Halloween Round-up and Winner Announcement!

Faith and I would like to send out a HUGE thank you for participating in our little Halloween event. Everything looked amazing. I guess Halloween really makes everyone creative 🙂

Graveyard Cupcakes by The Heritage Cook

Monster Munch by Munchkin Munchies

Butterbeer by Recipe Rhapsody

Pumpkin Cheese Ball by Recipe Rhapsody

Monster Brownies by Amanda’s Cookin’

Homemade Candy Corn by Hoosier Homemade

Candy Pumpkins by Hoosier Homemade

Pumpkin Cupcakes filled with Pumpkin Mousse by Hoosier Homemade

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars by So I’m in Texas Now

Swirly Pumpkin Brownies by Chaya’s Comfy Cook Blog

Salted Caramels by An Edible Mosaic

Crumble Topped Pumpkin Bread by Nutmeg Nanny

Evil Brownies by From Donuts to Delirium

White Chocolate Cardamom Truffles by From Donuts to Delirium

Pretzel M&M Cookie Bars by Food For Thought

Pumpkin and Mummy Cookies by The Garden of Yum

Chocolate Spider Web Cupcakes by The Garden of Yum

Halloween Gingerbread Witches House by Not Quite Nigella

Homemade Snickers Candy Bars by Beantown Baker

Oreo Pumpkin Pops by Megan’s Cookin’

And finally our winner Megan! These little cookies just screamed Halloween!  I love the use of red gel to make the fingers look extra spooky.

Witch Finger Cookies by Megan’s Cookin’

Congratulations Megan! Please email Faith and I your address and your vanilla beans will be sent out ASAP 🙂

Also be on the lookout for our next holiday event….Thanksgiving!

 

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Time to Submit Halloween Recipes!!! (And a recipe for Crumble Topped Pumpkin Bread)

Hi everyone! It’s Brandy from Nutmeg Nanny 🙂 The time has come to submit your Halloween recipes! This recipe can be anything that says Halloween to you.  Also please feel free to submit as many recipes as you want. All we ask in return is that you link any post you submit back to All Through the Year Cheer.  You can submit your recipe by linking via the MckLinky (located at the bottom of the post) or by emailing us if that is easier. Faith and I have decided to extent the deadline this go around so you have until Wednesday October 27th, 2010 at 9pm EST to submit your recipes. The recipe roundup and winner will be announced on October 28th.  The prize for our Halloween winner will be fresh vanilla beans! Think of all the awesome things you can make with those 🙂

Ok now onto this delicious recipe 🙂 When I think of pumpkin I automatically think of Halloween. All those cute little carved pumpkins sitting on porches and stairs. That is why this year I was bound and determined to finally use my pumpkin and bake a perfect (and festive!) pumpkin bread. I admit. Bread is not my thing. Whether it be simple or complex…it usually does not turn out for me. I don’t know why. Perhaps I’m just cursed? Well not this year ladies and gentleman!  I have finally found a recipe that not only worked for me but tastes good too! Oh and another great thing about this this recipe….it has a crumble topping. I love crumble topping. No I swear. I do. Whether it be savory or sweet, if it’s crumbly I’m down 🙂

Ok so why should you make this bread? Here is a list of reasons:

1. It’s awesome

2. It has a crumble top

3. It’s moist and perfectly spiced

4. It’s awesome

Need I say anymore?

Enjoy!!!

Crumble Topped Pumpkin Bread:

1/2 cup butter – softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 can(15 oz) Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin(not pumpkin pie filling)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 to 1 cup toasted walnuts – chopped
Preheat the oven to 350.
Lightly grease TWO 8 x 3 3/4 x 2 pans (those disposable foil ones at the store)
Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla
Add the eggs, one at a time.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour,salt,baking powder,pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour.
Fold in the pumpkin and toasted walnuts.
Equally pour into the pans and top with crumb mixture (recipe below).
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup oatmeal (1 package of instant oatmeal)
1/2 cup walnuts

In a medium bowl, combine 1st five ingredients with a pastry blender or 2 forks, so it resembles, well “crumbles”.
Mix in oatmeal and walnuts

Source: The Hungry Housewife

Enter Halloween Recipes Here!!!

