Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops

I have never had a knack for science, but I always have enjoyed performing experiments. My problem with experiments in the lab, however, is that you always need to follow a step-by-step process in order to achieve the best results. One small mistake forces you to start the entire experiment again, and I remember how during labs, I hated the idea of cleaning a beaker just to measure the same odorous liquid all over again.

This is one of the many reasons why baking is enjoyable for me: you can always step off of the normal path one follows when using a recipe and instead make your own rules. Baking something that I can call my own creation is extremely exciting for me and also rewarding especially when it comes out better than the original recipe. These pumpkin chocolate chip muffin tops are a great example of an experiment that had results well-received by myself and everyone else who tries them (except my father who rarely eats anything besides regular chocolate chip cookies and a specific vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream frosting that still has yet to be perfected).

 

I first had a hard time providing a name for this recipe which originally came from one that made banana chocolate chip donuts. First of all, without the donut-shaped baking sheet, I had a difficult time making legitimate holes, so I ultimately gave up and allowed the dough to form massive cookies. The texture of this baked good, however, is way too soft to be considered a cookie. I call them little pumpkin clouds of heaven, but since most people wouldn’t see that as an actual name for a recipe, I will just leave it as pumpkin chocolate chip muffin tops. Either way, they are way too delightful to not share with others.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon pumpkin all spice

1/2 cup raw cane sugar

1/2 cup fat-free Greek Yogurt

1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)

2 eggs (room temperature)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups spelt white flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips (I used 1/2 dark chocolate chips and 1/2 milk chocolate chips)

Additional Topping – 1/4 cup raw cane sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon

 

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Using your electric mixer with the whisk attachment, add the pumpkin puree, all spice, sugar, and Greek yogurt. Mix until incorporated. Add melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract, and mix. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the batter and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix! Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips. Grease your baking pan or place parchment paper on the surface and scoop a spoonful for each muffin top. Option: sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of each scoop of batter before baking or after baking, paint muffin top with melted butter and dip into the sugar mixture to allow them to stick. Both work perfectly. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool before eating.

Shrimp Pasta with Cream Sauce

       My mom says that every day, we need to take time apart from the chaos of our lives and remember things that we are truly grateful for. No matter how simple it may be, this thing that we give thanks for will remind us how blessed we truly are. Yesterday, I was thankful for something that other food lovers will agree with: the wonderful gift of pasta. 

       It may seem silly or even ridiculous to be thankful for such a thing, but last night, I was able to create a dish that my parents and I could enjoy in each other's company, which is something that I am blessed to do whenever I am at home. No meal is delicious without good company, and with that being said, I also thank God every day for a family that enjoys coming together for a meal whenever we can.

       For that reason, I wanted to cook something special, something that everyone would be able to enjoy during the cold weather that was coming through our neighborhood. When I came across this dish, it was exactly what we were looking for. Last night, my mom and I enjoyed listening to the cheers and screams coming from the Capitals versus Bruins game playing in the family room while we together prepared the meal. My mom was in command of sauteeing the shrimp and vegetables in the butter which gave the dish more flavor than using ordinary olive oil. 

     Meanwhile, my job was preparing the cream sauce. At first, I was afraid that it would be bland, but the Parmesan cheese really added an extra kick to it that with every taste made me want more. I couldn't help but just continue to smell the creamy and cheesy aroma coming from the pot. So, if want something to be thankful for, I suggest you go to your nearest grocery store and buy the ingredients to make this delicious pasta dish that is perfect for any family or friend get together. 

Shrimp Pasta in White Sauce

1/2 c butter


1/4 t minced garlic (or more it that suits your taste)

1 c sliced mushrooms


1/4 onion, diced


1 lb shrimp peeled & deveined


1/4 c flour
1 c chicken broth


1 c heavy cream

1/2 c fresh Parmesan cheese


dash of nutmeg


1/4 t garlic powder


3/4 c steamed asparagus, but on a diagonal in 1/2 in. pieces


12 oz pasta noodles

Boil water in a large saucepan. Add noodles and cook until al dente. In the meantime, melt 1/4 c butter and add minced garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Slowly cook the onions and then add mushrooms and cook until both are tender. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp have changed color and are cooked through. In another large saucepan, melt the other 1/4 c butter. Add flour and stir until combined. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes. Then stir in chicken broth, cream, and pepper to taste. Add garlic powder and nutmeg to taste as well. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Simmer 5-10 minutes or until it thickens. Stir the mushroom-shrimp mixture and asparagus into the sauce and combine. Serve over hot pasta.

