HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Whether you’re hosting a Halloween party, attending a potluck, or simply craving something sweet, Halloween rice krispie treats are a classic choice. Loved for their crispy texture, chewy marshmallow consistency, and endless decorating possibilities.
Rice Krispie treats have been around for about 85 years. Snap, crackle, pop! These three words have become synonymous with Rice Krispies, the breakfast cereal made from pieces of crisped rice that, when combined with milk, emit a noise that you can probably imagine while reading this. Regardless of the last time you enjoyed a bowl of Rice Krispies in the morning, it’s clear that the beloved brand exudes childhood nostalgia. The iconic mascot trio, memory-stimulating sound, shape, and aroma are embedded into many memories.
Rice Krispies Treats are a legendary confection with an undemanding recipe that has graced several generations. Not only are the possibilities endless with these delicious treats that kids and grown-ups can enjoy but they can bring a challenging cake shape to life while making the process so much more manageable. Intricately sculpted cakes often have a surprise inside: rice cereal treats. Swapping traditional batter for these crispy treats provides structure and strength to modeled cakes that you just can’t get with fondant and modeling chocolate alone. And the best part is, the method you use to sculpt the cake afterward isn’t that different than when you sculpt a traditional batter-filled cake.
For some tasty little Halloween treats this year, I’m making some cinnamon bun rice krispie rolls with a cream cheese frosting. I can think of a few kids & adults who will enjoy these!
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Cinnamon Bun Rice Krispie Rolls w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
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Instructions
Rice Krispies
Line a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Spray well with cooking spray. Set aside
In a large pot, melt marshmallows, butter, vanilla & cinnamon over low heat. Stir until melted & smooth. Remove from heat & stir in rice krispies. Scrape rice krispie mixture onto prepared pan. Using well buttered hands, press out evenly into pan. Let cool to room temperature.
Filling
In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, butter, cinnamon & flour until creamy.
Assembly
Carefully spread filling onto the rice krispies. Sprinkle with pepita seeds. Roll up from the long side like a jelly roll while rice krispies are still flexible. Press firmly as you roll.
Place in fridge for 15-20 minutes. When it feels FIRM, cut into 1/2-inch slices using a serrated blade & sawing motion. You should get approximately 24 slices.
Frosting
Beat together cream cheese, vanilla & powdered sugar until smooth. Place in a piping bag & pipe a swirl onto each slice. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon if you wish. Keep in refrigerator.
Fall is here and its pumpkin season! It’s like a pumpkin explosion in the stores this time of year with pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin spice candles, pumpkin spice Oreos, pumpkin spice M&Ms, pumpkin spice Ramen noodles, Doritos and so many others.
Unlike pumpkins, however, blueberries have a flavor that knows no season or food type. They pair well with just about anything, and pumpkins are no exception. Blueberries have just enough sweetness to complement pumpkin-y flavors and stay juicy during the baking process.
These pumpkin blueberry muffins make for an ideal autumn indulgence.
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Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins
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Instructions
Muffins
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8 cup large muffin tin with parchment papers/cups
In a large bowl, whisk together 1 2/3 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & allspice. In a small bowl, combine pumpkin puree with milk.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter & brown sugar until creamy. Add egg; beat until fluffy.
Alternately add flour & pumpkin mixtures to butter mixture, stirring just until blended. Combine blueberries with 1 Tbsp flour in a small dish. Fold gently into mixture. Spoon batter carefully into prepared muffin cups.
Topping
In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon & salt. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add pepitas & combine. Divide evenly over muffin batter.
Baking
Bake for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool in pan for a few minutes then remove to a rack to finish cooling. Store muffins in a covered container.
Recipe Notes
- If you would prefer smaller muffins, divide batter between 12 paper lined standard muffin cups. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
One thing that really makes muffins and coffee cakes of all types extra special good is a sweet and crunchy streusel topping. These fluffy vanilla rhubarb cupcakes are topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting, drizzled with poached rhubarb and then sprinkled with some crunchy, spicy, baked streusel.
