Oatmeal Pumpkin Raisin White/Chocolate Chip Cookies

They do taste as good as they sound. I have made these recently as you may see from one of my older posts(Pumpkin Spice Cookie). This time I jazzed them up even more...and they said it couldn't be done! What do they know anyway. This time I added chocolate chips in addition to the white chocolate chips, and I omitted the cranberries and replaced them with raisins, yes I did say raisins! With every bite you discover something new. All the ingredients compliment each other well. My family can't get enough. I made 2 cookie sheets full, and freeze 2 other cookie sheets that I will use at another time. These cookies do freeze well. I left in freezer up to a month the last time, and they tasted even better the second time around. I hope you try these, you won't be disappointed. I will leave the recipe. Until next time; Here's to Cake Wishes and Chocolate Dreams.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup(2 sticks) butter; softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 can pure pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 chocolate chips
1 cup of raisins

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, pie spice, and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter,brown sugar, and granulated sugar in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; combine until all ingredients are well incorporated. Fold in chips and raisins.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wore rack to cool completely.

To Be Thankful

I hope today when you are stuffing your faces with great food, that you are thankful for something. Today is a day that we should tell the people in our lives why we are thankful to have them in our lives. It's very easy to forget why and how we are able to celebrate this day with loved ones. Don't forget where you come from, and how you got here. I for one am grateful for the love of my life, my health, and all the wonderful people that surround me on a daily basis. Most days I get to caught up in life that I forget to express my thanks for all that they do. Today is the one day to sit back and be thankful for all that you have. I hope that today is going as great for you as it is for me. Happy turkey day. I will be back soon with some more great recipes. Until next time; Here's to cake Wishes and Cake Dreams.

Thanksgiving!!!

It's just about that time again. Do you know what kind of dessert you will be baking this year? Will it be your famous Pumpkin pie, or perhaps you are feeling frisky this year and you are going to try a Pecan pie. Either way I hope they turn out great! Baking is a wonderful way to spend time with your loved ones in the kitchen. I have great memories as a child spending many hours in the kitchen with my grandmother baking and laughing, and well bonding. It's very easy to bond and share a good laugh over food. Whether your weakness is chocolate, or something less decadent remember to always have a good time when spending time with family. Take pleasure in the small things, they are what matter most. Have a great holiday! Until next time, Here's to Cake Wishes and Chocolate Dreams!

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Revised

Told you I would re-make them, and re made them I did. So much easier this time around. I didn't burn the chocolate... yay me!!! Last time I used semi sweet bakers chocolate, and well that didn't work as plan, so this time I used semi sweet chocolate chips, and it went off w/o a hitch. I melted the chips for about 2 minutes in the microwave and stirred frequently. The recipe calls for 12 oz of semi sweet choclate, and it my experience most bags of chocolate chips are 12 oz, so you only need one bag. If you didn't catch my last post, I will re post the recipe as well, so you can experience with these sinful treats. Until next time Here's to Cake Wishes and Chocolate Dreams.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter; divided use
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons light corn syrup
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla fleur de sel (sea salt)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Put the flour and sugar into a bowl and rub in 12 tablespoons of the butter (note: I used my food processor for this step), clumping the dough together to form a ball.
3. Press this sandy shortbread mixture into a 9-inch square pan that has been greased and the bottom lined with parchment paper; smooth it with either your hands or a spatula. Pierce it with a fork and cook for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 300 degrees, and cook for a further 30-40 minutes until it is pale golden and no longer doughy. Let it cool in the pan.
4. In a deep microwave safe bowl, Melt the remaining butter (12 tablespoons) for 2-3 minutes, then add the condensed milk and syrup. Whisk the mixture well until the butter is thoroughly incorporated.
5. Heat in the microwave for 6-7 minutes until it is boiling, stirring thoroughly every 30 seconds. Be careful to stir often and DO NOT leave unattended because this will boil over and create a mess! It’s ready when it’s thickened and turned a light golden brown. Pour this molten toffee evenly over the cooled shortbread and leave it to set.
5. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it in a bowl in the microwave. Pour and spread it over the caramel mixture (the less you touch it, the shinier it will be).
6. If you are incorporating the fleur de sel, sprinkle it over the chocolate and allow the bars to cool.
7. Once set, cut the caramel shortbread into pieces. The squares can be stored in the fridge to keep them firm, though if it’s winter that shouldn’t be necessary.

