{ Caramel Iced Pumpkin Drop Cookies }

It's family tradition here, as I'm sure it is in many, many homes across the country, to watch "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown".

Last year, even though Bean was 18 at the time, I started a new tradition for "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving". I gathered up all the foods the kids ate for Thanksgiving and served it as we watched.
(You can read more about this & other Holiday Tradition ideas here.)

I wanted to do something fun for Great Pumpkin as well, so I decided to make some pumpkin cookies to munch on while we watched last night.

These cookies are an easy recipe. They are a no fuss drop cookie. They bake up light, fluffy, and cakey, and sport a caramel icing. What could be better?

Lightly pumpkiny, lightly spicy, all yummy.

Great for any fall festivity or any day of the year.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Drop Cookies
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers
Makes approx 24 cookies

Pumpkin Cookies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg`
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cups flour

Caramel Icing:
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons milk
splash of vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar (sifted is best to break up any clumps)

For the cookies:
Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment or leave ungreased.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Sit aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together with mixer until they are light and fluffy. Blend in egg. Then add pumpkin and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture. When well blended, drop cookies by tablespoons full 2" apart onto baking sheet.

Bake 9-11 minutes until edges are golden. They will be puffy and light.

Allow to cool on wire racks before icing.

For icing:
Melt butter, then add in brown sugar. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil. Allow to boil one minute, remove from heat, and add in milk. Whisk in powdered sugar until glossy with no lumps.

Working quickly, dip cookies into warm icing, or spread on using a pastry brush. This icing will harden quite fast. Either leave on lowest setting while working, or return to stove if it hardens and allow it to warm to a spreadable consistency again.


Recipe adapted from Food.com 

{ Apple Flautas }

In High School, I had a weird, wacky, and wonderful Spanish teacher. Let's be honest here, aren't nearly ALL the langugage teachers weird and wacky? Our favorite thing she did was yelling "Ducles!" as she threw candies around the classroom.

My Spanish teacher was also my Odyssey of the Mind coach. Yeah, I was that kid. We'd often get together at her house to go over plans for our competiton. She would serve us up snacks and we pondered how to create machines, write our skit, go over music choices, etc.

One of the snacks she often had was Apple Flautas. I'd never had one before and I was instantly smitten. Her's were frozen and I've searched for them on and off over the years, but have never found them.

She'd bring them out and declare, "Flautas!", as she mimicked playing the flute so we'd know exactly what 'flauta' meant.

I finally decided to make them. They are really easy, so I'm not sure what took me so long.

You need minimual ingreidents, probably things you already have in house, and minimual time and effort. Let's be honest here, those are our favorite recipes, amiright?

You can garnish them with a little powdered sugar, caramel sauce, whipped topping, and sprinkles too!

They are also amazzzzing with vanilla ice cream.

So this one goes out to you, Senora Morton, where ever you are! Dulces! Dulces para todos!


Tina


Apple Flautas
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

12 flour tortillas (8"- taco sized)
1 -21 oz can apple pie filling
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For garnish:
whipped topping
powdered sugar
sprinkles
caramel sauce
-or-
serve with vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350 F, line rimmed pan with parchment paper, set aside.

Dice up the apples in the filling.

In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar.

Brush the outside of tortilla with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon mixture. Lay on prepared sheet and do the same to the inside. Repeat for remaining shells. Spoon filling in tortillas, roll up. Lay seam side down on baking sheet. Brush with a bit more butter and sprinkle again with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the apple filling is bubbly (A small amount may ooze out while baking, this is to be expected). Allow to cool slightly, serve warm.

{ Mummy Munch Party Mix }

Hey, hey, hey, here's my Mummy Bones & Mini Mummy Cookies in action. Cute, no?

But, before we get to that, let me tell you a little story.

Last week, I awoke to a delicious smelling breakfast. It was all mapley and wonderful smelling. I thought, aw, my sweet Bean has gotten up and fixed breakfast! What an awesome guy! What a total champ! I drag myself out of bed and to the kitchen to find... I'm the only one awake. Whut?

Hubs was at work that weekend, but I knew it was definitely not anything lingering because the man eats Cheerios every day. Huh. Maybe I was dreaming in Smellovision.

The next day, I awoke to the same smell. This time, totally convinced nothing was going down in my kitchen, I was starting to worry for my Old Factory sense along with, hello, my brain.

The third day it happened, I was really becoming concerned. Should I consult WedMD for 'awaking to delicious smells'?  Probably not. That never ends well.

On the fourth day, I noticed something. A basket I'd recently placed not far from my side of the bed. A basket I'd removed from my closet for fear it would smell up Bean's tuxedo which was hanging just above where said basket used to sit.

A basket... full of Scentsy wax melts.

Bad news? No specially made, delicious breakfast for me.

Good news? My nose and brain are in tact.

Better news?

I have an awesome Halloween Snack Mix for you.

I really like making party mixes. I have a few here on the blog.

They are so easy to make, always a big hit, and can be dressed up for any occasion. This party mix requires a bit more time than most, having the Mummy Bones, and Mini Mummy Cookies. They are definitely a fun addition, but if you are in a time crunch, the mix is still totally delish without them.

You'll just need a few basic ingredients and you are off.

Serve it at your Halloween party, bag it up and give as treats or party favors, or enjoy on your own while gathering around the TV and watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

For more Halloween goodness you HAVE to go check out Darla's Mocha Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Skull Cameos. They are AH-MAZE-ZING. Gorgeousness. You won't be sorry, so click on over to Bakingdom!

Happy Halloween!

Tina



Mummy Munch Party Mix
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

3 Cups Frosted Cheerios
3 Cups Rice Chex
3 Cups Popped Popcorn
1 Cup Mini Marshmallows
1 Cup Fall colored M&Ms
Fall sprinkles
6 blocks White Chocolate Almond Bark (or other white chocolate), melted
A few Mummy Bones (I only used about 12 for this mix)
A few Mini Mummy Head Cookies (I only used about 12 for this mix)

Line counter with parchment paper. Spread out cereal and popcorn. Pour white chocolate over. Allow to slightly cool, then toss with hands. Scatter sprinkles and M&Ms before chocolate is fully dried. Add marshmallows just before serving. Lay Mummy Bones & Mummy Head Cookies on top of the mix after you've put it into a bowl for serving. If packaging it up for party favors, add 1 mummy bone and 1 mini mummy head to each bag.

Store in airtight container.

{Caramel Apple Cake}

I think you all should know that today is Hermione Jean Granger's birthday, BUT, I promised not to talk about Harry Potter for a while, so, I did NOT just tell you that. (However, I WILL tell you that Darla has some aweeeeeesome cuppies made for our favorite smartypant's birthday. Oh, and there are also these that I made for her a while back!).

Anyway...

I've been following the production of what promises to be an amazing movie (no, not the new Potter universe film). The movie is called The Fault in Our Stars and is based on the best selling book of the same title by John Green. If you didn't already know, I'm a Nerdfighter and rabid fan of John Green. For reference, or to figure out what the heck a Nerdfighter is, see my post here.

Finally watching one of John's movies head to the screen (Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns were all optioned by movie companies, but never made) is pretty exciting. John has been on set and keeps posting videos and photos. It's all so much fun to see come to life.

The Fault in Our Stars has been by far John's most successful book (although they have all been on the best sellers list. In fact, early this year, they were all on the best seller list at the same time). Many celebs have read TFiOS, it's been in magazines, and John's even been on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

So, it's pretty popular. It's also going to be an AMAZING movie and I can't wait. I wasn't too excited about the actress cast as Hazel Grace, but, meh, I'm giving her a chance. She WAS nominated for a Golden Globe, so I guess the bad acting on the "teen" show was due to poor writing!

I'm totally over here in my corner having a hipster moment. You know, I liked John Green before it was cool, I read TFiOS before it was the big time. Yeah, I'm cool like that.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!! (I know, I know, I just lost my cool points yelling like a fool).

What does this have to do with the cake I made?

Exactly....nothing.

However, read the book. You'll need cake after. I promise.

This cake is a wonderful fall recipe. It's sweet but spicy, moist and covered in a delicious streusel. It's great for dessert or for breakfast. 

  Drizzle with a bit of caramel topping to make it even more delicious.

Then... eat up! 

 Hello, my lovely Fall treat. I've missed you and your friends so.

 

Le yum.

And as they say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome,
Tina

If you haven’t already,  you can ‘like’ my Facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here, and you can follow me on instagram here.


Caramel Apple Cake 
recipe by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

Cake:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

Topping:

1/4 cup butter, cold
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease a 9x9 baking pan and set aside

For Cake:
Beat together melted butter, egg, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add in caramel topping. After incorporated mix in dry ingredients. Finally, fold in apples. Pour into prepared pan.

For Topping:
In a mixing bowl, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles peas. Sprinkle over prepared cake.

Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool, drizzle with caramel ice cream topping, if desired.

{Cinnamon Streusel Topped Pumpkin Bread}

I'd apologize for what I'm about to talk about, but I'm not sorry, so... No.

DID YOU HEAR??????????? THERE ARE GOING TO BE NEW HARRY POTTER UNIVERSE MOVIES! GAH. SIRIUSLY. I. CAN'T. EVEN.

Practically the second it was announced, my niece posted on my timeline and asked if it was true. So, OK. I love two things about this. 1. that I've made excellent nerd minions in my nieces and child and 2. I'm like the leading authority on all things nerddom to them.


I immediately started iMessaging Darla. She wasn't responding. I was losing my mind. FINALLY she responded (her iPad wasn't making alert noises! Dumb Apple, this is ALL CAPS IMPORTANT).

Yes, her iPad's name is the Marauder's Map. Mine is the Monster Book of Monsters. What?!


Any Potter fan will know that there have been rumors, "official" news, leaks, etc all saying there would be new Potter books, etc... never true. We've gotten our hopes up only to have them dashed far too many times. This, is ALL TRUE. A series of movies (with all the screenplays being penned by good ole JK Rowling herself) starring the character Newt Scamander will be an expansion of the Wizarding World. Not techinally Harry Potter movies at all... guess what? No one cares! Wizards, witches, magic, adventure, Fantastic Beasts... and where to find them! YESSSSSSSSS.

So, we continued to freak out. Then Darla said that she was weakened by the excitement and needed a snack. I thought that was an excellent idea.

This is her snack. She posted the photo on her instagram.


My snack? Well, it was also tea. And bread. Pumpkin bread. This bread in fact, but wait.. there's MORE.

Then SHE messaged ME with news

We are going to Orlando next September. We'll be doing Disney and, of course, Potter World (The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Universal Studios). There was always speculation that the new London part of WWoHP would be done in the summer. We were PRETTY SURE that we would be in the clear and able to see it, but honestly, NOT being there in time was a huge fear. Especially for Darla who is flying back from The Netherlands to go! So, confirmation that it will open Spring 2014 when we aren't going until Fall 2014? AWE-to the-SOME.

So, anyway, back to the bread... (Finally, right? Whatever.. POTTER!!!!!!!!).


What better thing to make for Potter than pumpkin....

This gorgeous, glorious, fall scented, flavor packed bread is a creation of none other than the crazed Potter fan above, Darla.

Just look at that wonderful streusel!

Yuuuuuuuuuuuuum.

This is a quick and easy recipe. It's also quite large. It makes 3 full sized loaves.

You'll want to give two away. Otherwise you'll eat it. ALL. It's that good.

Mine are definitely finding new homes today. I really want to still fit into the seat on the Forbidden Journey next year at Potter World!

So, um.. I promise not to talk about Harry Potter for a while. It'll be a struggle for me, but I know I've had an influx of Potter posts lately (sorry, not sorry).

Well.... it most likely won't be about Potter anyway ;)

Until then...

Tina (a very, very happy Potter fan)

P.S. (See all my Potter posts here)

P.P.S. If you haven’t already,  you can ‘like’ my Facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here, and you can follow me on instagram here.

Recipe:

Cinnamon Streusel Topped Pumpkin Bread

The only variations I made were:

I didn't use the pepitas & I sprinkled the loaves with a bit of brown sugar fresh from the oven. This gave them a most excellent crunch when cooled.