It’s official. Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. And my favorite time of the year is officially here!

This year we did two rounds of the holiday, one on Thursday with Noel’s family and one on Saturday with our family. So we got a bit of both worlds, some with others cooking for us, some with us being responsible for the big bird. We also had an extra special treat on Thanksgiving night–we sat three rows from the field in the endzone of the Ravens–49ers game!

Our split holiday strategy gave us the opportunity to see all of our family in one weekend–from our nieces and nephews to my sister’s inlaws to be!

I think since my main cooking responsibilities were all for the Saturday meal, the whole holiday was a lot more relaxed for me. I was able to make my contributions–pumpkin rolls and a pumpkin cheesecake on Friday morning before my run–and then Friday night Noel and I set the turkey up to brine and we cooked in up Saturday morning. It was definitely a lot easier than trying to get the whole meal together for Thursday midday!

And here I have to give a special shoutout to Noel, who officially made the BEST turkey I have ever had this year. A fresh turkey + brine + cooking breast side down was AMAZING! So juicy. Everyone was raving over it all day, and even the leftovers were juicy out of the fridge!

It was amazingly beautiful this weekend in Delaware, so we took the opportunity to go down to the beach after dinner and take a walk to look at the hundreds of snow geese that are laying over here on their way south for the winter.

Now it’s time to get ready for the December holidays. I feel like this has been a great Thanksgiving for me and that I truly have so much to be thankful for. I’ve really spent a lot contemplating the meaning of the holiday, and I wanted to tell you all, I’m thankful for all of you. This blog is such an outlet for me–thanks for reading!

My quest to work through more than my fair share of pumpkin continues.

Did you know there’s a pumpkin shortage AGAIN this year? One more thing to thank all that rain for. I feel like I never really notice when there is a shortage or not because I typically shop at Whole Foods, where they stock pumpkin all year every year. But when the folks at work were talking about it this week I started to get SUPER nervous and I considered buying a whole case of pumpkin on Amazon. And then I stepped back from the edge. At least I know that’s an option, but hopefully one I don’t have to take right away!

I was so excited when I came across this recipe. I love pumpkin everything, but the perfect pumpkin cookie has eluded me. Typically they’re just a bit too cakey for me. These cookies are chewey, but the oatmeal makes it a good, hearty chewey, cutting down on the cake. I took these to the same event where the pie played a staring role and these were a close runner up. So add these to your fall baking lists!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Picky Cook

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/3 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter – softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a bowl.

Cream butter, honey and sugars using a stand mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla – mix well. The mixture will be a bit chunky at this point, but it will smooth out once you add the dry ingredients.

Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Chill dough for 30 minutes or overnight.

Use a small cookie scoop to place rounded balls of dough on a cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are light golden brown. Allow to rest on cookie sheet for two minutes after removing from oven, then remove to a cooling rack. Store cookies in an airtight container.

In honor of National Bundt Day and Mary the Food Librarian’s Bundt-a-thon, I want to share with you my new favorite fall cake!

Meet the Applesauce Spice Bundt–a cake that is sure to be the star of my Thanksgiving table, and could be the star of yours too! Because it’s made with applesauce and not chunky pieces of apple, this bundt is a whole new twist on the fall apple cake. It’s less a traditional apple cake and more the moistest spice cake you’ve ever had. I made this for dessert when we met up with my friend (and she should be yours too if you haven’t checked her out…she’s one amazing cook!) and fellow blogger Wendi for dinner, and it was a nice accompaniment to her fantastic dinner.

So wonderful in fact, that we all went back for seconds. And you know when food bloggers go back for seconds, it must be good!

Good thing I only made the baby bundt for dinner and made the rest of the batter into a loaf for Noel to take to work–because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to control myself!

Not only did I discover a new favorite cake in the process, but I also discovered the joy of making applesauce! Who knew it was so easy! Take a few apples past their prime (three apples is about 1 pound) add a quarter cup of water for each pound, and then let the apples simmer for 30 minutes. A quick whirl of the immersion blender later, and you’ve gone from apples past their prime to the best applesauce ever. Really.

