Recipe Review: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins

Hi! Today's recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins comes to you from the beautiful blog of The Novice Chef.

Of course, I couldn't just MAKE the recipe, not with all my dietary restrictions now. But I LOVE pumpkin. :) 

These are beautiful muffins! Here's how I modified them: I used applesauce instead of oil. And Neufchatel cream cheese instead of regular. I also used homemade pumpkin puree instead of canned.

:D

 I'm giving them a "Yes, please", although I have no need to make them again. They are delicious, very moist and flavorful. I have a dozen in the freezer; I got 18 muffins from the recipe.



Let me know if you try these! :D

Have a great day! Be blessed, my friends!

Copycat IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes

Welcome to Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Kenn and I are gone for a bit, but you don't have to miss out on my reviews this time. You're on my TO DO list before I leave! :D

Today's review is this recipe for Copycat IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes from Raining Hot Coupons.

This is definitely a YES, PLEASE! recipe. I used pumpkin puree that I made from a sugar pumpkin; it was a little funny that it only needed a little for the recipe, but I did it, anyway. :D

They were really nicely spiced, and VERY fluffy. I halved the recipe because Kenn was gone - and because he refuses to believe he actually likes things with pumpkin in it (although he does! :D). Mom had one, and she really liked them!

I probably put a little more cinnamon in than it called for. (OK. I KNOW I did. :D ) They were REALLY good, and very easy. I think you should put these on the menu for sometime soon! :D Ooooh, how fun to do these for breakfast, then go to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard! It would be a perfect fall day!

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a wonderful day, dear friend. Be BLESSED!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Icing

Welcome back - it's Wednesday! Are you trying anything new in your menus this week? Gotta tell you, there are SO many recipes out there, I could make something new every meal and not run out of ones I really want to try. :D

Today's recipe is from The Girl Who Ate Everything, for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Icing.

First, I hate to tell you, but I didn't do the caramel icing. Sorry. It was one more step in a too-busy day, so I used some regular buttercream I had left from some cookies. :) It LOOKED good, the icing recipe, but I was DONE. LOL! I made these for a hostess stamping club brunch get-together.

Everyone seemed to LOVE them! :)There was a taste I couldn't identify that I would work on discovering and "fixing" if I make these again - but they were VERY tender, and you could tell they were pumpkin - the dough was soft and pumpkin-colored. :D The recipe made EXACTLY a dozen rolls.

I think I'll give them a YES, PLEASE! With that being said, I'm not sure I'll make this particular recipe again. Maybe. Again, there are SO many recipes for pumpkin cinnamon rolls...!

OK, I'm outta here! :D Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake French Toast

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Do you have lots of plans for your weekend? Have you had a good week?

This recipe is for pumpkin cheesecake French toast from Skinny Sometimes.

I have to admit: this was a huge let-down for me. Maybe I needed to use more stevia; I had the powdered form, not the liquid. I wanted this to be sweeter, for sure. I don't make French toast often, because it's messy and takes longer than I want it to. :D So, I'm going to say NO, THANKS - but don't let that stop you from trying it. It was purely my personal taste, again, that said I don't wanna keep this recipe.

SO. :D Have a wonderful weekend! Be BLESSED!!!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Happy Friday! Well, until today, it felt like fall might be on its way - but we're back up into the 90s if the forecast holds correctly today. :::sigh::: :D Still, with canned pumpkin, we can make it taste like fall any time of the year!

Like with today's recipe for Pumpkin Spice Pancakes from Annie's Eats.

These were a definite YES, PLEASE! for me. Kenn swears up and down he doesn't like pumpkin, so this time, I didn't even offer him any pancakes. :D My mom wanted them to taste more like pumpkin pie, but they're PANCAKES, Mom. :D I loved them.

The good news is that they freeze beautifully! So I was able to eat pancakes whenever I didn't want to cook - I just popped them in the microwave to warm up to butter-melting temperature. :D Yum! I didn't change a thing in the recipe, either.

OK, I'm outta here! Tomorrow is our 17th anniversary. :) Have a wonderful day, and a blessed weekend!!!!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Tangy Yogurt Frosting

Welcome to Wednesday! :) How are you today? Are you having a good week?

This recipe is for Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Tangy Yogurt Frosting, a recipe from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.

This one is a mixed one. I, personally, didn't like the cupcake. It was lacking SOMETHING, and to me, it smelled better than it tasted. The frosting was REALLY runny - I added an extra cup of confectioner's sugar, in an attempt to get it to spread better. Yeah, didn't work. By the time my husband ate it, it had pooled into the wrapper and dried mostly there.

Now, my mom liked the cupcake, not the frosting. My husband thought it was "really tasty", even though he swears he doesn't LIKE pumpkin. I just didn't tell him what kind it was. LOL

So, how to rate it. I'm going to give it a NO, THANK YOU; I might remember the icing as a glaze for something, but not as a true frosting. The cupcakes didn't last long before they started to grow mold - too moist? No clue, but YUCK.  If you decide to try them, I'd love to know what you think of them!

