Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Apple-Cinnamon Muffins Yield: 12 muffins Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 18 to 22 minutes Total Time: 55 minutes These apple-cinnamon muffins pack a huge apple flavor with a fabulous cinnamon-sugar crunch on top. Ingredients: For the Muffins: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 Granny Smith apples (6½ ounces each), peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces (3 cups) 2 tablespoons light brown sugar ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided 2½ cups (354 grams) all-purpose flour 2½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda 1¼ teaspoons salt 1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar 2 eggs ¼ cup (50 grams) vegetable oil ½ cup (120 ml) apple cider ½ cup (113 grams) plain whole milk yogurt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract For the Topping: 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 2 tablespoons light brown sugar ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon Directions: 1. Prepare the Muffins: Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray. 2. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples, brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon of the cinnamon. Cook, stirring often, until the moisture has completely evaporated and the apples are well browned, about 9 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon together in a large bowl. 4. Whisk the granulated sugar, eggs, oil, and 4 tablespoons of melted butter together in a medium bowl until thick, about 30 seconds. Whisk the cider, yogurt and vanilla into the sugar mixture until combined. 5. Fold the sugar mixture and the cooled apples into the flour mixture until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups (there should be able ⅓ cup of batter per cup, and the cups will be filled to the rim). 6. Mix Together the Topping: In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Sprinkle the muffin tops evenly with the topping. 7. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating the muffin tin halfway through baking. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and place on a wire cooling rack. Cool for 5 more minutes before serving. The muffins can be served warm or at room temperature. Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. (Recipe from Cook's Country)

Butter Pecan Cookies

Ingredients Unlock Grocery List! 1½ cups Diamond of California pecans, chopped (195g) 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (230g) ½ cup granulated sugar (100g) 1 cup packed light brown sugar (or dark brown) (200g) 2 large eggs, room temperature preferred 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2½ cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly) (312g) 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt OPTIONAL: ⅓ cup granulated sugar, for rolling (67g) Sea salt, for sprinkling Directions In a 300F degree fahrenheit oven, toast the chopped pecans on a large parchment paper or silicone mat-lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Stir twice during this time. Turn oven off and set pecans aside. In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in eggs and vanilla on high speed. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt together until combined. On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick. Add the toasted chopped pecans, mix on low for about 5-10 seconds until evenly distributed. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes-- if the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. This makes the cookie dough easier to scoop and roll. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside. Once chilled, the dough might be slightly crumbly, but will come together if you work the dough with your hands as you roll into individual balls. Scoop and roll balls of dough, about 1 tablespoon of dough each, into balls. You may roll the cookie dough balls into the 1/3 cup of granulated sugar listed under the "optional" ingredients. It's optional because I merely did this for looks, the sugar gives them a pretty sparkle. Or you can bake the cookies without the sugar rolling and sprinkle with a little sea salt when they come out of the oven. If you love salty/sweet, do the sea salt. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes (11 minutes for crispier cookies), until slightly golden brown around the edges. My oven has hot spots and yours may too- so be sure to rotate the pan once during bake time. The baked cookies will look extremely soft in the centers when you remove them from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. If the cookies are too puffy, try gently pressing down on them with the back of a spoon. They will slightly deflate as you let them cool. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Make ahead tip: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. Baked cookies freeze well - up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well - up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw.

Caramel Chocolate Chip Coolie Bars

Borrowed and Shareing SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS yield: 16 cookie bars prep time: 15 minutes cook time: 30 minutes total time: 45 minutes These cookie bars are the ultimate for chocolate, caramel and sweet & salty lovers! INGREDIENTS: 2 1/8 cups (301 grams) all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons (170 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature 1 cup (198 grams) light brown sugar ½ cup (99 grams) granulated sugar 1 egg 1 egg yolk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups (340 grams) chocolate chips 10 ounces caramel candy squares, unwrapped 3 tablespoons heavy cream Fleur de sel (or other sea salt), for sprinkling over caramel and bars DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square pan; set aside. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. 3. Using an electric mixer, mix together the melted butter and sugars on medium speed until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. 4. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the caramels and heavy cream. Microwave on high until the caramels are melted, stirring every 20 seconds. This will take about 2 minutes. 5. Press half of the cookie dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Pour the hot caramel over the dough cookie dough and spread into an even layer, leaving about ½ inch around the border. Sprinkle the caramel with sea salt. Drop the remaining cookie dough in spoonfuls over the caramel and gently spread the dough with a spatula until the caramel is covered. Sprinkle the bars with additional sea salt. 6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow the caramel layer to set. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. (Recipe adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod)