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

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Apple-Oat Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Buttercream

Hello, it’s Faith from An Edible Mosaic!  One of the reasons I love Halloween and fall is because it’s apple season.  Here in Upstate New York, apples are bountiful and I’m always looking for new ways to use them.  I like to make applesauce because it’s a great way to use a large amount of apples, but then I’m left looking for new ways to use applesauce, lol!  Applesauce cake is nothing new but this recipe for apple-oat cupcakes has a special new twist. 

I’ve made baked goods with oats before, but in this recipe I did something different by cooking the oats first (if you make a big pot of oatmeal for a family breakfast this is the perfect use for a leftover serving, or you can do what I did and cook up a quick serving of oatmeal).  The oatmeal in the batter keeps the cupcakes moist and chewy.  I call these cupcakes (instead of muffins) because they’re frosted, but if you leave the frosting off they’re really more like muffins.  I made these for Mike to take to work so I couldn’t resist making them a little more special with the addition of honey and cinnamon-flavored Swiss meringue buttercream.

Don’t forget, your Halloween submissions are due at 9PM EST on October 27.  Brandy and I are excited to see what you all come up with!

 

Apple-Oat Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Buttercream

(Yield:  16 cupcakes)

Cupcakes:

1/3 c rolled oats

1 c water, divided

1 c brown sugar

1/3 c canola oil

3 large eggs

3/4 c unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Buttercream:

2 large egg whites

1/3 c sugar

1/4 c honey

Pinch salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

Muffin tray

Paper liners

For the cupcakes:  Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin tray with paper liners.  In a small saucepan, combine oats with 2/3 c water and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low to low heat, stirring occasionally; set aside to cool.  In a large bowl, combine 1/3 c water, brown sugar, canola oil, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla; stir in the oatmeal.  In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, adding a little at a time until fully incorporated, being careful not to overmix.  Fill the muffin tray so that each well is 3/4 full; bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a couple crumbs.  Cool completely before frosting.

For the buttercream:  In a double boiler, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and honey.  Heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm (about 140F), whisking frequently (about 3-5 minutes).  Transfer the egg white mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Add the salt and cinnamon and beat on high speed until the mixture is thick and glossy (about 5-7 minutes).  Gradually add the butter piece by piece while beating; stop beating when the buttercream is thick and smooth.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, pipe the buttercream on top.

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Gingered Truffles

Hello, it’s Faith from An Edible Mosaic! Brandy and I are thrilled that fall is here because with it comes Halloween! Halloween to me means crisp days and cool nights, falling leaves, costumes, scary movies, and lots of candy. Brandy and I are excited to see what dishes say Halloween to all of you…and don’t forget there will be a great prize for the winner!

Over the years my love for chocolate hasn’t waned but my preferences have changed. I am pretty exclusive in my love for dark chocolate and to me, ginger is a natural pair. If you’ve ever had dark chocolate with cayenne pepper, adding ginger may not be strange to you since it creates a similar result; you can’t really pull out the flavor of ginger, but it makes the chocolate’s flavor come alive and creates a slight tingly afterburn. These truffles are a nice balance of flavors with the bitter chocolate, spicy ginger, and sweet turbinado sugar coating.

Gingered Truffles

(Yield: 12 truffles)

1/4 c plus 1 TB heavy cream
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut in half
8 oz good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (or a mix of both if you prefer), chopped into small pieces*
1/2 TB salted butter, at room temperature
3 TB turbinado sugar (or regular white sugar)
1 large piece crystalized ginger, minced (about 1 TB minced)

Place the chocolate in a medium-sized non-reactive bowl (such as glass or stainless steel). In a small saucepan, heat the cream and the ginger over low heat until it just barely starts to boil (giving the pan an occasional swirl). Turn the heat off, cover the saucepan, and let the cream steep with the ginger for 5 minutes. Uncover the saucepan, bring the cream back up to a gentle boil over low heat, then turn off the heat.

