Tag: <span>fall baking</span>

Chewy M&M Cookies

Chewy M&M Cookies

Guys!!! I don’t like to brag but…..I found it!!! These Chewy M&M Cookies are THE HOLY GRAIL of cookies. They’re the best!! Like buttery soft, deliciously chewy, eat the whole dang batch kind of cookies. That’s if you can even get the cookie dough into […]

Ginger Streusel Pumpkin Pie

Ginger Streusel Pumpkin Pie

My Brother and Sis in law gifted me the cutest little pie pan. It’s got a big ole pumpkin in the middle with the cute little saying “Pumpkin spice & everything nice”. They obviously know that I love me some pumpkin EVERYTHING!!! As soon as […]

Honey Squash Dinner Rolls

Honey Squash Dinner Rolls

So if October is for pumpkin, then November is for squash. At least in my mind it is anyways. In fact, my family doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving with a pumpkin pie. We celebrate it with a squash pie. It’s really a thing if you haven’t heard of it, and it…is…..delicious!! Kind of like a pumpkin pie just less spicy. But pies aren’t the only place you can sneak in this wonderful Fall vegetable. I also sneak it into my dinner rolls. These hearty dinner rolls are perfect for Thanksgiving or any Fall meal for that matter. The squash gives them that beautiful golden color and the honey gives them just a touch of sweetness! Mmmm!!! So….SO….GOOD! If you’re making these for Thanksgiving you might as well just go ahead and double the recipe already. These will go fast!!

Here’s all that you’ll need: flour, yeast, salt, nutmeg, milk, butter, honey, frozen winter squash, an egg, and poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds for topping (optional).

In a large bowl, mix flour, nutmeg, salt, and yeast. Stir to combine. Easy enough! 

In a small saucepan, heat milk, butter, and honey over medium low heat. Continue to heat until the butter is melted. Did you know that if you spray your measuring spoon with cooking spray the honey will just slide right out like magic? You don’t have to stand there for 5 minutes trying to let every last drop slooooooowly drop out or try to scoop it out with your finger only to make a big sticky mess! Some of us had to learn the hard way, I guess! Heat the mixture slowly, while stirring, and do not boil. We don’t want the milk to curdle! Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Beat on low with a hand mixer for 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky.

Add the squash and continue to mix on medium for another 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour (or more if needed) to form a soft, sticky dough. Knead by hand for 6-8 minutes. Basically you’re just pushing it around the bowl with your fist, trying to collect up any extra flour or other ingredients that are left in the bowl. 

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 hour. The dough will double in size. 

Punch down dough and divide into 12 evenly shaped balls. Place balls into a 9 inch round baking pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for an additional 45 minutes. When done rising, brush the tops of the rolls with a lightly beaten egg. Sprinkle with poppyseeds, sesame seeds, and pepitas, or leave them plain if you prefer. I think the seeds really make them look rustic! Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for 25-28 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. If your rolls are browning too quickly you can cover the pan with foil for the last 5 minutes. Mine were just fine without the foil. Remove the from oven and serve warm! These rolls just scream Fall baking to me!! I love it!! The pepita topping is my all time favorite. Which is yours??? 

Honey Squash Dinner Rolls

November 9, 2017
: 12
: Medium

By:

Ingredients
  • 1 packages active dry yeast (or 2 1/2 teaspoons)
  • 1 teaspoons salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 and 1/8 cups 2% milk
  • 1/4 cup butter, cubed
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 package (12 ounces) frozen mashed winter squash, thawed
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • Poppy seeds, salted pumpkin seeds or pepitas, or sesame seeds (optional)
Directions
  • Step 1 In a large bowl, mix the salt, yeast, nutmeg, and 3 cups of flour.
  • Step 2 Heat milk, butter, and honey in a small saucepan over medium low heat, stirring occasionally.
  • Step 3 Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Beat on low with a hand mixer for 2 minutes. Add the thawed squash. Beat on medium for an additional 2 minutes.
  • Step 4 Add remaining 1/4 cup of flour (or more if needed) to form a soft, sticky dough. Knead by hand for 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
  • Step 5 Punch down dough. Shape into 12 balls. Place in a 9 inch round baking pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for an additional 45 minutes.
  • Step 6 Brush the tops of the rolls with a lightly beaten egg. Sprinkle with poppyseed, sesame seeds, and pepitas (optional).
  • Step 7 Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for 25-28 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and serve warm!

We’d love to hear from you! Leave us your comments and love down below!

Glazed Pumpkin Cookies

Glazed Pumpkin Cookies

Soooo….I wasn’t going to release this one til the weekend….BUT, when I found out that it was #NationalPumpkinDay, I couldn’t think of a better time to get this up on the blog! This is a big one for me! This is my BEST pumpkin recipe. […]

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

T-minus one week until Halloween!!! You know what the two best parts of Halloween are???…….the chocolate and the pumpkins!!! Obvi. So why not combine the two?!? This next recipe does just that. Now typically I love ANY and EVERY pumpkin recipe, but the addition of […]

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake

I am SO ready to get my Fall on! Cool weather, pumpkin spice everything, and apple cider……sign me up!! Only the first day of Fall has come and gone and we are still waiting on that chilly weather here in Buffalo. Now normally us Buffalonians wouldn’t dare complain about nice weather because we all know that blizzard season is right around the corner, but I’m talking about 90…degree….days….in…September!!! Now that’s just not right! C’mon summer just end already and make room for Fall. I totally wanted to go apple picking this year, but like in Fall weather, not in a heatwave! So I wimped out and just bought some instead….BUT….they were from a legit farm so I’m counting it (somebody picked them just not me!)