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!

Pumpkin Fudge

Good Monday! :D How are you today? Did you have a good weekend? Did you try anything new?

It was busy around here, but I took a few pictures of a couple of new things. :) Today's not a share-one-of-those days. :D It's share-some-more-recipes-from-the-open-house day!

This one is for pumpkin fudge, from Better Homes & Gardens.

I didn't tweak anything on this recipe. I educated my family on the different chips that are available during the holidays - but we don't live in a very adventurous area, so we don't see them too often. We did, however, manage to locate a bag of cinnamon chips.

They were yummy, and integral to making this recipe work. It was really good; people who like pumpkin really enjoyed it! Many people told me they'd never heard of pumpkin fudge; I used to purchase it at the Fourth Street Fair in Richmond, IN, where I grew up. :) It's nice to have a recipe for it, so I don't have to search for it so hard! LOL

I'd love to hear if you try this some time. Heck, I'd love to hear when you try ANYTHING I post! :D Have a WONDERFUL day; try and stay warm and dry, wherever you are, and BE BLESSED!

Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars

It's FRIDAY! :) Welcome to the weekend.

Today's share is a recipe I found in a Christmas Cookies booklet; lucky for both you and me that Better Homes & Gardens puts their recipes online, too! :D

It's called Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars, and this is what I made instead of pumpkin pie for our family celebration last Thursday.

I'm going to give this a YES, PLEASE! It was a really nice change of pace; it tastes a lot like pumpkin pie without ALL the pumpkin or fuss. :D I really liked the gingersnap crumb crust.

I didn't tweak it at all. We didn't use the optional caramel topping - TOO much sweetness! We DID use French Vanilla Cool Whip - and did it taste decadent. :D

OK, I'm off! This weekend, open house craziness. Phew. :D Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!! Try something new, and let me know about it!!! :)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles

Welcome to Monday! Are you ready for this week? It's the last of November. Wow. Where DID this year go?!?!

Today's review is the last recipe from the Hostess Appreciation Luncheon - and it's dessert, of course. :D It's Simple Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles from My Baking Addiction.

OK, these are a YES, PLEASE! but I WILL tweak them a bit. :D I didn't do a thing differently from the recipe, I swear! :D

I loved the Biscoff cookies for this; they weren't overpowering or too sweet, and kept their crunch - which was a great texture contrast to the creaminess of the rest of it.

I will add more cream cheese next time; I love the flavor of cream cheese, and as one hostess said, "If you hadn't told me there was cream cheese in here, I never would have guessed!" If you like the cheese part of the cheesecake flavor to be less, then do this straight-up. :D

I served these in little juice glasses. It was really the perfect size to wrap up a big meal; cool, creamy, and not too big a portion made it a pretty perfect little treat. :)

OK, I'm outta here! Sooooo busy around here! I really hope you're planning on coming to the open house if you're local.... :D

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Pumpkin Bars

Good Monday Morning!
Did you have a good weekend? It was absolutely STUNNING here - probably the last fall hurrah of the year. :D Low 70s, sunny - and I know some of my friends were dealing with snow. (I say "dealing"; I'd love to have snow!!!!!!)

ANYWAY. This recipe is a Taste of Home recipe; my mom actually brought home a Holiday Recipe cookbook she found at a garage sale. She's been craving something with pumpkin, and when I looked through the book I found this recipe. It's simple; I found it on their website, too, and here is the link!

As I said, it's a simple recipe. And it makes a big pan. We're going to give this a YES, PLEASE! What I did was mix up the whole batch, then cut the pan of bars in half and cooled and wrapped one half. They're in our freezer, waiting for someone to come visit. :D They were good; the frosting was good, and I *think* I cut the frosting recipe in half - and still didn't use it all. :)

OK, I'm off! Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

 Good Wednesday Morning!

What a week it's been. Here's hoping things sail a little smoother for a while!

Have you tried anything new lately?

Here's my newest try; it's from the Just a Pinch Recipe Club, which I've mentioned several times - for Pumpkin Bundt Cake.

I can't quite decide about this cake. It's SUPER-simple, and nicely moist without being too much so. But it's lacking...something. Mom and I talked about it maybe needing a struesel layer, or more spice, or something. I did add extra cinnamon - my pumpkin pie spice didn't smell like much, so I added more cinnamon. I always add more cinnamon. :D

I think I have to give it a NO, THANKS, just because I've got SO many dessert recipes already. But it made a BEAUTIFUL cake, and would be easy to transport. I might come back to it and play with it a little, but I kind of doubt it. It IS good, though. :D You should try it, and tell me what YOU think.

OK, I'm outta here. I think Mom and I are going to go to the county fair for a little this evening; I think we need just some FUN time. Have a wonderful, BLESSED day! Hug someone, too. :)