Autumn is Here... Time For Punkin' Bread!

The Amazing Disappearing Punkin' Bread!

I still need to write the blog about Vivi's and my joint birthday party, but in the meantime I'd like to share my Punkin' Bread recipe! I have already made this three times this fall, it's completely addictive and the perfect complement to a cup of coffee on a crisp Fall morning! I call it Punkin' Bread because my little punkins just love it! Bella christened it "punkin' cake" because it's so sweet. I make it in a bundt pan, and there is always enough left over to fill a small loaf pan, and I usually give the spare loaf away. It doesn't really need any kind of adornment but I usually put either cream cheese or butter on it because I like to mix salty and sweet flavors. This Fall though, I tried something different. The first loaf I made was for Vivi's party and I had also made a cake (obviously, it's a birthday party) and I had kind of panicked thinking I wasn't going to have enough frosting for the cake, so I whipped up a batch of buttercream frosting from scratch using this recipe. When the frosting I had turned out to indeed be enough for the cake I was left with a preponderance of unassigned buttercream frosting, which can be totally dangerous... Imagine Liz with a spoon and a bucket of buttercream frosting, huddling in a dark corner muttering "my precious, my precious!"... So I tried putting it on the punkin' bread, and it was mind-blowingly delicious. Since that was so good, this last time I made it I tried some browned butter icing, which is also excessively scrumptious! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! (Punkin' Bread and Browned Butter Icing Recipes follow)

Punkin' Bread!

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
2 15 oz cans of Pumpkin
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Beat eggs, add oil, pumpkin and vanilla. Add sugar and continue to mix until smooth.

Sift together dry ingredients and slowly add to pumpkin mixture until fully incorporated.

Grease the pan before adding the batter to bake - I use copious amounts of  Pam cooking spray.

Makes enough for two regular sized loaf pans, or a standard sized bundt pan and a small loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for one hour for cake/loaves, or 10-15 minutes for muffins.

I remove my Punkin' Bread by putting the cake carrier base over the top of the pan (while it's still warm, but not straight from the oven) and (using potholders so as to not burn your hands) turn the pan over on top of the cake base, it should slide right out, with a little wiggling.

Punkin' Bread stores well in a cake carrier or cake stand, out on the countertop for about five days, or longer if you can fit it in your fridge. It can also be frozen.


Browned Butter Icing:

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
2-4 Tablespoons Milk

Instructions:
Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium-low heat until it is golden brown and bubbly, but be careful to not scorch it.

Remove saucepan from heat and mix icing in the pan itself.

Add Powdered Sugar, do not mix

Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, mixing with a wire whisk.

Icing should be smooth and runny but not watery. For best results, store the icing in a tupperware in the fridge and warm it up by the spoonful, one with each slice of Punkin' Bread (in the microwave, 15-20 seconds on high.) You can put it directly on to the bread and warm them both together, or warm the icing itself in a ramekin and then pour it over the Punkin' Bread.

Punkin' Bread and vanilla latte!

When warming up the icing, put it on the punkin bread cold

then microwave them both together for 20 seconds

it's not as pretty, but just as delicious!

Elixir of Life...Espresso Double Shot Recipe

This is the pretty version, just for a pic.
I totally dumped this in an enormous,
ugly cup to drink it (see below picture)
Also, this one is not mixed up enough,
but it looks pretty all swirly like that.
#TruthInAdvertising I didn't drink it
like that.

At the beginning of the summer Eric and I were at the grocery store with the kids when he banished me to the nearby Starbucks for yawning too much. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon so they were not overburdened with an abundance of business so I took my time staring blankly at the menus. I knew I didn't want something hot; first of all, it was a cool 102 degrees outside, and secondly, if I'm super sleepy, hot drinks make it worse. I also knew though, that I didn't want one of their über calorie laden frappuccinos like my rail-thin husband likes to get. Having worked in the food service industry, I put a lot of faith in recommendations from employees so I asked them what I should get and after a short discussion of my preferences and sleepiness level they suggested a double shot. It sounded intense so I was dubious, but my eyes were glazing over and I was nodding off where I stood, so I didn't have much choice. The first sip was indeed intense, so I headed over to the condiment station and added at least 5 Splendas, after which it was actually pretty dang delicious. 

I have an espresso maker at home, because I asked for one for Christmas last year. If you want to make your own coffee at home and have it be as good as Starbucks, you have to have an espresso maker. Mine is a Mr. Coffee brand, and it's pretty low-level, but it works so that's what matters. If, like me, you were unaware, allow me to inform you that espresso is not a kind of coffee, it's a method of brewing coffee. After I got my espresso machine I scoured the grocery store aisles for what seemed like hours looking for the darn espresso coffee. As it turns out, espresso is the process of shooting high pressure, boiling water through finely ground coffee. The result is extremely strong coffee. Espresso is like the Emperor of coffee, the supreme high potentate of caffeine and the coffee universe eternal. I make my espresso double shots differently than they do at Starbucks, mostly because I have the time to. Frankly, I think mine are better.

