Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Hello! I hope your weekend it getting off to a great start. I have a big date this weekend, with my kitchen! 

I love to bake in the Fall and this weekend is going to be dreary so I will be making a few things I found and have pinned on my Pinterest pages.

As it is Fall I have been trying to bake with seasonal ingredients, and pumpkin is one of my favorites. 

After searching for a few recipes which would incorporate both chocolate and pumpkin I found this recipe at Martha Stewart for Chocolate pumpkin cheesecake bars.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

•  Crust:

  
  
  • 12 Oreos
  • 12/ cup of graham cracker crumbs 
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
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  •  Filling
• • 2 packages bar cream cheese (8 ounces each)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup canned  pumpkin puree
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • dash of nutmeg
  • OR instead of the spices above 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang on all sides. Set aside.
2. In a food processor or blender blend cookies and graham cracker crumbs with sugar until finely ground (you should have about 1 cup crumbs); add butter, and pulse until moistened.
3. Transfer crumb mixture to prepared pan, and press gently into bottom. Bake until  slightly firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. Place cream cheese in mixer; blend until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, flour, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt;  mix  until combined about 1 minute. Set aside
5. Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted. Add 1 cup of the pumpkin mixture; stir to combine. Set aside.
6. Pour remaining pumpkin mixture into prepared pan. Drop dollops of chocolate mixture onto pumpkin mixture; swirl. Bake until cheesecake is set but jiggles slightly when gently shaken, 40 to 50 minutes.
7. Cool in pan. Then cover and chill  at least 2 hours.  Using overhang, transfer  to work surface. Cut and serve. 

These bars are delicious, the texture is similar to pumpkin pie, and they taste like your favorite holiday pie with a burst of chocolate. They are moist, creamy and have a nice crunchy chocolate crust. 

I love pumpkin pie spice and so I I always add a little more than most people would, I think this mixture is just right. If you like less spice that add less. 

What are your plans for the weekend? Will you be making anything? If you try this come back and let me know, I want to know what you think.

Enjoy!

Linking to:
At the Picket Fenceg
Six Sisters Stuff
Stone Gable
French Country Cottage
Stuff and Nonsense
2805
Common Ground
The Charm of the Home
How Sweet It IS
Natasha in Oz
Flour me with Love
Or So She Says

Chocolat Chaud

Image Source

I don't know about you but to me Fall is: cosy fires, crisp air, falling leaves and weekends inside. I love to have stacks of books and movies streaming with a cup of cocoa and a plate of treats while I wile away  the weekends on my couch with my husband and pup.

Image Pine Cones and Acorns Blog

This is a recipe for my favorite French drinking chocolate. It is rich, creamy and full of chocolate. I hope you try it!

Chocolat Chaud


1 1/4 cups of milk
1/4 cup of heavy cream
2 Tbsp. water
2  Tbsp. granulated sugar
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, heavy cream, water, and sugar. Place over medium heat and whisk occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and heat the mixture until bubbles form around the edge of the pan.  Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate. Blend mixture with an immersion blended. You can do this  in the saucepan but  make sure that you are careful or you will have hot chocolate all over the kitchen! If you do not feel like blending it than just whisk vigorously.

I make this every morning instead of breakfast and I love it! Tell me, do you have a favorite hot chocolate recipe?

Happy Autumn, Happy Fall, Happy Day! Enjoy!

Puppy Chow Krispie Treats

Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddy recipes are everywhere, especially at this time of year as people are thinking of easy Christmas snack and gift ideas. 

While I was perusing Pinterest I found a great recipe for Puppy Chow Krispie Treats from the blog Cookies and Cups.

If you like rice krispie treats, chocolate and peanut butter than you are going to love these bars. 

Puppy Chow/Muddy Buddy Rice Krispie Treats
Recipe from Cookies & Cups


2 cups of chocolate chips an
3/4 cup of peanut butter creamy or chunky, your choice
4 cups of krispie rice cereal
1 cup of mini marshmallows
1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Prepare  an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. In a double boiler melt the chocolate chips until smooth, add the peanut butter and stir until incorporated. Then add the marshmallows and cereal and stir until combined. Press into the pan. Sift powdered sugar over the top.  Refrigerate until cool then cut and serve.

All images Pine Cones and Acorns

 What do you think? Do you like "puppy chow"? I had never had this chocolate peanut butter mix until a month ago and I loved it but to be honest I like these bars much better.

I think I like the puppy chow bars more because there is less powdered sugar, and that way you can really taste the chocolate and peanut butter combination. Thankfully I had an appointment today where I took these bars along or I might have eaten the entire pan!

Enjoy your day!

Linking to:
Stone Gable

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Mocha Buttercream Frosting

• I have not really been baking anything chocolate lately so I have been a MIA, but I did make these yummy cupcakes this weekend for some friends, who were having guests. 
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• It is basically a delicious vanilla cupcake (thank you Martha Stewart) with my favorite buttercream frosting recipe kicked up with the addition of coffee!
• 
  

For those of you who like chocolate and coffee these cupcakes will quickly become a favorite. 

• White cupcakes
• recipe from Martha Stewart
• 
  
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Frost. Serve at room temperature.

Whipped Chocolate Mocha Frosting

2 sticks of softened butter (Must be SOFT not melted)
31/2 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp of vanilla
2 tsp of instant coffee granules. or espresso powder
4 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:

Cream softened butter in an electric mixer for a few minutes.  Mix instant coffee granules with the heavy whipping cream until dissolved. Turn off mixer and add the cocoa powder and the powdered sugar, start mixing on low speed otherwise you will have a huge mess. Mix ingredients until incorporated and then add the salt, vanilla and the heavy whipping cream/coffee mixture. Mix on high for 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.

I hope you have a fabulous day! Enjoy!