Sweet Orange Rolls

Borrowed and Shareing Sweet Orange Rolls Sweet, light, chewy, fluffy and simple to make! These will hit the spot any day of the week. Yield: 24 small rolls Ingredients: for the dough- 1 cup warm milk 1 envelope quick rise yeast {2 1/4 teaspoons} 1/4 cup melted butter, at room temperature 1 large egg 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon salt 3-3 3/4 cups all purpose flour for the filling- 1/4 cup butter, melted 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons orange zest 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon for the icing- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 3 tablespoons orange juice Directions: For the dough: In a large bowl, stir warm milk together with yeast and half the sugar. Stand 5 minutes to let yeast proof. Stir in melted butter, egg, remaining sugar, salt, and half the flour. Stir until incorporated, then add remaining flour by 1/4 cup until dough comes together. Knead 3 minutes or until dough is smooth and feels sticky but won't stick to your hands. Place dough into buttered bowl and flip to coat dough completely in grease. Cover bowl and rise 1 hour or until doubled in size. Spray a 9x13 pan and a pie plate with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Punch dough down and roll into 2 foot by 1 foot rectangle on a floured board. Spread melted butter over entire rectangle. Stir orange zest and cinnamon into sugar and stir to combine. Sprinkle sugar over butter, spreading evenly where necessary. Roll dough longwise and cut off uneven ends. Cut into 24 1-inch rolls, approximately. Place into prepared pans. Cover and let rise another hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. While rolls are cooking, stir powdered sugar and orange juice together until smooth to create icing. Once rolls come out of the oven immediately drizzle with icing. Cool 10 minutes and serve.

Banana cake

2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 cup white granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 eggs The scraped insides of one vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1 cup of mashed ripe bananas (2 large or 3 medium bananas) 1/2 cup full fat sour cream Frosting 6 ounces cream cheese, room temp 4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temp 2 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon lemon juice Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) . In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Beat together in a mixer the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla and mashed bananas. Mix in half of the flour mixture, then the sour cream, then the other half of the flour mixture. Spread batter evenly in a greased 10x15 baking pan. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20 minutes, or until nicely browned and the surface bounces back when you press it with your finger. Cool completely before frosting. To make the frosting, mix all of the ingredients together with an electric mixer. If too stiff to spread, add a teaspoon or two of water. Spread the frosting evenly over the cake and slice to serve.

Pumpkin Lasagna

borrowwed and Shareing Pumpkin Lasagna Print Serves: 15-18 Ingredients 2 rows of Golden Oreos 2 rows of Pumpkin Oreos 8 TB unsalted butter, melted 1 8 oz. PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese (softened) ½ cup butter 1 cup powdered sugar 1 large container cool whip (16 ounces), divided 2 - 3.9 oz packages of pumpkin instant pudding 3 cups milk white chocolate bar (to make curls with) - I use vanilla candy coating Instructions Begin by crushing your Oreos. For a very fine mixture, place Oreos in your food processor. Place in a ziploc baggie and add your melted butter. Mix until it is well combined. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan spreading out to cover the entire bottom of the pan. In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and ½ of the cool whip. Blend well and pour over your Oreo Crust. In another bowl, make your pudding by adding your milk to your bowl and instant pudding. Whisk together until pudding thickens. Pour over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for at least 5 minutes. Top off with the rest of your Cool Whip. Add white chocolate shavings. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. ENJOY!