Chai Apple Crumb Cake

Made this cake yesterday and I thought it turned out pretty good but could use some tweaks. I might want to make it again some day, so I thought I would record the recipe here with my suggestions. Enjoy!

Chai Apple Crumb Cake

Ingredients:

Chai Apples

• 3 small apples peeled & thinly sliced (I used green Granny Smith)
• 40 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp.)
• 1 tbsp. chai spice (recipe below)

Chai Streusel

• 60 g unsalted butter (¼ c.)
• 90 g light brown sugar (⅓ c. + 1 tbsp.)
• 120 g all purpose flour (1 c.)
• 1 ½ tsp. chai spice

Butter Cake

• 210 g all purpose flour (1 ¾ c.)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 125 g unsalted butter (½ c. + 1 tbsp.) room temperature
• 175 g granulated sugar (¾ c. + 2 tbsp.)
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 135 g whole milk room temperature (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
• 75 g sour cream room temperature (5 tbsp.)
• 180 g apple butter (⅔ c.) optional

Chai Glaze (optional)

• 90 g powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsp. macerated chai apple juice

Chai Spice Blend

• 2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. each of the following: ground allspice, ground cardamom, ground cloves, ground ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. 
• I found that it took too long for the cake to cook at this temperature in my convection oven so the bottom was getting overdone while the middle was still doughy. I would drop the temp to 325 next time and see if I get better results cooking it lower and slower.)
2. Generously butter a 9" cake pan. Crumple up some parchment paper, then un-crumple it and place it into the buttered cake pan, making sure it sticks to the bottom and sides. Set aside.
• Instead of using crumpled parchment, I had a 9" silicone mat that I put in the bottom of my 9" springform pan, and that worked perfectly.

Chai Apples

1. Wash, peel, and thinly slice the apples. 
• I found that "sliced" apples made it difficult to get a cake-tester through the top layer to check and see if the batter was all cooked through beneath, so next time, I would dice my apples instead of slicing.
2. Mix the apples with the brown sugar and chai spice well, making sure the mixture is evenly dispersed throughout each apple slice. Set aside.

Chai Streusel

1. In a medium sized bowl, melt the butter. 
2. To the butter, add the sugar, flour, and chai spice. 
3. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until you have formed clumps of dough. Set aside.

Butter Cake

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer, in a large bowl) beat together the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in both eggs and the vanilla. Beat until well combined (~1 min.)
4. Add in half of the flour mixture, and mix by hand just until the flour is incorporated. Add in all of the sour cream and milk and mix until combined. Add in the rest of the flour, and lightly fold the mixture together just until all of the flour is incorporated.
5. Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the top. Place dollops of the apple butter on top of the cake, then carefully smooth it into an even layer.
• Instead of apple butter, this would also be delicious with a butter, brown sugar, cinnamon mixture, more like a cinnamon roll.
6. Pour the remaining cake batter into the pan and smooth it out into an even layer. 
7. Place the apples on top of the batter, making sure to leave out the juice from the apples. (Be sure to keep the leftover juice for the glaze!)
8. Top the apples with the streusel. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs.
• The first time I made this, even at 50 minutes at 350 degrees my cake tester was coming out with raw batter on it, but when I cooked it for more like 60-70 minutes, the cake was finally done but the bottom and sides were a touch overcooked and the streusel topping had gotten really crunchy and hard. Next time, I think I will drop the temperature to cook it lower and slower so the middle has a chance to get done before the outside is over cooked and see how it goes. You can also use "baking strips" that wrap around the outside of your pan to help insulate the sides from the heat to give the middle a better chance to cook evenly.
9. Let the cake cool in the pan until no longer too hot to touch, then use the parchment to lift the cake out of the pan.
• Because I used a springform and my silicone mat instead, and because my cake seemed a touch overdone on the edges, I removed it immediately from the springform to prevent further baking. First, I ran a small spatula around the edge of the pan to make sure the cake wasn't sticking to the sides before removing the collar of the springform. Then I used my biggest oversized pancake turner to get the cake off from the bottom of the pan, then off from the silicone mat.

Chai Glaze (optional)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and leftover juice from the apples. If the mixture is too thick, add some more juice, or milk if none is left. If the mixture is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
2. Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, drizzle the glaze over the top. Serve and enjoy! This is also delicious topped with whipped cream or caramel sauce.

