sweet

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies Recipe

October 3, 2016 by rachelle 15 Comments

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies Recipe

Heeeeyyyyyy, pumpkin! Where in tarnation have you been hiding? Well, the truth of the pumpkin matter is that I’m a closet pumpkin eater in all socially unacceptable seasons. We don’t just save it for fall and holidays. Pumpkin in August? Why, yes, I believe I will. Pumpkin pie in July? Sign me up. Pumpkin cookies in February? Be mine.

You get the picture. Don’t judge me.

This pumpkin spice whoopie pie recipe is a regular around these parts. I originally made and posted them a couple of years ago. In AUGUST! OMG! Scandalous!

What was I thinking? I was brand new to blogging then and no one was reading this here website except Lisa, Jennifer, and my mom. They don’t judge. Well, Jennifer totally judges. If there were any negative comments I either didn’t care or forgot about them.

The point is that I did make and publish this recipe a couple of years ago, but I upgraded my website and had a new one designed. I also upgraded my hosting company, which was an excellent idea. Anyhoo, when my original content got transferred to my new site and new host, not all of the photos survived the trip. The Pumpkin Whoopie Pie was one that didn’t make it.

So, we (and as usual, when I say we I really mean me) decided to have a do-over.

And here we are with some new and delicious pumpkin spice whoopie pies. I just have to tell you that they are just as delicious in August as they are in October! Happy Pumpkin Season!

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies Recipe

Ingredients

For the Pumpkin Cakes

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can pumpkin 15 ounce
1 stick butter
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

For the Filling

1 8 oz block of cream cheese softened
1 stick butter softened
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

For the Pumpkin Cakes

Preheat oven to 350
Beat together sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin, and butter
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice
Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine
Coat whoopie pie pan with cooking spray
Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the batter into each of the whoopie pie pan cups
Bake 15 - 17 minutes or until done in the middle and golden brown
Cool completely on a wire rack

For the Filling

Add cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until fluffy and combined
Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and beat slowly at first, then increase speed until combined and smooth

For the Assembly

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling on to the flat side of one of the pumpkin cakes then top with the flat side facing filling of another pumpkin cake, repeat

NOTES:

I used my trusty, but not rusty whoopie pie pan for this recipe. If you don’t have one, you can either buy one here or just use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a slip mat. Just be sure that you use a measuring spoon or something to make them all even sizes or you’ll have some clumsy looking whoopies. They’ll still be delicious though. And this is not a sponsored or affiliate post, I just love my whoopie pie pan.
I like to chill my cream cheese frosting a little bit after making it to firm it up a bit.
These can either be served immediately or made ahead of time – just refrigerate until about 15 minutes before serving.

Banana Pudding in a Jar Recipe

August 25, 2016 by rachelle 17 Comments

Banana Pudding in a Jar Recipe

Y’all, there has been some drama, but I can assure you that I am alive and well. The last time we talked, I was headed to the beach. We had a fantastic time of fun in the sun and there was even some boogie board action.

I wish I could say that I just threw caution to the wind and moved to the beach, but that would be a dream come true and not anywhere near my reality. The truth of the matter is when we got home our computer blew up. It crashed, burned, nearly died, and spent several weeks in a coma. After much hand-wringing, tears, and teeth-gnashing (and maybe some really really bad words) it was revived yesterday.

And as crazy as it may sound, we have only one computer – a laptop. Yes, I do realize that it’s 2016, but it’s the truth. Chris has a tablet, but I honestly cannot function without a normal computer or laptop with a mouse attached. All that touchscreen totally messes me up. So I have been technologically absent from the world (with the exception of a few Facebook shares from my iPhone) for 28 days.

I’ve been totally busy though! First of all, I made this Banana Pudding in a Jar like 2 months ago, but now it’s the perfect time to share it just in time for the upcoming Labor Day weekend festivities. Down here in the south, we love us some banana pudding and anything goes in a Mason jar. And now that football season is upon us, these would be perfect for your tailgating fun as well!

So, you are probably wondering what in tarnation I’ve been up to during the time I was invisible. As you know, we went to the beach and had a blast. I also, brewed an ah-mazing beer for an upcoming competition – more on that later. I got a new job internally with my current employer that I’m super excited about, got a speeding ticket that I’m so not exited about, cooked up a bunch of stuff we’ll talk about at some point,read about 10 books, and watched a bunch of tv.

