Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Getting into the season with these pumpkin cinnamon rolls. The best part is they're only 98 calories each, but still taste so sinful! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Dough:

1/3 cup warm milk

2 1/4 Tablespoons active yeast (or one package)

2 Tablespoons sugar

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 egg

1 Tablespoon honey

2/3 cup pumpkin puree

Filling:

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 

Frosting:

1/2 cup whipped cream cheese

1 1/5 Tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

Mix warm milk, yeast and sugar together and set aside.  In a large bowl combine flour and salt.  In a medium bowl combine pumpkin puree, egg and honey.  Add yeast mixture to sweet potato mixture. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  

First mix with a wooden spoon, then transfer to a flat, floured surface and knead with hands for about 10 minutes.  Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm area and rise for an hour, or until dough has doubled in size.  

Transfer dough to a flat, floured surface and punch down. Roll out to a rectangle. Spread melted butter over entire surface. Sprinkle brown sugar over the butter. Mix pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices together, then spread over dough. Roll the dough up and pinch both ends. Slice to desired thickness. The easiest way to slice dough is with string (or dental floss).

Transfer each roll to a lightly greased pan. A 9"x13" works great or 2 pie dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Keep in mind, smaller rolls will need less cook time and larger rolls will need a longer cook time. 

While the rolls are baking, mix together cream cheese, cinnamon, honey and vanilla. Add more or less honey depending on you desired sweetness. Spread frosting over cinnamon rolls, serve and enjoy!

*If you plan on freezing the cinnamon rolls, cook until almost done, but not golden. Freeze without frosting. When ready to fully cook them, remove while oven is preheating and bake until golden brown. Top with frosting at the end.

Chocolate Mascarpone Tart with Berries

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter

2 teaspoons ice water

1 egg yolk

Instructions:

Combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse. Add ice water and egg yolk and pulse. Pack into ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Pack into tart dishes or small ramekins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Filling Ingredients:

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

Pinch of salt

Instructions:

Fully combine all ingredients together. Pour into cooled crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Berry Topping Ingredients:

3 cups berries (used strawberries and raspberries)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon corn starch

Instructions:

Over medium-high heat cook berries, lemon juice and sugar. Mash berries. Cook for 5 minutes. Mix water and corn starch in a bowl until fully combined. Whisk corn starch mixture into berries. Simmer until thickened.  Pour berry topping over tarts and refrigerate. 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. The three secrets to an absolutely wonderful chewy cookie are using melted butter, using one egg and one additional egg yolk, and adding in corn starch. The key for this to be successful is allowing the dough to chill for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup melted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg & 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

Start by mixing all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl: flour, baking soda, corn starch, and salt. In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, brown sugar and sugar until fully combined. Add the egg and egg yolk as well as the vanilla. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. 

Add the chocolate chips. The chocolate chips won't stick to the cookie dough very well since the butter is melted, just try to incorporate them in as well as you can.

This step is KEY. Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 2 hours, but preferably over night.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll the dough into balls and place onto a lined or lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet.

I rolled the remaining dough into balls and placed in a zip-lock bag in the freezer. You can bake these directly out of the freezer, no thawing required.

Orange Spice and Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 cup oats

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

Wet Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter, softened (I used Brummel & Brown Yogurt Butter Spread)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon molasses

2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice

Zest of one orange

Cream Cheese Layer:

8 ounces light whipped cream cheese

1 egg

1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice

Zest of one orange

2 Tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Topping:

1/4 cup oats

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sliced almonds (or other chopped nut)

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon butter, softened (I used Brummel & Brown Yogurt Butter Spread)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl mix butter, brown sugar, molasses and applesauce together until fully combined. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the remaining wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fully combine. Pour into a lightly greased 9" x 13" baking dish. 

Combine all cream cheese layer ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour on top of cake layer.

Combine topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture. Crumble on top of the cake.

Bake for 35 minutes or until knife comes out clean and top in golden brown. 

When cut into 20 pieces, each piece contains 134 calories. (This is if you used light whipped cream cheese and the yogurt butter).

Individual Nutella Peanut Butter Deep Dish Cookie

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter or butter spread

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Few drops of vanilla

Pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons peanut butter chips

1 tablespoon Nutella

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix butter, vanilla, sugar and brown sugar together until smooth. Add salt, baking soda and flour and mix until combined. Stir in chips. Transfer to a small ramekin. Add Nutella to the center, swirl through the dough with a butter knife. Pat the dough back down into the ramekin. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Serve with a scoop of ice cream and enjoy!

Healthy Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
1 braeburn apple

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

1/4 cup oats

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons honey

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel and thinly slice the apple. Put apple slices, vanilla and cinnamon in a small baggy and shake until evenly coated. Divide apples into 2 ramekins. In a small bowl mix together oats, cinnamon, brown sugar and honey. Divide into the 2 ramekins. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Enjoy!

*You can use any apple of choice, braeburns are a good balance of sweet and tart. Here's a great chart on all the different kinds of apples and what kind of dishes they're best for PickYourOwn.org

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

Rolls:

1/3 cup warm almond milk (regular milk works too)

1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoon yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon wheat gluten

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 medium sweet potato, mashed (about 2/3 cup)
1 egg
3 tablespoons applesauce

Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey

Frosting:
1/2 cup light whipped cream cheese
1-2 tablespoons honey (until desired sweetness)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

Mix warm milk, yeast and sugar together and set aside.  Chop and boil the sweet potato until fork tender. In a large bowl combine flour, wheat gluten and salt.  In a medium bowl combine mashed sweet potato, egg and applesauce.  Add yeast mixture to sweet potato mixture. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  

First mix with a wooden spoon, then transfer to a flat, floured surface and knead with hands for about 10 minutes.  Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm area and rise for an hour, or until dough has doubled in size.  

