Pumpkin Spice Cake Pops

So I got the brilliant idea that I should make cake pops for the silent auction at my work. Sounded like a good idea, I even had a gingerbread man mold. I remember thinking “How hard can it be? I’ve got a mold, all I have to do is press them in it, let them firm up and dip them, easy peasy”  little did I know of the massacre that was about to happen in my kitchen.

Sticking sticks into little gingerbread bodies may seem easy, but then they decide to just randomly crumble and fall apart as you are trying to get the candy coating to cover it. I had chunks of cake pops in my coating, random gingerbread man body parts randomly scattered over the table, it looked like a battlefield. I dubbed it the Great Gingerbread Man Massacre of 2014.

After giving up on the gingerbread men, I decided to make just ordinary balls. These were MUCH easier to coat and I only had a few casualties, most of which I was able to save by using a fork to lift them from the coating. These I turned into “truffles”. They seemed to be a smashing success though, even if they weren’t cute little gingerbread men.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Pops:

• Spice Cake – already baked and cooled, I used a boxed cake mix and prepared it according to the package directions.
• 12 oz Cream Cheese Frosting – about 2/3 of a 16 oz can
• Pumpkin Spice Candy Melts
• White Candy Melts
• Lollipop Sticks if you are making cake pops

Crumble the cake into a bowl and add the frosting. Mix until it is all combined. Scoop out and roll into balls or whatever shape your heart desires. Refrigerate until firm, at least two hours.

Add your candy melts to a glass microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between each 30 seconds until the candy melts are completely melted.

Remove your balls from the fridge. Take your stick, dip it into the candy melts, then push it into one of your balls. Repeat for all balls, if you have over 12 balls you may want to put them back in the fridge for a little bit to make sure they are firm before dipping. You can always reheat the candy melts in the microwave if they start firming up in the dish.

Now start dipping your balls into the candy melts. I poked the end of the sticks through the lid of a box to dry, that way they were standing up so that all the sides dried evenly. If you are just doing cake balls, and not pops, you can place them on parchment or wax paper until they firm up. Once the coating is firm, melt white candy melts and drizzle it over the top. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookies and Testing Kitchen Aid Mixing Bowl Liners

With the arrival of fall, everyone seems to want pumpkin flavored treats.

These pumpkin pie spice cookies are an easy way to incorporate fall flavors into a cake mix cookie using the pumpkin spice jello instant pudding and a cake mix. I like to add mini chocolate chips for added flavor.

I am also testing the new kitchen aid mixing bowl liners with this recipe. I was at Bed, Bath & Beyond and happened to see them there and I really wanted to try them out. They are priced at $19.99 and the set contains two liners with two lids.

So I bought a set, which brings me to my disclaimer:

This is not a paid advertisement and I am not being compensated in any way for my review of this product. This is just my own personal opinion and I’m not responsible for what anyone else does with this information.

The bowls are made of very thin plastic and feel quite flimsy. I wouldn’t expect to have a thick plastic though as it lines the bowl and you have to have room for the beater to spin without jamming. It also states on the packaging that you can’t use the silicone edged beater with the liners as it may cause a fire. EEP!

The liners nest in the metal mixing bowl, they do have a tendency to spin a bit, but if you line up the tab on the side of the bowl lines with the mixer, the bowl won’t spin.

As you can see the bowl liners fit nicely between the flat beater and the mixing bowl.  That freaky orange stuff in the bowl is the pumpkin pie spice pudding.  The whisk attachment also worked great with the liner.

I liked how easy it was to just lift it out and put it in the fridge to allow the pudding to setup and I could, if I wanted to, go ahead and make something else while the pudding was chilling. The bowls also have lids and I think they would be excellent to use around Christmas when you are making lots of cookies and you have dough that needs to be chilled before baking. It’s such a pain to have to constantly dump stuff into another bowl and repeatedly wash out the mixing bowl.  The liners are a cheaper alternative to buying an additional mixing bowl.  I can definitely see how they will come in handy and I am glad I purchased them.

Getting back to the the Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookies, they are relatively easy to make. The cookies have a cake like texture and are really like a cookie that is a cake. It’s a cookie cake cookie.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookies

• 1 box instant pumpkin spice jello
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1 bag mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix the Pudding mix and milk together and allow to setup for five minutes or so in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix pudding, cake mix, eggs and pumpkin spice seasoning until thoroughly combined.  The dough will be very thick and very sticky. Add in chocolate chips stirring until evenly distributed.

In a separate bowl or shaker combine the sugar and the cinnamon.

Line your cookie sheets with either parchment or a silicone baking mat as these cookies have a tendency to stick to the pan. Drop by spoonful onto the lined cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture and then bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown on the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center of a cookie comes out clean. Let cool and enjoy.

Butterscotch Coffee Cake

I love butterscotch.   This is one of my go to recipes when I need a dessert and I’m in a hurry and the best part is that there is no need to frost this cake.  Just bake and go.  It is super simple and super yummy.  I got the recipe from my sister who I think got it from her friend Shelley, who is just plain awesome!

 

First you will need to assemble the ingredients

Then you are going to want to make some instant pudding.  When I make the pudding I use 1 3/4 cup of milk in order to make a thicker pudding and I also use a large mixing bowl, so that I don’t have as many dirty dishes.  I use a whisk to mix the pudding mix up in the milk.  It’s okay if there are a few lumps or bumps in the pudding.  It’ll be mixed into the cake, so nobody will ever know there were lumps in it.  You will also want to allow five or so minutes for the pudding to set.

Here is the pudding now that it is set. Yum!  Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350.

Next you need to add your eggs and cake mix to the pudding and stir it until it is all mixed together.  You will probably have a few small lumps in the batter.  Don’t worry about the small lumps but do try to break up any boulders you see in there, but don’t worry overmuch about the smaller ones.

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Now that the batter is all mixed together you can add about 1/2 a bag of butterscotch chips and stir to mix it all up.

Pour all of that butterscotchery goodness into your prepared 9 x 13 pan.  Do you remember the recipe called for sugar?  The sugar gets sprinkled on the tip of the batter.  Just like in the picture. I scoop it and use my hands, but you can use a spoon or a cup to sprinkle it on the cake.

Once I sprinkle some of the sugar on the cake I take the spatula and smooth over the top of the batter until you can no longer see the sugar, but don’t stir it, just smooth it over.  And then I sprinkle it with sugar again.  This makes the top crunchy and makes nooks and crannies of caramelized sugar, especially along the edges and in the corners.

Then I put it in the oven and bake it for about 30 – 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Sometimes this cake does take a little longer than that depending on how runny your batter was to begin with.  I’ve baked these as long as 50 minutes before.  But start checking it around the 30 minute mark.

Once it’s baked the top and corners of the cake will be nice and crunchy and the cake itself will be super moist.

Here’s the recipe:

Butterscotch Coffee Cake

1 box instant butterscotch pudding

1 3/4 cup milk

1 box french vanilla or yellow cake mix

2 eggs

6 oz of butterscotch chips (about 1/2 of an 11 oz bag)

1/4 cup sugar

 

Mix the milk and pudding mix together and let setup in the fridge.  Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 13 inch cake pan. Once the pudding is set add the cake mix and two eggs stirring to combine everything.  Add the butterscotch chips and stir to combine.  Pour into greased 9 x 13 inch pan.  Sprinkle the top with sugar and then smooth the top of the cake with a spoon.  Sprinkle with additional sugar.  Bake for 30 -40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Let cool and enjoy!