Still baking, just not blogging about it. We had this Lemon Yogurt Cake with sweetened whipped cream and blueberries last night. It was very nice. Not a super heavy dessert, which is good sometimes.

Frozen Yogurt

I found this recipe and decided to dust off my ice cream maker and try it out to see if it could compete with all these new and trendy yogurt places...the verdict? Pretty close. I liked it best just out of the ice cream maker or after it had been in the freezer for only a short time. Frozen Yogurt

2 c. plain yogurt (I used Trader Joe's Organic)

1/2 c. whole milk

3/8 c. sugar

mix all ingredients and pour into ice cream maker (mine's a Cuisinart) for about 25 minutes. Top with fruit.

Pumpkin Bread

This is my second time with this recipe and it is a keeper for sure! I am sorry to admit that I'm a bit of a failure when it comes to making banana bread...I've been on the quest for quite some time now and haven't quite done it right, this on the other hand is another story. This time I sprinkled some Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips on top and it turned into a bit of a chocolate river down the middle...a pleasant surprise! I also used King Arthur's white whole wheat flour, making it a little healthier but not any less delicious. Pumpkin Bread

Mix:

1 c. pumpkin

1/2 c. oil

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

Add:

1 3/4 c. flour

1/4 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

3/4 t. salt

1/2 t. cloves

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for about an hour at 325 degrees.

Apple Cider Syrup

We had this along with our pumpkin pancakes on Halloween morning. I made the syrup and mixed the dry ingredients (I left out chocolate chips this year) for the pancakes the night before making it pretty quick to put together in the morning. The syrup paired nicely with the pancakes and was definitley the highlight for me.

Apple Cider Syrup

1 1/2 c. apple cider
1 c. corn syrup
1 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 c. brown sugar
4 T. butter
1 t. cinnamon

Bring to a boil then turn down heat and simmer for 20+ minutes until thickened. Let stand for 30 minutes.

*I halved the recipe and it was plenty for us!

(I found this recipe in the comments section on the blog This Week for Dinner in a call for pumpkin recipes...it was suggested with another pumpkin pancake recipe)

Spiderweb Cheesecake

I found the idea for this Spiderweb Cheesecake in the October issue of Martha Stewart Living. It was just so cute I had to try it out! I ended up halving the recipe and making it in a regular pie dish rather than the springform pan, so the presentation wasn't quite as stunning, but I knew I didn't need a cheesecake of quite the magnitude of the original recipe. It worked out perfectly in the pan with half the recipe.

The things I would do differently if making it again are...
1. the crust turned out a little more crumbly than I would have liked, which was probably my fault for adding a little too many crumbs (not enough butter)
2. It needs to be served very well chilled.

Other than that it was pretty tasty for a no bake cheesecake, was pretty simple to put together, and has extra cute gumdrop spiders that go with it. It was a fun and festive project!

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

I came across this Martha Stewart recipe on a blog that I read often...Stephmodo was guest blogging on petit elephant and talked about them there. I was a bit intrigued by the fresh ginger. It remined me of the triple ginger snaps from Trader Joe's that we discovered last fall. These cookies definitely came out with a good balance of ginger (fresh and ground) and chocolate. A yummy fall addition!

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

7 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1 1/2 c. plus 1 tablespoon flour

1 1/4 t. ground ginger

1/4 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1 T. cocoa powder

1/2 c. butter

1 T. freshly grated ginger

1/2 c. dark-brown sugar, packed

1/2 c. unsulphered molasses

1 t. baking soda

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks (or just use good chocolate chips!), set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmet, and cocoa. In a separate bowl, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar, beat until combined. Add molasses, beat until combined. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 t. boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking soda mixture, then remaing half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to bout 1 inch thick; seal with plastic wrap, refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into 2-inch balls; place 2 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar/cinnamon mixture and return to baking sheets. Bake until surfaces crack slightly about 12-14 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Rocky Road Brownies

This was my little Friday night baking experiment and it turned out really well...probably some of the best brownies I've ever made and I'm a brownie fan, so that's saying something! The brownie recipe is one that my mom found years ago (Snow Flurry Brownies). They normally call for white chocolate chips but are good with any or no form of chocolate chips...it's definitely my favorite quick brownie recipe. They always turn out fabulous as long as they don't get overbaked! I only wanted a few this time, so I halved the recipe and baked them in an 8 1/2 inch loaf pan. It worked out perfectly and we came out with about 5 brownies...which is good since there are only a few of us and I have a severe weakness for brownies!

without further ado...

Rocky Road Brownies

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 t. vanilla
2/3 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Mix together and bake in an 8x8 (foil lined) pan at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Do not overbake!

Chop up about 1/4 c. almonds and halve several large marshmallows, enough to scatter over the top. Remove brownies about 5 minutes before they are finished cooking and quickly place marshmallow halves on top and sprinkle almonds over marshmallows, return to the oven to finish baking. Brownies are done when a few moist crumbs stick to a toothpick inserted in the center. Remove them from the oven and let them cool slightly. (the loaf pan only took about 12 minutes before I put the marshmallows on and then 3-4 additional minutes to finish.) Make ganache out of 1/4-1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips and a few tablespoons of heavy cream...heat in microwave on 50% power for 30 second increments until starting to melt and then stir to melt the chocolate completely. Place ganache in a ziploc bag and snip off the corner. Drizzle desired amount over the top of the brownies. Let them cool completely and then refrigerate until ganache is set. Cut into bars and enjoy!

foil lining the pan helped to remove them easily and made them look prettier when they were finished and cut.