Now on to that beautiful bundt footage!

Applesauce Spice Bundt
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

The recipe below will make one full sized (12 cup) bundt. I used about half of the mix to fill a 6 cup bundt, then made a loaf of the rest of the batter. Make sure you spray your bundt pan well, and let the cake cool some before you flip it out, and you’ll have one beautiful cake!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick salted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

For glaze:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
splash of vanilla extract
1/8 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup half and half
pinch allspice

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray with flour.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Gently flip onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make glaze: Whip cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer until fluffy. Slowly (1 tablespoon at a time) add half and half until the mixture is desired consistency (for me, this was so it would easily plop off a spoon, but wouldn’t be drippy). Add pinch of all spice. Spread on top of the cooled caked, and decorate with more allspice.

Oh I wish this bundt-a-thon came with smell-o-vision. Yumlish.

When does pumpkin season peak in your mind?

Is it before Halloween, or do you think it’s properly drawn out until after Thanksgiving? I’ll be honest, I’m on the fence about this one. There is such an onslaught of pumpkin in the food world leading up to Halloween, that I was nervous about sharing this recipe with you all because I was worried you would all be “pumpkined-out”. But I hope you’re not, and that you’re willing to give pumpkin at least one more shot before you ready yourself for the big pumpkin pie finale two weeks from now, because this recipe is worth it.

This is another “ripped from the KAF catalogue” recipe–man do they put some good stuff in that monthly freebie! I had wanted to make whoopie pies for a LONG time, but Noel was pretty anti-whoopie, thanks to childhood experiences with overly sweet pies bought at roadside stands and filled with Crisco icing. But once I said cream cheese and candied ginger, he was on board. I made these for the folks that came to our house for Sunday night football Halloween night–and boy were they ever a hit! No one thought we had reached the pumpkin max!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Adapted from the King Arthur Catalogue

I’ll admit to not typically being a fan of molasses. I think my childhood has something to do with it. My grandmother used to tell people they were “slower than iced molasses” and it wasn’t a good thing!! So I may have grown up biased. But it ROCKED in these cookies! So maybe I’m warming up to it a bit. I hear warm molasses moves faster!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 large eggs
1 15 oz can pumpkin
2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

For the icing:

8 ounce package of cream cheese, soft
4 tablespoons butter, soft
2 cups (or less to taste) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup diced crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Beat together the butter, oil, sugar, molasses, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure they are well combined and scrapping the sides. Stir in the pumpkin. Add the flour in two additions, mixing well after each.

Use a 2 tablespoon, tablespoon, or muffin (if you want really big pies) sized scoop (yes I have all three–don’t judge!) to drop the batter onto the baking sheets. Bake cookies until they feel firm–anywhere from 12-18 minutes depending on size. Cool cookies on the sheet 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.

For icing: Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the powdered sugar until fluffy, then add the vanilla and beat 2-3 minutes more. Stir in the ginger.

To assemble: Sandwich each cookie around 1-2 tablespoons of icing. To store, wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap.

These were definitely friend and husband approved!

After I came down from my 5K high last week, I needed a break. So I won’t lie, I took a nap. Yeah, I know you’re not supposed to need a nap after a 5K, but I’m a girl that likes to sleep!

And then I woke up. And I was STARVING. I knew we had a date with our good friends later that night after Noel’s inaugural Mount Vernon ghost tour (have I ever told you that Noel is a tour guide with Baltimore Ghost Tours? Well he is) and we would be going out to eat. So the question was, what to eat to tie me over until a late dinner?

I suddenly had a bug in my brain to make something pumpkin–and somehow I settled on pumpkin soup. Because soup can be the ultimate holdover snack. It’s not quite enough to be a meal, but it’s just substantial enough to hold you over until the next meal.

And this is a soup that’s so chock full of fruits and veggies, it feels like a healthy snack even though it’s creamy and thick. The secret ingredients? Apples and onions, which when pureed give the soup a nice thickness without too much richness. A perfect afternoon snack. Even Ariadne was impressed.

