Serving Up Yummy

Thanks to everyone who stopped out at our Open House. It was great to see all of you. There was a lot of talk around the treat table and we heard you... so here are the recipes. Enjoy!!!


Pumpkin Fudge
3 cups sugar

¾ cup butter
5 ounces evaporated milk
½ cup canned pumpkin
1 t cinnamon
½ t ginger
¼ t cloves
10 ounces butterscotch chips
7 ounces marshmallow crème
1 t vanilla

line a 13x9x2 baking pan with foil-extend foil over edges of pan-butter foil and set aside
in saucepan, combine sugar, butter, evaporated milk, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and cloves
cook and stir over medium-high heat until boiling
clip candy thermometer to pan and reduce heat to medium-low
boil at moderate, steady rate stirring constantly until reaches 234 degrees F or soft-ball stage (20-25 minutes)
remove pan from heat
stir in butterscotch chips and marshmallow crème until chips are melted
add vanilla
pour into prepared pan
optional: sprinkle with ½ cup toasted chopped pecans
when fudge is firm, use foil to lift out of pan before cutting into pieces


Pumpkin Butter Bars
1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 jar of our delicious pumpkin butter
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon of flour
1/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Reserve 1 cup of the cake mix and set aside.
Mix remaining cake mix with 1/2 cup of melted butter and 1 egg. Press mixture lightly into the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan.
Mix Pumpkin Butter with 2 large eggs and 3 tablespoons of milk and pour over cake mixture in pan.
Mix reserved cake mix with 1 Tablespoon of flour, 1.4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of soft butter and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Crumble over the top of the pumpkin layer.
Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden.

Pumpkin Fluff
1/2 jar of our delicious pumpkin butter
12 ounces whipped cream

Using a mixer, combine and fluff!
We served this with ginger snaps, but have also enjoyed it on graham crackers.

Raspberry Jalapeno Spread

8 ounces cream cheese- room temperature so that it's easy to spread
1/3 jar of our scrumptious raspberry jalapeno jam

Spread cream cheese into a thin layer on a plate or serving platter.
Spead jam atop cheese.
We served this with wheat thins, but have found it pretty darned good on anything with a crunch.

Oreo Truffles
One standard package of Oreo cookies (quick side note~ Trader Joe's peppermint Joe Joes are now in stock and make for a dynamite holiday twist on this recipe)
8 ounces cream cheese
24 ounces melted chocolate (whatever you like, really!)

Put all cookies in a ziploc bag and CRUSH into dust.
In the bowl of a mixer, combine cookie dust and cream cheese until well incorporated.
Roll into balls and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (we've found that skipping this step can result in the balls breaking during the dipping phase).
Melt chocolate.
Dip and let cool.


Red Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Icing

1 package plain German Chocolate cake mix
1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 ounce red food coloring
3 eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.
Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, food coloring, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Belnd with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrpae down teh sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat two minutes more. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup.
Bake 18-20 minutes.
Cool completely before icing.

Icing
6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
4 Tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar
(we added some divine chopped Andes white chocolate peppermint pieces~ the pieces are available in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips)

Melt the white chocolate
Place cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl. Mix for 30 seconds on low speed.
Add the melted chocolate and blend on low speed for 30 seconds.
Add pep.permint and sugar. Blend on low for 30 seconds.
Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy~ about a minute
Add peppermint pieces and frost cooled cupcakes.

Kahlua Brownies

Cheesecake filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
5 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon Kahlua

Brownies:
1 package brownie mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Kahlua
2 eggs
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Prepare the filling. Place the cream cheese, butter, sugar, egg and Kahlua in a large mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until smooth and well combined.
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter and flour a 9x13 pan.
Place the brownie mix, oil, Kahlua and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Stir with wooden spoon until incorporated ~ 50 strokes or so.
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
Spread cream cheese filling over brownie batter. Using a dinner knife swirl for a marbled effect. Sprinkle chocolate chips atop.
Bake for 27-32 minutes.
Cool for 30 minutes before cutting.


We also served Cranberry Salsa with sweet potato chips (Whole Foods has some delightful varieties) and Jalapeno Honey Mustard with pretzel flats.

Happy Eating!