Pumpkin Spice Donuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze

'Tis the season for all things pumpkin spice.  And if you are getting  married, like my forever friend Rachelle is, it only makes sense to have pumpkin spice donuts at your bachelorette  party.  And that's why I'm here: To bake you your wildest dreams.

Please excuse the boy parts in this picture, it is a bachelorette party after all!  ;)

Etsy helped me find the perfect accessory:  Diamond ring picks to make the donuts look like engagement rings.  =D  Super fast shipping too, this Etsy seller saved my butt.

The diamond picks were the perfect touch and passed all required taste tests.

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Makes approx 16 donuts.Bake for 10-11 minutes at 325*

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
1/4 c. butter, room temp
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, room temp
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. pumpkin pie

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on high.
3. Add both sugars to butter and continue mixing on high until smooth. Add eggs one a time.
4. Reduce speed to medium and add pumpkin, vanilla and milk. Continue beating until mixture is smooth.  It will be slightly grainy.
5. Slowly add in dry ingredients mixture, beat until combined.
5. Transfer batter into a pastry bag or zip lock bag with a corner snipped off and pipe batter into the wells of a buttered donut pan.  Fill no more than 2/3 of the way.
6. Bake in oven for aprox. 10- 12 minutes or until the donuts rise and are springy to touch.
7. Let donuts cool a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Cinnamon Maple Glaze

Ingredients:
1 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. good maple syrup
1 tbsp. milk (more or less as needed)

Directions:
1. Sift powdered sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add cinnamon.
3. Make a well in the center  of the sugar with your finger.
4. Pour the maple syrup and milk into the well.
5. Stir together with a whisk.
6. Add more milk, 1/2 a tablespoon at a time, if needed.  The glaze should come together, shiny and smooth with no clumps.
7. Dip the tops of your donuts into the glaze, making sure to coat the top completely.
8.  Set donuts on a rack to set the icing, about 30 minutes.
9. Insert picks into ends of donuts.

The glaze was perfect, you only need one coat.   The great flavor was largely aided by quality maple from Canada and a healthy dash of cinnamon.  Oh and all the good vibes I was sending its way.

Congrats Rach, I'm so excited for you.  I can't wait for the big day!

xoxo,
Anna

Fresh Strawberry Muffins with Cinnamon Oatmeal Walnut Almond Streusel

I feel guilty, opening up this text box and starting a new blog like I haven't been MIA for almost two months.  Life blew up.  Sorry?  It doesn't mean I wasn't baking this whole time.  If you follow me on IG you know I'm in the kitchen almost every weekend.  I just didn't have time to blog about it all.  Work, Life, Sunshine... all that got in the way of me blogging.  Life has finally calmed down now, so I am able to play catch up. Starting with these muffins I made for my mom for Mother's Day... back in May.

I've mentioned before that I hate giving my mom any of my baking because she dislikes sweets and always says the same thing;  "Too much sugar!".  Drives me crazy.  So she got something without any frosting or icing or chocolate.  She got something full of strawberries.

Strawberries make me think of my childhood.  Although I am not from Watsonville, growing up we had family there so I learned to walk in the strawberry fields.  And one of my oldest memories is eating strawberries in the backyard after a summer rain, staring at the resulting rainbow.  Yes, I'm serious that is an actual memory.  I also had a puppy but she must have been elsewhere that day.  In any case, it felt appropriate to make these for my mom. 

Fresh Strawberry Muffins
Makes 15, Bake at 350* for 18 minutes

2 cups+ 2 tbls flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 cup diced, floured, fresh strawberries

Directions:
1. In one bowl, mix dry ingredients together and set aside.
2. In stand mixer bowl, add wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
3. Add flour mixture to wet mixture, 1/2 c at a time and mix on low until well incorporated.
4. Pour batter into lined muffin tins.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Walnut Almond Streusel:
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
1/3 cup walnuts
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions
1. Mix together nuts, oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon.
2. Melt butter and pour over mixture. Knead together.  Mixture should be clumpy.
3. Measure out 1 tablespoon of streusel and sprinkle directly on top of batter in muffins tins.
4. Bake in oven for about 18 minutes.

