easy, breezy mornings

I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while now, so when my sister invited a friend and I over for brunch, I knew this would be the perfect accompaniment. First of all it's pumpkin flavored, and we all know how I feel about that. 

Secondly, it's a cinnamon French toast (which I love) but baked, so you're not laboring over a pan flipping a couple of pieces of bread at a time. Thirdly, this is better if you assemble it the night before baking, giving you the morning to leisurely toss this into the oven and do your nails or something. 

pump it up

Now that we're in October, I've decided to focus my baking on two fall staples: pumpkin and apple. I've got a lot of great recipes in store for this month (and none of them are pumpkin or apple pie!) so stay tuned and hopefully you'll enjoy what I'm dishin' out.

I'm so excited to share these beauties. I love pumpkin muffins with cream cheese, and when I came across this recipe over 8 years ago, I fell in love a little more because there was an amazing topping. 

Cinnamon, sugar, pecans and coconut all on top of an already delicious muffin?! Yes, these truly are worth making. 

shaken, with a twist

After realizing that September's Avid Baker's Challenge was another yeast-based recipe, I was shaken. I mean, we all remember how my "focaccia" turned out: flat and crispy... basically, the exact opposite of focaccia. But I was ready for a redemption, so I gave myself plenty of time to let this baby rise for as long as it wanted to (and it wanted to rise All. Day.).

I wasn't crazy about the idea of apples in the bread, so I only did half the amount called for, and the other half I replaced with crunchy pecans- a perfect complement to the cinnamon and apples. I replaced some of the all-purpose flour for whole-wheat flour and reduced the sugar in the dough because I knew the glaze would be sweet enough. 

Speaking of the glaze, it's completely unnecessary (and I normally love glaze). I even made the glaze with cream cheese so it was extra tasty, but since the bread isn't too sweet it just seemed to overpower it. The recipe makes 2 loaves and one loaf I glazed, the other I left plain, and the plain one not only lasted longer, but it was amazing sliced, toasted and slathered with butter (as are most breads, I realize). 

Salted Caramel Bars

Salted caramel sauce... bittersweet chocolate chips... pecans…all housed in an buttery oat crust. Are you drooling yet? There's no way you can you go wrong here.

Since these are bars, it goes without saying that they travel well. These also make a wonderful gift- just put them in a pretty box with a small jar of the salted caramel sauce and a note about how you should win “Gift Giver of the Year” for giving this away.

Maybe you’re in a time-crunch and don’t have time to make the homemade Salted Caramel Sauce. You could technically cheat and use a good-quality store bought sauce, but then you miss out on licking the spoon as the caramel is cooling. Or having some leftover sauce stashed away for a midnight spoon dip. 

reserve 1 1/2 cups of dough for topping

the toppings for the cooled crust

hot & bubbly, fresh out of the oven

The first time I made this recipe I thought it was just ok. The caramel, which should be the star ingredient, seemed like it absorbed into the crust. This time I used a different recipe for a Salted Caramel Sauce (rather than the one recommended with the original recipe) and adjusted the crust proportions. I also added more Salted Caramel Sauce to make it really stand out. I don't think you'll be disappointed. (recipe to follow)

Candy Time! How to make Pecan Pralines

A friend of mine recently returned from a trip where she visited New Orleans. I've never been but heard it's a foodie paradise... a place where I would probably put on 10 lbs. eating all the fried fish, po' boys and beignets. We chatted about all the delicious food she tried and she told me about Pecan Pralines, which she became so enamored with that she brought a box home with her. I've never had them, or really heard of them before, but upon hearing her exclamations I had to do some recipe research.

Who better to go to than Emeril Lagasse, the chef of New Orleans food? The recipe is similar to a caramel recipe but the texture is completely different. They’re crumbly, almost like a cookie but not chewy. The flavor reminds me of the brown sugar frosting for the Soft Pumpkin Cookies, and I’m crazy about that frosting, so these are pretty fantastic.

Of course I did a few tweaks along the way… I’m in love with vanilla so I added 2 tsp of vanilla, but you could get away with just 1 tsp if you’re not obsessive like me. These are truly a candy and are super sweet- that’s why I decided to add a little sprinkling of Fleur de Sel on top to balance the sweetness. I also thought bittersweet chocolate could add a nice depth of flavor and not add too much to the sweet-factor, like a milk chocolate would.

These would make a perfect gift. Bag them in cellophane with a pretty ribbon or make a plate of assorted goodies, to give away for the Holiday’s, and throw a couple of these in.
(recipe after the jump)

Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Pecan Frosting

These are seriously my favorite pumpkin cookies ever! I saw them here and thought they looked interesting. I haven’t really changed the recipe because it’s pretty much perfection as-is. There's not even a lot of cleanup, just one bowl and a saucepan, taking away any excuse for laziness.

The cookies are not overly sweet and have a really soft, cake-like texture so the brown sugar and butter frosting makes a perfect complement. The pecans aren’t necessary but they do cut through the softness to give the cookie some crunch.

  

this is once the milk has been added

 

(recipe after the jump)