I’m sadly way behind on General Hospital, but discovered Stranger Things on Netfix. Y’all, if you haven’t seen this new show, you totally need to check it out. It’s set in 1983 and stars Wynona Ryder. It’s like the Goonies meet E.T. meet Poltergeist. We binged on it and can’t wait for the next season.

So, what in tarnation have you been up to? I hope you didn’t get any speeding tickets!

Banana Pudding in a Jar Recipe

Ingredients

4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
1 box Nilla Wafers
4 bananas sliced
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

Whisk together egg yolks and sugar
Heat milk, cream, and cornstarch over medium until steamy
Temper eggs by whisking hot milk mixture into eggs one 1/2 cup at a time
Add tempered eggs back into milk pot, increase heat
Whisk and scrape sides until mixture just starts to bubble, remove from heat
Continue whisking
Add vanilla and butter, stirring until butter melts
Pour through fine mesh sieve
Cover with plastic wrap touching all surfaces of pudding to prevent skin

To Assemble

Layer Nilla Wafers on bottom of jar
Add layer of sliced bananas
Add layer of pudding
Add layer of cookies
Add layer of bananas
Add layer of pudding
Whip heavy cream in bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk until peaks form - 2-3 minutes
Top with whipped cream
Garnish with cookie and/or banana, if desired

National Doughnut Day Doughnut Recipe Roundup

June 1, 2016 by rachelle 27 Comments

National Doughnut Day Doughnut Recipe Roundup

Well, what do you know? It turns out that this Friday, June 3rd is National Doughnut Day. Whaaat?!?!

Karrie with Tasty Ever After and I wanted to celebrate this delicious carby holiday so we put together a recipe roundup of some of the most yummy doughnuts by our favorite Bloggers. So go grab some doughnut making ingredients and help us celebrate National Doughnut Day!!

Woot!

Before we move on to this delicious doughnut recipe roundup, I have a very important question: doughnut or donut? I’m very well aware that I’ve asked this question before, but it seems appropriate to revisit the question of why in tarnation there could possibly be two different spellings for one single magical creation.

When we last discussed this difference in spelling, I shared with you the results of my Google research. For those of you who missed it, you can read about it here and here, but the gist of it is that the dictionary-approved spelling is doughnut and the shortened version became popular in the late 20th century as part of a Dunkin’ Donuts marketing campaign.

Now, for some more interesting reading about the evolution of the actual doughnut, head over to Karrie’s website for a totally interesting history lesson.

Now, about those doughnuts/donuts!

Tasty Ever After Carrot Cake Donuts with Brandy Candied Walnuts (pictured above & photo credit)

How Sweet It Is Strawberry Buttermilk Sprinkle Donuts

Feast and West Baked Birthday Cake Donuts

Me Cara Cara Orange White Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts (pictured above & photo credit)

Club Narwhal Baked Dark Chocolate Strawberry Donuts

Cook with Kushi Banana Doughnut Holes

No Spoon Necessary Raspberry Vanilla Baked Donuts with White Chocolate Glaze (pictured above & photo credit)

Mon Petit Four Jelly Doughnuts

Ciao Chow Bambina Baked Strawberry Doughnuts with Fresh Strawberry Glaze

The Beach House Kitchen Key Lime Pie Donuts (pictured above & photo credit)

Havoc in the Kitchen Baileys Cake Donuts

Sally’s Baking Addiction How to Make Homemade Glazed Doughnut

Spiced Blog Baked Samoa Doughnuts (pictured above & photo credit)

Sugar Love Spices Baked Doughnut Delights

GiGi Eats Celebrities Healthy Doughnuts

Martha Stewart Espresso Glazed Doughnuts (pictured above & photo credit)

Brown Eyed Baker Vanilla Cream Filled Doughnuts

Handle the Heat Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts

Bakingdom French Toast Doughnuts

Love & Custard Sugared Pumpkin Doughnuts (pictured above & photo credit)

Cooking Classy Baked Nutella Doughnuts with Nutella Glaze

Beyond the Chicken Coop Apple Fritters

Have a very happy National Doughnut Day, y’all! 🙂

Molasses Sugar Cookies

December 9, 2015 by rachelle 19 Comments

The retro cookie festival continues! I say retro because I’m pretty much baking up a bunch of cookies from my gram’s recipe box. You can read more about that here, (and a few other places on this here website) but most of the cookie recipes I’m sharing are those from our Christmas family celebrations of my childhood.