Equipment you will need:

1. An espresso maker
2. A coffee grinder
3. Coffee mug
4. Tall glass or cup - the one I use is probably 32 ounces
5. Long handled spoon for stirring - I use an iced tea spoon
6. Straw (if desired)

Ingredients you will need:

1. Coffee - I use unflavored and I like to grind my beans from whole but if you prefer you can buy already ground coffee and it cuts down on your grinding time. I have found that flavored coffee, even if it's my favorite to brew, is not the best for this drink, the pure coffee flavor works best in my opinion.
2. 1 Cup Milk - I use 2% Organic
3. 1 Tablespoon Cream (optional)
4. 4 Teaspoons sugar or 3 packets of Splenda
5. 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract (optional)
6. Ice - wait to add this until the last minute or it will melt and your drink will be watered down

Directions:

Grind the coffee until the grounds resemble table salt in size. If you grind them too fine the coffee will be bitter, too large and it will not be strong enough. Brew the espresso according to your machine's instructions. While the espresso is brewing, put the sugar or Splenda and the vanilla (if desired) in the mug. When the espresso is ready, pour it on top of the sugar and vanilla and stir it well, it takes about 30 seconds for the sugar to fully dissolve, it will be less time if you are using Splenda. Once the sugar is dissolved, fill your large cup with ice, all the way to the top, and pour the espresso over the ice. Add the milk and cream and stir until the coffee and milk are fully incorporated (about 10 seconds) then add your straw and enjoy!

The reason I think my double shots are better than Starbucks' is because I mix the sugar in with the hot espresso rather than adding a syrup to the icy drink. Mixing the sugar in with the espresso while it's still hot allows the sugar to fully dissolve and permeate the entire drink with sweetness, rather than allowing the sugar to remain in granules on the bottom of the glass. This is an extra step they just don't seem to have time for at Starbucks. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this drink, it has gotten me through the summer, and has especially been a nice treat for me when I'm a zombie from crib training the baby or night time potty training Bella, yes, I'm dong both at once! That's why I neeeeeed this caffeine!!!

PSST! If you liked this blog and you would like some more Starbucks hacks, check out this blog!

Calories will vary:

Using 2% milk with no cream and Splenda: 125 Calories

Using 2% milk with no cream and sugar: 190

Using 2% milk with cream and sugar: 235

Using 2% milk with cream and Splenda: 170
Using almond milk with no cream and Splenda: 35

When I actually drink it, I need a bigger cup.
These old longhorn cups are the biggest
ones I have, so obviously, this is where my
coffee goes. Get in my belly.

UPDATE: I have found a way to make this drink SUPER LOW CALORIE by using unsweetened almond milk and Splenda. There are only 30 calories in a cup of almond milk. I have added this new option to the calorie listing.

COOOOOOOKIES!

Well! It's been a couple of weeks since I have been able to blog, after my last entry, Vivi's stomach virus made the rounds and we all had a turn being sick. After we had all pretty much recovered, Bella and I decided to surprise the family with some delicious treats!



Everyone in my family is a cookie monster. I mean, we are all thoroughly obsessed with cookies. My husband has been asking me for a while to make him some homemade white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, so I decided to do just that. Bella and I went to the grocery store and bought the white chocolate chips, and we bought whole, raw macadamia nuts from the bulk foods aisle at H-E-B. I used this recipe, with the addition of toasting the macadamia nuts. I heartily recommend you purchase your nuts on the bulk foods aisle of your grocery store has one, they are fresher and cheaper than what you can find prepackaged on the baking aisle. My grocery store has several options of the more popular varieties like peanuts and cashews, but only the one option for things like pistachios and macadamia nuts, both of which were offered whole and raw.

Unfortunately, whole, raw nuts can't be used in cookie recipes without modification. First of all, whole macadamia nuts are enormous! You'd have to have a jaw like a python to eat them. If I had time, I would have liked to chop them up with a knife, but I was taking care of the kids while baking so I settled for leaving them in the bag I bought them in, and smacking them a few times with the flat side of my meat tenderizer. Doing this ends up with some huge chunks and some tiny, microscopic nut particles, which is not ideal, but we do what we can with what time we have. So after I busted the nuts (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID) I tossed them in some browned butter and a dash of sea salt, and put them in the oven at 350 degrees for five minutes. This process gave the nuts a nice, robust flavor that you don't get with raw nuts.

After that I simply followed this recipe, which is pure perfection.

These cookies are thick, soft, and chewy – just what you want a chocolate chunk cookie to be. They’re not too sweet, except when you happen across a nice cool hunk of white chocolate, and when that happens at the same time as when you get a bit of salty macadamia nut, it’s pure cookie nirvana.
Author: Kitchen Treaty
Recipe type: Dessert
Yield: About 36

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
1½ cups white chocolate chunks (about 8 ounces, chopped)
1 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted macadamia nuts (about 4½ ounces)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
In the bowl of a stand mixer affixed with paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes (or use a large bowl and a hand mixer).
Add the brown sugar and granulated (white) sugar and continue beating on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, continuing to beat each time until well-incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
With the mixer on low speed, carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until the ingredients are incorporated. Stir in the white chocolate chunks and the macadamia nuts.
Scoop a generous tablespoonful of the dough (I use this cookie dough scoop) and roll into a ball. Tear the ball in half, turn each half a quarter turn, and smoosh the dough back together with the torn side now at the top of the cookie. Gently shape so that the dough ball is taller than it is wide and place on cookie sheet about three inches apart.
Bake for about 10 minutes, until edges of cookie begin to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 – 10 minutes on cookie sheet so the cookie can set. Carefully move to wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies stay fresh when kept in a sealed container at room temperature for 3 – 4 days, or can be frozen for up to two months.