Today was the last Wednesday that some precious lady’s met in our home for Bible Study. The study was a 6 week study and since it was Fall, I tried to bake something pumpkin each Wednesday. Today I knew that these pumpkin scones would make the perfect treat for our last study. Served with butter and apricot jam, they were a hit. My sweet Shannon, who had sent me packets of flavored sugar a few weeks back, had sent multiple flavors of sugar. So today, before baking I sprinkled on the Salted Caramel and that added to the already delicious flavor.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tables baking powder
1 heaping teas ground cinnamon
1 teas pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teas salt
1/4 lb (1 stick) cold butter, cut into chunks
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup whipping cream
Stir together the dry ingredients. Then, using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles pea size crumbs.
In a small mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup canned pumpkin and 1/2 cup whipping cream. Whisk until combined and then pour over the dry ingredients. Stir just until flour mixture and pumpkin mixture are just combined. Turn out onto a floured piece of waxed paper or counter. Using rolling pin, roll out to about 1″ thickness. Remember the less you handle the dough, the more flaky it will be. The more you handle it, the tougher it will be. Using a biscuit cutter, (I used a juice glass because it gave me the size I wanted) cut dough into equal portions and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle sugar over the top.
Bake in preheated 375 oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until they test done.
This evening I was wanting to make something that I had never made before. We ended up with this really great Italian dinner. Even Peter Pumpkin sat there saying, “this is really good and I even like the asparagus”. Will wonders never cease. He is not a huge fan of mushrooms or asparagus and so for him to ask for seconds made me so proud. It was so easy and actually a great dish for serving company during the holidays. Plus…it was pretty. A dear friend of mine, Reny gave me this dish years ago and it is still one of my favorites to serve Italian food.
For years, my mom used to come over on Halloween to bring popcorn balls and caramel apples for our kids before they left to go Trick or Treating. Of course, I usually had half of them eaten by the time they kids got home. This year, I decided to make popcorn balls. I remember thinking that when my kids are grown and have kids of their own, I will have all the time in the world to continue the tradition of making caramel apples and popcorn balls. Well, I have to admit it has taken me….well, lets put it this way, our oldest grandchild is 17 today and this is the first year I have made popcorn balls. The sad thing is, Jaden will already be gone with his friends to head to downtown Phoenix to go to a Haunted House. Well, I hope when he gets down there with his friends, he will think to himself, “oh man, what am I doing here, I could be home having a popcorn ball that my Nana made me?” That will show the little whipper snapper. Who knows, it might be another 17 years before I attempt making them again. Maybe Jaden’s kids will enjoy them. Surely I will have more time then to make Halloween treats. Before I post the recipe, I have a concern that I need to share. A concern and a question. If any of you out there are missing a teaspoon, would you please private message me. Don’t embarrass me by commenting on here that you wondered what happened to that 8th spoon that goes with your dinnerware. It happened yesterday at church, of all places.
Legally it is Fall. That means that I can crave cornbread dressing from this point on without the guilt. In summer, I feel so guilty telling people that I just have to have some dressing, when everyone is walking around with an ice cream cone in their hands or nibbling on crisp lettuce. But now….now, I can stand up and announce, “hi, my name is Trudy and I am a dressingaholic”. I think I could eat it every other day, in-between the hamburgers and pizza that I crave.
It is still 100 outside, but I cannot wait any longer to begin making pumpkin everything. So today I went looking for a new different recipe for some pumpkin bread and found this one. It sounded so good with the brown sugar streusel that I began to read her blog and knew that this one would be a winner. Since I’m making it for some ladies who I sit with on Tuesday mornings at church, what better way to study Genesis that with a pumpkin muffin? You would love the aroma that is coming out of our kitchen right now. You might just forget that it is hot outside for a few minutes when you smell the pumpkin, cinnamon and cloves drawing you in the door. Taken from the blog called, Friends.Food.Famiy
A few weeks ago I saw these wonderful looking apple pie cups on Facebook and knew right then that I had to have one. As I didn’t have fresh apples in the house and it was still so hot outside that the thought of going outside at 3 p.m. was not enticing. But I did have a can of apple pie filling and a Betty Crocker Oatmeal Cookie packet. So I marched to the kitchen and began to build this great little cup of deliciousness. Having to admit that I did not make the oatmeal cookies from scratch (like I saw on FB), nor using fresh apples, (like I saw on FB), this became a challenge to get a finished product that would certainly be something that I would not apologize for serving, since I was using shortcuts. I have made them twice since Friday. They are that good. A couple that we share baked goods quite frequently, was the first recipeants of these little gems. The wife never got to even taste them as her hubby ate them. So am taking her one today. They will be our dessert tonight at our kids house. Along with ice cream and caramel topping them off.
It was a shock to me to find that I had never posted my Spaghetti & meatball recipe. It is one of our most requested dinners from family and friends alike. When I lived in Corpus Christ for years, there was a neighbor, Cam, who was Italian from New York and she gave me so many of her recipes that to this day, her meatballs, pecan pie, sour cream pound cake, and so many other of our desserts are still most treasured.
These great little gems have now been placed in my “oh my gosh why haven’t I made these before? I only have maybe 20 years or so left to eat them” folder! Because we had some friends over last night for spaghetti & meatballs, I started thinking about the left over cornbread dressing from Thursday evening when I made stuffed zucchini. They were so good I had the leftovers today for lunch. They were easy, quick and will be a favorite for any fall/winter dinners that we have.
Chocolate Castles 