The simple addition of Chinese 5-spice powder makes for a delicious aromatic streusel. Five spice powder combines Chinese cinnamon with anise, cloves, ginger and fennel in a delicious balance that complements rhubarb, coaxing out more of its natural aroma. Adding pepita seeds and baking the crumble separately, creates a special crunchier topping.
The basic streusel is very versatile in that it can be customized to your personal preferences or what you have on hand. Here are a few suggestions:
- Use 2 cups flour OR 1 cup rolled oats * 3/4 cup whole-grain flour * 3/4 cup cookie or cracker crumbs
- Use 3/4 cup sugar OR 3/4 cup brown sugar * 1/2 cup raw sugar * 1/2 cup maple syrup
- Use 1 cup butter OR 1 cup brown butter * 1/2 cup nut/seed butter * 1/4 cup coconut oil * 1/4 cup oil or sesame oil
- Add-Ins .. 1 cup coconut flakes or nuts * spices & zests * 1/2 cup toasted seeds * 1/2 cup cocoa powder or wheat germ
I realize, this is a lot of steps for just a cupcake, but I think you’ll love them.
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Crunchy Streusel Rhubarb Cupcakes
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Ingredients
Sour Cream Rhubarb Cupcakes
Ingredients
Sour Cream Rhubarb Cupcakes
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Instructions
Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line 9 muffin cups with large paper cups.
Wash rhubarb & trim ends. Cut rhubarb into a 1/4-inch dice. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, sour cream, melted butter, vanilla & orange zest. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir until the flour is fully incorporated. Do not over-mix. Fold in rhubarb. The batter will be thick. Scoop the batter into 9 muffin cups, evenly distributing batter.
Bake for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, decrease the oven temperature to 350 F. & bake for another 12 - 15 minutes or until cupcakes test done. Remove from oven & cool completely on a wire rack.
Poached Rhubarb
Place rhubarb, water, sugar, food coloring (if using) & cardamom in a saucepan. Simmer very gently for about 3-5 minutes or until rhubarb is soft but NOT mushy! Put a strainer on top of a bowl. Pour mixture into strainer & put the rhubarb pieces in another dish to cool. Pour the liquid back into the saucepan & let simmer until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Pour into a bowl to let cool. Gently combine rhubarb & syrup.
Pepita 5-Spice Streusel
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stir until incorporated. Using your fingers, form fine crumbs. Spread the crumbs on a small cookie sheet and bake on a rack in the middle of the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until light golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely to room temperature. Crumble with fingers.
Frosting
Beat butter until pale. Add powdered sugar & beat until smooth & pale, about 1 minute. Add softened cream cheese & ginger; beat until smooth.
Assembly
Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle with frosting. Top each cupcake with a dollop of frosting then using a spoon, create a well in each dollop. Spoon a bit of poached rhubarb inside of each well. Sprinkle with pepita streusel.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Chinese 5-spice. The aroma and flavor are just pure magic. This peppery-sweet mixture provides endless options for its use.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about this spice blend is how well it compliments both sweet and savory dishes.
In this recipe, the apricots offer a subtle sweetness to these cookies, while the Chinese 5- spice adds a spicy perspective and chopped pepitas add a nutty crunch. Blend that all together with oatmeal & raisins and you get a nice range of flavors.
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Apricot Raisin Five-Spice Oatmeal Cookies
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Instructions
Cream butter & sugars together well. Add egg & vanilla; beat until light & fluffy.
Sift together flour, five-spice powder, nutmeg, salt & baking soda.
Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. When the dry ingredients are almost incorporated, add the oatmeal, raisins, apricots & seeds.
Chill the dough for about an hour before baking for best results.
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Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes. Do not over bake or the cookies will lose their chewy texture.
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Israeli Couscous is an invention of the North American culinary mind, just like French and Italian dressing. In Israel, the dish is known as ‘petitim’, which means little crumbles in Hebrew. It was created by the Osem food company in the early 1950’s at the request of Ben Gurion, the prime minister of Israel at the time. Israel was in its early beginnings as a new state and resources were very scarce. At that time the government imposed a period of rationing known as ‘tzena‘. Osem was asked to develop a starch that was more affordable than rice which was very expensive at the time. The company’s response to this request was petitim or small rice shaped pieces of pasta that were toasted. Later, Osem expanded it’s product line to include the little round balls of pasta we know as Israeli couscous.
