It’s a Pie Party….

And do I have a pie to share…

Blueberry Almond Cream Pie…..to die for.

I have become obsessed with making pies these past few months.  The joy and patience that a great flaky crust takes, the limitless varieties of pies you can create….I dream of pie. Often.

So making this pie for my family was a treat for me.  Taking a fellow blogger’s Blueberry Cream Pie and giving it a twist to make it for my boys was just plain fun.

Blueberry Almond Cream Pie

Ingredients:

1 – 9 inch unbaked pie crust – I used this recipe here from Melissa Clark

Filling:

3 cups blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350deg.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients (except the blueberries) until smooth and wonderful.

Pour the blueberries into the unbaked pie shell, spread evenly. Then pour the filling over the blueberries.

Crumb topping:

2 1/2 tsp light brown sugar
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 ½ tbsps almond meal, or ground almonds (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a bowl, then pour melted butter into the bowl and mix together using a fork until crumbles are formed.

Spread the crumb topping over the blueberry cream filling.

Bake in a 350 deg oven for 50 – 60 minutes. Cover crust with foil if it starts to brown too quickly.

Cool completely, slice, and enjoy!

Before:

   

After:

Enjoy!!

And check out all the wonderful pies over at Tidy Mom and her #LovethePie Party!!

“Come join Love the Pie with TidyMom  sponsored by Cherokee USA, Le Creuset, Wilton,Bags by Bloom and  Harvard Common Press”

Got Bundt?

Today is National Bundt Cake Day…another food holiday that I can appreciate. I love a good Bundt cake, I like the shape, the moist dense texture of a good rich Bundt cake, and how versatile Bundt recipes can be.

I recently found my favorite Autumn Bundt on Amanda’s Blog, I Am Baker.  Kristen, from Dine and Dish, was guest posting and posted her Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake.  I have now made this cake THREE times.  Once as Kristen posted with the pumpkin glaze, and twice with a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.  To find the recipe for the cake, check out the post on I Am Baker, but scroll down for my Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. 

 

Oh, and here is the beautiful Bundt….

 

  

 

Ok, so it’s not the greatest photo, or the prettiest Bundt cake…..but it is delicious!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

5oz Cream Cheese, Softened

1 1/2 – 2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 tbsp. Milk

1- 1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Cream ingredients together. If too thick or too thin, add more sugar or milk until desired consistency is reached. Spread onto cooled Pumpkin Spice Cake.

(this frosting is also fantastic on Banana Bread or Carrot Cake too.)

Hope you get a chance to make this cake, you wont regret it.

Happy Autumn!

Caramel Stuffed Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Oh yes, I went there.  I am all about the Autumn smells and flavors….it is truly my favorite time of year.  I find myself in the kitchen creating as many fall treats as possible lately, anything with apple, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg….mmmmmm.  I decided that I wanted to create a cookie with the spices of the season and add in some creamy caramel to the mix.  And these are what I came up with….

 

Caramel Stuffed Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ingredients:

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons cream of tarter

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice mix

Unwrapped Kraft Caramels cut in 1/2’s

For the Pumpkin Spice sugar:

2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

½ cup sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until smooth, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice mix and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined. The dough will be soft and too sticky to roll. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Position a rack in the top and bottom thirds of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350f. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

For the Pumpkin Spice sugar: Combine the pumpkin pie spice mix and sugar in a small bowl.

Using a 1 ounce cookie scoop or a tablespoon, shape the dough into balls, place caramel 1/2 in between two balls, press gently until caramel is completely surrounded by the cookie dough, keeping it’s “ball shape”.  Roll the stuffed dough in the Pumpkin Spice sugar.

         

Place the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten them slightly with your fingertips so they stay put. Bake for about 12-13 minutes, or until the bottoms are slightly golden in color. These cookies are supposed to be chewy, so do not overbake. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

These cookies are just made to be enjoyed warm from the oven, with a cup of tea….just a suggestion.  It is truly a challenge to eat just one!

Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temp for up to 4 days.

Do you have favorite seasonal flavors you LOVE to bake with?  What are they?  Please share links…always looking for new tasty treats to make.

Darn you Daylights Savings Time!

Pre-Children I loved the fall back of Daylights Savings Time….that extra hour of sleep was precious.  Now that I am the Mama of two early rising boys, I kind of hate it.  It screws everything up.  This morning both boys were up at 6:10am – a whole hour before my alarm goes off on a Monday.  I tried my best to keep them quiet in hopes of them falling back asleep, even crawled into bed with Aiden to see if he would just shut his eyes for a little longer.  But no luck.  This happens every year.  Twice every year.  The time change screws with our sleep schedule.  And it really messes everything up for about a week.  The boys seem to have a hard time adjusting to the change, they sleep less, eat more, and even throws off their behavior.  It might be a good thing that Aiden doesn’t have school this week and Jakob  has 1/2 days – will make it easier for their teachers. 

Do your kids have trouble with the time change?  Do YOU have trouble with it?