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert Everyone knows that if you want THE best apple cider in Western NY, you’ll need to head to Cherry Bank Farms in Sanborn! So of course they were the obvious choice for apples as well. They have the cutest little country store where you can purchase all sorts of baked goods, freshly picked apples, local honey, maple syrup and all sorts of other goodies. It’s cash only so make sure you stop at the ATM.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
My top picks are the cookies….all of them! These are homemade chocolate chips and were filled with huge chocolate chunks inside!! SO yummy!! And of course you HAVE to take home some cider. Now that’s just a given. If you are ever lucky enough to be there on a day when they have grape juice just buy it all! No for real.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert

The farm fresh goodies are fabulous enough on their own, but we decided to take them up a notch and bake them into this spectacular apple pie cheesecake! Mission accomplished!

Here’s all that you’ll need; apples, cream cheese, pecans, sugar, eggs, butter, lemon juice, graham crackers, cinnamon, vanilla, whipped cream and caramel ice cream topping.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Add the graham crackers to a food processor and process until you have fine crumbs. I used about 9-10 whole graham crackers to get one cup of crumbs. Set aside.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Now do the same thing with the pecans. Chop them up into nice little pieces.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, chopped pecans, 3 tablespoons of white sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir it all together until well combined.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Next pour in the butter. Mmmm!!! Butter!

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Stir until all of the butter is combined evenly into the crumb mixture.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9 inch springform pan. Springforms work best for cheesecake because when it’s done baking, you can just remove the sides. Best invention ever! Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degrees preheated oven. Remove pan from oven and cool until we’re finished with the filling.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Add cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar to a large bowl. Mix with a hand blender until smooth.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert

Add eggs, one at a time, and beat on a low speed until incorporated. This will make our apple pie cheesecake so creamy! Mix in the vanilla extract.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Here’s what your graham cracker crust will look like when it’s done baking. This crust is EVERYTHING!! It really is the perfect cheesecake crust.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Pour cream cheese mixture over top of the crust.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
In a medium bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Toss the apple mixture to combine. Go ahead and try one of those cinnamon sugary apples! Someone’s gotta be in charge of quality control!

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Carefully spoon the apples over the cheesecake filling. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes or until the middle is almost set. I tend to go on the longer side for cheesecakes just to make sure they’re nice and firm all the way through. Once the timer goes off, I turn off the oven, leave the cheesecake inside and just crack open the oven door slightly. If you allow the cheesecake to cool slowly like this, it helps to prevent cracks down the middle. Over The Top Apple Pie Cheesecake is a very forgiving recipe though, since the top is smothered in apples!

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert
Run a knife around the edges and remove from springform pan. Allow it to cool completely before you try cutting into it. I know, it’s hard, but you gotta try! Those perfectly cut cheesecake slices will thank you later.

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert

It looks SO good already but wait, there’s more! Add some caramel drizzle, a few crushed pecans, and a dollop of whipped cream and I promise you won’t regret it!!! I can’t think of a better way to use up some of those Fall apples!!! It’s definitely a favorite in our family! Got lots of freshly picked apples to use? Try our your hand at our Apple Hand Pies!

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake by Happylifeblogspot #apples #applepiecheesecake #applecheesecake #cheesecake #dessert

Over the Top Apple Pie Cheesecake

October 8, 2017
: 12 servings (or 8 if you're greedy!)
: Medium

By:

Ingredients
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 9-10 whole graham crackers)
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • FILLING:
  • 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • TOPPING:
  • 2-1/2 cups chopped peeled apples
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 6 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping
  • whipped cream
  • 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
Directions
  • Step 1 In a food processor, chop graham crackers into fine crumbs. Set aside. Chop pecans into small pieces. Combine graham cracker crumbs, finely chopped pecans, 3 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix until well combined.
  • Step 2 Add butter and stir until well incorporated. Press into the bottom of a lightly greased, 9 inch springform pan. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
  • Step 3 In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Slowly beat in eggs one at a time until incorporated. Mix in vanilla. Pour cream cheese mixture over the top of crust.
  • Step 4 In a medium bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Carefully spoon over the top of cheesecake filling.
  • Step 5 Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes or until the middle is almost set. Shut off oven and crack open the door with cheesecake still inside. Allow it to slowly cool.
  • Step 6 Run a knife around the edges and remove from the pan. Drizzle with caramel sauce and chopped pecans. Cool completely before slicing. Serve with whipped topping.

We’d love to hear from you! Leave us your comments and love down below!

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Strawberry Crumb Cake Muffins

Strawberry Crumb Cake Muffins

Back in July, me and the hubs took a little daycation to Becker Farms to sample some beer, wine, and do a little fruit picking out in the fields. I had always enjoyed apple picking here in my younger years on school field trips, so […]