Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp. mace
(may substitute pumpkin pie spice for individual spices)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter - melted
1/2 cup sliced almonds
6 ounces chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees . Put almonds on a baking sheet or pie pan and bake about 5 min., just until lightly browned. Grease 12 cup muffin pan or line with muffin papers. Thoroughly mix flour, sugar, spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Break eggs into another bowl. Add pumpkin and butter to eggs and whisk until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and almonds. Pour over dry ingredients and fold in just until moistened. Do not over mix. Scoop into tins and bake 20-25 minutes. Do not over-bake. Test with toothpick. They should still seem a little underdone when removed from the oven.

Review: I love fall time and being able to make pumpkin everything! These were really good and fallish. They were better when they cooled off rather than hot out of the oven though.

Kansas City Barbecue Sauce- (ht)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. apple juice
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1/4 c. vinegar
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent. Add the remaining ingredients except horseradish and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Turn heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Add the horseradish and serve as desired.

Spiced Variation: Add a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of cloves, and a pinch of cayenne pepper with the paprika.

Smoky Variation: Substitute 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika for the paprika.

Recipe from Our Best Bites

Apple Cider Spice Doughnuts- (ht)

1 c. apple cider, preferably fresh apple cider or something high-quality like Simply Apple
1 c. sugar
3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 c. butter-flavored shortening
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 quart canola or peanut oil (for frying)

Spiced Sugar

Shake or whisk to combine:
3/4 c. white sugar
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the apple cider to a boil. Continue to cook over high heat for about 7-10 minutes or until it's reduced to 1/4 c. Remove from heat and allow to cool (you can transfer it to a heat-safe cup and place in the refrigerator or freezer to make things move a little more quickly. Also, if you're in a pinch, you can use 1/4 c. of undiluted apple juice concentrate).

While the cider is reducing, combine shortening and sugar in a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer on high for 2-3 minutes or until it's light and fluffy (if you're using a KitchenAid mixer, use the paddle beater). Add eggs one at a time, beating completely after each addition. Add reduced cider and buttermilk and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Add flour mixture to the liquid mixture and beat until just blended. The dough will be very soft--it will be about the consistency of chocolate chip cookie dough (minus the chocolate chips, of course! :) )
Carefully lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top of a baking sheet. Transfer dough to the plastic wrap. Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll dough out to about 1/2" thick. Top with another layer of plastic wrap and transfer the pan to the freezer for about 20 minutes or the refrigerator for 1 hour. While dough is chilling, you can prepare the spiced sugar topping.


When the dough has chilled, remove from the freezer/refrigerator. Using a round cookie cutter, cut circles out of the dough. Using a smaller cookie cutter cut the centers out of the circles and reserve the "holes" for little bite-sized pieces of apple-spiced goodness! Place cut dough pieces on a lightly floured baking sheet. When all the dough has been cut out, place the pan back in the refrigerator while you prepare the oil for frying.

In a large, deep saucepan or Dutch oven, heat 1 quart of oil over medium heat. If you don't have a candy thermometer, go buy one--they're not just handy for this recipe, but they are also a) fabulously cheap and b) ALWAYS useful. Anyway, using a candy thermometer, heat oil to 325 degrees. While oil is heating, line a plate or baking sheet with paper towels.
When the oil is hot, carefully place a few pieces of dough into the hot oil (don't crowd the pan, but you can probably get away with cooking 3-4 at a time, at least). The dough will sink down and then rise to the surface. Check the bottom side; if it's golden brown, flip the doughnut. If it's still a little pale, give it another 30 seconds or so and then check it again. After you've flipped the doughnut, the other side will cook significantly faster, so keep an eye on them. All in all, they should take about 90 seconds-2 minutes to cook completely.

Remove doughnuts from hot oil with a heat-proof slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels, followed by a baking rack (if you need the paper towel space for more doughnuts

Repeat frying process with remaining dough and then with the holes--the doughnut holes will cook EXTREMELY quickly, so be careful not to burn them.


Place spiced sugar mix in a large Ziploc bag and then shake a few doughnuts at a time in the mixture.

Makes about 24-36 doughnuts (plus as many doughnut holes), depending on how big you cut the doughnuts and how many times you roll out the scraps.

Hot Caramel Apple Cider- (ht)

1/2 gallon apple cider (64 oz or 8 C)
1/2 C orange juice, fresh squeezed or good quality bottled like Simply Orange
1 orange
8 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (if yours are more than a year old- buy new ones!!)
1/4 t ground allspice
1/3 C jarred caramel sauce* more to taste if needed
optional: caramel flavored syrup
sweetened whipped cream (or from a can is fine!)
*For a delicious twist, substitute maple syrup for the caramel sauce in this recipe

Let's make this stuff. Begin by pouring 8 C of apple cider into a large stock pot on the stove pot. Set heat to medium-high. Add orange juice, cinnamon sticks, and allspice.