Curried Pumpkin Apple Soup
Adapted from Family Fun Magazine

This soup screams fall, with it’s pumpkin and apple, but it’s a nice change on the pumpkin theme. Instead of the traditional fall spices, the curry powder in this recipe gives the soup a little bit of heat, which balances the bit of sweetness in the apples and the honey. This would make a delicious main or a side, and I think it’s going to make an appearance on my Thanksgiving table as an appetizer. The best thing? Because you’re using canned pumpkin, it comes together in record time.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 large apple, cored, and chopped
2 teaspoons mild curry powder
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 cup milk
2 to 3 tablespoons honey (to taste)
Sour cream and chives, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Melt the butter in a soup pot. Stir in the onion and apple. Sauté the ingredients over medium-high heat until the onion is clear, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and sauté the mixture for another minute. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and cook it for 1 minute more.

Add the pumpkin and stir, then add the other 2 cups of chicken stock. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until it’s smooth.

Add the salt (to taste) then set the soup over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

After 5 minutes, stir in the milk and 2 tablespoons of honey. Taste the soup, adding more salt or honey and pepper to get the desired balance of sweet and savory. Simmer it for 2 minutes more, remove the soup from the heat, and serve it hot. Garnish with sour cream or greek yogurt and enjoy!

The other night when I was running around the park, I noticed a slight crunching sound under my running shoes. Confused, I looked down and noticed that the ground was littered with leafs. I looked up and sure enough, the huge trees above me were starting to yellow. It seems even though we’re stuck in perpetual summer (yeah 90 degrees today!) the seasons have still made up their mind to change.

All summer long I’ve been waiting for this moment. The moment when it finally felt cool enough to break into the fall baking supplies. More specifically, to open one of those cans of pumpkin puree that have been lurking in my pantry for the past year. Yes, I stockpiled pumpkin in a panic last year. Don’t judge! I love my fall spices, and I need a delivery vehicle!

And just to prove I’m not kidding…

Do you think I’ll run out of cinnamon…ever? And that container’s not even that old! But one of my life mottos is “everything’s better with cinnamon!” And fall means cinnamon, making it one of my favorite seasons!

Everyday Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food

Since these were my first dabble in fall baking this year, and I was leaving out the chocolate the original recipe calls for, I spiced up these cookies A LOT. But spice is the flavor of life, right? I would like to try these sometime with chocolate, but since I made these in a rush, it will need to be a day when I have more time!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon (to taste–obviously I used 2!)
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat until smooth. With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture in two parts and pumpkin puree in one, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined (do not overmix). Scrape the sides to incorporate all flour.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto two baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately transfer cookies to wire racks, and cool completely.

Enjoy a quick bit of fall in your kitchen this weekend!

A few weeks ago, I had a predicament. Eileen and I–pretty much without consulting our husbands–had decided to do a new years dinner party. And we had invited 12 for a formal sit down. At first, we were thinking we would do something over the top fancy, like crab, lobster, or some other spectacular seafood. But then I started to price out crab and other seafood recipes. EEK! I had no idea that jumbo lump was so expensive! Guess that restaurant markup on crabcakes isn’t quite as much as I thought after all. I love my friends, but I didn’t want to be bankrupt in January! Double EEK!

So what do you make for a whole crowd of people that’s 1) fancy enough for a formal sit down and 2) not so expensive you’re going to spend a whole month’s food budget on it?

Pork loin–it’s fantastic! And available in bulk, at very reasonable prices, at Costco. Look at that 7 1/2 pound beauty. Suitable for serving 12, half of which we expected to be very hungry boys.

Then the challenge was to find a suitable treatment for the pork loin, something that was festive and fancy, but not too much work. We found the perfect recipe at Simply Recipes–Cranberry and Apple Stuffed Pork loin. I loved the idea of traditional fall flavors like apples and cranberries, offering an echo of traditional holiday tables, with the twist of an inside stuffing. And the best part of the recipe was that we could stuff the loin early in the day and then refrigerate until we were ready to cook it in the oven. No slaving over a hot stove in party dresses required!

