Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Just a head's up...these are AMAZING and adorable! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 large Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, cut into small pieces
Peanut Butter Frosting
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• 3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
• 2 - 2 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
3. In a separate bowl, combine cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
6. Beat in vanilla.
7. Add dry ingredients, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
8. Gently fold in Peanut Butter Cup pieces.
9. Divide batter into cupcake liners.
10. Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Peanut Butter Frosting
11. Cream butter and Peanut Butter until fluffy.
12. Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with a little milk at a time.
13. Beat well, until desired consistency.
14. Frost cupcakes and garnish with a Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

The only thing I will change next time is the amount of liquid I add to the frosting. I needed a little bit more to make it a little smoother after frosting the cupcakes...you live and learn!

Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake

So good! If this wasn't good, I was going to be so angry because it took me half an hour to find my springform pan (and my husband actually ended up finding it after he came home from work). I was so not happy! But it turned out amazing and I'm pretty sure you can eat it for breakfast because it is part cinnamon roll! Yummo! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Roll Batter:2/3 cup white sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
½ cup whole milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cheesecake filling:2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons flour
3 eggs

Cinnamon Filling:1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting:3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch Springform pan.

For the Cinnamon Roll Batter:In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Add the egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat for another minute. Scrape down bowl.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the sifted and creamed ingredients together. Mix on low speed until thoroughly combined.

Spread half of the batter onto the bottom of the Springform pan. This is the hardest part. It will be sticky and thick so spray your hands with baking spray and press down. It doesn't need to be perfect - it's very forgiving. It will be a thin layer but will rise up during baking. Transfer the remaining batter to a small bowl and set aside.

For the Cheesecake Filling:Using a stand mixer or hand mixer (a clean bowl), beat cream cheese and sugar for 2 minutes on medium-high speed in a large bowl.

Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.

Add the vanilla and flour and beat for another minute.

Pour all of the cheesecake batter on top of the cinnamon roll batter that is in the prepared pan.

Cinnamon Filling:In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Drop spoonfuls of the cinnamon filling over the entire top of the cheesecake making sure not to get too close to the sides. If you get too close to the sides the filling could bubble out when baking. 

Take the rest of the base batter and drop spoonfuls over the entire top of cheesecake. Swirl gently with a knife. The batter is thick but just gently do it the best you can.

Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until the center is set. Cake will be puffy and lightly browned. You can cover it will foil for the last 10 minutes if it is getting too brown for your liking. Let chill for 20 minutes at room temperature and then cover and move to fridge for 4 hours. Remove cake and let it warm up to room temperature just a bit. Drizzle with Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below).

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:Beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Mix in additional milk if desired to reach the consistency you like. Since the top of the cheesecake is pretty delicate, I opted to drizzle the frosting instead of using a spatula. I placed all of the frosting in a large gallon Ziploc bag. I snipped off the corner with scissors and drizzled the frosting in a crisscross pattern.

I would have taken a picture, but there is less than half left :) Oops!

I lied...here is a picture of what is left!

Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Sauce

This is a delicious cake with a just-sweet-enough caramel sauce that is a perfect dessert for this fall weather! I tried in out on our small group last night, and they loved it! Hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Sauce

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil

CARAMEL SAUCE:
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
Dash salt
1-1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs, pumpkin and oil until smooth; add to the dry ingredients. Mix until well blended, about 1 minute.

2. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake at 350º for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

3. For sauce, combine the brown sugar, flour and salt in a saucepan. Stir in water and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Cut cake into squares and serve with warm sauce.

This is sooo tasty and I really hope you give it a shot! I recommend pouring the sauce right before you eat it, as opposed to pouring it all on the cake. Even the next day, this cake is super moist and delicious. It totally satisfies my sweet tooth and pumpkin cravings this time of year, without being too sweet or pumpkiny ( I made up that word!) Let me know if you try this out and what you thought of it!