I'm saving this recipe here and in my brain.  I love this streussel topping on most anything but on top of muffins filled with fresh berries?  Yum.   Eat these warm, right out of the oven or warm them in the toaster oven first.  You will be glad you did.

I promise I will be back sooner than 2 months from now.  :)

xoxo,
Anna

Gingerbread Man S'mores

I am having a bit of an issue.  I am obsessed with gingerbread men. I am not sure why but I just spent the last 30 minutes Googling "pink gingerbread pajamas" but I did.  No luck so far.  I will have to make do with these little guys instead.  He is a Gingerbread Man S'mores Cupcake.  You can make these Gingerbread S'mores without the cute little face, arms and buttons... you know in case you want to be an adult about it.  But make at least one.  Just so you can eat him. *Chomp.

I made these cupcakes for a friend's Thanksgiving dinner.  Pumpkin might have been more in line with the event but it was December 1st, I just made pumpkin cupcakes and I wanted gingerbread! And chocolate.  Together.  And why not add a really key ingredient....

Yup. Marshmallow fluff.  Do you know what that makes when it's on top of a cinnamon graham cracker crust??  GINGERBREAD S'MORES.


Cinnamon Graham Cracker Crust 
12 cinnamon graham crackers
1/4 c butter

Directions:
1. Crush up graham crackers.
2. Melt butter and add to graham cracker crumbs, add just enough to make workable.
3. Add one tablespoon of crumbs to the bottom of a lined cupcake tin and press down.
4. Bake in oven at 350* for 3.5 minutes and set aside to let cool.


Gingerbread Cupcakes
Bake at 350* for 20 minutes. Makes 24.

2 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c oil
2/3 unsulphured molasses
2 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg togther.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat sugars, oil and molasses together, and add in eggs one by one.
3. In a cup or third bowl, add baking soda to boiling water.
4. Add in the flour mixture and the water in alternating additions to the sugar mixture.  Beat until fully incorporated.
5. Scoop batter into lined cupcakes, over baked graham crust.
6. Bake and core center of cupcakes.  Keep cupcake middle if you'd like to use crumbs to garnish cupcakes.


Chocolate Ganache

4 oz. heavy cream
4 oz. good dark chocolate

Directions:
1. Warm cream in a saucepan until hot, but do not let boil.
2. Pour cream over chopped chocolate and stir with whisk until smooth.
3. Once cool enough to handle, fill cored cupcakes with chocolate.


Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting
Makes enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes.
(If frosting cupcakes like gingerbread men, make half this recipe.)

1 jar marshmallow fluff
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 oz cream cheese
4 tsp cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Cream butter and cream cheese.
2. Add in marshmallow fluff and cream on medium until fluffy.
3. Add in powdered sugar by the cupful.
4. Add in cocoa powder -- add enough to color the frosting brown.
5. Frost cupcakes.  If you want to make them into gingerbread, frost with a spatula and garnish with decorations below.  If you want more adult cupcakes, frost with a tip and sprinkle gingerbread crumbs on top.



Decoration

Royal Chocolate flavored mini marshmallows
Red M&Ms
Chocolate Chips
Toothpicks

Assembly:
1. Attach four marshmallow arms and legs to cupcake with toothpicks.
2. Put two red M&Ms in center of cupcake.
3. Melt chocolate chips or melts and put in a ziplock bag, cut end off and pipe smiles and eyes onto parchment paper and let harden in freezer for 5 minutes.
4. On a separate cupcake places two chocolate eyes and one smile on top of the cupcake.  Place upside down to avoid any ridges.
5. Either join the two cupcakes with a toothpick, or just side by side.  You don't have to eat both.

