Butter Pumpkin Cake

"Eat butter first,
 and eat it last,
 and live till a
 hundred years
 have past."
~Old Dutch Proverb

I only make this 
around the holiday's.
It is very rich and
oh, so good.

Butter should have
it's own food group.

So, what should we
do when we're a hundred?

Honey Caramel

"Tiggers
don't like
honey."

~Winnie the Pooh

Well, I am definitely

not a Tigger...

I have been munching

on these caramels all

day...

I have completely

ruined my "eating

to be healthy" plan...

I'll start that tomorrow.

Honey Caramels

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 2/3 cup white sugar

1 cup butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.

Heat, stirring constantly to  240 degrees.

Pour in a well buttered 8 x 8 pan. Let set

 until completely cool before cutting.

Try one sprinkled
with Hawaiian red
salt...
Oh yeah!

Pumpkin Caramel Bars

"Life is uncertain,
 eat cake first."

~Ernestine Ulmer

The pumpkin cake is good,
but the frosting is "to die
for":

I wanted to eat it all off
the cake with a spoon!

Pumpkin Caramel Bars

For the bars-

2 cups all purpose flour [ I used 1/2 whole wheat]
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans [optional]

For the Frosting-

2 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup water
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 stick unsalted buttr, cubed
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat  a 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick spray.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk together pumpkin puree, sugars, egg, melted butter and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Stir in flour mixture and pecans.

Spread pumpkin batter evenly into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting-

Boil 2 cups brown sugar, water and salt in a large saucepan over high heat, 5 minutes, gently swirling occasionally to prevent scorching.  Whisk in cream and butter pieces. (Mixture will bubble furiously; keep whisking). Boil 2 minutes more.

Transfer caramel to the bowl of a stand mixer; whip on high speed until sides of bowl are cool to the touch and caramel is thick, 8 - 10 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Add cream cheese, 1 cube at a time, until frosting is smooth.  Frost cooled bars.  Store bars in the refrigerator up to a week.

Pecans

 "I think that if
you shake the
tree, you ought
to be around when
the fruit falls
to pick it up."

~Mary Cassatt

And I want to pick it up but...

...numerous pecan trees
on my property and
the squirrels have
eaten every nut from
all of them!

There is one bag
of pecans hiding
in the freezer so
there can still be
fudge.

Exhale.

Candy Corn

All I need is love,

but a little candy

now and then

doesn't hurt!

~Charles Schulz

 

How sweet are these !
Just the kind of candy
I love.

Plenty of time to make
for National Candy Corn
Day: October 30th.

Have a great Monday.

Pizza Muffins

"You don't
 get tired
 of muffins..."

~George Bernard Shaw

These were a big hit

with the people in

my home.

The recipe lends itself

to a lot of play:

I think they would

be fabulous made

with spinach in

place of the meat.

I plan on putting

some away in the

freezer for when

a quick lunch is

needed. Just add

a salad or a cup

of soup and you're

all set.

My Little Shadow

I have a little shadow
that goes in and out
with me,
And what can be the
use of [her] is more
than I can see.
~Robert Louis Stevenson

My little shadow
and I have been
enjoying the lower
humidity levels,
if not the day time
temperature's...

we have discovered

little bits of fall...

gazed at the clouds...

eaten far too

many boiled

peanuts...

collected pine cones

to use as fire starters

because ....

at least the nights

are cool enough

for an outdoor fire.