Jeans and Jewels

I had the best time at this years school fund raiser.

"Jeans and Jewels."  

We had the option of decorating a table to reserve seats for our friends.  The auction was October 24th so I choose Halloween decorations.  We ended winning "Best and Most Creative." 

Rhonda's Dunkin Delights

It is Christmas time and my niece and nephews want Apples for Christmas.  I think they love them as much as I do.   Click here to see the caramel I use.  It is really good and super easy. 

Gingerbread Loaf

Starbucks copy cat Gingerbread Loaf

 recipe adapted from "A cup of Mascarpone."

I am so glad I stumbled across this blog today  "A cup of Mascarpone,"  All of her food looks so delicious and the presentation is great.  I wanted a slice of her Gingerbread Loaf as soon as I saw it, so I check my cupboards for the ingredients and had everything but the orange extract.

  I just used orange juice and zest and it was fine. 

 This really does taste like Starbucks Gingerbread loaf.    

Ingredients:

for the loaf:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon orange fresh squeezed orange juice 

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 egg at room temperature

1 cup natural applesauce

1 teaspoon baking soda

for the frosting:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 teaspoon fresh squeezed orange juice

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Optional chopped candied ginger or candied orange peel for garnish

Create the Gingerbread Loaf and Frosting:

create the loaf:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9"x5" bread pan (not mini bread pans). 

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, stir in orange juice and zest, add egg and mix well.  Add baking soda, applesauce and flour and beat until smooth.

Scoop the batter into prepared loaf pan(s).

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean. If baking the 2 smaller loaves, bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

create the frosting:

Beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add orange juice and zest. Slowly beat in confectioner's sugar.

Once the cake has cooled, evenly spread the frosting on top. Garnish with chopped candied ginger or orange peel, if desired.

Adapted with slight changes from The Restaurant Recipe Blog.

Apple Cobbler Dump Cake

Recipe from: Come Together Kids

The Apple dump cake I made last week with pie filling wasn't good..  I loved the topping and the recipe is so easy.   So, I found this recipe and love it.  This recipe is so easy and delicious, my favorite apple recipe so far.

Ingredients
* 5 fresh apples peeled  (1/4 in. thick) 
* box of yellow cake mix
* 1 stick of butter

Directions:
1. Spray a pie dish with cooking spray.
2. Dump the apples in the dish and spread them evenly over the bottom.
3. Pour a layer of dry cake mix over the apples. (You might not have to use the whole bag, use just enough to cover the apples with a decent layer)

4. Melt a stick of butter and pour the melted butter evenly over the cake mix.
5.  Sprinkle a little apple pie spice or cinnamon over the top.
6. Bake at 350* for about 35-45 minutes until the top is slightly golden and the apples are hot and bubbly. (Note: with about 10-15 minutes left in the cooking time, peek in at your cobbler. If you notice there are some dry patches of cake mix, you can sprinkle just a little bit of water on them so it's not powdery. Then continue baking)
7. Optional- scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle with caramel sauce.