In case you are just now tuning into this channel, I’ve teamed up with a bunch of super cool bloggers for The Sweetest Season Cookie Giveaway. We’re totally giving away some cool stuff and it’s not to late to enter! Do it!

I found this recipe in the box and don’t really remember having this cookie, but it looked like something Chris and his dad would like. I made it for them. I was right. I, of course, decided that a frosting was necessary.

Again. I was right.

SIDE NOTE: This picture needs an explanation. Jennifer. She has ~~demanded~~ requested more pictures of the steps. She has an appreciation for my accommodation to her demands and the time it takes to include these extra pics. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now. Jennifer is a pain in my bum. 🙂 I’m clearly not good at action shots and photographing the hot mess at the same time. I tried. Don’t judge me.

We got sidetracked again. And by we, I mean me. And Jennifer. So this molasses sugar cookies recipe was in my gram’s recipe box, I didn’t remember it. It has the flavors and spirit of gingerbread. Chris, his dad, and brother all loved them.

We hope you do too!

Molasses Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

For the Molasses Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar plus 2-3 tablespoons for rolling
1/4 dark molasses
1 egg room temperature
2 cups flour sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

For the Frosting

2 cup confectioners sugar
3-4 tablespoons whole milk
splash of vanilla bean paste

Instructions

For the Molasses Sugar Cookies

Beat together shortening and sugar
Add molasses and egg and beat well
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves together
Add dry ingredients to molasses mixture, mix well
Wrap in plastic or zipper bag and chill in refrigerator overnight
Preheat oven to 375
Roll into 1 inch balls
Roll in sugar to coat
Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart 8-10 minutes or until golden brown
Cool a few minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a rack to cool completely

For the Frosting

Combine sugar, milk, and vanilla bean paste and stir with a fork until smooth
Top each cookie with a spoonful of frosting

Note: If you roll your balls all the same size you should end up with about 3 dozen

I received free product from Imperial Sugar, Dixie Crystals and Bob’s Red Mill as part of The Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Beer Girl Cooks!

The Sweetest Season Sweetest Cookie Giveaway

December 5, 2015 by rachelle 9 Comments

CLOSED

Happy Holidays, Y’all! It’s a special Saturday post!

I’ve teamed up with 50 other bloggers to bring you The Sweetest Season’s Sweetest Cookie Giveaway! We’ve put together an incredible cookie baking prize package, and we can’t wait to tell you more about it.

Be sure to check out our blogs to see all of our cookie recipes throughout the week! We’re using the hashtag #sweetestseasoncookies on social media this week, and we’re joining even more bloggers baking cookies, so it’s going to be a grand time!

Now, on to the giveaway!

A whopping 51 bloggers teamed up to bring you an awesome cookie-centric giveaway! We picked out a stand mixer and other goodies to make baking this season go smoothly. And, a big thank you goes out to the generous sponsors who helped with The Sweetest Season by organizing, as well as providing products to the participating bloggers and donating some incredible prizes for our giveaway! Be sure to check out Imperial Sugar, Dixie Crystals, Bob’s Red Mill, Cabot Creamery and The Crumby Cupcake for lots of great recipe ideas. And check out Garnishing Co., who designed our graphics.

We’re giving away The Sweetest Cookie Prize Pack, and it is worth $690! See the Rafflecopter below to enter to win this amazing set of cookie baking goodies. The prize pack includes:

One KitchenAid 5-Qt. Artisan Design Series Stand Mixer with Glass Bowl in Sugar Pearl Silver // $315 value
One $50 Bob’s Red Mill gift card and one exclusive set of Bob’s Red Mill products: One 5-lb. bag Organic All Purpose Flour, one 5-lb. bag Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, one 40-oz. bag Almond Meal, one 28-oz. bag Sparkling Sugar, one 28-oz. bag Cane Sugar // $95 value
Two 4-lb. bags of Imperial Sugar/Dixie Crystals granulated sugar, one My First Cookbook and a silicone baking mat // $50 value
Coupons for $40 worth of Cabot Creamery products, including butter and yogurt // $40 value
One OXO Good Grips 5-Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl // $35 value
One Jenaluca Stainless Steel Medium Cookie Scoop // $33 value
One 2-piece Calphalon Nonstick Baking Sheet Set // $30 value
One 10” x 15” Stainless Steel Metal Cooling Rack // $25 value
One 7-piece OXO Good Grips Multi-colored Nesting Measuring Beaker Set // $20 value
One GIR: Get It Right Ultimate Spatula in Gray // $19 value
One 5-piece R & M Snowflake Cookie Cutter Set // $10 value
One OXO Good Grips 11” Balloon Whisk // $10 value
One OXO Good Grips Silicone Cookie Spatula // $8 value

Giveaway rules:

Enter the giveaway through the Rafflecopter widget below. Everyone gets a free entry! You can enter multiple times, up to 65 total entries by following the giveaway sponsors on social media. (If you’ve followed in the past, that counts! Just enter the information as prompted.) All entries will be verified. No purchase is necessary to win.
The giveaway is open until Saturday, December 19, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. CST. One winner will be chosen at random and e-mailed within 48 hours. Winners must claim prize within 48 hours of initial contact. The retail value of the prize is $690. Prizes listed above are the only ones available.
Open to U.S. residents with a valid shipping address only. Must be 18 years of age as of December 5, 2015.
To read all giveaway terms and conditions, visit the giveaway terms and conditions page or click the option in the Rafflecopter below to review them.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Homemade Butterscotch Pudding

November 30, 2015 by rachelle 43 Comments

Happy Monday! I hope y’all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Ours was good, but ended with some drama and a trip to the emergency room. Don’t be pointing fingers, now. No one got food poisoning at my dinner table.

Anyway, here we find ourselves in that weird place between Thanksgiving and all the December holiday festivities. So not only am I keeping things brief on this Monday after Thanksgiving, but I’m presenting you with a sweet that is neither pumpkin/November or peppermint/December. What we have here is just one of my long-forgotten favorite flavors in a comfort food.

Homemade Butterscotch Pudding, why have I neglected you,my long lost friend? Seriously, I totally forgot how delicious butterscotch is. I made this for Chris’ dad when he was in the hospital because he loves butterscotch. No joke, this stuff is good and he ate the whole jar in about 45 seconds flat.

I’m 100% positive that had nothing to do with the poor quality of the hospital food.

Homemade Butterscotch Pudding

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 tablespoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
6 ounces butterscotch chips plus a few more for garnish
whipped cream

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together salt and cornstarch, then make a slurry by slowly whisking in the heavy cream until smooth
Whisk egg yolks into the heavy cream slurry
Add milk to a Dutch oven and stir in sugar and stir frequently over medium heat until sugar is dissolved
Bring milk to a light simmer over medium heat, until it gets steamy and bubbles form around the edges
Temper the egg mixture by adding 1/2 cup of the milk to the heavy cream and eggs, whisking constantly, continue adding the hot mile, 1/2 cup at a time until all the hot milk and the heavy cream/eggs are combined
Transfer back to the Dutch oven, bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently
When you have a boil, continue boiling for 2 minutes, while whisking constantly, making sure to scrape all the corners of the pot
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla bean paste then add the butterscotch chips and let sit for a minute or two to melt, then stir until all are melted, incorporated, and the pudding is smooth
Transfer to a container, cover with plastic wrap, making sure to press the plastic onto the surface area of the pudding to prevent that gross skin thing from happening
Cover with the lid and chill overnight or at lest 4 hours
Whisk or whip chilled pudding for about a minute after chilled and before serving to make it lighter and creamier
Spoon into serving dishes, top with whipped cream and butterscotch chips, if desired

Adapted from The Kitchn

sweet

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies Recipe

Ingredients

For the Pumpkin Cakes

For the Filling

Instructions

For the Pumpkin Cakes

For the Filling

For the Assembly

Banana Pudding in a Jar Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

To Assemble

Molasses Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

For the Molasses Sugar Cookies

For the Frosting

Instructions

For the Molasses Sugar Cookies

For the Frosting

Homemade Butterscotch Pudding

Ingredients

Instructions

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