New Tricks for Favorite Treats

Trick or Treat - The treats are always the best. This Halloween I've done some new tricks with a couple of favorite recipes. My all-time-best-banana bread has become Pumpkin Bread and the always favorite Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossom cookies have become Pumpkin Blossoms.

PUMPKIN BLOSSOMS

Ingredients:

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 large eggs

pinch of kosher salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½  teaspoon ground nutmeg

½  teaspoon ground cloves

48 (or more) Hershey Kisses, any variety, unwrapped

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Spray a mini muffin pan with baking spray. Set aside.

2.     In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, butter, pumpkin, egg and salt until combined . Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Blend completely for 1-2 minutes.

3.     Using a small scoop, fill each muffin cup with about 1 ½ Tablespoon of batter.

4.     Bake for about 18 minutes. Removed from oven and immediately press a Hershey Kiss in the center of each blossom.

5.     Allow to cook in pan about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and enjoy. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

I  had lots of help unwrapping the Kisses!

Pumpkin Kisses didn't hold their shape as well as the
chocolate ones below. 

Today is a friends birthday, I'm sure there are disadvantages to having a birthday on Halloween, but it does make it easy to remember! So yesterday when I wanted to take her a seasonal treat, I altered the Banana bread I usually make by substituting 1 can of pumpkin for the 3-4 bananas.

Pumpkin Nut Bread

Ingredients: 

¾ cup butter, softened

1 package (8 0z) cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ cups pumpkin puree

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups chopped pecans, divided

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, add to creamed mixture. Fold in 1 cup pecans.

Transfer to two greased 8 inch x 4 inch x 2 inch loaf pans. Sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 ¼ hours or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

In a small bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients (powdered sugar and pumpkin spice coffee creamer), drizzle over loaves.

Isn't this a lovely pumpkin color?

My favorite glaze ingredients