Cheeseburger Soup (Optionally Spicy)

My friend told me how she was making cheeseburger soup for dinner and I was like, "Do share!" Her family likes things spicy, but we did a much less spicy version. Either way, it's a great, easy recipe.

See the original here: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/spicy-cheeseburger-soup/?fbclid=IwAR2Hevxdn6QEhnFtTQYEVhYf9NwuHROEjoPaOxqpsaponex53g2VxiuyZK0

Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups water
• 2 cups cubed peeled potatoes
• 2 small carrots, grated
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
• 3-1/2 cups 2% milk, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 16 ounces cubed Velveeta
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
• 1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine the first 7 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
2. Stir in beef and 2 cups milk; heat through. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add remaining milk if needed to get the right consistency.
3. Add cayenne pepper if desired. Top with additional bacon and shredded cheese when serving, if desired.

Marsha's Notes:

I cooked my onion along with my ground beef until done. Just before it was done, I added in my chopped, precooked bacon (1 package of the precooked stuff) and my minced garlic, just to heat through and crisp up the bacon and cook the garlic for just a minute. Then I took that off the heat and put it in a different bowl. Returning the pan to the heat, I then followed the directions pretty much as stated, using frozen cubed potato hashbrowns and pre-shredded carrots. Be careful with your cayenne! We opened a new bottle for this recipe, and just a small sprinkling into the pot brought a lot of heat. If you want it spicier, the original recipe calls for 1 chopped jalapeno and 1/4 cup chopped green pepper.

Pumpkin Steamer

One of my recipes doesn't use a full can of pumpkin and this delicious steamer is a great drink to use up some of that leftover pumpkin puree. View the original recipe from Six Sister's Stuff here: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/pumpkin-steamers/#wprm-recipe-container-108919

Six Sisters Stuff Pumpkin Steamer

Ingredients:

• 4 cups vanilla almond milk
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• 2 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• whipped cream and cinnamon for topping

Directions:

1. In a pot over medium heat, whisk all ingredients together, besides the toppings, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
2. Serve warm, and top with whipped cream and cinnamon.

Marsha's Notes:

I don't always have sweetened condensed milk on hand, so I subbed with some caramel sauce instead and it was great!

Half of this recipe filled the cup you see in the above image, but if you only want one regular mugfull, make 1/4 of this recipe. So I would say this serves 4, but if you do a large cup, then this serves 2. It is about 200 calories for 4 servings, depending on what kind of milk you use. If you subbed cashew milk, it would be less, regular milk it would be more. You could also continue to cut calories by using zero calorie sweeteners for the brown sugar and condensed milk.

Caramel Covered Apples

I watched this video tutorial and really LOVED how my apples turned out. If you don't have time to watch, I'll put the main pointers below.

Tutorial: https://www.facebook.com/TheStayAtHomeChef/videos/280060177305047/

Caramel Covered Apples

Ingredients:

• 4 fresh, firm apples (I used Honeycrisp)
• 1 bag 11 oz. caramel bits
• toppings
• Sticks

Directions:

1. Wash the apples in warm water to remove wax. 
2. Heat caramel bits up in a pan until they are between 160-180 degrees (or follow directions on bag). 
3. Dip apples in warm caramel. 
4. Wipe excess dips from bottom with a spoon or spatula. 
5. Then turn the apple upside-down (holding on by the stick) while caramel continues to cool and set. 
6. Apple is ready to set down on a lined cookie sheet when the coating become matte in color and no longer shiny.

Marsha's Notes:

• If caramel is too hot, it will slide off the apple.
• If caramel is too cold, it will clump up and be too thick.
• You can put caramel in a crock pot to keep it warm on low setting.
• If you are putting toppings on the apples, press the topping into the caramel coating while it's still warm. You can roll the apple in your toppings, or use your hand (possibly gloved) to press the topping in place.
• If you are double-dipping your apples in chocolate, make sure the caramel is completely cool and set before dipping.
• You can make an "apple pie alamode" by double-dipping a caramel apple in white chocolate and then sprinkle the while chocolate with cinnamon sugar while the chocolate is still warm and setting-up.

These are the caramel bits I used. You can also use individually-wrapped caramel squares, but you will need to add 1/8 cup water or milk to the caramel when melting. 

