Pumpkin Spiced Ginger Cheesecake Bars

Yes, another cheesecake item!  I'm not really even sure what to call them because they were baked in a 9 inch round pan and could easily be called a normal cheesecake, but on the other hand I kind of cut them into square shapes so I decided to call them bars but be what they will (aka delicious).

Let me just say that there was a lot of tampering and changing of things within this original recipe that I started with but they turned out great! 

I have been a bad blogger lately and I can totally put all of the blame on college!  I've never been so busy in my life and I couldn't even tell you what I've been up to.  Just constant class, homework, labs, meetings, meals, and the very minimal amount of relaxing time is spent catching up on my TV shows or sleeping.  So I know I apologize all the time, but I really am sorry and hope that this summer I can bring you all some smashing new recipes!

I have discovered that in the past year or so heavy dairy makes my digestive system hate me so I usually will buy 1/3 less fat cream cheese and avoid heavy cream but I decided to just go for it with this baby because it is just so much better when its legit cream cheese! 

This recipe I found on A Kitchen Addiction but definitely changed it up.  I did not add cardamom or pepper and instead of using gingersnaps (which I don't doubt would be yummy) I used Newman's Ginger-O's, which I have never had before and was quite pleased!

Ingredients: 

This recipe will make a 9" round pan.

2 cups crushed Ginger-O's
1/4 cup melted butter
16 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1.5 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or mixture of nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon)
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
3 eggs
2 tbsp milk

Directions:

Buy a box/package of Newman's Ginger-O's and using a food processor or man power crush them into small pieces but they should not be too fine.

             

Combine with melted butter and place this mixture into the base of a 9" round pan or a 9" square pan and bake for 8-10 minutes until it is turning brown.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, both sugars, and flour until smooth.  Beat in pumpkin spice and cinnamon until well combined.  Remove half of this mixture and place it aside in a spare bowl. 

Add in pumpkin puree and eggs to the other half of the mixture in the mixing bowl.

Stir in milk into the other half of the cream cheese mixture that was set aside.

Pour pumpkin mixture on top of Ginger-O's crust and dollop the cream cheese/milk mixture over it.  Using a knife swirl them together to make a cool design. 

Bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on your oven but you want the center to be set).

Cool in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before consuming.

Enjoy! Happy Baking and Happy Spring!

Kappa Sigma Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These are red velvet cupcakes, which I have never actually made before, with a decadent cream cheese frosting, red sprinkles around the rim, and Kappa Sigma lettering!

As most of y'all know by now my boyfriend, Jake goes to Willamette University and I go visit him there once a month or so.  He is in the Kappa Sigma fraternity there... and no it is not a "frat." 

I love to bake there because I get to be in the house kitchen and my treats get enjoyed and devoured in a very short amount of time with much appreciation.  

This past weekend when I was visiting was the fraternities initiation for new pledges (which I have somehow managed to be there for 2 years in a row).  So... because of all the events that were going on I had a good amount of time to kill so I figured what better to do than to bake! I spent 3-4 hours in a quiet kitchen with my music and enjoyed the heck out of it.  It had been way too long since the last time I had a date with the mixing bowl.  

I was inspired by Joy of Baking for this recipe. 

Ingredients:

This recipe makes 32-36 regular-sized cupcakes.

For the red velvet cupcakes:

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. cocoa powder

3/4 cup unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2-3 tbsp. red food coloring

1 1/2 tsp. white vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

For the cream cheese frosting:

24 oz. cream cheese (this is 3 packages)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream

Also used: 

green food coloring

red sprinkles 

Directions:

For the red velvet cupcakes: 

Preheat the oven to 350.

Prepare 3 cupcake tins with cupcakes liners. 

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. 

Beat butter on medium speed in an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes.  

Add sugar and mix well.  Continue by adding eggs one at a time, followed by the addition of the vanilla extract (continue to scrape down the sides after each step).

In a separate bowl measure out the buttermilk.

Begin adding red food coloring drop by drop, while whisking, until you reach a deep red color.

Switch off adding the red buttermilk and the dry ingredients to the butter mixture (beginning and ending with the dry ingredients). 

In a small separate bowl or cup combine white wine vinegar and baking soda.  Let it fizz and once it has settled down fold it into the batter.

Divide the batter amongst the cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full, and baking for 18-23 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean. 

For the cream cheese frosting:

Beat room temperature cream cheese in an electric mixer until creamy.

Add vanilla and then in increments add sifted powdered sugar.  

Slowly add in the heavy whipping cream and mix on high until the frosting is thick enough to pipe.  

Decoration:

First, begin by piping the cream cheese frosting using a wide star-shaped tip onto the cupcakes.  (Optional: Save some to make the leftover frosting green to use for writing)

Pour a bottle of red sprinkles into a large bowl to coat the bottom. 

Dip the edges of the cupcake into the sprinkles and do your best to make sure they are coated evenly.

 

Using the leftover frosting, dye it green, and create lettering of your choice! I used the Kappa Sigma letters but if you want you can draw a christmas tree or write something creative! 

Now all you have to do is eat it and enjoy!

Not to mention the house is beautifully decorated for Christmas! Hope to be back there soon! Props to Jason!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you all get fat and happy! 

