Halloween Bark

It's that time again, Halloween time. My favorite day of the year (after Thanksgiving of course). There's just something about the idea of dressing up and getting candy that is in my eyes simply perfect. I mean FREE CANDY? When I was little, I prepared for this day beginning in September of the year before. Brainstorming Halloween costumes was my go-to activity whenever I was bored. Dressed as Peace the tye-dye Beanie Baby, an American Flag, or a horse, I was also the most aggressive trick-or-treater; I pushed, I shoved, I took more then one. Anyways, I love this day now as much as I did back then. To celebrate I made a halloween treat that is honestly the easiest recipe I have ever posted. It's simple, delicious, can be adapted to your liking, and actually takes 5 minutes. Did I mention it requires ZERO baking? Rare, but nice. A bark composed of silky white chocolate, Oreos, Candy Corn (for festive-ness), and pretzels for that nice salty touch. Make this. Now.

 Halloween Bark

Ingredients
1 16 oz. bag white chocolate chips
1 tbs vegetable oil
10 Oreos, crushed
1/2 cup pretzel sticks, crushed into smaller pieces
1/2 cup candy corn

*you don't have to listen to these proportions at all. They are suggestions. DO more. Do way more if you're feeling cray*

Recipe: Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Spray it with non-stick spray or rub with vegetable oil, just make sure its heavily coated.
Pour the white chocolate chips into a microwavable bowl. Add the vegetable oil. Melt in microwave for 30 second intervals, removing and stirring after each one until fully melted.
Once melted, pour the white chocolate on to the foil-covered sheet and use a spoon to shape into a long rectangle, about the size of the sheet. Have your toppings ready and sprinkle them on, ensuring that they are touching white chocolate so they stick. Freeze for 10 minutes. Break into bark pieces. ENJOY.

halloween deliciousness

have a hungree halloween!

xoxo

hungreegirl.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

The final recipe in our saga of pumpkin glory. Don't cry too much, there will surely be plenty more pumpkin recipes to come considering I have a list as long as the Nile river. Bread Pudding is a personal favorite dessert of mine. Why? 1) because its extremely versatile and can be flavored/topped/mixed with literally anything my heart desires 2) takes 10 seconds to put together 3) has a balance of textures both soft and moist while still maintaing a crispy crunchy top that I just die for. I've done my fair share of bread pudding creations. Mine have ranged from banana nutella to dark chocolate sour cherry and none of disappointed. When I hopped on this pumpkin craze, I figure I'd throw it into some bread pudding. OH am I glad I did. The pumpkin, fall spices, and white chocolate make for a pudding that's out of this atmosphere. The pumpkin also lends it's beautiful orange color to the dessert which makes it that much more beautiful. I thought about making a white chocolate sauce to pour atop each piece, but when I tried it plain I decided to refrain. It's too good to mess with.

 Pumpkin White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Ingredients
1 french baguette, crusty and preferably a little stale
2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 15oz. can pumpkin, about 1 1/2 cups
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Recipe: Cut the bread into 2 inch pieces. Arrange it into a casserole dish so the whole dish is covered. Stacking is encouraged. In a bowl, combine the eggs, cream, and milk. Whisk until eggs are well beaten. Furiously whisk in the pumpkin and sugar. Once well combined add the spices. Sprinkle your white chocolate chips on top of the bread and use your hands to distribute them throughout the chunks, leaving some on top. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the bread. Make sure you coat EVERY piece of bread with the orange liquid (nothing worse then dry spots in bread pudding). Use your hand or a wooden spoon to press down on the top of the bread to ensure that each piece gets soaked. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350. Bake bread pudding for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. It should be fluffy, crusty on the top, and moist but not seeping liquid in the center. Let it rest for 10 minutes then cut yoself a piece.

 ohhhBABY

 pumpkin perfection.

 ya i'll have a piece

 i'm stuck on this pic...

 neesh so cute loves bread pudding!

 raya love pumpkin pudding too.

puddin is precious

xoxo

hungreegirl.

Pumpkin Bread/Pumpkin Muffins

The pumpkin party continues with a fall classic: pumpkin bread. It’s extremely dense and moist, taking on a cake–like quality that regular bread lacks. Flecks of typical pumpkin pie spices like ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg accompany a strong pumpkin flavor, think banana bread minus the banana and replaced with pumpkin. This bread is the absolute definition of fall. Eat it plain. Warm it up and slather some butter on it with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Turn it into French toast. If you’re like me, you can do all three. But honestly, it doesn’t matter what you do with it, because it’s just so FREAKING good. It’s also the ultimate fall present too. If you’re feeling like you want to brighten up someone’s day, double this recipe or use muffin tins instead and you will make some people VERY happy. I’m thinking about making this recipe in bulk and standing on the main stretch of campus and handing some muffins out. Talk about making friends. Maybe Romney or Obama should adopt this strategy. While the polls are close, if they were to start bribing people with these, I have a feeling they’d win some people over and totally take the lead….now that's what I call politics.