Strain the cream/ginger mixture through a fine mesh sieve and pour it over the chocolate. Let the chocolate sit for about 3 minutes, then stir (the chocolate should be totally melted but if not you can gently heat it in the microwave or a double boiler). Whisk in the butter, then refrigerate until the chocolate is chilled enough to hold its shape when you roll it.

In a food processor or blender, process the sugar and candied ginger a couple times until it’s as fine as you like it (I like to leave the ginger pieces a bit larger); transfer the gingered sugar topping to a large, shallow bowl. Use a tablespoon to scoop out the truffles, then roll each truffle in the gingered sugar. Keep refrigerated.

Crystallized Ginger

*Over on my blog, I’m running a Halloween Candy-Making Event where every week in October I post a new candy recipe. This recipe is also my second entry for that event. For this recipe, I used the complimentary Guittard chocolate I received; thanks again to Guittard for sponsoring my event!

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Halloween Announcement & Pumpkin Coffee Cake Recipe

Hi everyone! Brandy here from Nutmeg Nanny. Faith and I are so excited  that Fall is finally upon us! We are also excited to announce the start of another ATTYC event – Halloween. This is such a fun and delicious time of the year. We cannot wait to see what culinary wonders all of you cook up 🙂 Here is the posting schedule:

Sunday (Oct. 3):  Brandy announces event and posts recipe
Sunday (Oct. 10):  Faith posts recipe
Sunday (Oct. 17): Faith posts recipe
Sunday (Oct. 24):  Brandy posts recipe and announces MckLinky opening and recipe submissions
Wednesday (Oct. 27):  MckLinky closes at 9PM EST
Thursday (Oct.28):  Brandy posts round-up and winner

As always, Faith and I will try to post other Halloween inspired dishes on our personal blogs. Also remember that you can submit as many recipes as you want that feel inspired by Halloween. See here for complete rules on participating. Don’t forget there will be a great prize for the winner 🙂 Scroll down to see what it is!

Now, onto the cake 🙂 Have you ever had something that you loved so much but can barely find the words to fully describe it’s awesomeness? That is how I feel about this cake. It has a delicious pumpkin cake bottom and is then covered with massive amounts of crumbly sweet topping. I originally found this recipe on the blog Not So Humble Pie and took her advice when she told me to triple the amount of topping. It was surly wise advice. That topping was amazing. I only wish I had some of this cake to eat right now…sadly it is all gone 😦 However the good news is that I’m stocked up on pumpkin and can make it again! You should try it too 🙂

Pumpkin Coffee Cake:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
15 oz can pumpkin
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Streusel Topping: (I tripled this)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the inside of a tube or bundt pan with nonstick spray; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended. Add the pumpkin and eggs and mix thoroughly. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Mix on medium speed until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Prepare the streusel topping: In a small bowl combine the flour, sugars, cinnamon, melted butter and walnuts. Sprinkle the streusel over the cake batter. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Slide a knife around the pan so the cake doesn’t stick when removing it. Invert the cake onto a plate. Then invert the cake onto another plate, so that the streusel is on the top. Cool completely. Cover and store at room temperature.

(For two round cakes: coat two 8-inch rounds with non-stick spray and place a circle of parchment in the bottom. Divide the batter between the two pans, top with the streusel (x3) and bake for approximately 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.)

Not So Humble Brown Butter Icing:
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
whole milk

In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium low heat until fragrant and the butter solids are golden brown. Pour the butter into the sugar and combine with a whisk. Continue to mix, adding one tablespoon of milk at a time until you have a pourable icing.

Drizzle over the cooled cake, then abandon all dignity and begin stuffing chunks of it into your mouth.

Source: Not So Humble Pie

Now onto the prize! The winner of this months event will win Premium Bourbon Madagascar Vanilla Beans! Who wouldn’t want a few extra beans for their kitchen? They add awesome flavor to just about any baked good…yum!

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