You can also make your own caramel for dipping. Try this recipe from the tutorial:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Melt butter over medium heat. 
2. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir constantly until it simmers. 
3. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan to prevent burning. 
4. Stir constantly until it reaches 235 degrees (or softball stage). 
5. Remove from stove and stir until it cools to 160-180 degrees.

Marsha's Easy Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie

The original recipe for this came from Six Sisters Stuff, but I modified it just slightly. Everyone in my family really liked it and it appears to be another way to get the boys to eat some veggies. Yay!

See the original recipe here: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/easy-biscuit-chicken-pot-pie/#wprm-recipe-container-98158

Easy Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen veggies of your choice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• ½ cup flour
• 1½ cups milk
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup 1 can
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded
• 16.3 ounces Pillsbury Grand Biscuits 1 can, 8 count (I used the flaky layer biscuits and everyone liked it)
• Sprinkling of garlic salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prepare frozen veggies according to package directions
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Transfer cooked vegetables to a bowl with the shredded chicken; set aside.
5. Add butter to saucepan over medium heat. When melted, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
6. Slowly whisk in the milk, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and thyme. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer and let it simmer for 1 minute to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and garlic salt to taste.
7. Turn off the heat and transfer the vegetables and chicken to the pot, stirring until the filling is well-combined. If the filling is too thick, stir in some extra chicken broth milk.
8. Pour the filling into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and bake for 18 minutes.
9. Remove the dish from the oven (keeping the oven on and door closed) and top the filling with 8 biscuits (yes, raw biscuits).
10. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
11. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Marsha's Notes: 

To have potatoes in our filling, I tried using part of a bag of peas and carrots with part of a bag of "stew veggies." It worked okay, but the stew veggies were really cut too big for a pot pie, and it had these whole pearl onions in it that had to be chopped anyway. So instead, for ease, I might try adding canned potatoes next time and use part of a bag of frozen peas and carrots and part of a bag of frozen corn. But really, you can use any veggies you like.

This was another recipe that is great for using shredded Instant Pot chicken.

Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe

We tried this soup from The Forked Spoon and everyone ate it right up! Anytime I can get my kids to eat veggies in a soup, it's a hit in my book! And with autumn coming, I am getting in soup-mode! See the original recipe here: https://theforkedspoon.com/creamy-chicken-tortellini-soup/

Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup

Ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions (diced)
• 3 large carrots (peeled and chopped)
• 3 stalks celery (chopped)
• 6 cloves garlic (minced)
• 4 tbsp butter
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (or chicken stock)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• 3 cups cooked chicken (shredded)
• 2 cups frozen sweet corn
• 1 (8 ounce) package cheese tortellini
• red pepper flakes, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, grated parmesan cheese (to garnish, optional)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to package directions, then drain and set aside.
2. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for about 5 minutes. As the onion softens, chop the carrots and celery, then add them to the pot with onions. Mix well and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and butter. Mix well. 
3. Once the butter is melted, sprinkle the veggies with ¼ of all-purpose flour. Mix, stirring continuously, for approximately one minute to cook out the flour. 
4. Slowly add the chicken broth, whisking continuously. 
5. Add the dried thyme, dried oregano, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. 
6. Add the milk and heavy cream. Increase heat to high. Once the soup almost reaches a boil, immediately reduce heat to medium-low. 
7. Add the cooked, shredded chicken and frozen corn. Cook until heated and the soup has returned to a simmer. 
8. Add the precooked tortellini to the simmering pot or add the cooked tortellini to individual soup bowls.
9. Serve garnished with freshly chopped parsley, thyme, or grated parmesan cheese, if desired.

Marsha's Notes:

I made a big batch of cooked, shredded chicken in the Instant Pot and I kept some in the freezer (see how here:http://1brother2sisters.blogspot.com/2020/01/cooking-frozen-chicken-in-instant-pot.html). It worked perfectly for this recipe. I also had bought celery and onion before that I chopped up more than I needed for another recipe, froze the extra in baggies and pulled them out to use in soup recipes like this one. Makes most of the prep-work so easy! I don't really like a ton of celery or onion, so I'd say I had about 1/2 an onion and maybe 2 or 3 stalks of celery in the baggies in the freezer. This recipe calls for 2 medium onions... there is no way I used that much, I am sure. It's all up to your personal preferences.

