Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

We'll I finally got around to cooking all of my sugar pie pumpkins from Rodini Farms. Ended up with 12 cups of pumpkin puree. So of course I froze some and baked with some, and I still have the Jarrahdale and Cinderalla to bake up! So hope you don't mind the many pumpkin recipes to come along in the near future:-)

So far I've made my favorite pumpkin pie, recipe to come soon, and I had a craving for pumpkin cheesecake. I even went out and bought these mini springform pans from my favorite local shop, Le Chef in Aptos...alas, and I don't know why, but I ended up making these pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling instead and they were just delish!

Fancy Instagram Shot:-)

I dramatically changed my version from the original, especially with the sugar,  as the original called for 3 & 1/2 Cups of sugar for 24 muffins! Can you believe that, my jaw just dropped to the ground when I read all the reviews about how many people loved them. I wouldn't have even been able to take a bite of one, as that's over 2 Tbsp & 1 Tsp of sugar per muffin, (think 7 sugar packets!) gross. Plus, I totally left off the crumble topping because it would have been total overkill (though the reason for it is to hide the bubbly cream cheese, I really didn't want the extra sugar).

BUT my rendition came out pretty darn good and I will definitely be making these again. Moist, just the right spice, a little whole wheat flour to give some density and a combination of mashed bananas and homemade sugar free apple-pear sauce really round this recipe out nicely.

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling
Makes 2 Dozen Muffins

1 - 8oz Package of Light Cream Cheese (Room Temp)
3/4 C Powder Sugar
1 3/4 C Flour (Non-Bleached) (I used Organic All Purpose)
1 C Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
4 Eggs
1 C Unrefined Sugar
1.5 C Pumpkin Puree
1/2 C Mashed Ripe Banana
1/2 C No Sugar Apple-Pearsauce (or no-sugar applesauce)
3/4 C Oil

-Beat Cream Cheese & Powder Sugar until well combined.
-Place in a piping bag and put in refrigerator until well chilled (a few hours).
-In a bowl, whisk Flours, Spices, Salt & Baking Powder, set aside.
-In a mixer, beat Eggs then add remaining ingredients until well incorporated.
-Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet until just combined (make sure to scrape the bottom of bowl when mixing.
-Pour about 2 Tablespoons of batter into lined muffin pans, then pipe in the cream cheese filling and top with more batter until cream cheese is covered.
-Assemble remaining muffins and bake at 350 for about 20 mins (mine were done at abut 21-22 mins).
-Let cool before eating and keep in sealed container in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Soyrizo Potato Scramble

One of my favorite breakfast dishes growing up was chorizo with eggs. This Mexican dish was a staple in my house growing up, and so was lard. Yummy goodness, I tell you. Gosh, I don't think I've cooked with lard in over 20 years! Hummm, opps, I digress...

But one thing I've come to like is soyrizo. There are some brands that aren't very good, but this one, found in a local Hispanic market right next to regular & beef chorizo, isn't half bad.

Of course, it doesn't have pork, which gives chorizo that yummy kick, but as an alternative, the spices are spot on and the dish never leaves you feeling like you've missed out. Only big diference is the lack of salt, so you have to make sure to add some in when making this dish, this isn't necessary with regular chorizo cuz it's pretty salty as is.

This dish can be served with bread, tortillas, huaraches, beans, or as is. If you serve with bread, try a little butter on the bread for some extra richness, you won't be dissapointed!

Soyrizo Potato Scramble
Serves 2-3

2 Medium Potatoes (Diced Small)
1/2 Soyrizo Roll
Salt & Pepper (To Taste)
1/4 C Water
2 Eggs
1/4 C Shredded Cheese (I used Monterey Jack)

-Heat Potatoes in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat for about 10 mins.
-Mix in Soyrizo, S&P and continue to cook for another 5 mins.
-Add in Water and cover pan for another 5mins, stir then re-cover.
-Once potatoes are cooked, mix in Eggs & cook for 1-2 mins.
-Then add in Cheese & stir until melted (about 1 min).
-Serve with Tortillas, Buttered Bread, Beans or as you like.

Krispie Goodness

I subscribe to a lot of blogs, one of which is extremely popular, the Brown Eyed Baker. Most of her recipes are ok but a little too sweet for me. This rendition of her Avalanche bars is no exception.

Though it's all candy, it does give me a nice break from dipping into the Halloween candy jar, and these Krispie Goodies are far superior to a reese's pb cup anyway;-)

Another plus for this recipe is how silly simple it is to make. Although her recipe calls for use of the microwave, which I totally hate and am against using for melting chocolate, taking the time to melt this on a double boiler really is all the time this recipe takes and not much more than waiting.

My variation of this recipe is due to what ingredients I had on hand, but I doubt it made much of a difference from the original. Still pretty good and gluten free is a plus for my Buddy (who I gave a bunch too).

Avalanche Bark Bars
Makes 12 - 2oz Bars

1 package of White Chocolate Chips (I use Ghirardelli)
1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter
1 1/2 C Choco Krispies
1 1/2 C Mini Marshmallows
1/2 C Mini Chocolate Chips (I use Ghirardelli)

-Melt White Chocolate Chips with Peanut Butter in double boiler, or metal bowl, over simmering (not boiling) water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water.
-Remove from heat and stir in Choco Krispies.
-Let cool for 10 mins, stirring at 5mins then again at 10 mins,
-Then gently mix in Marshmallows & Mini Choco Chips.
-Pour into parchment lined 8x8 pan and cool in the refrigerator for 15 mins.
-Pull out of pan (by pulling out the overhanging parchment flaps) and cut into 2 x 1.5 inch bars.

