Pumpkin Pie Crumble Bars, by Diane

Dessert number one for the bookclub was these Pumpkin Pie Crumble Bars, and they turned out pretty well! They were easy enough to throw together, and look fairly impressive for company without being a lot of work. My only complaint on these was that the cake overwhelmed the bars, so next time I might cut down on the amount of cake used to just make a thin crust.

This recipe is a Diane original, but was inspired from here.


Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1 1/2 sticks butter
Yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 cups oats
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick of melted butter. Combine well, then press into the bottom of the baking dish.
3. In the same large bowl combine pumpkin, milk, sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and 2 eggs. Whisk briskly until evenly mixed, then pour over the cake mixture.
4. In a smaller bowl, melt 1/2 stick of butter, then add in oats, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutmeg. Sprinkle over top of the pumpkin mixture.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the oats are golden brown and the pumpkin mixture is solid (the consistency of pumpkin pie).
6. When cooled, cut into bars and store in an airtight container.

Maple Pumpkin Pie Chex Mix, by Diane

This is one of the appetizers I made for the fall-themed bookclub I hosted this week (many more to follow!). This recipe was really easy to throw together (everything went into a crock pot!), but you had to babysit it quite a bit while it was cooking to make sure it didn't burn. It is easily customized to your preferences, and made the whole house smell great! I'm posting the original recipe below, but you can use any combo of salty and crunchy snacks (I used salted nuts so I didn't have to use salt at the end). The end result was crunchy and subtly pumpkin flavored, but was so addicting and delicious!


Ingredients:

6 cups Chex cereal (I used 3 cups each Rice Chex and a storebrand honey-nut Chex; try Cheerios, Golden Grahams, etc.)
2 cups dried fruit (I used 1 cup each dried cranberries and dried cherries; try (golden) raisins, etc.)
1 1/2 to 2 cups nuts (I used 3/4 cup each honey-roasted cashews and honey-roasted peanuts)
1 1/2 to 2 cups pretzels
1 1/2 chopped graham crackers, diced in large 1-inch pieces (about 5 full-size graham crackers)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup (I used sugar-free pancake syrup)
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 to 2+ tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
salt, optional and to taste

Directions:

1. In a 5 to 6-quart Crock-Pot, add cereal, dried fruit, nuts, pretzels, and graham crackers. Recipe is very flexible. If you don't have something, don't like something, etc. use something you do have on hand or omit.
2. In a microwave-safe measuring cup or bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
3. Add the maple syrup, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice (I used 1 tablespoon but recommend at least 2 tablespoons if you want a more pronounced pumpkin flavor), vanilla, optional salt, and whisk to combine.
4. Slowly and evenly drizzle wet mixture over the dry ingredients in Crock-Pot and stir very well to combine. I use a silicon-tipped spatula so I don't break the cereal.
5. Cook covered on high power for about 2 hours, stirring well every 15 to 20 minutes. Start keeping a more careful eye on mix at about 1 1/2 hours to make sure pieces on bottom don't start burning. All slow-cookers and ingredients vary, and cooking times will vary. Cook until there's no visible liquid pooling and pieces have dried out. They will not be 'dry' and will be more on the sticky and tacky side even when done, but do dry out more as they cool. Note - Although I haven't tested it, you could probably bake in a 250F oven, with the mixture divided between two baking trays. Keep a very watchful eye on it and toss every 15 minutes until it's done.
6. Turn mixture out onto baking tray and allow to dry for at least 2 hours, overnight is better. Mix will keep airtight for up to 5 days.

Apple Cake, by Diane

We made this cake for Rosh Hashanah this year, and it was really good! Unlike other apple cakes, it wasn't too sweet or heavy. We chose a vegan recipe due to some allergies in the family, and so this cake does not contain eggs or butter. Very easy to throw together, and would be fantastic as muffins in the morning!


Ingredients:

1 medium sized apple, peeled, cored and chopped
2 cups flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp nutmeg powder
¾ cup powdered sugar
a pinch of salt
¼ cup oil
1 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp of vanilla extract or powder




Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sieve together flour, soda, powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
3. Add the chopped apples and sugar.
4. Stir in the oil, water, lemon juice, and vanilla one by one until mixture is uniform.
5. Pour into a greased cake tin and bake for 45-50 min until a tooth pick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Blintzes Souffle, by Diane

This is a recipe I've made more than 20 times since we've started this blog, and I've never thought to post it! Blintzes Souffle is a family tradition in our house during most of the Jewish holidays, but we especially love to eat for breaking the fast on Yom Kippur. It was created by my great grandmother, Fannie, and it is the best way to eat blintzes EVER. It's easy to make, and a definite crowd favorite. We like to use a combo of blueberry, cherry, and cheese blintzes, and we always buy the frozen kind in the grocery store to make it even easier. YUM.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter
12 blintzes, any kind
6 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300, and while the oven is preheating place a stick of butter in a 9x13 casserole dish and place in the oven to melt.

2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sour cream, and sugar together with a blender or whisk until smooth. Bubbles are ok, they make this souffle airy! Set aside.

3. Once the oven is preheated the butter should be melted, if not leave it in until it is. You don't want it to burn!

4. Place the blintzes, 6 on each side, into the casserole dish. Pour the egg mixture over top.

5. Bake for 45 minutes and remove from oven. If butter remains on the top of the casserole, you can pour it off.

Malt Chocolate Mug Cake, by Diane

The cake looks so small bc it's in an extra tall mug to prevent overflow!

I have been trying to find a good mug cake recipe for years. They always come out chewy, dry, or slightly burnt tasting. This is the best one I've found so far. I decided to make it malt flavor because I had some extra ovaltine malt chocolate powder in the house that I subbed in equal amounts for the sugar and cocoa powder in this recipe. I snuck some chocolate chips in about 1/2 way through cooking so they wouldn't all just sink to the bottom, and there was a lava effect going on on in the inside. Definitely a good thing to whip up when you're craving dessert!

Recipe from: http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/the-moistest-chocolate-mug-cake/ (their pic looks much better, I'll snap another the next time I make this!)



Ingredients:

1/4 cup flour
2  tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8-1/4 cup milk (start with 1/8 and add more if the batter is too thick at the end)
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I subbed an egg to make it healthier)
1 tbsp nutella (I subbed chocolate chips bc that's what I had on hand)

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Whisk in milk and oil until smooth.

2. Pour the batter into a large mug to prevent overflow as the cake will rise once it's cooking.

3. Add the nutella into the middle of the cup. Or, cook for 30 seconds then drop the chocolate chips in.

4. Cook for 70 seconds on high.