Pumpkin Lasagna

A submission from Krystal! To see the original recipe, click here:

https://lilluna.com/pumpkin-lasagna/

Pumpkin Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 2 rows golden Oreos
• 2 rows pumpkin Oreos or crushed Gingersnaps
• 8 TB unsalted butter melted
• 8 oz PHILADELPHIA cream cheese softened
• 1/2 c butter
• 1 c powdered sugar
• 16 oz container cool whip divided, or use whipped cream
• 2 3.4 oz packages of pumpkin instant pudding
• 3 c milk
• white chocolate bar to make curls with - I use vanilla candy coating

Directions:

1. Begin by crushing your Oreos. For a very fine mixture, place Oreos in your food processor. Place in a ziploc baggie and add your melted butter. Mix until it is well combined.
2. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan spreading out to cover the entire bottom of the pan.
3. In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and ½ of the cool whip. Blend well and pour over your Oreo Crust.
4. In another bowl, make your pudding by adding your milk to your bowl and instant pudding. Whisk together until pudding thickens. Pour over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for at least 5 minutes.
5. Top off with the rest of your Cool Whip. Add white chocolate shavings.
6. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. ENJOY!

Notes from Author:

CAN’T FIND THE PUMPKIN PUDDING MIX??

Here is a homemade recipe you can use to take place of the pumpkin pudding (mixed with milk) layer:

1 - 5.1 oz. vanilla instant pudding mix

1 - 12 oz. can evaporated milk

1 - 15 oz. can pumpkin puree

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Mix pudding mix and evaporated milk together and refrigerate for 5 minutes. Add puree and pumpkin pie spice and whisk together and use for the pumpkin pudding layer in this dessert. 😉

CAN’T FIND PUMPKIN OREOS?

I’d use Golden Oreos and add a little bit of Pumpkin Pie Spice OR use crushed Gingersnaps

DON’T LIKE OREOS?

A graham cracker or gingersnap crust on this dessert would be great too. 

Easy Pumpkin Caramel Pull Apart Bread

Another submission from Krystal. To see the original recipe, go here:

https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/easy-pumpkin-caramel-pull-apart-bread-and-the-pumpkin-lovers-cookbook/

Easy Pumpkin Caramel Pull Apart Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pizza dough
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup crushed pecans
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce to drizzle on top
• Flour for surface

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x4 bread loaf pan.
2. Roll out pizza dough into a rectangle that's about 16x8 inches in size.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, spices and pecans. Mix until all incorporated.
4. Brush dough with melted butter and drizzle 1/4 cup of caramel all over the dough.
5. Spread pumpkin mixture evenly all over the dough.
6. Cut the dough easily using a pizza cutter, lengthwise, into three long strips. Then cut in width-wise, creating squares. Stack squares and place them side-by-side into the prepared loaf pan. Drizzle some more caramel over the top and place in the oven.
7. Bake for 35-38 minutes.

Dutch Oven Pumpkin Delight

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Delight (Dutch Oven)

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 yellow cake mix, reserve 1 cup of mix
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (30 oz) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Topping:

• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup cake mix (from above)
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 Tbl cold butter

Directions:

Prepare crust:  

1. Mix together cake mix, egg, and melted butter.  
2. Press into bottom and 1 1/2” up sides of a well greased 12” Dutch oven.

Prepare Filling:  

1. In a bowl, combine all filling ingredients and mix well.  
2. Pour filling into Dutch oven to fill crust.

Prepare Topping:  

1. In a small bowl combine cake mix, sugar and cinnamon.  Stir to mix.  
2. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs are formed.  
3. Sprinkle over top of pumpkin filling.

Bake:  

1. Cover Dutch oven and bake using 10-12 briquettes bottom and 14-16 briquettes top for 1 hour.  
2. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream as topping.

Layered Pumpkin Dessert

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Layered Pumpkin Dessert

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (15 oz.) Twinkies (ten Twinkies)
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 container (8 oz.) whipped topping
• 2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) instant vanilla pudding
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
• 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup milk
• Additional pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. Slice Twinkies in half lengthwise and place cream-side up, in single layer, in 9x13 baking dish. 
2. Using a mixer, blend together cream cheese, powdered sugar and ½ of whipped topping until smooth.  Spread evenly over Twinkies.  
3. Combine pudding mix, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and milk.  Whisk until well blended and layer over cream cheese mixture.  
4. Carefully spread remaining whipped topping over pumpkin.  Lightly sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice.  Refrigerate several hours or until set.

