Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Dulce De Leche Filling

Welcome to Autumn! This morning I had my first hot apple cider, which is what makes the season a reality for me. Apples, pumpkin, cinnamon, cranberries. They all scream Fall to me! I'm sure you've noticed that your Pinterest board is full of pumpkin-flavored recipes. I'm about to add another one to the pile.

Today I'm happy to partner with Dorie Greenspan and OXO to bring you my first Fall-related recipe of the year! Dorie Greenspan is set to release her first ever cookie cookbook this October and several bloggers across the internet are working together to Bake a Difference for Cookies for Kids' Cancer. For each blog post, OXO is donating $100 to the Cookies for Kids' Cancer Foundation, with a possible donation of $100,000!

Today I'm featuring Dorie's Pumpkin whoopie pies with dulce de leche filling. The recipe came together super fast with a few new OXO additions to my kitchen. I used the new On Illuminating Digital Hand Mixer from OXO to make the cookie dough. I haven't owned a hand mixer in probably six years, but this one is so cool! The controls are digital and the mixer has its own light, you can make cookies in the dark! Additionally, the mixer comes with its own on-board storage system for the beaters and the cord wraps neatly around the base. A quick turn of the dough with a spatula and the dough was ready to go.

I quickly scooped out the perfect amount of cookie dough with the 2-tablespoon (medium) cookie scoop. Using a cookie scoop ensures that all of your cookies are the same size and that they bake evenly. I have all three sizes! Side note - the large size is perfect for making cupcakes. The cookie dough for these whoopie pies is a little loose, so using a muffin pan to bake the cookies is the perfect solution. OXO sent along their non-stick Pro 12 Cup Muffin Pan to bake the cookies. This is the most heavy duty muffin pan that I have even owned! It's ceramic-reinforced, two-layer construction with a commercial-grade coating. The cookies popped right out!

With the cookies baked, the dulce de leche filling was incredibly easy to whip up. Just five ingredients and you've got tasty filling in under five minutes. After filling the cookies with the frosting, I may have eaten a good portion of the leftover frosting...

If you too want to get into the Autumnal spirit, head to the store and pickup some pumpkin puree and frozen cranberries. Your house will be smelling of cinnamon in no time! Get yourself a pumpkin spice latte, throw on your fuzzy pants and get ready for the cooler temperatures!

Tailgate Time! - Football Celebration Cake

Today I woke up to chilly temperatures and a definite Fall-like feel to the morning. While the days still feel like summer, the mornings and evenings are beginning to take a turn toward Autumn. In the US, nothing says Fall more clearly than the start of football season. 

This past weekend was the opening of regular season football. Last week I created a few recipes for your tailgating party, today I bring you something to get you ready for the end of the season! It's time to think big for your team and plan your playoff celebration cake!  Being a Buffalo girl I find it a little difficult to even think about calling this a playoff celebration cake, but you can always dream!

I made this cake to celebrate the Buffalo Bills. The layering of colors in this cake is reminiscent of the team logo, with a red stripe slashing across a blue buffalo. If you call yourself a fan of another football team, just swap out the colors for your own team colors! I made a custom blend of red, white and blue sprinkles from three bottles of single colors that I bought at a local cake supply shop. You can pick up your team colors at Michaels Arts & Crafts or online at Amazon.

The cake toppers are also super easy to make! I found a clipart image of a football and traced it onto wax paper. Melting some chocolate chips and transferring them to a zip-top bag with a small piping tip, I was able to draw out the chocolate football and endzone upright.

To keep the local spirit going, you should pair your celebration cake with a local brand of ice cream! Perry's is the local brand of choice in Western New York and I have paired my celebration cake with the "Sundae at the Ralph" flavor. The red and blue sprinkles in the ice cream go right along with my team color theme!

Go ahead and plan for the best, buy your sprinkles and food coloring and get ready to celebrate!  Or just enjoy practicing your layer cake skills and eating the delicious results.

One Year Ago: Pumpkin Mallomars
Two Years Ago: S'mores Cupcakes
Three Years Ago: Cookies Dough Stuffed French Toast
Four Years Ago: Southwest Chicken Burger
Five Years Ago: Baked Pears & Salad
Six Years Ago: White Chicken Chili

Tailgating Time! - Ice Cream Cookie Dip

The chilly days of tailgating are coming! Probably not this weekend, (it's going to be in the mid-80's this weekend in the tri-state area) but soon we'll be bundling up in layers and heading out to the game with thermoses of hot drinks.  If you are a football fan in the northern part of the country, this is your reality. There are approximately three weeks of comfortable football weather before the too chilly temperatures take over and make it impossible to enjoy a game without bringing a blanket. During these crisp Fall weeks, I think you should bring this to your outdoor tailgating party...

Yes! Ice Cream Cookie Dip! I'm sure you've seen the different types cookie dip floating around the internet. Most of these dips use cream cheese as a base and are all perfectly delicious. This cookie dip uses your favorite ice cream as a base! Basically, this is an excuse to eat a bunch of ice cream with an edible spoon.

The reason I suggest this recipe only to those in the northern states is because it will melt rather quickly at temperatures higher than 50 degrees! I used a bit of gelatin in this recipe to stabilize the dip, but it still is mostly ice cream and will turn into a pool of delicious melted ice cream if you sit it in the blistering sun. I suggest keeping this in a cooler until you are ready for dessert, then eat up! Unless you are in Buffalo, NY. You will have no problem setting this out on your tailgate in a few weeks! Winter is coming...

Continuing to celebrate my hometown and all things Buffalo Bills, I used the new Perry's Ice Cream - Sundae at the Ralph - to make my ice cream cookie dip. The ice cream has little peanut butter-filled footballs mixed in. These were a special bonus when scooping into the dip!

After working with this ice cream on several recipes, I find myself wanting to put on my old Zubaz pants. Unfortunately I haven't owned a pair of Zubaz since 1994. I think that either a. my mom has since donated them or b. I won't fit into my 13-year old self's pants. Disappointing.

Wait, I just checked... Zubaz still exists!  Time to go buy some and bring back the trend...

One Year Ago: Pumpkin Mallomars
Two Years Ago: Rigatoni with Pepperoni, Tomato & Mozzarella
Three Years Ago: Single Serve Stuffed French Toast

Four Years Ago: Ramen Vegetable Soup

Five Years Ago: French Croissants

Six Years Ago: Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Icing