epitome of fall

 ...break out the sweaters, the crispness of fall is in the air!

 To me the first real true signs of fall aren't necessarily the orange pumpkins sprouting in the country fields, or the first few leaves turning blazing reds, burnt oranges or cheery yellows. (Although, it is my favorite season hands down and I absolutely live for all things fall ) I know it's fall the moment I find out Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte's are back!!

Yep, the 380 calorie annual autumn treat for me is the epitome of the beginning of fall. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a Starbuck's Snob (I hit McDonalds each morning for my $0.63 just as good coffee each morning... oooh, slam, I went there! :)) but This little treat is a must for me each season - even though I get corrected every time I order a large..

Anyway, each year I try to make baked treats for each season. ie; Winter = peppermints, ginger, etc. Last fall I played around with pumpkin desserts. I stumbled upon pumpkin cupcakes...which then led to pumpkin spice... which then lead me to Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes! Brilliant! I excitedly googled this idea and found out I wasn't the only brilliant person to think of this. But, because I'm stubborn, I needed to make it my own.

 I started off with a pretty basic cake recipe and added pureed pumpkin, festive fall spices, espresso, etc. Once the cupcakes baked and came out of the oven I dabbed the tops with a little more espresso. Then when cooled I piped on homemade whipped cream, drizzled some caramel and sprinkled with cinnamon.

              
                                                d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s..... 

 The good news is that I can get this pumpkin spice latte flavor year round... the bad news is that I can get this pumpkin spice latte flavor year round! :)



First attempt using fondant...

.. so back in May I was asked to make cupcakes for a friends bridal shower. I agreed and figured it would be a good idea for me to try my hand at creating fondant flowers. I wish I would have done the step by step photos... anyway, it ended up not being scary at all! Actually, I found it to be quite therapeutic and fun!!

I can now check off small fondant daisy flowers from my 'baking to do list'. ;-)

*her wedding colors were marine blue and white. I used a form and a small ball tool to give the daisies a little depth and curve. Then I applied a very small amount of water from my brush to the center and slightly pressed the candy pearl into each daisy.

4th of July Mini Cherry Pies

  Soooo... a few weeks back I broke my favorite and last pie plate. (FYI: DON'T broil anything on a pie plate when you're too lazy to dig for a sturdy casserole dish.. I'm not proud that I have to admit I stupidly did that but I did) Pie plate-less (ehh?) and in need of a little dessert for our 4th of July gathering, I remembered seeing mini pies galore baked in muffin pans or small mason jars on every popular baking website and decided to give it a whirl!

 I decided to go with cherry pie; pitted cherries, sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 dashes of cinnamon and a dash of allspice. And I always use my pie crust recipe because the frozen sheets of chemical crud just won't cut it.

 Below are a few snap shots of the steps in preparing these personal pies;

Step 1. Roll out your chilled dough as you would preparing any pie. My biscuit cutter was too small to use as the bottom part of the pie so I improvised by using the bottom of my margarita cup to make the cutout and a regular sized cup for the top crust. Just lightly flour the rims of each cup prior to using it as a cutter.

Step 2. Place the larger cut piece of dough in each muffin form.



Step 3. Fill each pie shell with 3 or 4 tablespoons of pie filling ( I did go back after this photo and put a few small dabs of butter over each filled shell).

Step 4. Place the top crust on securely (you may need to lightly brush the dough with water or milk and press down with a fork to get it to really stick). Or decorate with cut-outs or lattice work.

Step 5. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes, lower to 350 degrees F for an additional 20 minutes

Voilà!

All in all, I will most definitely be making mini pies again for Christmas (hopefully with a bit better presentation but hey, it was my first try). Mmm.., apple, pumpkin and pecan mini pies sound good to me!

Lemon Almond Biscotti

It's almost summer! Time for lemonade or for me lemon almond biscotti!

A lot of my favorite recipes are ones that I've spent a few days or a few months conjuring up and perfecting. Buttt... this biscotti recipe that I found on the Food Network via Giada De Laurentiis is one of my all time faves!

 For this recipe you are using grated lemon zest to give it the lemon punch of flavor. I drizzle or dip the biscotti in melted white chocolate with a teaspoon or two of the lemon juice for that extra little kick of summer taste. (The recipe doesn't actually call for any of the lemon juice so if you don't want to use any of it in the chocolate just save for your iced tea or lemonade! ;))

::ENJOY!!::

Lemon Almond Biscotti - Gia De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons grated lemon zest (from about 3 to 4 lemons)
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped whole almonds
• 18 ounces white chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.

In another large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs with an electric mixture until pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Mix in the lemon zest and then the flour, and beat until just blended. (The dough will be sticky). Stir in the almonds. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Divide the dough evenly into 2 equal mounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. With moist hands, space the dough evenly apart and form into 2 (9 by-3-inch) logs. Bake for 35 minutes until lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick diagonal slices. Arrange the biscotti cut side down on the same baking sheet. Bake until the cookies are pale golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the pan does not touch the water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Dip the end of each biscotti in the chocolate. Transfer the dipped biscotti to a wire rack, set over a baking sheet, until the chocolate has hardened. Store in an airtight container.

SERVINGS: 20 (PER BISCOTTI); Calories: 268; Total Fat: 11 grams; Saturated Fat: 5.5 grams; Protein: 5 grams; Total carbohydrates: 39 grams; Sugar: 26 grams Fiber: 1 grams; Cholesterol: 40 milligrams; Sodium: 191 milligrams

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/almond-and-lemon-biscotti-dipped-in-white-chocolate-recipe/index.html