Cream Cheese Swirled Pumpkin Bread

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Swirled Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

Bread Batter:

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. cloves
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup pumpkin (puree)
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or nuts

Cream Cheese Swirl:

• 8 oz. cream cheese                                               
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbl sugar

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.  Set aside.  
2. In a stand mixer bowl, cream room-temperature butter.  Then add in the sugar, mixing until integrated, followed by the eggs one at a time, vanilla and finally pumpkin.  
3. Add half the dry mixture, mixing until just integrated with the wet, and finally add the rest, mixing only as much as needed to form batter.  Fold in chips/nuts. 
4. In another bowl, beat the room temperature cream cheese.  Once creamy, add the sugar and egg, beating until totally integrated.  At this point, the cream cheese mixture should be very easily spreadable.
5. In a buttered bread pan, pour about a third of the bread batter, followed by a half of the cream cheese.  Repeat layers and end with last layer of batter (i.e. batter, cheese, batter, cheese, batter.)  When pan is prepared, stab the dough with a knife here and there to give the cream cheese a bit of a swirl.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Cool.

Caramel Apple Squares

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Squares

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 finely chopped pecans (opt)
• 3 cups chopped apples, 2 medium
• 3/4 cup caramel topping
• 1/4 cup flour
• vanilla or cinnamon ice cream (opt)
• additional caramel topping (opt)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9 inch pan with shortening.  
3. In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed.  
4. Beat in 1 cup flour, the oats, cinnamon, baking soda and pecans until well blended and crumbly.  
5. Press half of the crumbly mixture in bottom of pan to form crust.  
6. Spread apples over crust in pan.  
7. In 1 qt. sauce pan, heat ¾ cup caramel topping and ¼ cup flour to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened.  Drizzle over apples.  
8. Sprinkle with reserved crumbly mixture.  
9. Bake 35-45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool 30 minutes before serving.  Top with ice cream and additional caramel topping.

Candy Corn Cookies

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Candy Corn Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 pkg. (18 oz.) pre-made sugar cookie dough
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
• Orange and yellow food coloring*

Directions:

1. Line a 8x4 loaf pan with waxed paper, extending paper up over sides of pan.  
2. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms.  
3. On work surface or separate bowl,  place 1/3 of dough.  Knead desired amount of orange food coloring into dough until color is uniform. Do the same for another 1/3 of dough and yellow coloring.  
4. Press orange dough evenly in bottom of loaf pan.  Press yellow dough evening on top of orange.  Press uncolored dough evenly on top of yellow.  
5. Refrigerate about 2 hours, or until firm.  
6. Heat oven to 375 degrees.  
7. Remove dough from pan.  Cut crosswise into ¼ inch thick slices.  Cut each slice into triangle shaped wedges.  Round edges if desired.  Place one inch apart on greased cookie sheet.  
8. Bake 9 minutes, or until cookies are set and edges are very lightly browned.  Cool 1 minute.  Remove from cookie sheet.  Cool completely.  Store in tightly covered container.

Marsha's Notes:

The picture shows a layer that is chocolate.  To make that layer instead of the yellow, just melt 2 oz. of chocolate to mix with the dough.

Pumpkin Dessert

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Dessert

Ingredients:

Dessert:

• 1 yellow cake mix (1 cup set aside)
• ½ cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 2 cups pumpkin
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp cloves

Topping:

• 1 cup yellow cake mix (from reserve)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Dessert:  

1. Mix cake mix (to break up clumps) (reserve 1 cup mix) and pat in bottom of 9x13 greased pan.  
2. Mix remaining dessert ingredients together and pour over mixture in pan.

Topping:  

1. Mix together all topping ingredients and sprinkle over top.  
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

Marsha's Notes:

When I made this recipe, this is what it looked like.

Dry cake mix in the bottom of the pan.

Filling added, topping sprinkled, and put in the oven to bake.

Finished product.

It was good, but not exactly like the picture at the top of the recipe. I wanted to post these pictures for expectation in the future.