And as always... happy baking!

Snickerdoodle Cookie Cupcakes with Caramel Filling

College Cooking Episode #1 has officially begun! I spent this past Saturday night baking these delicious cupcakes for my hall mates as they patiently waited for several hours.  I really missed getting in my "baking zone" and am so grateful that I could finally get back into things.  So be prepared: there is definitely more to come! Suggestions welcome!

So as the title indicates that these are Snickerdoodle cookie cupcakes.  For those of you who don't know what Snickerdoodle is... you have seriously been missing out!  It's basically just a sugar cookie with cinnamon added to it, but this one ingredient makes a world of difference.  

Anyways, the base of the cupcake is actually made of a snickerdoodle cookie dough, and the cake portion as well as the cream cheese frosting is cinnamon spiked.  Last, but certainly not least the cupcake is filled with a freshly made caramel sauce. Mmmmm.

I have to give a shout out to one of my favorite blogs, How Sweet It Is, for inspiring me to create this masterpiece.  Additionally I got my caramel recipe from The Messy Baker.  This was my first time ever attempting to make caramel and I was surprisingly very successful.  

This was also my first time using a hand mixer instead of a standard kitchen aid mixer which took a little getting used to but it wasn't too shabby- just very loud.

Overall, this was a messy project to do in a tiny dorm kitchen but I still had tons of fun so it was worth it in the end. 

They think so too. 

Ingredients:

This recipe will make about 15 cupcakes.

For the cookie dough base:

1/4 cup softened unsalted butter (half of a stick) 

1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

For the cake layer:

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup of milk (I used 1%, but just use whatever you have around)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 heaping tsp. cinnamon 

For the cinnamon cream cheese frosting:

1/2 cup softened butter

8 oz cream cheese at room temp. (I used 1/3 less fat, but any kind works fine)

2.5 cups powdered sugar

2 tsps. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For the caramel:

Side note: This is something you can easily buy at the grocery store if you want to save some time. Also, this recipe will make a pretty hefty amount of caramel (I probably used half of it for my cupcakes) but it's always nice to have some left over for sundaes, etc).

1.5 cups of sugar

1 1/4 cups of heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup tap water

As you can see this recipe has lots of different parts to it but they all come together so nicely!

Directions:

For the cookie dough base: 

Beat (with electric mixer) butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl until creamy and smooth.  Add the 1 egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. 

In a separate small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

Combine dry and wet ingredients and mix until the dough comes together nicely.  Cover and put in the fridge while you complete the second step.

For the cake layer:

Preheat the oven to 350. 

Beat (with electric mixer) butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl until creamy and smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined. 

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients... combine, add milk... combine, and add the second half of the dry ingredients until you reach a smooth and fluffy consistency. 

Assembly of the cupcakes: 

1. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.

2. Add about 1 tablespoon of refrigerated cooke dough to the bottom of the liner and flatten as much as possible (pictured at the left)

3. Drop about 2 tbsp's worth of cake batter on top until it is about 75-80% full (pictured at the right). 

4. Bake for about 14-16 minutes at 350 and when they are done baking, allow to cool completely.

For the caramel:

This should probably be done several hours ahead of time so that it is able to cool off and thicken completely.  I made the stupid mistake of not allowing myself enough time but it still ended up working out for the most part! 

Combine sugar and water in a medium sized pot (no heat yet) and stir.  This is the only chance you will have to stir it- resist the urge to stir it while it is caramelizing, trust me!  Place over medium-high heat and it will eventually come to a boil, and then begin to caramelize (this should take about 10 minutes). Don't touch it for the duration of this time. 

Take it off the heat right as it becomes a familiar light brown/caramel color.  You have to be watchful because it can burn in a split second. 

Once you remove it from heat, immediately yet slowly, add the heavy whipping cream and whisk to combine.  The mixture will bubble violently and it may become clumpy but do not fear!

Place back on low heat for 1-2 minutes to melt the remaining clumps until you reach a smooth consistency.  It will become thicker as it cools so don't be alarmed by its thinness. 

Place in a heat safe container, cover, and let it cool down completely.

For the cinnamon cream cheese frosting:

Cream (with electric mixer) butter and cream cheese together in a medium sized bowl.  Gradually add the powdered sugar and vanilla, alternating back and forth.  

Finally, add cinnamon!

Refrigerate from 10-15 minutes to let it firm up a little more before frosting the cupcakes.  I will warn you that this is one of the thinner frostings I have made but it is oh so delicious.  If you are insistent in having a thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar, but I don't think it really needs it. 

Creating the masterpiece:

1. Take any standard piping bag and fill it with the cooled caramel.  Stick the tip as far you can into the cupcake and squeeze the bag while lifting up to fill the center of the cupcake.  Another way you can do it is by cutting out a portion of the cupcake and filling up the hole you created- either way works fine! 

2. Using another piping bag with any kind of decorating tip (I used a star shaped Wilton- per usual) frost your cupcakes with the cinnamon cream cheese frosting!

3.  If you want, sprinkle some cinnamon or drizzle some of the extra caramel on top!

So I finally completed my first in-college baking experience.  Please continue to keep checking in and see what's new! Hope you are all having a great school year! 

Happy baking!