Transfer dough to a flat, floured surface and punch down. Roll out to a rectangle. Spread butter over entire surface. Sprinkle cinnamon over the butter. Sprinkle brown sugar. Lightly drizzle with honey. Roll the dough up and pinch both ends. Slice to desired thickness. The easiest way to slice dough is with string (or dental floss).

Transfer each roll to a lightly greased pan. A 9"x13" works great or 2 pie dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Keep in mind, smaller rolls will need less cook time and larger rolls will need a longer cook time. 

While the rolls are baking, mix together cream cheese, honey and vanilla. Add more or less honey depending on you desired sweetness. Spread frosting over cinnamon rolls, serve and enjoy!

*If you plan on freezing the cinnamon rolls, cook until almost done, but not golden. Freeze without frosting. When ready to fully cook them, remove while oven is preheating and bake until golden brown. Top with frosting at the end.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Ingredients:
1 box of devil's food cake

1 10 oz package of mint chips

2 eggs

2/3 cup plain greek yogurt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix cake mix, yogurt and eggs until fully combined. Add chips. Drop tablespoon full amount of dough onto a cookie sheet. Cookies will spread when baking, place 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Enjoy!

Rum Balls

I got this recipe from The Joy of Baking.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup crushed vanilla wafers

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

2 Tablespoons honey

1/4 rum

Instructions:

Finely crush vanilla wafers in a food processor or blender. Chop nuts. Combine vanilla wafers, nuts, powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add honey and rum and mix until fully combined. Chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Roll the dough into balls and roll in topping of your choice (powdered sugar, cocoa powder, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc). Place each ball in a mini muffin liner or a cookie sheet. Place the rum balls back into the fridge until serving.

Ginger Molasses Cookies

I got this recipe from a vegan blog called Lunch Box Bunch.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped candied ginger

1/3 cup softened butter

1/3 cup molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup water

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, ginger powder, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt). In a separate bowl mix candied ginger, butter, molasses, vanilla and water together. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until combined. You may need to add a Tablespoon or 2 more of water. Dough will be difficult to mix, may be easier to use hands.

Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Gently press down with a spatula after done baking to get a flatter cookie.

Turtle Pretzels

Ingredients:
1 12 oz bag rolos
About 40 pretzels (they need to be either the circle or square ones)
About 40 pecan halves

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Unwrap the entire bag of rolos and set aside. Place about 40 pretzels onto a cookie sheet. Top each pretzel with a rolo. Place cookie sheet in the oven for 2-4 minutes, make sure to keep an eye on them so not to completely melt them. You just want the rolos to be soft. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and gently squish a pecan half down onto each rolo. Let cool and enjoy!

Pannkakor (Swedish Pancakes)

This recipe is from one of my best friends who lives in Sweden. She sent me her great grandmother's recipe for pannkakor (Swedish pancakes).

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch of salt

Instructions:
Whisk all ingredients together, adding only 1 cup of milk. After all combined, add the remaining cup of milk. Let batter sit in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to thicken. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Melt a little bit of butter or spray the pan with cooking oil. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and quickly turn the pan all around with your hand, coating the pan evenly. Let cook for about 1 minute then flip in the air. Let the other side cook for another minute.

Spread desired topping on inside of pancake then fold in half twice or fold then put toppings on top. You can use lingonberries, applesauce, Nutella, jam, whipped cream, ice cream, or whatever else you prefer.

Recipe makes about 20 pancakes. You can refrigerate batter for a few days.

Lemon Cookies

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest back when I very first started pinning. The only thing I changed in the recipe today was I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour. It tastes exactly the same, but it makes the cookies look a little brown. I like the look of them better using white flour.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest (or zest from one lemon)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (or juice from one lemon)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat butter and sugar until fully mixed. Add vanilla, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until fully combined. In separate bowl whisk together salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix together.

Take teaspoon size balls of dough and roll into powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Tiramisu Cookies

Ingredients:
60 2-inch cookies (biscotti cookies or vanilla wafers)
1/2 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup Nutella (or other nut/chocolate butter)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I did 1/4 cup shredded coconut & 1/4 cup chopped pistachios)
1 cup coffee liqueur

Instructions:
Mix mascarpone and Nutella together in small bowl. Chop nuts and set aside in small bowl. Dip each cookie in coffee liqueur, don't soak. Immediately spread with mascarpone/Nutella mixture and top with another cookie dipped in liqueur. Roll each sandwich in the chopped nuts, careful not to press too firmly. Place all sandwiches on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, best overnight.

Pumpkin Muffin Tops with Cream Cheese Frosting

I found this recipe from Chocolate-Covered Katie. The original recipe used a lot more sugar and oil. I also omit nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice from all of my recipes only because I am allergic to it. I also used a completely different cream cheese frosting using no butter or sugar (it still tastes like the real deal).

Pumpkin Muffin Tops:
1 cup flour (white, wheat, oat, etc)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or a 1/4 teaspoon each of ginger and cloves)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup milk of choice
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk all dry ingredients together, then add all wet ingredients. Mix until fully combined. Spray muffin pan with oil and fill 1/3 of the way up with mixture (if you want bars, pour mixture into greased 9" x 14" baking dish). Bake for 13-15 minutes. Let cool before frosting them. This recipe makes 18 muffin tops.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
1-2 tablespoons honey (until desired sweetness achieved)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine ingredients. Add honey until desired sweetness is achieved.