Gingerbread Cake

From: bettycrocker.com

Ingredients:

• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• butterscotch sauce, if desired

To Make:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Grease and flour bottom and sides of square pan, 9x9x2 inches.
• Beat all ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
• Beat on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Pour into pan.
• Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Serve warm or cool.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice*
• 1 cup (8 ounces) butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
• 1 cup rasins or cranberries*
• 1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts

* I used a full teaspoon of allspice in my second batch because, to me, it brought the cookies more flavor. I also added a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. I omitted the raisins/cranberries, but will most likely use semi-sweet chocolate chips next time.

To Make:

• Heat oven to 350°. Lightly grease baking sheet or line with silicone baking sheets.
• Combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices; set aside.
• In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients until blended. Stir in raisins or cranberries and chopped nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets*. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges and set. Cool for a few minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely.

*When you drop the cookies by the teaspoonful, they're going to bake around the size of a quarter. I used a tablespoon and baked them about 15 minutes

Banana Bread

Banana Bread Ingredients via Simply Recipes:

Prep time: 5 minutes; Cook time: 1 hour.

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed.
• 1/3 cup of melted butter.
• 1 cup of sugar.
• 1 egg, beaten.
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
• Pinch of salt.
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour.

To Make:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare 4x8 inch loaf pan by buttering the bottom and sides.
• Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.
• Mix butter into the mashed bananas.
• Add sugar, egg, and vanilla to mixture.
• Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
• Add flour last and mix.
• Pour mixture into the loaf pan.
• Bake for 1 hour.
• Cool on a rack.
• Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Yield:

Makes one loaf.

Pizza Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 pouch of Betty Crocker's sugar cookie mix (and the ingredients required according to mix)
• Vanilla frosting
• Red food color (I find gel makes the color brighter and keeps the frosting from going runny)
• 1 large bar of white chocolate
• Red fruit roll-ups
• Green M&Ms (optional)
• Pizza pan
• Cheese grater

To Make:

• Put the bar of chocolate in the freezer so it won't melt into your hands while you grate (also, plastic gloves will keep your hands from getting chocolaty).
• Mix up sugar cookies according to directions on the pouch.
• Spread mixture onto pizza pan and bake about 15 minutes or until the dough looks light brown.
• Mix the red color into the frosting and sloppily spread it onto the cookie while it's still warm.
• Place the cookie into the fridge until cool to touch (this will help the chocolate keep it's cheese-like look)
• Grate the chocolate bar onto the pizza until it's mostly covered and "cheesy".
• Unroll the Fruit Roll-ups and place on a flat surface in the freezer for about a minute. This will make cutting and peeling much easier.
• Cut the Fruit Roll-ups into circles (whatever size you want) and place on the "cheese".
• Add M&M's for color (optional).

Cut with a pizza-cutter, like a regular pizza, and enjoy!

Spice Cake

Taken from the Duncan Hines box of Spice Cake mix.

Ingredients:

• Box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix
• Ingredients according to box

Frosting:

• Duncan Hines Cream Cheese frosting
• Cinnamon

To Make:

• Bake cake according to directions on box.
• Mix personal preference of cinnamon into the frosting and frost entire cake.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Recipe from Real Simple.

Ingredients:

• Box of yellow cake mix
• Ingredients required on box*
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
• 2 8oz bars cream cheese (room temperature)
• 2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 24 pieces of candy corn

To Make:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Prepare cake mix as directed but with the following change: *Add pumpkin pie spice and substitute water with pumpkin puree.
• Divide batter among prepared muffin tins and bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Let cool.

Frosting & Decorations:

• Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Spread onto cupcakes and top each individual cupcake with a piece of candy corn.

Pumpkin Cake

I saw an idea on Pinterest for a pumpkin-shaped bundt cake. I used it as an idea, but since I don't have a bundt pan, I re-created the cake.

Ingredients:

• White cake mix
• Ingredients needed based on back of box
• Ice cream cone with a flat bottom
• Red, blue, and yellow food coloring (I prefer gels)
• Piping bag (or a sandwich bag with a small hole cut in one bottom corner.

To Make:

• Bake according to instructions on back of box for 2 9-inch round pans.

Frosting & Decorations

• Place ice cream cone wide-side-down on top of the cake. Trace the cone with a knife, cutting into the cake about 2 inches. Press cone into the hole until the waffle pattern is level with the top of the cake.
• The majority of the frosting will be orange. Scoop about 1/4 cup of frosting into a separate container.
• Mix yellow and red into large amount  of white frosting for a pumpkin-orange color.
• Mix yellow and blue into small amount of white frosting for the stem's green color and vines. *
• Begin with green and frost the ice cream cone, covering it completely.
• With orange, frost entire cake, dipping into the hole at the top, but try to avoid putting orange on the stem.
• With an icing spatula (or a spoon), gently drag the tool from top of cake to bottom creating the pumpkin creases.
• With piping bag, fill with remaining green frosting and gently pipe a few swirls starting at the stem and gently onto the top of the cake.