Pumpkin Bread/Muffins *recipe slightly adapted from My Baking Addiction 

Ingredients

one 15 oz. can pumpkin puree, 1 1/2 cups

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbs maple syrup

2 1/2 cups sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

Recipe: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your loaf pan or muffin tins. In a bowl fitted with an electric mixer, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, vanilla, maple syrup and sugar. Beat until well blended. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually stir them into the pumpkin mixture until just mixed. Pour batter into prepared bans. Bake for 60-70 minutes (for loaf, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf/comes out clean. If using muffin tins, cook about 12 minutes.

 like i mean come on...

 HELLO beautiful

 okay fine i'll have a slice...or three

 and the next day its FRENCH TOAST TIME...

 oh and yes, topping it with cinnamon whipped cream is a requirement

 and yes it's so warm it may fall off

 but you can make do and scoop it back on. I have faith in you.

pumped 4 pumpkin season

xoxo

hungreegirl.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

YO!?? Stop drooling at these pix and let me get a word in. I'mma make it short, and I'mma make it sweet *duh* but I got something to say. These are going in the category of my ultimate successes. If the show "Best Thing I Ever Made..." called me today and asked me to be on it, well, I'd make these. So, if you work for that show you might want to dial me NOW. They're pumpkin-y. They're cinnamon-y and nutmeg-y. They're gushing brown sugar goodness. They are absolutely ridiculous in the best way possible. These cinnamon rolls are the equivalent to Christmas; basically they turn an ordinary day into the best day of the year simply because of their nature. I'll give you a quick description, and then set you free to indulge in this eye candy. I'm not trying to sound like a car salesman, but these are easier then they look and you really can make these. The dough is smooth and buttery, full of pureed pumpkin and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger that make it taste insanely cozy. The inside is sticky sweet, as the brown sugar gooeyness oozes and peeks out from every possible crevice. I think I'm in love.

 Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls *recipe by Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
4 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk, warmed
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (a 7 gram envelope)
3 1/2 cups flour, plus extra for rolling
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
oil for coating bowl

Filling
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Glaze
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tbs milk
2 cups powdered suar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Recipe: Make the dough. Melt the butter in a saucepan. If desired, brown it for extra flavor (keep cooking for a few minutes of medium heat after already melted and it will turn golden brown and become a nutty flavor). Remove from heat and set aside.
Combine your warmed milk with your yeast and let sit 5-7 minutes —should be a bit foamy when done.
In a large bowl combine flour, sugars, salt and spices. Add the butter, yeast-milk mixture, pumpkin, and egg. Mix until well combined using an electric mixer. Mix for about 3 minutes until it really comes together. Scrape into a well oiled large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set asia for 1 hour to let it rise, it should double.
While rising, line the bottom of two 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the pan.
Assemble the buns: Scoop the dough onto a VERY well floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll the dough in a large rectangle, about 16X11.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter and brush it evenly over the dough.

Stir together filling ingredients and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough.

Starting on a longer side, roll the dough into a tight spiral. Ya its messy, but it will taste delicious regardless...loook at me rolling up

 into a big log. 

 can we just eat it now?

With a sharp serrated knife, using absolutely no pressure, softly saw the log in a back and forth motion into 1 inch sections. 

 beauteous

Divide the buns into 2 prepared pans. Sprinkle with any sugar that fell of onto the counter, cover with plastic wrap and let rise another 45 minutes.

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes.
While baking make the glaze.Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat. Mix in the milk until it achieves desired thickness.
Remove the buns from the oven and drizzle with glaze. Try and restrain yourself from eating 8.

 cinnamon brown sugar bubbling goodness...also my new computer background tehe

 oh baby

 glaze time.