I bought two kinds of marshmallows for this project.  Okay, I lie.  I bought three -- two different packages of marshmallows in two shades of brown and one package of ice cream marshmallows because they are in the shape of ice cream cones and I like buying cute things I don't need, especially when I get to eat them in hot chocolate. I found the Royal Chocolate ones at Target.  Matched almost perfect to the frosting!

Let's be honest.  These little guys are freaking adorable.  Just look at his little marshmallow arms and legs! Don't you want to rip them off one by one and eat them?

No?  Just me?  How about picking off his eyes and smile and eating those?

Funny how I have no problem committing Gingerbread Man genocide, but I couldn't with last year's penguins?

Just in case for some reason you DO have a problem with that, then don't make them into adorable gingery men.  Make them look fancy with a pile of frosting and crumbs.  They'll still taste awesome.

Some small sides notes here before I end this post though.  Do you see it's yummy insides?  Imagine all of that in someones mouth. At one time.  Because that's what my friends Leo  did and he almost choked on it trying to swallow the graham crackers.   There was true pain in his face.  But poor Val might have been worse off.  So word to the wise, don't use these for Cupcake Eating Contests.

Use them for normal consumption, or better yet you can do what pandippo did the next morning; she popped him in the microwave and melted his face off. It looks disgusting, yes, but at least it's all melted together like a true s'mores!!! Melted Gingerbread Man S'mores Cupcakes.  It's how she keeps her girlish figure.

xoxo,
Anna

Sweet Potato Bread with Cinnamon Walnut Almond Streusel

Good Morning all!  Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving.  I did.  Three Thanksgivings under my belt, one more to go next week!  The season of gluttony has arrived. And in case you have not already, don't forget to set your scale back five pounds to resolve the guilt from over indulging.  :)

But are you stuck with left overs you aren't thrilled about eating?  Then I have a pretty present for you.   If you have some baked sweet potatoes make this bread. If you don't have any, go bake or boil some right now.  Yes, sweet potatoes, the orange ones.  Trust me.  This tastes so good with a cup of coffee in the morning.  Exactly what I am eating now. While in bed. Squish squish. 

I was going to make my usual pumpkin bread, but decided to replace the pumpkin with some extra sweet potatoes I had.  And then I remembered my left over roasted walnuts too from last week's cupcakes.  And this delicious thing was born. 

You can make full sized loaves (makes 2).  Or mini ones.  Because everything mini is cuter right?

Sweet Potato Bread

Makes 5 mini loaves, or 2  9x5 loaves. Bake at 350*  for 40 - 60 min depending on pan size.

2 eggs

1 1/2 c sugar

1/3 c vegetable oil

1/2 c cold water

1 cup mashed sweet potato (plain, baked or boiled)

2 c flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

3.4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In one bowl, mix dry ingredients together and set aside.

2. In stand mixer bowl, add wet ingredients and stir until well combined.

3. Add flour mixture to wet mixture, 1/2 c at a time and mix on low until well incorporated.  

4. Pour batter into two well sprayed loaf pans or into five mini pans.  Do not fill over half way. 

Cinnamon Walnut Almond Streusel 

2/3 c roasted walnuts

1/3 c roasted almonds

1/2 c flour

1/2 c brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbl melted butter

Directions:

1. Mix together nuts, flour, sugar and cinnamon.

2. Melt butter and pour over mixture. Knead together.  Mixture should be clumpy.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over loaf pans filled with batter.  And bake.

This was my first time making a streusel!  Look how lovely it looks! 

I think i may actually like sweet potato bread better than pumpkin bread! It rises up fluffy at fat.  It browns perfectly.  

If you slice it down the middle, its firm but moist.  And if you shove it in your mouth its delicious.  Not overly sweet, but still sweet enough for me.  What's not to love?

If you make lots of mini loaves they'd make excellent holiday baking presents too.  