And since I have a feeling people will ask... no, I wouldn't substitute ground cinnamon or cloves. For one thing, the whole spices taste a lot better, but also ground spices will just add grainy pulp to the mixture. I used ground allspice because it's a small amount and sometimes whole allspice berries are difficult to find.

Thoroughly wash your orange and then gently stab the whole cloves into it. If you find it hard to do that without destroying the cloves, use a toothpick to poke little hole first and then insert the cloves. This is brilliant (if I don't say so myself) because it eliminates the need for a little bag to hold your cloves, and stabbing them in the orange releases oils and lots of yummy flavor! (If you are doubling the recipe, you can still just use one orange, just double the number of cloves you poke into it).

Gently drop the whole orange into the pot. Bring cider to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer on low for 60 minutes and longer if you wish. If you're keeping the pot on the stove for an extended period, keep an eye on the orange. If at any time it splits open, remove it from the pot. If the white pith is exposed it will add a bitter taste to your cider. If you're going to have the pot warming for hours on end, take out the orange. After you've simmered for an hour, add caramel sauce and stir to combine and dissolve. Add more caramel to taste if needed.

When ready to serve, ladle into mugs, top with whipped cream, and give it a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of cinnamon!

Recipe From Our Best Bites

Guacamole- (ht)

1/4 small white onion
2 serrano chiles, halved and seeds removed
4 large sprigs fresh cilantro, leaves only
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large Hass avocados
1 large tomato, finely chopped
Additional salt to taste

In a small food processor*, combine onion, chiles, cilantro, lime juice and salt, and process until smooth and liquid. (If using a molcajete, chop the onion and chiles first, then grind with cilantro, juice and salt until smooth).

Cut the avocados in half. Remove pits (I usually smack them with a chef’s knife to bury the edge in the pit, then twist to remove), and scoop the flesh out into a small bowl. Mash with a fork. Don’t let the avocados get too smooth – some remaining chunks are good. Mix in the chile cilantro mixture, add chopped tomatoes, and stir until combined. Salt to taste — I think this guacamole tastes best when it’s a little on the salty side. Serve with tortilla chips.

Recipe From Savour Fare

Homemade Slime aka GAK

1 teaspoon borax powder
1 1/2 C water, divided
4 oz (1/2 C) Elmer's glue, clear or white
food coloring

Add borax powder to 1 cup of water and stir to dissolve. Set aside. Pour glue into a medium mixing bowl and add 1/2 C water. Add a few drops of food coloring until desired color is reached and then stir to mix glue solution until smooth. Pour the borax mixture into the glue mixture and watch the solids start to form. Stir for a few moments and then use your hands to gather the mass. The mixture will be very soft and wet. Keep kneading until it firms up and feels dry. Discard excess liquid in bowl. The more you knead and play with the slime the firmer it will become. Store in a ziplock bag or air tight container and the slime will keep indefinitely.

*Note that this is not a recipe for human consumption. It is for play purposes only. Make sure to supervise young children.

Review: This is such a fun and easy thing to do with the kids! They love it and it's kept them busy for quite awhile.

Recipe from Our Best Bites

Easy Baked Macaroni and Cheese

1 (16 oz.) pkg. macaroni
1 c. milk
2 c. chicken broth
2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 c. swiss, grated
1 c. monterey jack cheese, grated
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
2 tsp. onion salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 c. flour

In a large bowl, stir together the macaroni, milk, and chicken broth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together using a large wooden spoon. Pour into a very large, deep casserole dish. Bake uncovered in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until pasta is fully cooked. Turn oven broiler on for the last two minutes of cooking time to brown up the top part of the mac and cheese. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Recipe from Babble

Review: This dish is really easy and super good! I would suggest baking it in a very deep dish though, otherwise the liquid evaporates before all of the noodles are done.

Creamy Bacon Tomato and Avocado Pasta Salad- (ht)

•6 slices bacon, chopped into one inch pieces
•1/2 pound dried rotini pasta
•1/2 cup mayonnaise
•juice of 1 lemon
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
•1/4 teaspoon white pepper
•1 teaspoon dried dill
•1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
•1 avocado pitted and sliced

1.Cook bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
2.Cook pasta according to package directions. Strain. Run cold water over the top until the pasta is cooled.
3.While your bacon and pasta are cooking, whisk mayonnaise, lemon, salt, garlic powder, pepper and dill together in a bowl.
4.Stir cooled pasta, cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado and reserved bacon into the dressing. Toss to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5.Serve.
Enjoy!

Recipe from Life's Ambrosia