Looks like someone else approved of our choice of pork loin as well.

Cranberry and Apple Stuffed Pork Loin
Adapted from Simply Recipes

As soon as we mixed the stuffing for this, we knew it was going to be a hit. It had me at croutons alone, but Carlos, Eileen and I all agreed that the stuffing smelled wonderful. It really was tough not to spoon it right out of the bowl–I had to satisfy myself with a few of the extra croutons out of the bag instead. We doubled this recipe to accommodate our pork loin, so if you follow the scale below you will get enough to make one 3 pound loin. Also, if you refrigerate this after stuffing, be aware that your loin will take longer to cook through.

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless pork loin (about 3 pounds)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup seasoned croutons
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup peeled, chopped green apples
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon minced rosemary

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.

Rinse the pork and pat it dry. Butterfly the roast by first cutting lengthwise about halfway through the roast. Then angle the knife and cut horizontally almost all of the way through, on both sides. You are making a total of three cuts into the pork. Unfold the pork. Cover with 2 layers of of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet to flatten as much as possible. Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place croutons and stock in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes, until the croutons have absorbed the stock and have softened. If you’re me, mash the croutons repeatedly until they’re mushy. Stir in the apples, walnuts, cranberries, shallots, maple syrup and rosemary. Spread mixture over surface of the pork. Starting with the smallest side of the meat (which should be in the shape of a rectangle), roll up tightly and secure with kitchen string in three or four places, depending on the size of your loin. At this point you can wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate if you are making ahead.

Coat the bottom of a roasting pan with cooking spray. Place the roast in the pan and cook at 325°F, uncovered, for about 1 hour ten minutes, or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140-145°F. Start checking the internal temperature of the roast at about one hour. The pork may still look pinkish on the outside, so you really need a kitchen thermometer to make sure it is done! Let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the kitchen string and slice into 1/2-inch thick slices.

The loin looked just beautiful on our festive holiday table! But those boys let us down and we ended up with a whole extra half leftover! Good thing that the loin is also excellent reheated the next day. And it allowed me to fulfill Noel’s annual Pennsylvania Dutch pork on New Year’s Day tradition without eating pork cooked in saurkraut, which I really can’t stand!

Update!!

There were actually two Nikons at the pork assembly party–my baby and the Sanchez family D80. I just got the pictures off the Sanchez camera and frankly, since they’re so beautiful they made me cry, I have to share two here:

this is our beautiful loin all rolled up!

and here with some of the fantastic stuffing peaking out! Amazing pictures–thank you LS!

Do you have one holiday dessert that you come back to year after year? Something that always tastes fantastic and fresh, no matter how many times you make it? Something that won you a place in the heart of your in-laws? Well this is my *one* dessert.

How did I end up with my *one*? Well, let’s flash back to 2007. I was working a job with long hours a long way away from home. So I wasn’t doing much cooking. Actually I was doing NO cooking. It was all I could do to get home awake at night. But I had discovered that I could live vicariously through the interwebs, and these things called blogs. And one blog, in particular, had stolen my heart and was providing me with all sorts of food fulfillment–smitten kitchen. I’m not sure how I first stumbled onto Deb’s site, but I was in love. Big time.

So when Thanksgiving came that year and I actually (amazingly) had a few days off work, I decided to make one recipe off of Deb’s site that had really caught my eye–candy corn for grown ups–aka pumpkin bourbon cheesecake. The recipe seemed like more than I could handle (oh how times have changed), but when I shared it with Noel he was excited, and then I was excited. I made the recipe and took it to Thanksgiving dinner–and it was a hit! And my journey down the blog fueled baking rabbit hole had begun!

Fast forward to this year–2 years and approximately 6 cheesecakes later. I was not on pumpkin dessert duty for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, but I had a NEED to make the cheesecake. Yes, I could just wait until Christmas and make it then. But sometimes you have to follow your inner calling. Mine was calling me to cheesecake, so we hosted an urban family thanksgiving dinner where my *one* could take center stage.

Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake
Adapted from Gourmet, via Smitten Kitchen

How to describe my *one*? Well, it’s lighter than your average cheesecake–it’s fluffier and smoother on your tongue. It has just enough pumpkin and fall spices to put you in the festive holiday spirit, but not so much that it overwhelms the cheesecake. Although the recipe might seem a bit daunting, it’s really not that hard as long as you have a stand mixer and room temperature cream cheese. A food processor helps, but is not required. Bring this to your next family holiday event and they will love you forever.

Ingredients:

For crust

• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (from five 4 3/4- by 2 1/4-inch crackers)
• 1/2 cup pecans (1 3/4 ounces), finely chopped
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For filling

• 1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon bourbon liqueur or bourbon (optional)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

For topping

• 2 cups sour cream (20 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon bourbon liqueur or bourbon (optional)

Garnish: pecan halves

Directions:

Make crust:
Invert bottom of a 9-inch springform pan (to create flat bottom, which will make it easier to remove cake from pan), then lock on side and butter pan.

Stir together crumbs, pecans, sugars, and butter in a bowl until combined well. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and 1/2 inch up side of pan, then chill crust, 1 hour.

Make filling and bake cheesecake:
Put oven rack in middle position and Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cream, vanilla, and liqueur (if using) in a bowl until combined.

Stir together granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in large bowl. Add cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, then add pumpkin mixture and beat until smooth.

Pour filling into crust, smoothing top, then put springform pan in a shallow baking pan (in case springform leaks). Bake until center is just set, 50 to 60 minutes (it always takes 65 in my oven). Transfer to rack and cool 5 minutes. (Leave oven on.)

Make topping:
Whisk together sour cream, sugar, and liqueur (if using) in a bowl, then spread on top of cheesecake and bake 5 minutes.

Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 3 hours.

Chill, covered, until cold, at least 4 hours. Remove side of pan and bring to room temperature before serving.

The cooks’ notes say this can be stored in your fridge for up to two days after baking. But see if it lasts that long–this is what we ended up with, after just one night of urban family feasting:

In case I haven’t explicitly stated it before, let me say this now and for the record–my office LOVES to eat. We’re a group of people looking for a party and the food that goes with it!

So when the idea of a “Taste Around the World” event came up during our recent charity drive, people were excited about making and sampling (to be honest I think there was more excitement about sampling!) dishes from around the world, or at least from the United States. We have a very diverse office, with people from all over the country and world, so it was sure to be an exciting event.

But what would I make? Everyone was talking about family recipes, but I’ve always felt a little lost in that respect–my beloved grandmother, the source of all great cooking in our family, died ten years ago this month, WAY before I was interested in cooking. And like many good cooks, she kept it all in her head, leaving me sadly without a source now that I would like to tap some of those great southern recipes.

After thinking for a while, I decided to do a recipe that was a send up to my heritage, even if it wasn’t something that we handed down for generations. I know we’re Scotch-Irish, so why not do Irish themed desserts? I love the Irish, and I was pretty sure everyone else at work would too!

Apple Cider Cupcakes with Cider Cream Cheese Icing
Adapted from Gourmet, October 1991

I know what you’re probably thinking–apple cider cupcakes are Irish? Well after some internet research, I discovered that apple cider cake is quite popular in Ireland. So these cupcakes seemed to meet the spirit, if not the letter of my theme for the event. Plus I figured no one would quibble with my Irishness since I planned to bring these as well.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes

• 3 cups unpasteurized apple cider
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing

• 2 cups apple cider
• 6 ounces cream cheese, cut into bits and softened
• 1/2 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

Make the cupcakes:
In a large saucepan boil the cider until it is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups and let it cool. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together the butter and the sugar until the mixture is fluffy and beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Into the bowl sift together the flour, the cloves, the cinnamon, the baking soda, and a pinch of salt, stir in the reduced cider, and combine the mixture well. Divide the batter among 18 paper-lined 1/2-cup muffin tins and bake the cupcakes in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven for 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a rack, let them cool in the tins, and remove them from the tins.