Courtesy of http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana's and cream cheese....sounds good to me. Who doesn't like banana bread anyway. This is a great snack to make on one of those cold fall days, kind of like today in WI. The banana's and the chopped walnuts make this one for the record's. The soft moist texture of the cake, followed by the semi sweet taste of cream cheese frosting. It's not only tantalizing, it's deliciously out right satisfying.This definitely helped my craving... for today anyway. I hope this turns out as great for you as it did for I. Until next time Here's to Cake Wishes and Chocolate Dreams.

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp. (plus 2 tablespoons for preparing baking pan).
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus 3 tablespoons for preparing baking pan).
1 cup whole wheat flour(or all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
4 LARGE ripe bananas
1 cup of sour cream at room temp.
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 LARGE eggs at room temp.
1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Recipe courtesy of You Made That Dessert by Beth Lipton

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread

Today's weakness is non other then Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars. Sound enticing??? I hope so. First you start off by baking the short bread to it's a golden color. Then you add the caramel mixture, followed by the chocolate. Sounds easy...right? Well it is. The recipe is not very complex, but a little time consuming. I had a little issue with the chocolate. For some reason when i preceded to melt the chocolate in the microwave as the recipe calls for, it turned into chocolate cake. I know, WEIRD!!!. So I continued to melt it on the stove, and it helped a little, but I'm not satisfied with the finished product. Hopefully it tastes better then it looks. I will find out shortly. Let me know what you think of the pics. Until next time; Here's to Cake Wishes and Chocolate Dreams.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter; divided use
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons light corn syrup
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla fleur de sel (sea salt)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Put the flour and sugar into a bowl and rub in 12 tablespoons of the butter (note: I used my food processor for this step), clumping the dough together to form a ball.
3. Press this sandy shortbread mixture into a 9-inch square pan that has been greased and the bottom lined with parchment paper; smooth it with either your hands or a spatula. Pierce it with a fork and cook for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 300 degrees, and cook for a further 30-40 minutes until it is pale golden and no longer doughy. Let it cool in the pan.
4. In a deep microwave safe bowl, Melt the remaining butter (12 tablespoons) for 2-3 minutes, then add the condensed milk and syrup. Whisk the mixture well until the butter is thoroughly incorporated.
5. Heat in the microwave for 6-7 minutes until it is boiling, stirring thoroughly every 30 seconds. Be careful to stir often and DO NOT leave unattended because this will boil over and create a mess! It’s ready when it’s thickened and turned a light golden brown. Pour this molten toffee evenly over the cooled shortbread and leave it to set.
5. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it in a bowl in the microwave. Pour and spread it over the caramel mixture (the less you touch it, the shinier it will be).
6. If you are incorporating the fleur de sel, sprinkle it over the chocolate and allow the bars to cool.
7. Once set, cut the caramel shortbread into pieces. The squares can be stored in the fridge to keep them firm, though if it’s winter that shouldn’t be necessary.

Courtesy of My Baking Addiction.

I have to re make. Chocolate was overcooked, and it ruined the over all taste I was anticipating. Will remake on Thursday, and post pics then. Sorry!!

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Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies

Sometimes all you need is a little spice to make everything nice. That's what I think anyway. Today I will be baking Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies with white chocolate chips. Sound amazing? Wait to you see the finished product. These cookies in my opinion could be made all year round. Subtle hints of cranberry and white chocolate combined with pumpkin make this an enjoyable treat for any occasion. It's a very simple recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter; softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 can pure pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup cranberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl.
Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Add pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; combine until all ingredients are incorporated. Fold in white chocolate chips and cranberries.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet(s).
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet(s) for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Hope you enjoy. Until next time; Here's to cake wishes and chocolate dreams.

Changes

I know it definitely has been a while since I've posted anything on here, but that's going to change. As many of you know I started this blog so I could bake from Beth Lipton's book "You Made That Dessert". Now I will be baking from many recipes, and yes I still will be baking from "You Made That Dessert" as well...I know how much you all loved her goodies, as do I. I just want to broaden my spectrum of desserts. I think it's a good idea to incorporate many different recipes, as you will find your own little corks to add. I hope you will be patient with me. I love baking, and I know many of you enjoy eating the finish product, as do I. Stay posted as I will do my best to keep this blog fresh with yummy desserts and pics!!!