Couscous has a neutral taste, just like pasta, but infused with broths, stocks, meats, vegetables, and spices will become a satisfying meal. If you are a fan of butternut squash, this dish pairs the lovely sweetness of butternut squash and spicy beef with Israeli couscous.
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Couscous & Beef Stuffed Butternut Squash
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a sheet pan with foil & butter.
Cut butternut squash in half. Remove seeds & membrane. Rub oil on cut sides & place cut-side down on roasting pan, season with salt & pepper. Bake for 40 minutes or until tender but not soft.
Place couscous in a mixing bowl. Pour boiling water over couscous & set aside until the couscous has absorbed all of the water. Fluff with a fork.
In a saucepan, scramble fry ground beef in olive oil; add onion, celery & garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until celery softens, about 3 minutes. Stir in seasonings & salt; cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat, add to couscous mixture & pepita seeds; stir gently until mixed. Set aside.
Remove squash from the oven. Flip the squash so that the cut side is up. With a teaspoon, create a tunnel in the middle of the straight end of each squash, scooping out the flesh but leaving a border of flesh on each side. Remove the flesh, chop coarsely and gently mix into the couscous mixture. Divide the couscous between the two squash halves, filling the tunnel and the round hole that held the squash seeds.
Return to the oven for about 10 minutes or until heated through. Cut squash into four to six portions and serve.
Recipe Notes
- Adjust the amount of ground beef used according to the size of squash you have.
This spicy galette makes an interesting dessert with the sweetness of mango and apricot fruit, as well as savory with the creaminess of stilton, crunchy pepitas, and the perfection of a cornmeal pastry crust.
Stilton cheese takes its name from the village of Stilton, in the east of England. White Stilton has a light, fresh, slightly acidic flavor that makes it a perfect partner for fruit.
White Stilton with mango & ginger is a blended cheese which incorporates mango and ginger to impart a sweet, savory intense flavor to the traditional Stilton cheese. Stilton on its own is extremely creamy and delicious but the addition of fruit accords the cheese a new dimension. As it melts, the unusual combination of the mango adding a fruity flavor and the ginger adding a mildly warming, spiced overtone. White Stilton with mango & ginger is perfect for a breakfast or dessert cheese.
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Spicy Apricot Mango Stilton Galette
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Instructions
Pastry
In a small bowl, combine sour cream & ice water; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar & salt. Using a pastry blender or fingertips, cut in the butter until mixture resembles BOTH coarse crumbs & small peas. Sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over dough, 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it. After you have added all the sour cream mixture, dough should be moist enough to stick together when pressed; if not, add additional cold water, 1 tsp at a time. Do not overwork dough.
Press dough into a disk shape & wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two or it can be wrapped airtight & frozen for a month. Thaw, still wrapped in refrigerator.
Filling
In a saucepan over medium heat, add apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, anise seeds, cloves, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon & sea salt. When mixture starts to bubble, add dried apricots & mangoes. Cook, stirring often, until fruit is soft. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
On a large sheet of parchment paper, roll or press out chilled pastry into a 13-inch circle.
Spread mixture evenly over dough, leaving about a 1 1/2-inch border. Gently fold pastry over filling, pleating to hold it in. Sprinkle with crumbled Stilton cheese. Brush with egg wash (if using).
Bake 35-45 minutes until filling bubbles up & crust is golden. Remove from oven & sprinkle with pepita seeds. Serve.
Recipe Notes
- If filling seems too dry, add a bit of water or apple juice.
Parsnips, traditionally used in savory dishes, can bring a subtle sweet tenderness to your baked goods. Actually, when roasted or sautéed, their sugars caramelize richly and are well complemented by a variety of seasonings such as orange or lemon zest, ginger and cardamom.
All summer long we grate zucchini and fold it into our batter for a moist and delicious loaf. September rolls around and we switch to apple or pumpkin. When we don’t have those ingredients on hand, we can always rely on carrot or banana bread to satisfy our craving for what is basically cake in disguise.