Or an excellent gift for yourself because its the Holidays and you deserve to stuff your face guilt free. (Okay, set the scale back ten pounds back...)

xoxo,

Anna

Mexican Chocolate Sugar Skull Cupcakes

I like skulls.

That's probably the best way to preface this (really long, picture heavy) post.  Regular skulls.  Sugar skulls.  On my ears.  On my mugs.  On my scarves.  On my swim suits. On my clutches. On my shirts.  On my Giants gear.  I dig them, okay?  Mix them with flowers or studs and OMG-must-buy.  So I decided that I wanted them on my cupcakes too.

Sugar skulls are particularly big right now and with Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) just a few weeks away I felt compelled to celebrate a little early.  Google failed me when searching for pre-made sugar skulls to use as garnish.  But etsy didn't!

I bought plain skull molds and lotsssss of candy melts. Colored melts that I'd use to make the skulls into Day of the Dead skulls.  I love their heart shaped eye sockets!  The teeth were the only parts that I didnt' hand pipe.  The rest I had to do by hand. But nothing a steady hand, patience and some ziplock bags couldn't handle!

Once I knew I was making them, I racked my brain for what flavor to make the cupcakes.  I was going to do Mexican hot chocolate but my dear friend Katie brought me back something from her trip from New Mexico that was so delicious and awesome that  I instantly knew I had to use that instead.

She brought me back this Mexican chocolate from Kakawa Chocolate House.  A darker grade of chocolate at 60% cocoa, (who actually likes milk chocolate anyways?) with hints of cinnamon, almonds, cane juice and Mexican vanilla. The blend has something of a kick to it.  Not your ordinary chocolate here, so no way was I going to melt this stuff into a batter when I am still looking for the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe.

That'd be a waste.   I was making this into ganache.  I wanted to taste that kick that cinnamon and spices gives to the chocolate. I wanted to make holes in my cupcakes and shove so much chocolately goodness in the middle that it spilled over the sides.

It had to be done.

And to compliment the light spicyness of the chocolate I added cinnamon to  this chocolate recipe. And then since I was so heavy into the Mexican theme anyways, I busted out my trusty Mexican caramel -- cajeta.

Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes
Bake at 350* for 19 minutes, makes 20.

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Ghirardelli) 
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs
3/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In bowl of stand mixer, combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon) and sift together.  (Use a sifter.)
2. Turn on mixer on medium and add in wet ingredients (eggs, hot water, cream, oil and vanilla) one by one.
3. Mix until fully incorporated.
4. Bake cupcakes, cool on rack and then core middles to fill with the ganache below.


Ganache
4 oz "Modern Mexican" chocolate (Kakawa Chocolate House)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
1. Warm cream on stove top or in microwave until hot but before boiling.
2. Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth.
3. Once cool enough to handle, put into a ziplock bag with the end cut off and pipe into centers of cupcakes.


Cajeta Frosting
1 stick cream cheese
1 stick butter
1/2 cup cajeta
3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
2. Add in cajeta and beat until fully incorporated
3. Add powdered sugar slowly until desired consistency is reached.
4. Pipe onto cupcakes.


The result was Cinnamon Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Cajeta Frosting.  Some had more of that divine Mexican chocolate garnished on top.

But the majority had my bright sugar skulls.

I loved how the skulls came out.  Although I do admit I wish the molds had been smaller since they covered all the cupcake/frosting, the bigger skulls worked well because they gave me more room to "draw" on them.  I think they all have some personality to them right?

I must admit that I have my favorites though. Mainly the two below.

Whats't not to love about mustaches right?  PURPLE MUSTACHES people!

Sadly, I am still waiting to find my PERFECT chocolate cupcake recipe.  I used Sprinke Bake's recipe this time because I am currently in love with her and think everything she touches is magic.  But it was a little crumblier than I hoped it would be.  So the search continues.  Anyone have any recommendations?

In any case, they cupcakes were still good and the addition of the cinnamon to the batter was an excellent choice.  When you eat them all together it turns into a mess of course, but the mess was so rich and delicious that it more than makes up for having chocolate crumbs and sticky frosting all over your face and hands.

