTED butter (Again, I used 2 sticks salted butter, so it was a little salty. However, I did decrease the sea salt to 1/4 tsp. with my recipe)
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 c. powdered sugar

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 the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Add dry ingredients, and mix on low until smooth. Fold in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
4. For frosting, in a saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring until very smooth. Let caramel cool for about 20 minutes, until it is just barely warm and still pourable. (I just used just under 1/2 c. prepared caramel ice cream topping).  In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and salt together until lightened and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined. Scrape down sides of bowl and add the caramel. Beat on medium high speed until light and airy, and completely mixed. Mixture should be ready to use without refrigeration. If your caramel was too hot when added, it will cause your icing to be runny. If this happens, refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. 

This buttercream is very rich...and buttery. These cupcakes are very Fall-esque, and make the kitchen smell wonderful when they're being prepared! 

Classic Pumpkin Bars

From "Taste of Home Winning Recipes", Brenda Keller's Pumpkin Bars

     Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 c. sugar
• 1 c. vegetable oil
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
• 2 c. flour
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt

Icing

• 3 oz. cream cheese
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1-2 Tbsp. milk

1. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour into an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1 in. pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
2. For icing, in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Add enough milk to achieve desired spreading consistency. Spread over cooled bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Caramel Apple Cake

Adapted from kikukat.blogspot.com, "Fresh Apple Cake"

     Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 c. peeled, chopped apples

Frosting

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 baking pan. Combine oil, sugar, and eggs. Stir in flour and baking soda. Add vanilla and apples. Spread into prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool for at least 2 hours.
2. Boil all frosting ingredients in a small saucepan for 2 minutes. Set pan in bowl filled with ice water. Beat icing until of spreading consistency. Spread over top of cake.

This cake was amazing! We had it with the icing freshly-made, and it was delicious and gooey. But I think it was even better after cooling in the refrigerator. The frosting was chewy and the cake was so moist - just perfect with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. The original recipe made a cake for a 9x13 pan, so I halved the cake recipe. However, I forgot to halve the frosting recipe and ended up with a glorious amount of caramely goodness! I highly recommend it :)

German Chocolate Thumbprints

Adapted from "Taste of Home" Magazine, Donna Ryan's German Chocolate Thumbprints

     Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tsp. shortening
• 1/4 c. softened butter
• 1/4 + 1/8 c. sugar
• 1/2 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. brewed Pero (recipe asked for strong brewed coffee; I used Pero and it probably did about the same thing)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt 

Filling

• 1/4 + 1/8 c. flaked coconut, toasted (I used flaked sweetened coconut and toasted it; it may have been too sweet and sugary. If possible, I would suggest unsweetened flaked coconut, toasted)
• 1/4 + 1/8 c. chopped pecans, toasted
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3-4 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping (recipe asked for sweetened condensed milk, but I didn't wanted to open a whole can just for this :) The caramel has about the same consistency, and again, if you use unsweetened coconut, it should work just fine)

Drizzle

• 1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tsp. shortening

1. In a microwave, melt chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, Pero, vanilla and melted chocolate mixture. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
2. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each ball. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
3. Meanwhile, for filling, in a small bowl, combine the coconut, pecans, and vanilla. Stir in enough caramel to form a still mixture. Fill cookies with filling, a rounded 1/2 tsp. in each. Melt chips with shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Store in airtight containers.

I halved the original recipe. That is why some of my measurements are a bit odd. It made 20 cookies with these measurements.

Five October Recipes That Are Sure to "Wow" Your Friends and Family

I love Fall for lots of reasons, but one of the main reasons is because the weather starts getting a little nippy, the leaves start changing colors, the garden is harvested...and the holidays are arriving! And of course, what better way to spread holiday cheer than with baked goods?  October is definitely a candy month, with Halloween on the horizon. So the goodies I made this month were quite sweet. But, I have a sweet tooth and thought they were all quite delicious. I did use other peoples' recipes, so I will credit them with it. However, I put my own little spin on presentation and some of the recipes, for a lot of them. And, I took my own pictures this time and didn't use theirs. Added bonus! Enjoy!

Fall "Everything" Bars

From lilluna.com - "Scarecrow Treats"

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 3 c. mini marshmallows
• 1/2 c. light corn syrup
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 c. rice krispies
• 1 1/2 c. peanutsw
• 1 c. candy corn

Preheat oven to 350. Mix cake mix and butter until well mixed. Add egg and beat until all mixed together. 

Press dough mixture into the base of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes until edges are light brown or until set.

Add marshmallows to the top and return to oven for 1-2 minutes until marshmallows puff up. Remove from oven.

Combine corn syrup and sugars in a pot on medium heat. Stir for a few minutes until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Add cereal, peanuts, and candy corn. Mix well. Pour over marshmallow mixture.

Let cool and cut into bars for serving.

Shane, Vince, and I cut these up and brought them to some of our friends around the neighborhood on one of our Sunday walks. This is the sweetest of the October desserts. If you're not a total sweets-lover like me, it may be too sweet. 

Candy Corn Cupcakes

From ourbestbites.com

 Ingredients:
     For Cupcakes:

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. veg. oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• Yellow and orange gel food coloring, 1/2 tsp. each

     For Frosting:

• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/2 sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

     For cupcakes: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. line 2 24-cup muffin tins with white paper liners. Combine all ingredients except food coloring in a large bowl and beat on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat on medium for 2 additional minutes.

Divide batter equally into two bowls; you should have about 2 1/4-2 1/2 c. of batter in each bowl.  Mix about 1/2 tsp. yellow coloring into one bowl and 1/2 tsp. orange coloring into the other.

Divide the yellow batter evenly among the muffin tins. I made about 18 cupcakes with this recipe. Level out the batter as best you can, the repeat the process with the orange batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

     For Frosting:

 Whisk together the flour and milk. Heat in a small pan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Let it cook, while stirring, until you can start to see bottom of pan. Smash flour lumps. Keep cooking until mixture resembles thick pudding, almost pastey. 

Put mixture into fridge to cool COMPLETELY.

With mixer, beat butter and sugar for 1-2 minutes until well combined and fluffy. Use the whisk attachment. While beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat to combine and then scrap down the sides. Beat on high until it comes together and is light and fluffy, about 5-10 minutes.

Then frost the cupcakes. I put the frosting into a big baggie and cut a whole in the tip to make round swirly designs on the top. Top cupcakes with candy corn.

We joined another family in our ward for family home evening and we were in charge of treats. All their kids even loved them!

Chocolate Pretzel "Cobs"

Ingredients:

• Vanilla almond bark (or white chocolate chips)
• Fall candies of your choice (I used M&Ms and candy corn)
• Large pretzel rods

Melt the chocolate in the microwave using 30 second intervals so it doesn't burn. When completely melted and smooth, dip half of each pretzel rod into chocolate and swirl around to remove excess chocolate. Let cool on wax paper. I let the chocolate sit for at least 1 minutes before putting candy on so the candy didn't slid ride right off the pretzel.

For presentation, I wrapped them in orange tissue paper and tied them off with a ribbon. It kind of resembles Indian corn cobs to me!

These were one of my visiting teaching treats this month.

Autumn Candy Popcorn

From texascottageblog.com - "Goblin Bait"

 Ingredients:

• Popcorn (I used stove-popped popcorn, but you can use microwaveable too)
• Candy corn
• M&M's
• Vanilla almond bark (or white chocolate chips) (For 1/2 popcorn kernels, I used about 5 squares of almond bark to cover)

Pop the popcorn and place in a large bowl. Add candies of your choice. In a microwave-safe dish, melt the while chocolate using 30 second intervals so as not to burn it. When it is completely melted and smooth, pour over the popcorn mixture and mix it in with a wooden spoon. (The candies tend to fall toward the bottom of the mixture, so you just have to be sure pull them up and mix them in evenly).  Spread onto cookie sheet and let cool/harden.

These were another visiting teaching treat. I put handfuls of it onto cute Halloween plates and then filled a decorated jar with either popcorn kernels or M&Ms. After wrapping it up, I put a copy of the recipe on the plate. 

Autumn Muddy Buddies

From yourcupofcake.com - "Halloween Puppy Chow...take 2"

 Ingredients:

• 8 c. Chex cereal (or off-brand)
• 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips or chocolate melts
• 1/2 c. peanut butter, creamy
• 3/4 c. powdered sugar
• 3/4 c. brownie mix
• 2 large plastic bags
• 2 1/2 c. Reese's Pieces
• 2 1/2 c. candy corn

Place Chex in a large bowl and put your powdered sugar in one large plastic bag and your brownie mix in another.  Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat at 30-second intervals until melted. Pour over Chex cereal and gently fold until coated in chocolate.

Put half of your chocolate cereal mixture into the powdered sugar and the other half into the brownie mix. Seal each bag and shake until coated. Dump onto cookie sheet to cool.

Serve with the Halloween candy.

You really don't need the brownie mix - you can coat it all in the powdered sugar and it tastes just as good. I used the brownie mix but by the time I mixed everything together to give away, even the brown Chex pieces looked white. I served this treat in quart-sized mason jars and gave it away as house-warming gifts to Tiare and Thomas (thanks for letting us stay with you), Drew and Cass (thanks for letting us stay with you), and Adam and Jen. I put a piece of Fall fabric under the band for a more festive look.