Spider Web Pumpkin Pancakes

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Spider Web Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla 
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• maple syrup and whipped cream

Directions:

1. In large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, milk, oil and vanilla until well blended. 
2. Stir in remaining ingredients except syrup and whipped cream, just until mixed.  
3. Line a 1 qt. pitcher or bowl with gallon-sized reseaslable food-storage plastic bag.  Pour batter into bag, seal bag, pressing out air.  
4. Heat griddle to 375 degrees.  Oil hot griddle.  
5. Cut a small hole in corner of bag.  For each pancake, gently squeeze bag to pipe about 2 Tbl. batter onto hot griddle, forming spider webs.  
6. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until pancakes are puffed and dry around edges.  Turn pancakes; cook about 1 minute longer or until other side is golden brown.  
7. Serve with syrup and whipped cream. You can also make round pancakes instead.

Caramel Apple-Topped Waffles

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple-Topped Waffles

Ingredient:

• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 
• 3 medium eating apples, peeled and sliced (3 1/2 cups) 
• 1/4 cup caramel topping
• 2 cups Original Bisquick™ mix
• 1 1/3 cups milk 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 egg, if desired

Directions:

1. To make caramel apple topping, melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Stir in apples.  Cook about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.  
2. Pour caramel topping over apples.  Heat, stirring frequently, until warm.  Keep warm.  
3. Heat waffle iron; spray with non-stick spray.  
4. Stir remaining ingredients until blended.  
5. Pour batter by slightly less than 1 cupful onto center of hot waffle iron.  
6. Bake about 5 minutes or until steaming stops.  Carefully remove waffle.  Serve with caramel apple topping.

Grandma Pack's Apple Crunch

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Apple Crunch

Ingredients:

• 6 large apples, sliced thin
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon peel
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour

Directions:

1. Sprinkle sliced apples with sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel and cinnamon.  Place in a casserole dish.  
2. Mix sugar and flour and cut in butter to form coarse meal.  Spread over apples and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour in 350 degree oven.

Apple Crisp

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

• 4 medium, tart cooking apples, sliced 
• ¾ cup brown sugar 
• ½ cup flour 
• ½ cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2-3/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.  
2. Grease bottom and sides of a square baking dish.  
3. Arrange sliced apples in pan (about 4 cups of apples).  
4. Mix remaining ingredients together and sprinkle over apples.  
5. Bake about 30 minutes or until brown and apples are tender.  Drizzle with caramel sauce if desired with serving.  Serve warm.

Marsha's Notes:

I used Fugi apples and it turned out nice.

Marsha's Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee

I love to be able to save a little money and make my own recipes at home for the things that I might splurge on when I am out and about. So I created my own version of the super yummy pumpkin spice iced coffee! Enjoy!

Marsha's Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee

Ingredients:

• 1 coffee pod of your choice (I used Wide Awake Coffee Co.'s French Vanilla)
• 1/4 cup simple syrup
• 1-2 pumps Torani's Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup
• splash Coffee Mate Pumpkin Spice Creamer

Directions:

1. Brew an 8 oz. cup of coffee of your choice. 
2. Let cool. 
3. Fill a 20 oz. cup 1/3 full of ice cubes. 
4. Add 1/4 cup simple syrup (I like Torani's Sugar Free version for zero calories), 1-2 pumps of Torani Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup, a splash to 1/4 cup Coffee Mate Pumpkin Spice Creamer (or to your taste). 
5. Stir. Top with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon sugar for a fun finish. Enjoy!

Marsha's Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

*When I went to a nutrition class for being pre-diabetic, I was told that oatmeal is a "healthy carb" and the one exception I was allowed when pursuing a low-carb diet. So, that is why I have marked these as "low-carb."

I used to go to Pinterest for all my latest recipes, but in the last year or so, people have started going nuts posting recipes and recipe videos on Facebook. This latest creation was adapted from one such Facebook post; Barefeet in the Kitchen's Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal with Vanilla Whipped Cream. Upon preparing and taste-testing, I changed things up just a touch, but this was some seriously good oatmeal!!! Everyone in my family who tried it, LOVED it. I think I will have to make this again before fall is over. Enjoy!

For the original recipe, go here: http://barefeetinthekitchen.com/pumpkin-pie-oatmeal-recipe/

Marsha's Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups milk, plus some to thin if needed
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1+ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Topping: Whipped Cream

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. 
2. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook over medium low heat for 5-8 minutes, stirring constantly until the oatmeal has thickened. Stir, stir, stir, or it can burn on the bottom. 
3. Remove from the heat. Serve immediately, or put in small crock pot on low/warm heat to keep warm for a while. If oatmeal over thickens, re-thin with a little extra milk. Serve topped with whipped cream.