Flavor Filled Cream Cheese & Bagels

Bagels and delicious, flavor-filled cream cheese give me a 

bad case of nostalgia.  Maybe it's because they were all

the rage in the 90s, with shops popping up everywhere in the

midwest? Maybe it's because I worked a stint at a bagel

shop in college? Whatever it is, I love kicking it old school

(ugh, the 90s officially feel old school as plaid has officially

come back around) and toasting up chewy bagels and

slathering them with cream cheese.  Here are two 

quick and simple recipes for flavor-filled cream

cheeses to whip up.  

One sweet and One savory, so I gotcha covered.

8 oz container of whipped cream cheese

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup honey

pinch of salt

Blend with a spoon to fully incorporate all the flavors

Starting with whipped cream cheese prevents you from 

having to get out the food processor.  Score!

the addition of chopped, lightly toasted

pecans would be delicous, FYI

8 oz container of whipped cream cheese

1/4 cup chopped scallions (chop up into the greens)

1/4 cup chopped sweet peppers (I love the mixed

bag of sweet yellows and red baby peppers)

salt & cracked black pepper, to taste

Blend with a spoon to fully incorporate all the flavors.

 Enjoy.  

I pop the flavored cream cheeses back in the container

the whipped cream cheese arrived in, and the spreads are 

good and ready to go!

Slather on, my bagel loving friends. 

xo

Baklava!

OMGeezy, I am about to toot my own horn!  Just be prepared!

A dear friend that Zac and I grew up with was heading out for dinner, and I didn't have a thing to make so I decided I would order in from this amazeballs Greek restaurant across the road.  It is legit...but, I have a hard time having someone over for dinner, that I simply ordered in.  I had to get my dessert baking on!  In my pantry/fridge/freezer search I found fillo dough and instantly felt the need to make baklava!!!  I had never made it, but knew the taste, as I used to open boxes and boxes of frozen baklava when I worked at BoDiddley's back in the day and one time watched a roommate make it in college.  Photographic memory...not going to lie! 

This recipe will make an 8x8 inch pan.  If you do a 9x13 pan, just double the recipe...since this was my first time making it, and I didn't have a recipe, I decided not to commit to the big boy pan!

1 roll of fillo dough.  I pulled it out of the freezer, but kept the roll in 

the plastic and let it come to room temperature.

 Toss 2 cups of raw pecans with 1 tsp cinnamon and place on

a baking sheet and pop in a 300 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Place toasted pecans, 1 T. granulated sugar and

1/4 tsp sea salt in a food professor (if you don't

have a food professor, put in a plastic back and 

run a rolling pin over it to break up into bits)

Pulse until it looks something like this.  

Generously butter the baking dish.

Fillo dough is a major B WORD to work with...work fast.  Typically, 

I use a pastry brush, to brush butter between each thin layer of dough.  

Alas, I couldn't find my pastry brush, so I just threw a couple layers

of dough down (I was in a hurry...we had a play date to get to) and

proceeded to the next step.

I melted 4 T. butter and since I couldn't find a brush, I just drizzled

a little over the third piece of dough, and spread the melted

 butter around with clean fingers.

Top the buttered fillo layers with roughly 1/3

of the pecan mixture.  Then, proceed to layer the fillo

dough, melted butter and pecan mixture 2 more times,

finishing with a top layer of fillo dough, topped with butter.

If you are spreading the melted butter around with your hands, press

the layers down tightly, as you are doing it.  If you are using a pastry

brush to spread the melted butter, press the top layer of fillo down firmly, 

before you brush the final layer of melted butter.

With a sharp knife, cut all the way through each layer.  Decide how big you 

want the pieces, before you start cutting. Double check that you cut all the 

way to the bottom of the pan!!!

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 30-35 minutes

 (keep in mind that this time is for a small pan).

While the pastry baked, I combined 4 T. butter, 3/4 cup honey,

1/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a sauce

pan and brought to a boil, then reduced to simmer for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, I removed from heat and stirred in 1 tsp vanilla.

This is what it should look like when you remove from the oven...

The top will be golden brown and crisp.

Immediately pour the sauce over the hot pastry.  The sauce is the sticky

goodness that is loooved about baklava.

Ready to be devoured!  

I might be a little heavy on the pecans in this recipe, and I have learned

that the sea salt is not typical, but it definitely balances the crazy sweet syrup.  

Trust. 

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I don't think I can state enough how easy it is to whip up something

dang tasty and original, starting with a simple box of cake mix.  Once

again, I am getting my pumpkin harvest on with these little beauties.

1 box of vanilla or white cake mix (to yield 9x13 pan)

1 cup of pure pumpkin puree

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp pure almond extract

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg)

Mix all the above goodies and add 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees in paper lined cupcake tray for 18-19 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool, then top with my ridiculous frosting!

*10 out of 10 people agree that these treats are needed at your Thanksgiving dessert table!

(* = I would imagine they would say that!)

Minnesota Apple Crisp

This time of year represents many wonderful things: crunchy leaves, sweaters, dragging the soup tureen off the top shelf, pumpkins and most importantly...APPLE CRISP!

I am blessed with in-laws that have many lovely apple trees on their wooded land north of where the hubs and I grew up in Minnesota.  I am doubly blessed that they visit every fall with the biggest box of Honeycrisp and Haralson apples (the best for baking, in my humble opinion), straight off these trees. 

Here is my recipe for outstanding apple crisp.

Peel and cut apples into roughly 1/2 inch chunks.

13 cups of cut apples in a greased 9x13 baking dish.

Add to apples:

2 T. flour

1 T. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. finely grated nutmeg (if you use ground nutmeg, add additonal 1/8 tsp.)

Use clean hands to toss the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg

with the apples.  The flour will help thicken the juices

of the apples that will ooze out in baking. 

Anxiously awaiting the crumble.

 Crisp Crumble:

1 stick softened butter

1 c. quick oats

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. light brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

Use a fork, pastry blender, food processor or clean hands to mix until good and crumbly.

Crumble and seasoned apples.

Evenly top apples with the delish crumble (it tastes like

oatmeal cookie dough, so I dare you not to sneak several tastes)

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. 

After 1 hour, fork the middle of the apple crisp to check that apples

are tender.  If the apples need additional cooking time, drape a

piece of aluminum foil across the baking dish (to prevent the crumble

from burning) and pop back in the oven, checking every 10 minutes, until

apples are fork tender. 

Enjoy this dish breakfast, lunch or dinner this time of year!

If there is any left*, store covered at room temperature.

(* = doubtful)