Pumpkin Crumble Bread

'Tis the season for all things Pumpkin. I was looking to kick up my pumpkin bread a notch and this recipe from The Hungry Housewife knocked my socks off. We ate one whole loaf as soon as it came out of the oven.

Pumpkin Bread with Crumb Topping
by the Hungry Housewife

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz) Libby's Pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk
1.2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.
Lightly grease two bread pans
Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Then add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice & cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to the wet, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Fold in pumpkin and nuts (if you're the nutty kind.)

Pour into pans and top with crumb mixture and bake for 50-60 minutes.

Crumb Topping

1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup walnuts

In a medium bowl, combine 1st five ingredients with a pastry blender or 2 forks, so it resembles crumbles. Mix in oatmeal and walnuts.

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

I just got this recipe from Heidi while camping last week. Mmmm mmm. I would add at least 4 bags of frozen peachs and I'd consider doubling the crumb topping b/c everybody loves the topping.


Filling:
frzen fresh peaches
3/4 cup sugar
2 TBL corn Starch
1 Tsp. Cinnamon

Mix sugar, corn starch and cinn. and sprinkle over peaches.

Topping:
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp. baking powder
dash of salt
Mix ingredients together: (just mix at home and bring in zip lock)
Then add:
3/4 cup butter (cut into flour mixture)
2 eggs

I adjusted this recipe for my smaller dutch oven. I hope it works. The eggs are the problem how do you add 1/2 an egg? So I just put 2. It still should work.

Southwestern Burger

Found this from Self.com It looked interesting and it did not disappoint. It may be awhile before I go back to my old burger.

I did embellish my beef a bit more with good ol' Worchestershire sauce and garlic salt and what not. I also sauteed the onions, garlic and peppers. The kids were hesitant about eating it b/c of course it's new, but as Ian said himself, "This. is. out. of. Controoool!" In other words, they loved it too.

Ingredients

• Vegetable cooking oil
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and grated
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 4 whole-wheat burger buns

Preparation

Coat grill with cooking spray; heat on high. Mix sirloin, bell pepper, egg white, 1/2 teaspoon salt and hot sauce in a bowl. Form into four 4-inch patties. Set aside. Cook corn with 1 tablespoon water in microwave 30 seconds; mix with tomato, cilantro, juice and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in another bowl. Grill burgers 12 minutes, turning halfway through, until no longer red in the center. Place on buns and top with salsa.

Vanilla Cupcakes

from Laura Buchanan (These are also VERY similar to Magnolia's cupcakes.)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups milk

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in 3 batches of flour mixture, alternating with 2 batches of milk. Raise speed to medium-high; mix until thoroughly blended, 10-20 seconds.

2. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 17 minutes.

(I don’t mix the flour mixture separately, just alternate putting the flour and other dry stuff in with the milk. I think these are even yummier as mini cupcakes!)

Fluffy Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups sifted confectioners sugar

dash of salt (or no salt, if using salted butter)

Beat on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes or until very light and fluffy.

Lemon Pepper Pasta with Capers

I adapted this recipe from The Kitchn just a little. Delicious.

Lemon Pepper Pasta with Capers

3 large garlic cloves, minced

Zest of 1 lemon

1 bunch of scallions
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup capers
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 8-ounce package Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper Pappardelle Pasta

Slowly cook the garlic, scallions and lemon zest in the butter and oil, in a heavy sauté pan over medium heat. Stir frequently to keep the garlic from browning. When the garlic is soft, add the broth and turn the heat to high. Simmer until reduced by at least one half, and add the cream and capers. Turn the heat back to medium and simmer until thick and syrupy. Taste and season.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to directions (2 quarts of salted water, 8-10 minutes). Drain and toss with a dribble of olive oil. Pour the cream sauce over and toss. Serve immediately.

Baked French Toast

This is a great breakfast treat. It's great to make when friends come over. It's from Paula Dean on Food Network. Mmmm .. Thanks.

Baked French Toast

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
Butter, for pan
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half1 cup milk
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt

Praline Topping, recipe follows
Raspberry Syrup, recipe follows

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with Raspberry Syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above.

Raspberry Syrup:

1 cup raspberry preserves
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur (recommended: Framboise)

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until warm and thinned out like syrup.

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate Crinkles:

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter
8 ounces (225 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulate sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Topping:

1 cup (110 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

In a stainless steel bowl, over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until thick, pale, and fluffy. (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) At this point beat in the vanilla and then stir in the melted chocolate mixture.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to shape into balls (3-4 hours or overnight).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

Place the confectioners sugar in a shallow bowl. With lightly greased hands, roll a small amount of chilled dough to form a 1 inch (2.54 cm) diameter ball. Place the ball of dough into the confectioners sugar and roll the ball in the sugar until it is completely coated and no chocolate shows through. Gently lift the sugar-covered ball, tapping off excess sugar, and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue forming cookies, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on baking sheets. (If you find the dough getting too soft for rolling into balls, return to the refrigerator and let chill until firm.)

Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or just until the edges are slightly firm but the centers are still soft. (For moist chewy cookies do not over bake. Over baking these cookies will cause them to be dry.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

These cookies are best eaten the day they are baked.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.