Reese's White Chocolate Popcorn

Happy Halloween!

For the past several years, I've had this obsession with making white chocolate popcorn.  It is delicious, super easy and there are tons of variations.

This Halloween we are going with white chocolate popcorn drizzled in dark chocolate with Reese's Pieces sprinkled throughout.

Super healthy, I know.

The hardest part of making this snack - dodging my dogs as they were dancing around the kitchen and hoping that I would drop something.  They are huge fans of popcorn.  They are NOT huge fans of Halloween costumes, just in case you were wondering.

Yep - I'm that pet parent.  Their shame is well worth my entertainment.

If you have twenty minutes to spare this holiday season, you can put together this delicious snack with three or four ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.  And there really isn't any "cooking" involved.  Unless you count melting chocolate chips in the microwave as cooking.

You will need:

• 1 bag of popcorn
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup Reese's Pieces

To start, pop a bag of popcorn (or you can be fancy and make it the old-fashioned way, but I don't have the patience for that mess).  Make sure that you get all of the unpopped kernels out of the bowl.

Next, melt the white chocolate chips by placing them in a microwave safe bowl and heating for 15-second intervals until fully melted.

Pour the melted chocolate over your bowl of popcorn, and mix together with a large plastic spoon.  You may need to coat the spoon in non-stick spray, as this does tend to get rice-krispy-treat messy.  Throw in as many Reese's Pieces as you feel necessary (roughly a cup did it for me), and spread out onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.

If you want to add a little more pizzazz (and I always do), melt dark chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 15-second intervals until melted.  Take a fork and drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn.  Your finished product should look something like this:

Now it just needs to set.  You can leave it out for around 15 minutes, or place it in the fridge if you want it to harden a bit faster.  Just break it into pieces, place in a bowl and munch away!

I warn you - this stuff is addictive.  And you may also hate regular popcorn after having eaten it covered in this sugary goodness.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Jordan

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Not that I had a whole lot of say in the matter, but I love that I was born in October.  Fall is my favorite season, and getting to celebrate my birth with a pumpkin themed extravaganza every year is a special treat in and of itself.

If you live anywhere within driving distance of southern Indiana, I highly recommend that you visit Huber's Orchard, Winery & Vineyards.  Yes, there's probably an orchard somewhere much closer.  Trust me - this place is well worth the drive.

As you can see, my friends were super excited to be there!

It is located in Starlight, Indiana, and my family has been going there for years.  They have tons of produce that you can pick yourself or (for the less adventurous types) they also have a market where you can just buy it by the bag (you party poopers, you).  The market is stocked with freshly made breads, pies, soup mixes, every jam and preserve imaginable, candy and an assortment of fruits and veggies.

Also - they bake fresh apple cider and pumpkin donuts.  The smell alone when you walk up is enough to make you gain ten pounds.

In a good way - if that makes sense.

There's also an ice cream shop, grill where you can get burgers and corn on the cob, and a winery.  Many an afternoon has been spent sitting outside next to a cart full of pumpkins, sharing a pitcher of sangria and listening to live music as the leaves fall around you.

Yes, we each got our own pitcher.  Judge all you want.

It really is a magical place.

Now that I'm done sharing my top secret orchard tips with you - pumpkins.  Like many Americans, as soon as the weather dips below 70 degrees, I become obsessed with all things pumpkin.  Candles, cookies, soups, etc.

My favorite? These pumpkin cheesecake muffins.  A sweet pumpkin muffin topped with brown sugar and pecans, with a cheesecake surprise in the center.  Any time I can somehow work cheesecake into my breakfast, I'm a happy camper.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

PREP TIME: 30 minutes
BAKE TIME: 15 minutes
MAKES: 2 dozen muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil
• Filling
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• Topping
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

WHIP IT UP

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin and oil.  Stir into wet mixture just until moistened.
4. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups one-third full.
5. For filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and flour until smooth.  Drop by tablespoonfuls into the center of each muffin.
6. Top with remaining batter.
7. For topping, combine pecans and brown sugar; sprinkle over batter.
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes.
9. After removing from oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan to a wire rack.
10. Refrigerate leftovers.

I've actually started making these as a Thanksgiving breakfast treat.  We usually try to skip lunch in preparation for the turkey festivities in the evening, so starting off with a pumpkin cheesecake muffin in the morning will hold you over until dinner.  And there's just something wonderful about the smell of baking pumpkin wafting through my house as I watch the parade.

Enjoy!

Jordan

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Cherry Vanilla Oatmeal Cookies

Fall is here!

Well - fall is almost here.  They are still forecasting some 70-degree days here in Indianapolis, but that's still chilly enough to start wearing sweater dresses and boots.  And that's close enough for me.

As soon as the weather becomes somewhat appropriate, I bust out my sweater socks and pumpkin candles (like I haven't been burning them for weeks) and baking season begins.

Yep - and it smells sooooo good.

Lately I have had an obsession with dried cranberries.  Like I could eat an entire bag of Craisins in one sitting.  I have no shame.

I especially love baking with cranberries, dried or otherwise.  But most people would say it's too early for cranberry cookies.  I disagree, but in my attempt to appeal to the masses - I found the next best thing: cherry flavored Craisins.

So in essence, I've lied to you.  These are really "Cherry Juice Infused Cranberry Vanilla Oatmeal Cookies."  But that didn't quite roll off the tongue.  So forgive the deception - and just pretend that there are really dried cherries in these cookies.

Or buy actual dried cherries and use those instead.  Whatever floats your boat.

I'm not normally a huge oatmeal cookie fan - but these are delish.  And because you put the oats in a food processor before adding them to the mix, you get the taste of oatmeal cookies, without the oatmeal cookie consistency.

A sweet, vanilla flavored cookie with the tang of dried cherries (technically cranberries, but still).

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
BAKE TIME: 13-15 minutes
MAKES: roughly 3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups oats (chopped in food processor)
1 cup Cherry Craisins

WHIP IT UP

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter and brown sugar with a mixer on low speed.
3. Add egg and vanilla. Continue to mix on low speed until blended.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon and baking powder.
5. Add a cup at a time of the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mixing until blended.
6. Stir in oats.
7. Stir in Cherry Craisins.
8. Roll into teaspoon size balls and place on greased cookie sheet.
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Until it becomes socially acceptable to bake with cranberries, I will continue to lie to all of you and make cookies with cranberries in disguise.  Enjoy!

Jordan

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Mini More - Banana Pudding Cupcakes

I cannot cook.

I can't even make pasta correctly.  My cooking skills pretty much end at pizza assembly.  But I love to bake.  You would think that the two would be somewhat related - but I haven't found that to be the case.

I found this recipe for Banana Pudding Cupcakes from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen several years ago.  It definitely seemed like a winner - I love banana pudding.  I love cupcakes.  And any time I find a recipe for homemade frosting I get a tiny bit excited.  As in happy-dance-in-the-middle-of-my-kitchen excited.

It's the little things.

As you will deduce about me, I usually bake for functions.  I don't typically like baked goods sitting on my counter at home staring at me.  Bad things happen that way.  So I brought the Banana Pudding Cupcakes to work and people lost their minds.  I received emails praising the cupcakes as the best thing anyone had ever tasted.  Ever.  For every work function after that, there were demands for the banana cupcakes.

So I was grocery shopping at my local Target the other day when I came across these babies.

THESE EXIST?!?

So naturally I knew that I must make a mini version of the Banana Pudding Cupcakes.  Because the only thing better than dessert is miniature dessert.

PREP/DECO TIME: 30 minutes
BAKE TIME: 15 minutes
MAKES: roughly 75 mini cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

• Box of mini vanilla wafers
• French vanilla cake mix (plus ingredients listed on box)
• Filling
• Small box instant banana cream pudding
• 1 3/4 cup cold milk
• Frosting
• 1 cup cold milk
• Small box instant French vanilla pudding
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 4 oz. whipped cream cheese
• 8 oz. whipped topping (thawed)

WHIP IT UP

1. First prepare the frosting (it takes an hour to firm in the fridge).  In a large bowl, whisk together milk, French vanilla pudding and powdered sugar until thick and smooth.
2. Whisk in whipped cream cheese until blended.
3. Fold in whipped topping, and place in refrigerator for an hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line your mini cupcake pans with paper liners.
5. Place a mini vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cupcake liner.
6. Prepare cupcake batter as called for on box, and fill each mini liner 2/3 of the way full.
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
8. Place mini cupcakes on a wire rack and let cool.
9. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare the filling.  In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and banana pudding mix until thick (about 2 minutes).
10. Place pudding in refrigerator to set until cupcakes are fully cooled.
11. Once cupcakes have cooled, cut a small circle in the center of each cupcake and fill with banana pudding (see below for a trick to do this).
12. Once frosting has firmed, pipe onto the top of each cupcake.
13. In a plastic bag, crush up some mini vanilla wafers.  Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with vanilla wafer crumbles, and top with a mini vanilla wafer.
14. Store any uneaten cupcakes in the refrigerator.  If you have any left.

After you've prepped the frosting, place the liners in the cupcake pan and place a mini vanilla wafer in the bottom of each liner.

Fill each liner with cupcake mix and bake for about 15 minutes.  Once the cupcakes have cooled, they need to be filled! A trick my lovely mother taught me? Use an apple corer.

Just insert the apple corer into the center of the cupcake.  Sometimes you might need to twist it.

And out pops your cupcake "core."

Fancy, right? Now just fill with the banana pudding.

And pop the core right back in its place.  Pipe on your frosting, sprinkle with vanilla wafer crumbles and top with a mini vanilla wafer.  Ta-da! You now have pudding filled mini cupcakes.  Your life may never be the same.

Stay tuned - I will be sharing recipes for many more of my favorite miniature desserts!

Jordan

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