Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

My favorite grocery store, Kroger, has started to put pumpkin on sale for just a buck a can!  When I told the hubby, he said, "you better stock up and get five or ten cans!" Little does he know, I'm going to get that many cans EVERY time I go shopping for about the next month. I learned my lesson big time a few years ago, when there was a pumpkin shortage and I couldn't find canned pumpkin ANYWHERE!!!!!!! Since my family loves pumpkin and also cinnamon rolls, how about putting them together?!!?!? I topped these when they were still warm with an easy three-ingredient icing. When Dominic came home from school today and wanted a snack, I asked him to point to the pumpkin cinnamon roll that he wanted. He pointed to the middle one. Yep, that comes as no surprise, because that is the one that always has the most icing!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold
1 1/4 cups packed pumpkin
1/3 cup milk

Filling:

3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Icing:

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. In large bowl, put the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, white sugar, salt and vanilla. With two knives or a pastry blender, "cut" in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the pumpkin and milk and mix by hand with large spoon. On a lightly floured board, press out dough to a rectangle about 12 inches long. In small bowl, put the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well with small spoon. Sprinkle the filling ingredients evenly, so it covers the entire rectangle. Roll dough tightly, like a jelly roll. Cut into eight slices and put into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes on a wire rack. In small bowl, put the powdered sugar, butter and milk. Mix with small spoon until thoroughly combined. Spread evenly on the cinnamon rolls with a dinner knife. Eat immediately. If you have any leftovers, store in fridge in a covered container. To reheat, put a cinnamon roll in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Yummy!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate and peanut butter are a "classic" combo that have been around for a long time. Did you know that the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup was invented in 1928? Lauren and Dominic "inherited" their love of cinnamon from me and their love of peanut butter and chocolate from their dad! When I make the peanut butter crisscross cookies they barely last a few days.  How about if I added chocolate? They would probably last a few hours!!

Ingredients

2 cups white flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups white sugar + 1 tablespoon white sugar (reserved)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, put all the ingredients in the order given (except the one tablespoon of reserved white sugar). Mix well with a large spoon by hand until combined. Roll into 36 equal sized balls with the palms of your hands and put a dozen balls at a time onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  On small plate,  put the reserved one tablespoon of white sugar. With a dinner fork, first dip in the white sugar and then crisscross the top of each ball to flatten.  Add sprinkles if desired. Bake for 12 minutes and then remove to wire rack immediately to finish cooling. Makes three dozen cookies.

Easy Homemade Biscuits

The other night, when Dominic and I made some homemade biscuits to go with our dinner, the hubby said, "are these homemade or store bought?" I said, "why?" He then said, "because these are really good!" Biscuits from scratch are easy to make and since this recipe uses an entire tablespoon of baking powder, they rise up high.

I love to split one of these open while they are still warm, put a small dab or two of butter on each half and then spread some apple butter on!! Talk about scrumptious! Speaking of apple butter, I found a recipe recently for apple butter pie that sounded really yummy.  Hmm, the sugar cookies Dominic and I made earlier in the week are almost gone and I have all the ingredients in the house for the pie, I think a little pie baking may be in order for this afternoon!

Ingredients

2 cups white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In large bowl, put the flour, baking powder, salt and white sugar.  With two knives, "cut" in the shortening until it starts to resemble coarse crumbs. Pour in the milk and with a large spoon, mix well by hand until all ingredients are combined. On a lightly floured board, knead dough about 10 times and then press out to a rectangular shape about 1/2 inch thick. With a knife, cut into six equal-sized squares. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and put in the oven for about 14 minutes or until the biscuits start to turn a golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to continue cooling. Makes six biscuits.

Frozen Fruit Yogurt Bars

Dominic could probably eat his weight in strawberries. Blueberries and yogurt on the other hand, are two foods he flat out refuses to eat!  I decided to "sneak" in some blueberries and yogurt along with some strawberries into these bars to see if Dominic would notice. When he came home from school, since it's so warm here today, I thought it would be a perfect after school snack. I was curious if Dominic would want to eat them given they have blueberries and yogurt. Well, guess what? He didn't notice!  My little "experiment" was a success!!!!  The only comment Dominic made when he bit into one of these yummy bars was, "that's cold!"

Ingredients

Two 5.3 ounce containers Greek vanilla yogurt,
  any brand
1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

Put all ingredients into the blender and blend until thick and creamy. Pour evenly into eight ice pop molds and freeze for a minimum of six hours. FYI - The molds I used each held a little less than a 1/2 cup of the fruit and yogurt mixture.