Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

So, today is the day before Thanksgiving.  Who is totally not ready yet???   MEEE!  I have lots of stuff to finish cooking before our early lunch tomorrow.  I actually did try to start my baking early and made these amazing Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with an even better Maple Cream Cheese Frosting last night.  

Let me tell you, it can’t get much easier than dumping ingredients into a bowl, stirring around some and then scooping it out and baking it. 

Let me give you the scoop on how it's done.

Ingredients for the cookies:

Prep Time- 20 Minutes

Bake Time - 12-13 Minutes

Serving Size - 10 Pies

- 3 Cups of Pumpkin Puree

- 2 Eggs

- 1 Cup Canola Oil

- 1 Cup of Sugar

- 1 Cup of brown sugar

- 3 Cups of Flour

- 2 tbsp of Cinnamon

- 1 tsp of Ground Ginger

- 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

- 1 tsp of Vanilla

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp salt

Now Let's get baking!

First, preheat your oven to 350°F. Then, if you’re feeling ambitious you can line your baking sheets with parchment paper.&nbsp> (First time I’ve baked with parchment paper, definitely it’s worth that $3!)   My baking sheets were so clean when I was done.

In a large bowl, mix together your sugars and oil, then add in your pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Once that's all nice and combined, add in your eggs and vanilla and stir them around.  Then, in another bowl, whisk together your flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking powder, baking soda and, salt.

Combine your flour mixture with the eggs, vanilla and Pumpkin and beat until smooth.   

Scoop out cookie dough with an ice cream scoop if available onto your prepared cookie sheets, leaving about an inch - inch and half in between each one.   

Bake for about 12-13 minutes.

Once done baking, remove cookies from oven and place on a cooling rack until completely cool.  

This recipe for me, made about 10 Whoopie Pies.

While those are baking prepare your Maple Cream Cheese Frosting.

You'll need:

3 Cups of Powdered Sugar

1/2 Cup (1 Stick) of unsalted butter

8 oz cream cheese

1 tsp of vanilla

3 tbsp of Maple Syrup

In a large bowl, beat until smooth your butter and cream cheese.  It takes approximately 30 seconds to a minute.  

Then, add in your powdered sugar, vanilla and syrup.  Beat once again until smooth and completely combined. 

FEEL FREE TO LICK THE BEATERS... TRUST ME YOU'LL WANT THE WHOLE THING! :)

While the cookies are cooling, this can go in the refrigerator. 

Once your cookies are cooled, use a silicone spatula to apply a dollop of frosting to one cookie, then place another on top like a sandwich.

The end result is totally worth the steps. 

D - E - L - I - C - I - O - U - S

ENJOY!

Banana Bread Streusel Muffins

So, my husband and I have been trying for several months to eat clean and make sure we have healthy(ish) meals every day for our family. This often involves lots of meal prep. Last night, i wanted to make breakfast ahead of time, so I could help out in beating the morning rush out the door with three kids.

These muffins were super-duper easy to bake, even with two of my three kids home. MOM WIN!


First of all, you will need to gather your ingredients:

Muffins:
2 Cups of Flour ( I use Wheat Montana, whole wheat white flour)
1 Cup of Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking  Soda
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
2 eggs
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup of butter, melted
2 medium bananas mashed
1/2 Cup of Chopped Pecans


Streusel:
1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
4 tbsp butter, softened

Instructions:

You'll begin by pre-heating  your oven to 375.

To begin these yummy banana muffins, combine the first six ingredients in the muffins list,  2 C Flour, 1 C Sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 baking soda, 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, mashed bananas and the melted butter. 

Once they are mixed thoroughly, add them to your dry ingredients.  I just poured a little of my dry ingredients at a time into my egg mixture until it was all combined and there were no dry ingredients visible.

Add in the chopped pecans/ or your nut of choice.  Baker Note:(I added mine in after they were in muffin cups.. hazard of having those 3 kids running around the house, they relocate pecans to random places in the pantry. :) )

Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way full.

After that is done, mix up your streusel topping.  In a small bowl, mix your brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and then cut in the butter until your mixture is crumbly.

Baker note: (In the photos, my butter had been on the counter too long and melted too much.. therefore doesn't look too crumby. rest assured, it's delicious.)  Sprinkle mixture over each muffin evenly.  Then, pop these scrumptious smelling beauties in the oven for  20-25 minutes!

Let them cool for a bit, and then you can taste test as many as you'd like.

Happy Baking Everyone!!