Inspired by recipe from Taste and Tell

Blueberry Coffee Cake

        While many of my friends are celebrating their freedom from school in places like Punta Cana or Miami, I find myself back in good ole' Virginia. The weeks before break, however, were much more stressful for them than for me, mostly because of last minute beach diets and work outs to get ready for partying with fellow spring breakers in swimsuits and pool coverups. As for me, my preparations for spring break at home consisted of writing midterm papers, watching Netflix, and eating the last of the baked goods my mom sent via care packages. 

        One care package consisted of blueberry coffee cake, a breakfast, lunch, or dinner treat that is definitely one of the greatest ways to ease midterm stress. No workout or tanning session comes even close to some of this bad boy. Making it is so easy, and once its done, all you need to do is cut a slice, microwave for fifteen seconds, and get ready for all worrying thoughts to go away with a mouthful of warm blueberries and cinnamon sugar cake that makes anyone go bananas. For me, that luxury cannot come from anywhere else. Even if it's five o'clock somewhere on some tropical island, this treat makes happy hour just as rewarding even in the comforts of your family room couch (my home for the next five days). So I can say that until senior year, Punta Cana step aside and let me take a slice of heaven.

Ingredients
1 stick butter
4 ounce cream cheese
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. blueberries - I use fresh, but you can use frozen too
2 T. sugar/ 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300°F. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating well. Add egg: beat well. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into butter mixture. Add vanilla fold in blueberries. Pour batter into 9 inch round greased cake pan. Combine 2 t. sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over batter. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on wire rack or other accessible cooling surface.

Chetty's Chocolate Chip Cake

          It is a universal fact that chocolate is a better cure than any medicine ("besides a prayer" - Babs). With that being said, I would make a great doctor because about 80% of the things I make require one ingredient that is in the form of chocolate. With Chetty's Chocolate Cake, the recipe demands for excessive amounts of the stuff. This cake, first baked by my godmother, then later brought into my home via Babs, is something that I encourage every chocolate lover to try. With the use of Devil's Foods cake mix, actual chocolate pudding (I use about 4 1/2 oz of pudding from those little Snack Packs to make the cake extra moist), and chocolate chips, this cake is an easy way of making people appreciate life the way it should be appreciated. WARNING: it becomes an addiction to make this chocolate heaven, but the 20 minutes needed to prepare the cake is worth spending, and the hour it takes to bake alone is enough to squeeze in quality TV programming, a small run (less tempting), or a glass of wine (absolutely).

Chetty's Chocolate Cake 

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

8 oz sour cream

4 eggs

4 1/2 oz Hunts Snack Pack Chocolate Pudding

1 box of Devil's Food cake mix

9 oz mini chocolate chips (being the baker, I find myself just pouring the entire bag, but whatever, it's my kitchen)

Beat oil, water, sour cream, and eggs together until well blended. Add the remaining ingredients and pour into well greased bundt pan. 

Bake at 325° for 1 hour. Make sure you don't overcook. You want the chocolate chips to remain gooey. Cool 15 minutes before inverting (aka, flipping the bundt pan over gently, allowing the cake to gracefully fall onto a prepared plate). Possible toppings include and aren't limited to: powdered sugar and chocolate sauce. 



Chocolate Sauce 

5 semisweet chocolate squares or the extra chocolate chips 

1 tablespoon (T) of heavy whipping cream


Place chocolate in microwaveable bowl until melted, about 1 minute. Then mix heavy whipped cream with the melted chocolate.  Let cool and pour over cake.

Pilot Post with a Purpose

            For poets and writers, one might say that the pen is mightier than the sword. Being an aspiring writer this also applies, but for this blog, I will be trading a sword and a pen for a whisk.

            Since I was little, I have been taught by my loving mother Barbara, hence the name Babs, that there is nothing better than a meal on your plate that can bring the essence of home and family into any kitchen you may be cooking in. Whether it is a meal on the go before heading to class, or a batch of cookies to bring to friendly gatherings, I have established myself as a girl who is passionate about making my own delicious and long lasting memories in any kitchen I cook in. When I go home, I make sure I spend time in my own kitchen with the great Babs herself so I can bring new recipes and simple 'babdoms' (wise words from the madre) back to the chaotic world I partake in at college. Also because it is the best smelling room in the house, but that is a given.

             From this blog, I hope to help readers create wonderful memories that your family, friends, and yourself can have for a lifetime with something as simple as a spoonful of sugar.