Mickey Pumpkin Waffles

 

Mickey Pumpkin Waffles

Written by: Christine | September 22, 2022

Ingredients

1½ C. AP flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp. Cinnamon

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. ginger

¼ tsp cloves

½ tsp salt

1 C. canned pumpkin puree 

2 eggs

3 Tbsp. melted butter

1⁄4 C. brown sugar

1 C. Buttermilk

 

¾ C. chopped walnuts

1 C. heavy cream

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

½ tsp. salt

Cinnamon for dusting

Instructions

Heat your waffle iron. Melt a TBSP. of butter for greasing your iron between batches.

Toast your walnuts on 375 for 5-7 minutes watching to make sure they do not burn.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

In a medium bowl whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar and buttermilk until well combined.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Mix until almost combined. Add butter to until just combined. Try not to overmix. If the mixture is too dry to pour, add ¼ cup of milk to loosen.

Brush some butter on the iron. I use an ice cream scoop to fill each mickey shape and it’s the perfect amount. Pour batter into waffle iron, and cook according to waffle iron directions.

While your waffles are cooking, whip your heavy cream with a hand mixer until it has thickened. Add the syrup and salt to your taste.

Place 2 waffles on a plate, pour syrup over, sprinkle with the toasted walnuts, top with a dollop of maple whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon. Enjoy the season!

Mini Toy Story Alien Zucchini Donuts

 Mini Toy Story 

Alien Zucchini Donuts

Written by: Christine | September 14, 2022

Ingredients:

·         1 C. flour 

·         ¾ tsp. baking powder

·         ¼ tsp. baking soda

·         ¼ tsp. salt

·         ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

·         ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

·         1/4 C. sugar 

·         3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil

·         1 egg (at room temperature)

·         1 tsp. vanilla

·         3 Tbsp. plain full fat Greek yogurt

·         1/3 C. skim milk

·         ½ C. finely shredded zucchini

·         ¼ cup toasted and chopped walnuts

Frosting:

·         3 tablespoons powdered/icing sugar

·         1/2 cup light cream cheese (at room temperature)

·         2 tablespoons milk

·         Lime green food coloring gel

Decorations:

·         Pretzel sticks

·         Green candy melts

·         Green mini-M&M’s

·         Candy monster eyeballs

 

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Spray mini donut pans with coconut oil spray, butter, or oil the pans. Stir dry ingredients (flour through sugar) in a large bowl. In a medium bowl on the side whisk oil, egg, yogurt, and milk until combined. Add the zucchini and walnuts to the wet mixture and stir until just combines. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix gently until no dry streaks remain.

Spoon mixture into each donut form (you can use a plastic bag or pastry bag to fill carefully). Bake for 10-12 minutes.

While the donuts are baking, melt your candy melts according to the bag. Break each pretzel stick in half. Have your mini green M&M’s ready to place. Line a Baking sheet with parchment. Dip each half rod into the green melts place on parchment and top with one M&M.

When the antennae are set and the donuts have been removed from the pan and cooled on a rack, prepare your frosting.

Stir (with a fork) the cream cheese and the powdered sugar until combined and soft. Add the milk and food coloring. Add more color if desired to match the candy melts. Add sugar or milk to make the frosting thin enough to dip the donuts but thick enough not to run off completely.

 

Dip your donuts, place your eyeballs, insert your antennae, and enjoy!

 

Hidden Mickey Loaf Cake

Hidden Mickey Loaf Cake

Written by: Christine | September 2, 2022

For the Chocolate Loaf Cake:

Ingredients

·        1 C. AP Flour

·        ½ C. unsweetened cocoa powder

·        2 tsp. baking powder

·        1 tsp. ground ginger

·        ¼ tsp. salt

·        2 large eggs

·        1 C. granulated sugar

·        10 Tbsp. unsalted butter

·        ½ C. milk

·        1 tsp. vanilla

·        ¼ C. hot coffee (can sub hot water here)

Instructions

1.     Let your ingredients come to room temp.

2.    Preheat the oven to 350°F

3.    Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl.

4.    Spray a loaf pan with baking spray or brush with butter and flour. Cut a long piece of parchment that lines the bottom of the pan and overhands the short sides by a few inches (don’t worry about the long sides if you grease them well)

5.    Sift the flour, cocoa, bp, salt and ginger into a large bowl.

6.    Whisk eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until the sugar starts to look less grainy, add butter, milk and vanilla. Stir to combine.