Root vegetable desserts aren’t exactly a new concept. Incorporating vegetables such as beets, asparagus, sweet potatoes and parsnips … yes, parsnips! That root vegetable that probably only makes an appearance at your table, maybe once or twice a year is actually perfect for moist, cake-y breads etc.
Parsnips look a lot like carrots and can be grated on a box grater the same way. They even share carrot’s subtle sweetness, but parsnips have an earthier, more interesting flavor that pairs perfectly with warm baking spices like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. That makes it easy to change up the flavor of your sweet bread, taking it in a distinctly fall/winter direction.
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Seeded Parsnip Sweet Braid
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Instructions
Parsnip
Peel & chop parsnip into chunks; place in a pot & cover with water. Bring to a boil & cook until parsnip is fork tender. Remove parsnip from water & measure out 3/4 cup & set aside to cool to lukewarm. Puree parsnip until smooth & measure out 3/4 cup. Allow to cool until lukewarm.
Bread
In a bowl, combine yeast, lukewarm parsnip water & 1 tsp sugar. Allow to sit for about 3 minutes until frothy. Add 3/4 cup pureed parsnips & 2 Tbsp melted butter; combine.
Whisk together, flour, remaining sugar, spices, salt & seeds. Add to the parsnip/yeast mixture & mix until a dough forms. The dough should be a little sticky, but still workable. If the dough seems too wet, add in another 1/4 cup flour at a time, just till it is not overly sticky.
Place dough on a lightly floured work surface & knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough starts to look glossy & has an elastic quality to it. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel & place in a draft free place for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
When dough has risen, place on a lightly floured work surface & roll the dough out into a rectangle roughly 12 x 16-inches. Cut the dough lengthwise into strips 3-inches wide with a pizza cutter or knife. You should have 4 strips.
Transfer the strips to a parchment lined baking sheet a couple of inches apart. Pinch the 4 strands together at the top & start to braid.
Take the left strand & move it over 2 strands (to the right) & under 1 strand back to the left. Switch to the other side: take the most right strand & lift it over 2 strands to the left & back under one strand to the right. Repeat, alternating from left side to right side until loaf is complete. Pinch ends together. Form the braid into a coil like a snail shell. The fuller, top of the braid should be the center, then keep wrapping around until you reach the end. Tuck the end under. It should be fairly snug. Cover with buttered plastic wrap & allow to sit in a warm, draft free place for about 30 minutes.
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Before placing braid in the oven, brush with melted butter. Bake for roughly 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Glaze
In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar & lemon juice; beat until smooth. Adjust glaze to consistency you prefer. When braid has cooled, brush with glaze. Sprinkle with whole anise seeds & candied ginger if you wish.
Not whole muffins, just the tops. The idea was first conceptualized by Elaine Benes, a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I was not a Seinfeld fan and rarely even watched the show but the series lasted for nine years so obviously many did. It centered around four single friends dealing with the absurdities of everyday life in New York City, USA. Something as simple as soup or muffins became the focal point of the show but with a unique twist that only the actors on the show could make funny and memorable.
In a 1997 episode, The Muffin Tops, Elaine helps her old boss open his own business where they only sell the tops of muffins. ‘It’s the best part (nobody likes the stumps), it’s crunchy, it’s where the muffin breaks free of the pan and sort of does its own thing’.
Nowadays we have specific baking pans made just for making muffin tops and I think most food stores sell them. Muffins are an item I’ve certainly made my fair share of over the years in the food industry. But I have to say, I love the whole thing, especially if its soft and cakey.
This time of year is usually filled with pumpkin and sweet potato dishes and treats. These muffin tops are quite special with a slight sweet potato flavor packed with plenty of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and an added bonus of some pepita seeds.
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Sweet Potato Muffin Tops
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Instructions
Streusel Topping
In a small bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon & salt. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add pepita seeds, mix & set aside.
Muffin Tops
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a MUFFIN TOP PAN or line with paper cups. (This recipe makes 10 muffin tops the size shown in the blog picture). Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & spices. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar & eggs together; add sweet potatoes, oil, milk & orange zest (or vanilla) & whisk again. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients & stir until JUST combined. Do not overmix the batter.
Scoop batter into muffin top pan; Sprinkle with streusel topping.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.