But wait boys and girls.  There's more.  If that wasn't enough I decided that I had to take it one step further.  I mean, yes Mexican Chocolate cupcakes rock.  Yes, Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls on top of said cupcakes are even more awesome.  What else could I do?

San Francisco Giants Sugar Skulls.

With mustaches AND a beard!

 Loosely based off this awesome Oaklandish shirt I got earlier in the season.  A bad ass season that's brought us into the Post Season now!

I guess you can say that I'm a fan right?  First cookies and now cupcakes?  What will I do next? When we win the World Series (right before Dia de Los Muertos), i'll let you know.  Viva Gigantes! Happy Early Halloween!  Happy Day of the Dead!  (Orange) October is awesome.

xoxo,
Anna

Cream Cheese Stuffed Cinnamon Blueberry Cookies

Do people give each other, or themselves, Labor Day presents?  Cuz I am, right now.  My present to myself  is to not wake up at the crack of dawn to go on a run.  Instead I'm eating brekkie in bed, watching one of my top favorite movies and blogging.  Because waking up at 7AM to sweat sounds laborious and that'd be the wrong thing to do on this holiday.

Do you know what else is wrong?  Summer ending.  The days are shorter, the mornings colder, there are pumpkins at the grocery store and only mismatched, heavily clearanced bikinis remain at the department stores. And worst of all, society expects me to wear pants again!  I hate pants.  But I am still clinging on to what remains of the sunshine and warm days, baking with berries while they are still readily available.  While wearing pretty summer dresses.

I made these cookies based off of  this recipe I found last month.  I pinned it but when I looked at the ingredients and saw the lemon, they screamed Summer so bad that I knew I couldn't find it in me to make them exactly.  So I used lots of vanilla and cinnamon/nutmeg instead.  I'll ease into fall slowly.

Nothing like busting out the sugar, eggs and butter.  And if easing in means getting to play with brown sugar, then let's have it.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Cinnamon Blueberry Cookies
Makes around 15, Bake at 350* for 12-14 minutes


1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1.5 tbsp vanilla
1 egg, at room temp
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1.5 cup flour
1/2 cup blueberries
1/3 package of cream cheese

For dusting:  cinnamon/sugar mixture at a 1:3 teaspoon ratio. 

Directions:
1. In mixer, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy.
2. Add in vanilla and egg.
3. In a new bowl whisk together the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour.
4. Hand mix it into the wet ingredients.
5. Fold in blueberries carefully, trying not to break them.

6. The dough is really sticky.  Refrigerate or put in freezer until stiff. 
7. Scoop out 1 big tablespoon of dough into your hand slightly flatten.  
8. Place 1 small piece of cream cheese  (I used 1/4 of a package for 12) into center and fold edges over the cream cheese, making one cookie dough ball.

9. Repeat for the rest of the dough and place on cookie sheet to bake.
10. Immediately out of the oven and while still warm, transfer to a cooling rack and lightly sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
11. Let cool completely before storing if not consumed immediately. These are really packed with moisture because of the blue berries, and will get mushy if you don't let them cool.  

At first, you can't even tell that inside there lurks cream cheesey goodness.  You just see some cookies with blueberries poking out.   They are sneaky, deceiving cookies.

With a closer look, you can see the sparkling cinnamon sugar.  Since you sprinkled the topping on while still hot, the cinnamon sugar will adhere to the tops in the most lovely way.  And if you look closely... that cream cheese starts poking out.  

But once you rip them open... well it's a different story then. 

Then you can see the cheesey goodness.  Then you can see the blueberries that burst open in the oven.

Remember that sharing is caring people.  And if that doesn't encourage your generosity, remember that gluttony makes you fat -- hand some of these bad boys out if you can.  I sent half of these away while they were still warm, it's that serious.

xoxo
Anna