Pumpkin Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies

Ok, everyone is in a pumpkin frenzy so here's a quick recipe I came up with two years ago and am just now blogging about.

I absolutely love pumpkin and I love chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, so marrying the two just seemed like the perfect fit, and it was. The use of white chocolate chips gives this a bit more delicate flavor, but you could easily use milk, semi-sweet or even dark chocolate chips instead!

I make my own pumpkin puree and when I'm lazy, I don't strain it through cheese cloth. Unfortunately for this recipe you really have to, or be safe and use canned pumpkin. The extra moisture won't bake down, you'll just burn the cookies, so make sure to extract as much as possible, it really is worth the effort!

Sorry about the picture, it was taken with an old phone that took shotty pictures:-(

Pumpkin Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies
Makes 3-4 Dozen

1 C. Butter (room temp or 66 degrees)
3/4 C. ea. Brown & White Sugar
2 Eggs (room temp)

1 Tsp. Vanilla

1 C. Pumpkin Puree (extract as much juice as possible before adding)
2 1/2 C. Flour
1 1/2 C. Rolled Oats
1/2 Tsp. ea. Baking Soda & Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp. ea. Salt, Allspice & Cloves
1 C. White Chocolate Chips

-Cream Butter & Sugars about 3 mins.
-Add Eggs 1@a time, then add Vanilla, then Pumpkin.
-In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients except for chips then add to batter.
-Fold in Chips.
-Bake @ 350 for 15 mins.

Bread Pudding

I finally made it to the Independent Market Place in Marina last week. The theme was Dia de Los Muertos and so I was very excited to go. The place was a little too tight & crowded for me and the Bob stroller, but the sights were lovely. It's definitely more of a place for grown ups (there was a bar smack dab in the center of it) which I actually liked, just not with baby in tow...

Anyway, they had artisan breads, cupcakes, cookies, pies, jams, textiles and food. I had the most yummy dry rub smoked brisket, really it was the best I've had in a very long time.

I also bought a loaf of sourdough from a local bakery. The ladies at the booth were really nice but I didn't realize, until I got back home and cut into the loaf, just how rock solid it was! We couldn't even eat the darn thing. So I decided, instead of giving this $7 loaf to the chickens, that I'd turn it into bread pudding for us to enjoy.

Definitely the perfect density for bread pudding, this dish turned out delish, though a little too sweet. So next time I'll cut down on the sugar, as shown in my recipe below. The original recipe called for 2 cups sugar and I used 1 cup sugar & 1/4 cup honey, which was still too sweet!! I also omitted the glaze cuz as I stated before, it was already too rich.

But next time I find myself with a too tough piece of bread, I'll definitely be making this again!

Bread Pudding
Serves 4-6

1/2 Loaf Sourdough (~4 Cups Cubed)
2 Eggs (Whisked)
2 1/4 C Milk
1.5 Tbsp Butter (Melted)
1/2 C Honey
1/2 C Sugar
6 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon or Nutmeg
1/4 C Candied Nuts (Chopped) (I used Toffee Almonds)

-Place Bread Cubes in a baking dish and set aside.
-Wisk Eggs in a large bowl then wisk in remaining ingredients.
-Pour over bread, yes, drown them good, then bake at 325 for 55 mins (until golden brown)
-Bread will float over mixture so gently pat down with a spoon or spatula then top with nuts.
-Let sit about 5 mins before serving & enjoy!

Adapted from The Pioneer Women

Foodie Penpal

Hey Everyone,

October was the second time I participated in Foodie Penpal! I'm totally late on this write up cuz I got distracted with being made Race Director of the Surf City Cyclocross Series last minute and had a race to put on in less than 6 weeks! (it went well btw:-)

My foodie penpal was Dani in New Jersey (I hope she's ok from the storm!), and I received this wonderful box from her:

The smells coming from the spices and chocolate, oh my they were amazing! Yum! I especially can't wait to try the mulling spices, oh and the local honey! How fun is that!

And most wonderful of all were these:

I wonder what type they are? Anyone know??? I love apples and to receive these beauties that are so different from what we have around here is so exciting. Dani suggested I hollow them out then bake with the cinnamon, definitely will do!

*UPDATE: Dani is fine but has been without power for 7 days and her home town has been destroyed, my heart breaks for her. If you are so inclined, please donate to the American Red Cross to help those on the east coast recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.
Oh and the apples are Arkansas Blacks!


Being part of Foodie Penpal has been so fun but this will be my last time. Shipping is just too costly as I keep getting people on the east coast, which was fabulous and am so for it, but it cost me $18 to ship my box of goodies through usps and that's just wrong (and not really in my budget). So I'm thinking if anyone wants to start a "Local" foodie penpal, I'll set it up and handle it, just let me know!

Advent Calendar

With the leftover material and scraps from Maiyo's Stocking Project I decided to make an advent calendar to match. It will consist of 24 little houses with a pocket on each to hold little goodies. Then it'll be strung on holiday ribbon to match!

With the remaining felt cut out 24 rectangles measuring 3" x 4.5" Then cut the tops off the rectangles using a 45 degree measurement:

From the quilting fabric cut out 24 squares measuring 3" x 3". (using 4 different fabrics I cut 6 squares from each)

Press down top side by 1/4" then sew across. Do this to all squares.

Then press down remaining sides by 1/4" and place on a felt house and sew the three un-sewn sides to make a pocket:

Now for the Numbers. You have a few options:
1-Buy numbers (either iron-on or sew-on)
2-Write numbers on with fabric paint
3-Hand stitch the numbers on. (this is what I did)

Then I completed by attaching them to holiday ribbon: