Pumpkin Spice Scones

Every time I open a can of pumpkin, I know exactly what I am going to do with it. Well, at least part of it. The fun thing is figuring out what to do with the sometimes 1/3 cup or so, of pumpkin puree that I have leftover.

I don't even remember how I happened upon this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Scones,
from Pinch my Salt. But I read that the recipe had been triple tested until it was just right and I loved the spices that were included in these scones. Also the two different icings, cinnamon and ginger-molasses had me intrigued.
These scones were absolutely amazing. I don't know if it was the fact that these had cake flour in them, but they were so soft and delicious. I can't even explain the texture, it was unbelievable. Cathy and I were tweeting about these and we completely agreed, so its not just me that raved about these.
The spices were absolutely perfect too.
I left out the raisins, just because I felt like it. I love raisins, but I really didn't want them in these for some reason.
I can't wait to make these again over the Christmas break. Perfect for breakfast, brunch or a snack.
I will use any excuse to make these again.


I made a little bit of a change on the icing-- I poured a little bit of molasses in a bowl- added some ground ginger and about 1 cup of powdered sugar. added skim milk until I could get it to come together. More ginger and molasses, until it had that spicy bite.


Recipe for Pumpkin Spice Scones

Spiced Pumpkin Doughnuts

Let me just start out this post by saying that I do not enjoy frying foods at home. I rarely ever do it. And even when I do fry things, I use just a tiny bit of oil.
I saw these Spiced Pumpkin Donuts in, (surprise!), a holiday baking magazine and loved the fact that the dough was very simple to mix together- there was no yeast involved, and was interested in a pumpkin flavored donut.

I mixed up the donut dough/batter the night before I wanted to fry the donuts because it had to rest for at least 3 hours in the fridge, so I figured why not overnight?
I decided to make them on a school morning, so I had to get up a little earlier than usual to get them done. It was the day that I was taking my mom back to the airport. It also happened to be my son's teacher's birthday. He wanted to take her something, so he ended up bringing her a warm donut.
These donuts couldn't be easier. (Sorry the picture above is so blurry! My camera was dying and I was hurrying to get to the airport)
Like I mentioned before, you mix up the no-yeast-involved dough and let it rest in the fridge for couple of hours. Then you roll out the dough, but it into donut shapes and fry them for a few minutes on each side. Then they are rolled in a spiced sugar mixture.
I let my kids each have one, my son took one to school for his teacher and my hubby took the leftovers to work. The flavor was good and the spiced sugar was really tasty on these donuts.

When I went to fry them, I only had a tiny bit of canola oil, so I barely had enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan I was using. I was scared that the donuts wouldn't puff up or cook because I didn't have enough oil, but they still came out just right.

If you have a special occasion over the holidays or want to make a special breakfast, these donuts would be a perfect addition!

Recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Doughnuts

Celebrating National Bundt Day: Buttermilk Bundt w/ Spiced Vanilla Icing and Chocolate Zucchini Mini Bundts

(If you are looking for a MSC Cupcake, it is posted below this post, I promise)

So, how many of you know that today is National Bundt Day?
I wouldn't have known if it hadn't been for The Food Librarian.

30 Days ago she started her "I like Big Bundt" countdown to National Bundt Day, which means that for the past 30 days, leading up to today, she has posted a different bundt cake everyday. She started with the Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing, which I couldn't resist. I saw that bundt on day 1 and made it immediately.

The past 30 days have brought lots of delicious looking bundts. I really really wanted to make this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, ok, well, obviously, you get the idea.
I love Holiday Baking Magazines and I saw this bundt cake recipe in a special edition of Fine Cooking called Sweet Cakes. The link to the recipe is at the very bottom of this post.
I was very intrigued because this bundt cake contains shredded butternut squash. I have never seen a baked good that called for shredded butternut squash, so I decided I would make this bundt for National Bundt Day.

This bundt was a basic buttermilk cake with nutmeg and ground ginger, both of which I doubled because I like spices (ALOT). The shredded butternut squash is folded in at the end, right before you pop it in the oven. The icing also has buttermilk and nutmeg (doubled again) and I added ground ginger, for a little extra zing. Crystallized ginger is finely chopped and sprinkled over the icing.
I don't have a review on how this one tastes, yet. I wrapped it tightly and shipped it to my family in Utah, because I knew my younger brothers (17, 21) would be able to devour the entire thing in a matter of minutes and their bodies would never know the difference. And because my mom always said that sharing makes it taste better.
I did taste one tiny little crumb and it was good.
My girls were dipping their fingers in the leftover icing that had drizzled down the sides onto a piece of foil and they LOVED it
Of course I had to overdo it on National Bundt Day and make some baby Bundts to join in the fun. I really wanted to make the Chocolate Zucchini Bundt that Mary featured a couple of weeks ago and I happened to have a bunch of zucchini that needed to be used asap. I tried talking myself out of it and finally decided that I would just make 1/2 recipe and make some mini bundts.
When I was flipping through my copy of King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, I saw a recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake which only used whole wheat flour and which could also be made in a bundt pan, so I went with that recipe instead. The whole wheat made me feel better about making it and eating it.
I made 1/2 of the recipe and it made 5 mini bundts. I skipped the glaze since I was going for a healthier treat anyway and just made a simple powdered sugar/milk glaze instead.
My kids really, really, really liked these mini bundts. I was going to send some to work with my husband, but they just didn't last long enough.
You can tell that they have whole wheat in them, because they do taste a little bit heartier and healthier than normal cake, but it really goes with the whole zucchini thing anyway. Very, very good.

I hope you have a wonderful Bundt Day! Bake someone a bundt and share the love!


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Chocolate Zucchini Cake from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking
use 9*13-inch pan or a 10-cup Bundt
Cake:
2 1/2 cups traditional whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar (I used dark)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, or vegetable oil (I used butter)
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips
Glaze: (optional)
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup chocolate chips
2 tsps corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the pan of your choice. (I used baking spray w/ flour)
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, powder and salt in a medium bowl (I added 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon to this mixture).
Stir together the sugars and butter (or oil) in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla; mix well.
Add half the dry ingredients. stirring until evenly moistened. Stir in the zucchini, then the remaining flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched, 45 to 50 minutes. (My mini bundts were done in 23-25 minutes). Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes.
If using a bundt pan, remove the cake from the pan and cool completely.
If using 9*13-inch pan, you can serve from the pan of invert cake onto a platter and drizzle with the glaze.

To make the glaze: Heat the heavy cream to a simmer, and pour over the chocolate chips in a bowl. Stir in the corn syrup, and keep stirring until there are no more lumps and the mixture is smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake, if desired.

Recipe for Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Spiced Vanilla Icing

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

My kids are always asking me to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I like making warm, delicious breakfasts, but I think I would have to get up at 4 am to have warm cinnamon rolls ready on a school day. A few years ago, I might have sacrificed my sleep and gotten up that early, but the older I get, the more sleep I need or the less willing I am to sacrifice my sleep for baking. Go figure!

We barely wake up in time to make it to school, so I was trying to find a quick alternative to traditional cinnamon rolls.

I was asking people on Twitter if they had any fast cinnamon roll recipes and Sarah, who has a wonderful blog- Blue Ridge Baker, told me about these Quick Cinnamon Biscuits that she found on Rebecca's blog- Ezra Pound Cake. Check out Sarah's post about these too- she topped them with a maple caramel sauce. Yummy!

I looked over the recipe and had everything I needed to try them out.

I made them on a Sunday morning and sure enough- they were ready in a flash!
You mix the dough together in a bowl and it is ready in, maybe 2 minutes or something? They are super easy to fill and roll, too.
Perfect.

The filling has nutmeg and cinnamon mixed with the brown sugar which I think really adds a little something special to these.

The recipe says that it yields 9 biscuits/rolls, but I got 12.
They do not taste exactly like a cinnamon roll that is made with yeast dough, hence the word biscuit in the recipe name, but they made my children very happy. If you do make these, know that they will have the texture and taste of a sweet biscuit.

My son ate the 2 that were leftover, the next morning on the way to school and he decided he liked them better cold. (I stored them in the fridge over night.)

I could totally get these ready on a school morning. There is hope for me.
You should try these- they are easy and delicious!


Recipe for Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

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