Fall Baking Starts Now-Lori’s Top 5 Baking Picks for Fall

I look forward to making these every single year.

2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

2 c sugar

1 c oil

4 eggs

2 c (one No 303 can) pumpkin

Combine in order given, beat well. Bake at 350 degrees for twenty five minutes or until done.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 (3 0z) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 TSP butter, softened 1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar Beat together with mixer.

If necessary add milk for easier spreading

As I was adding pins to my Pinterest page I ran across this recipe. It is cute and you can bake the cupcakes. It would be perfect for Halloween parties.

What you need: Chocolate Cupcakes (the darker the better)

White frosting Food color/gel (yellow and orange)

Thin long knife

Directions: 1. Insert your knife into the top of your cupcake at an angle about 1/4" away from the edge of the cupcake. You want the point of your knife centered near the bottom of the cupcake (not quite all the way down though).

2. Cut a circle in the top while keeping the point of your knife centered and near the bottom. Once you complete the circle, a little cone shape of cake should pop out and your cupcake should be hallowed out.

3. After mixing frosting with the food coloring to get your orange and yellow, fill plastic bags with the 3 different colors. Begin piping a layer of white in the bottom of the cupcake. Make the next layer orange, and the last layer yellow.

4. Take the cut out cone and slice the top of the cone off.

5. Place the top slice on top of the frosting to seal the cupcake back up. Apply a little bit of pressure to meld it all together.

6. Chill the cupcakes so the colors stay in their layers better when eaten or cut.

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows OR 4 cups miniature marshmallows

6 cups Rice Krispies

Orange Food Color Gel

Green Food Color Gel

Tube of Black Decorating Icing

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove a cup of Marshmallow mixture and add a few drops of the green food color gel. Add a few drops of orange to the remaining marshmallow mixture. Remove from heat.

2. Add 1 cup Rice Krispies cereal to the green marshmallow mixture. Stir until well coated. Add the remaining Rice Krispies to the orange mixture. Stir until well coated.

3. Let the mixtures cool a bit, then take a handful of the orange mixture (I usually put a little butter on my hands to keep the mixture from sticking to my hands) and roll into a baseball size sphere. Place on wax paper. Once you have all the orange mixture made into balls. Move to the green mixture and mold it into stem shapes. Then place on the top of the orange balls.

4. Take the Black Food and draw a jack-o-lantern face onto the pumpkins.

At one of my family Thanksgiving's one year, when it was time for dessert my Uncle Ted busted out a pumpkin cheesecake and it was DELICIOUS. Enjoy this recipe from his kitchen.

Ingredients

Crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup white sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed gingersnap cookies, pecans, and butter. Press into the bottom, and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the remaining mixture.

3. Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.

4. Bake 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Allow to cool before removing pan rim.

Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

He tells me he  doubles the filling recipe to make a large fluffly cheesecake.

One of my co-workers kept bringing fresh homegrown zucchini into the office and one day she brought in a GIANT one. I was going to take it home and make zucchini sticks, but a friend suggested making Zucchini Bread. Really? I had never had zucchini bread. I found a basic recipe, but I really don't like basic recipes. I have been baking all my life so I like to tweak and add ingredients. So this is my embellished Zucchini Bread recipe.

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

1 8oz can crushed pineapple drained

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup chopped nuts optional

3 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. With a Mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light and foamy. Add oil, grated zucchini, pineapple and vanilla.

3. Combine 3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder. Stir until well combined.

4. Add 1/3 of flour mixture at a time to the wet mixture and stir until blended. Stir in chopped nuts.

5. Pour batter into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in to the center comes out clean.

6. Cool in pans for 10 minutes.

Notes:

I had enough mixture to make 2 loafs and 4 mini loafs with this recipe. If you like a real sweet zucchini bread you might want to add more sugar to the recipe. Also feel free to add your own additions like raisins, craisins, or even chocolate chips.