Make the icing:
In a saucepan boil the cider until it is reduced to about 1/4 cup and let it cool. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together the cream cheese, the confectioners’ sugar, the reduced cider, and a pinch of salt until the icing is smooth.

Spread each cupcake with some of the icing.

These cupcakes were really good (don’t listen to those reviews on epicurious!) with a rich caramel and apple taste, and they were an excellent contrast to the rich chocolate of the stout cake. I think this same recipe would make an excellent loaf, so next time I have some excess cider to use, I might try it out!

Happy National Bundt Day everyone!

Did you really expect me to let this holiday pass without some kind of celebration? I need only the smallest excuse to bake these days (some might even call me addicted), and National Bundt Day, along with my need to pick a Thanksgiving cake, led me to spend an early Saturday evening trying out a bundt recipe I had my eye on for a while from Dorie Greenspan.

Why this recipe? One word–cranberries. I simply love them. So much, that I eat them dried almost everyday. And this recipe uses TWO types of cranberries–dried and fresh. And as a bonus, this recipe uses a TON of spices. In my book, most recipes don’t have enough spices, so the sheer number in this recipe is exciting.

I also thought this recipe seemed like it would be just perfect for Thanksgiving, because of the combination of cranberries and spice. And it’s something completely out of the ordinary in the on the Thanksgiving dessert table–no pumpkins, no pecan, not even an apple in site. And I’m looking for different in what ever I decide to bring for dinner this year; since I’m not hosting, I want to make sure my contribution really pops.

But let’s get back to the real reason I’m sharing this with you today–National Bundt Day! Where would we be without Nordic Ware and the Bundt? I’m not sure, but I know I love these little round cakes with the hole (why is there a hole?) and they always seem to make my day a little sunnier.

So without further ado…let’s roll this beautiful Bundt footage!

Want to make a Bundt, just not this one? Other Bundt recipes on 990 Square:
Pumpkin Spice Bundt | Mom’s Apple Cake

Cranberry All Spice Bundt
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s recipe, originally published in Bon Appetit

As I’ve already mentioned, I went a little crazy when I first saw this recipe, because it seemed like something I would love so much. I made a few changes to what was otherwise perfection–I didn’t make it to HMart to get 5 spice powder, so I used all spice, I just used Stoneyfield low fat plain yogurt since I inadvertently ate the end of my Greek yogurt Friday (I blame it on the stress of jury duty), and I totally changed the glaze. Also, I halved the whole thing to fit in my 6 cup bundt, but if you make the whole recipe you will end up with a much larger cake!

INGREDIENTS:

CAKE

• 1 cups all purpose flour
• 3/8 cup almond flour or almond meal
• 1 1/4 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder**
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain reduced-fat (2%) Greek-style yogurt
• 1/2 cup halved fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
• 1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries

ICING

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 4 teaspoons (about) buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice

Directions:

CAKE
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour or generously spray with Pam for Baking (this is what I use) a 6 cup Bundt (if you are doing the half recipe above) or a 12-cup Bundt if you’re doing the full recipe. Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add both sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract, then yogurt. Add dry ingredients; beat just until blended. Fold in all cranberries. Transfer batter to prepared Bundt pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 45 minutes for 6 cup Bundt or 1 hour 10 minutes for full size recipe. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.

ICING
Stir powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons buttermilk in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Mix in more buttermilk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls to reach consistency of heavy cream. Stir in allspice. Spoon icing over cake, allowing it to drip down sides. Let stand until icing sets, at least 30 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.

Really this cake is fantastic. The tartness of the cranberries balances the sweetness of the cake, and it’s super moist.

But let’s get back to the important stuff–Bundt Day celebration. Go bake a Bundt, or enjoy a piece of Bundt with a friend! And enjoy this picture, inspired by the hayday of the Bundt–the 1960s!