 1 bun for me

 heart. stopping. now.

 its very flashy

 and now a peek inside...

 some for me, and some more for me

 thank you for watching a slideshow of me make-bake-demolish this

i'm BUN-dles of fun

xoxo

hungreegirl.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle

I am HOME for fall break. Ugh. It feels so good to b back. After two midterm–packed weeks I am ready to do nothing but sleep, play with my pups *Tazz and Lola*, play with my sister and brother, and play in my kitchen. My kitchen at school is great, but there's nothing like my kitchen at home sweet home. It's light, airy, spacious, and holds the memories of both great success and yes, even failures, of my cooking extravaganzas. On the train home from school, I brainstormed a long list of things to make. I'm all about seasonal flavors and pumpkin was on my mind, so I guess you could say it became the theme for the weekend. Today we start with a Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle, a super simple, no bake dessert, that alternates layers of silky pumpkin mousse, fluffy whipped cream, and crumbly ginger snap cookies. Ya it tastes AH-mazing, but it also looks incred too. When we were little and we brought home art projects my dad would always say, "Did you buy that at a store!!??" Obviously it would make me beam and made me feel like I was the next Picasso. Well, when I finished making these and took a look, I felt like asking myself the same question, because they really look professional. This is the perfect fall party dessert because everyone gets their own portion and we all know no one actually likes to share unless forced. SO if your planning that Thanksgiving menu, make room for these.

 Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles, serves 4-6 *adapted from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients

about 30 Gingersnap cookies, I used Newman's
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
12 oz. whipped topping, like cool whip, or make your own whipped cream

wine glasses or champagne stems for assembly

Recipe: Put the cookies in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush into crumbs. They don't have to be very fine, a little chunky is okay. Set aside
In a large bowl fitted with an electric mixer beat the cream cheese, pumpkin, vanilla, sugar, and spices. Beat until well combined, smooth, and creamy. Use a rubber spatula to fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping. Mix in gently until no white streaks remain. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Assembly: Spoon 1 tbs of the cookies crumbs into the bottom of each glass. Pipe or spoon a layer of pumpkin filling onto the crus, followed by a layer of the whipped topping. Repeat layers until you've reached the top of the glass. Finish with a layer of whipped cream and top if cookie crumbs. Serve or chill in fridge until ready to serve.

 my kind of cocktail

 pumpkin perfection

 ginger snap crumbzzz

 just a bite of all dem layers

 and repeat

peter peter...4get peter, hungree hungree pumpkin eater

xoox

hungreergirl

Chocolate Peanut Butter "Snickers" Cake

Okay even I know I crossed the line on this one. In fact I went so far, I can't even see the line. Oops? For Stephanie's birthday, how could I not make a cake inspired by her Snicker's obsession? Well I couldn't, so that's just what I did. Using the chocolate-peanut-caramel candy as inspiration, I set forth to create a cake that would capture the infamous combo in every bite. Layers of chocolate cake are sandwiched between fluffy smears of peanut butter frosting. The whole cake gets a hearty coating of the pb frosting and then gets an insanely heavy drizzle of melted chocolate and caramel. When you look up sinful in the dictionary, a picture of this cake is showed as the definition. After I finished decorating it I couldn't look away. I stared and stared. I mean LOOK at it, how can you not? Its every good dream I've ever had mixed together and served on a plate. If you don't have time, no need to go homemade on the cakes, dressing them up with the fix-ins does them enough justice. If snickers aint yo style, pick your favorite candy bar and try this yourself. But then again, who doesn't love snickers...?HAPPY birthday to my baby steph!

 Chocolate Peanut Butter "Snickers Cake"

Ingredients

5 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 stick melted butter

2 cup 60% bittersweet chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbs cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/4 cup milk

Peanut Butter Frosting

2 sticks butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese 

1 jar skippy cup powdered sugar

3 tbs heavy cream

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

To top:

1 cup chocolate chips, melted in microwave for two 30 second intervals, stir after first

1 cup caramel sauce

Recipe: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the eggs and sugar together. Whisk in the butter. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler (or in the microwave) until smooth and creamy. Mix this into the batter, along with the vanilla and cocoa powder until well combined. Gradually whisk in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to scrape the sides and get all the dry bits on the side incorporated. Slowly mix in the milk. Grease two 8 or 9 inch cake pans and evenly distribute the batter between them. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the top is set and firm or a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool. Once room temperature, remove from pans and put in the freezer in pan for about 20 minutes to cool if your frosting them soon after.

Frosting: In a bowl fitted with an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add in the peanut butter and mix until well combined. Add the heavy cream and gradually add in the powdered sugar on low. Once mixed in, turn to high power and beat for 4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Assembly: Slice each cooled, COLD (easier to cut when stored in the freezer for a little) in half horizontally. Arrange one half of one cake on serving platter. Smear with a generous amount of frosting. Top with another layer, and repeat. Finish with frosting on top and then frost the sides as well, smoothing with butter knife or spatula. Drizzle with melted chocolate and caramel.

 ohhhhhh ya

 and then there are layers...

 oh HI. Is this real life?

 pinch me pleeze

snickeringly sinister

xoxo

hungreegirl.