Runs on Coffee and Cream

Fall officially starts next week but it's already arrived here. Our weather has gotten significantly cooler and our front lawn is covered in leaves.

I can already feel myself getting the urge to bake everything, just like I do every year when the temperature outside drops. This week I've already baked zucchini muffins, Pillsbury cookies, and banana bread.

I rounded up some recipes I'm itching to try over the next couple of months.


Clockwise from the top left corner:
1. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
2. Chewy Molasses Cookies
3. White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
4. Carrot Cake Cookie Cups
5. Pumpkin Bread

What are your favourite recipes for fall?
xo Jen

Lately we've been consuming a lot of iced tea (store bought and homemade) and eating more fruit than normal. The nice weather has us craving these things. There's some recipes that I'm looking forward to trying over the next couple of months while it's warm out. 

I opened a can of pumpkin puree recently which means I was committing to making all the pumpkin things to use it up (it's a big can).

What I've made (click to find the recipe):

• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (I omitted the chocolate chips and used all raisins)
• Pumpkin Loaf with Maple Glaze

All of these recipes turned out really yummy! My favourite was the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. They had a soft texture and reminded me of the Chips Ahoy! Chewy cookies.


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together in a medium bowl until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together. Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Cover the dough and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll dough into balls and place on greased baking sheet. Flatten the dough balls because they won't spread too much in the oven.
4. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Move to a cooling rack.

The cookies almost looked under-cooked and very much like raw cookie dough. But I believe that's the pumpkin giving it that smooth, soft look. Plus, with no eggs in the recipe, you don't have to be too worried about this. The cookies definitely came out soft and chewy.


If you're a fan of pumpkin, I recommend trying out this recipe. I'll make it again the next time I have pumpkin puree to use up.

I still have a tiny bit of pumpkin leftover that I might use in a baked oatmeal recipe. Do you have any favourite pumpkin recipes?

xo Jen

Those apple cider floats are for sure going to happen because I have such a weakness for apple cider. And I want to add maple syrup to all my recipes now!

What are your Fall go-to recipes?
xo Jen

Tomorrow marks the season finale of iZombie. Thankfully the show has been signed on for a second season which makes me quite happy. I've really gotten into the show and I love the writing. Each episode leaves me liking Liv more and more. Ravi has quickly become one of my favourite characters on the show and a recent story line with Peyton has me more interested in her character too.


We recently watched last week's episode and it was so good! It left me wanting to see the season finale bad because there's so many unanswered questions.

I made a season finale-watching menu for IGGPPC which you can check out here.
Personally, I've always been curious to try Mexican Hot Chocolate, maybe without liquefied brains mixed in though.


And I have to admit that even though I'm not a huge fan of spicy foods, the Hellfire Cheezy Puffs Liv eats in a lot of the episodes make me crave Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Weird.

Will you be tuning into the season finale?
xo Jen

I've already been informed by Adam that those Key Lime cookies are being made very soon. I really shouldn't show him recipes I find online...
xo Jen

I hope you're having a wonderful Easter weekend!
xo Jen

What do you like to drink during the hot Summer months?
xo Jen

When I opened my first can of pumpkin this Fall, the first thing I made was cookies - Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies. They turned out well and quite fluffy. My only complaint is that they don't have a strong pumpkin taste. I don't know if the chocolate is overwhelming the pumpkin flavour or what. But they were still yummy and I found the pecans took on the pumpkin flavour which was nice.




Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans


Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour and baking soda in small bowl. Beat pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. 

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookies from baking sheet to wire racks to cool.



I have a few more pumpkin recipes that I'll be posting this month. I love making treats with pumpkin!

I also made some Ghostbuster-inspired cupcakes for Media Junk Food. You can find the recipe for Slimed Cupcakes here.



I have two zombie-themed recipes to post this month on Media Junk Food as well. I love this month for baking!

What have you been baking this month?

xo Jen

It's the weekend and it's a long weekend for most but unfortunately the store I work at is open on Monday so I have to work. At least I have 2 days off in a row.

Baking has definitely been put on the back burner lately with everything else going on. I'm whipping up cookies once a week to keep our container full in the fridge for Adam's lunches but other than a batch of cupcakes for my Aunt's birthday party last week, I haven't been trying out new recipes.


I made some Spider-man sugar cookies for Nerd Junk Food a couple weeks ago. They turned out sooo yummy. I'm definitely going to use the recipe again. I think they'd be awesome for Halloween - orange cookies with black sprinkles. For the recipe, check out the post here.

Unfortunately I didn't get better pictures of the cupcakes I made for the birthday party last weekend. I finished decorating them late at night and the next day I just didn't have time to take photos. They're chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting (I have to admit, my chocolate frosting tastes like fudge). I replaced the water with strong coffee in the cupcake recipe. I was hoping for a mocha taste but there isn't much of a noticeable coffee taste. It was nice to know that each cupcake was a bit of a caffeine pick me up though.



I think the only recipe I'll be trying out this month will be overnight oats. Have you heard of them?


You put all your ingredients together the night before and the next morning you eat it cold. There's no cooking involved. It's very good for you and you can change up the toppings and add-ins. I just need to pick up some ingredients this weekend.

Since getting my new loose-tea travel mug for my birthday I've been living off tea. One of my favourites right now from Davids Tea is Swampwater. Cold or hot, it's good! And the colour entertains me! It's so green!



Have you made anything delicious lately? I can't wait until September when life settles down a bit. There are so many cookies, cupcakes, and smoothies I want to try!
xo Jen