*Note: I mixed red with yellow and blue to make a brown color, but I personally found it ugly. I should've made it green.

Reindeer Cupcakes

Meredith shared this recipe that she found on Pinterest.

Ingredients:

• Betty Crocker Devil's Food cake mix.
• Ingredients according to box.
• Chocolate frosting
• Vanilla wafer cookies
• Miniature marshmallows
• Miniature M&Ms
• Pretzels

To Make:

• Follow cupcake instructions on box

To Decorate:

• Frost cupcakes
• For the nose, place edge of wafer cookie at edge of cupcake.
• Add a drop of chocolate frosting to the upper-center area of the wafer cookie as "glue" and place a red or brown M&M onto it.
• For the eyes, cut a miniature marshmallow in half to use as eyes and place evenly above wafer cookie.
• Add a drop of chocolate frosting to the center of the cut marshmallows and place a chocolate M&M onto each piece.
• For antlers, break a pretzel in half and place to the outer sides of each eye.

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups dark molasses
• 2/3 cup cold water
• 7 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting & Decorations

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 to 5 tablespoons half-and-half
• Food colors, if desired
• Raisins or chocolate chips, if desired
• assorted candies, if desired

To Make:

• In large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and water with electric mixer on medium speed or mix with spoon until well-blended. Stir in remaining ingredients, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet lightly with shortening or spray with cooking spray.
• On floured surface, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut with floured gingerbread cutter or other shape cutter. On cookie sheet, place cutouts about 2 inches apart.
• Bake 10-12 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely about 30 minutes.
• In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and half-and-half until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Add food colors as desired.
• Frost cookies. Decorate with raisins, chocolate ships, and/or candies, if desired.

Pumpkin Poke Cake

This recipe can be found HERE on the Betty Crocker website.

Ingredients:

• 1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix
• 1 cup (from 15oz can) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Topping:

• 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 jars (12oz each) hot fudge topping
• 1 container Betty Crocker Whipped fluffy white frosting
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
• 2 tablespoons caramel topping

To Make:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, water, oil, eggs, and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on low speed until moistened, then on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan.
• Bake 26 to 33 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center.
• Immediately poke cake every inch with handle of wooden spoon halfway into cake. Drizzle condensed milk evenly over top of cake. Let stand until milk has been absorbed into cake (about 5 minutes).
• Place hot fudge in medium microwavable bowl. Microwave uncovered on high 15 to 20 seconds or until smooth. Spoon and spread over cake, pressing slightly into holes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. 
• Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.
• Spread frosting over top of cake, sprinkle with pecans.
• Just before serving, drizzle caramel sauce over each serving of cake. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.

*To toast pecans, heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans in ungreased shallow pan. Bake uncovered about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally or until light brown.

Fudge

I used the recipe located on the Marshmallow Creme label.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 small can (5oz) evaporated milk
• 1 bag (12oz) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips*
• 1 jar Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*

To Make:

• Line 9-inch square pan with foil with ends extending over the sides to create "handles"
• In 3-quart saucepan, bring sugar, butter, and evaporated milk to a full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly
• Cook 4 minutes or until a candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
• Add chocolate and marshmallow creme, stir until melted. Add nuts (optional) and vanilla. Mix well.
• Pour into prepared pan, spread to cover bottom of pan. Cool completely. Use foil "handles" to lift fudge from pan before cutting into 1-inch squares.

*For white chocolate peppermint fudge, use white chocolate chips and peppermint extract.

French Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• White cake mix: Moist Supreme Classic by Pillsbury.
• White frosting: Supreme Classic White by Pillsbury.
• Bag of white chocolate chips.
• French vanilla extract.

To Make:

• Combine ingredients as directed on box.
• Add a teaspoon of French vanilla extract and mix into batter.
• Bake according to directions on box.

Frosting:

• Add a teaspoon of French vanilla extract to frosting and mix.
• Frost cupcakes as desired.
• Melt a cup of white chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl, heating in 30-second intervals, stirring between re-heats, until smooth.
• Using a spoon, drizzle white chocolate over frosted cupcakes.
• Sprinkle a few white chocolate chips onto cupcakes as garnish.

I added a few pink sugar sprinkles for color, but that part is optional.

Aussie Skyy

Ingredients:

• 1/8oz pineapple juice
• 1/8oz cantaloupe juice
• 1/8oz honeydew melon juice
• 1/8oz sweet and sour
• 1/2oz Skyy Melon Vodka
• Gingerale
• Grenadine

To Make:

• Pour the juice, sweet and sour, and vodka in a jar and shake to mix (about 30 seconds).
• Add a tablespoon of Gingerale.
• To add grenadine, take a spoon and turn it bowl-side-up and gently pour grenadine over the back of the spoon until jar is full.