7.    Add the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until just combined.

8.    Pour in the hot liquid and mix.

9.    Pour batter into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean.

10. Let cool in the pan on a rack for about 30 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool totally. (while cooling you can measure out the pumpkin loaf ingredients)

11. Slice into ¾-ish inch slices and use a Mickey cutter to stamp out your hidden Mickeys.

For the Pumpkin Loaf:

Ingredients

·      2 C. AP flour

·      ½ tsp. salt

·      1 tsp. baking soda

·      ½ tsp. baking powder

·      2 tsp. ground cinnamon

·      ¼ tsp. ground cloves

·      ¼ tsp. allspice

·      ½ tsp. ground ginger

·      ½ tsp. ground nutmeg

·      12 Tbsp. unsalted butter 

·      2 C. Sugar 

·      2 large eggs

·      1 15-oz can 100% pure pumpkin

 

Instructions

               1.    Let your ingredients come to room temp.

2.    Preheat the oven to 325°F

3.    Spray 2 loaf pans with baking spray or brush with butter and flour. Cut a long piece of parchment that lines the bottom of the pan and overhands the short sides by a few inches (don’t worry about the long sides if you grease them well)

4.    Sift the flour, spices, salt, baking powder, baking soda into a large bowl

5.    With a stand mixer using the paddle attachment or a hand mixer in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together for 5-7 minutes.

6.    Add the eggs one at a time until combined.

7.    Add the pumpkin (may look like its separated, it will come back together after the dry ingredients are added)

8.    Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (don’t over mix)

9.    Pour out about 1-1 ½ C. of the batter into the bottom of the pans.

10. Line hidden Mickeys up in the batter, press down a bit so they stand on their own (leaning on one another).

11. Top with the batter and smooth out leaving some room at the top ½-3/4 inch of the pan for rising.

12. Bake for 60-70 minutes *remember to test the cake on the sides as to not slice the mickeys!

13. Top with the ganache (recipe below) when totally cool (I let cool overnight).

 

For the Chocolate Ganache:

½ C. heavy cream

½ cup good quality chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Put the chocolate in a glass bowl. Bring the cream to a scald in a small sauce pan. Pour over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute or two. Stir until smooth. Let come to room temp on counter. Refrigerate until totally cool and spreadable. Stir.

 

 Magical Pumpkin Spice Treats

Written by: Christine | September 1, 2022

You have to try making these magical beauties! The look on our kids faces when they saw these was priceless. 

We are ready for fall already and decided to give the classic Mickey Rice Krispie Treat the autumn treatment! Of course, we went with pumpkin spice and then using some candy melts created darling mickey pumpkins and "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo" added Cinderella's Carriage too!

Even if you don't make this version follow these few simple tips to make any rice krispie treat next-level good:

* Toast your krispies- about 5 minutes on medium heat in the pot you plan to melt your mallows in.  *Use the best butter you can find, the butter is one of the main flavors, so make sure its very good quality! 

*Add 1/2 tsp. of salt, this sets all the flavors off! 

*Use one extra cup of mallows than the box recipe calls for, toss them in when the heat is off and right as your adding your cereal. )Who doesn't love finding a mallow glob in their treat?!?)

*Bonus tip: brown your butter (we didn't do that for these since we wanted the pumpkin spice to shine through, but for a plain krispie treat, the nutty flavor of browned butter is unreal!

Ingredients: 

6 cups of toasted Rice Krispies 

6.5 C. miniature marshmallows

3 Tbsp. good butter

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. pumpkin spice

Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium-low heat. When it has just melted add the salt, vanilla and pumpkin spice. Stir to combine. Add the marshmallows , stir. When they have almost completely melted turn off the heat add the last cup of mallows and the cereal.  Stir until the cereal is coated. Pour out into a buttered 9x12 cake pan. Press with buttered fingers until you have an even layer. Let set for about 30 minutes. Turn out onto a cutting board or counter. Use cookie cutter to make Mickeys. Press the scraps back together to cut more treats. 

For decorating:

1/2 C. white chocolate chips

1/2 C. chocolate chips

1/2 C. green candy melts

1/2 C. blue candy melts

1 C. orange candy melts

Melt chocolate and melts according to directions on the bag in microwave safe bowls. Pour melted chocolate into small zip locks. Draw a circle and curved lines to make your pumpkin (orange) and carriage (blue). Let set. Draw your wheels. stems, and leaves on a parchment lined sheet pan (draw on the other side and flip for guide). Let these set for a few minutes in the fridge. Carefully transfer with offset spatula to the treats to create pumpkins and carriage. 

*We also inserted popsicle sticks with the tip coated in white chocolate to help little (and big) hands from getting sticky while enjoying these.