dessert | Adventures in Thyme

Pumpkin Spice Latte Chip Cookies

September 25, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Pumpkin Pumpkin Spice MnM Cookies

Fall seems synonymous with pumpkin, and more specifically pumpkin spice flavored items. In a recent trip to my local market I see Pumpkin Spice Latte M&Ms. So of course I needed to try it in a cookie. I’ve reworked a previous pumpkin cookie we’ve had on the blog, it went well with these seasonal yummy candies. Enjoy!

1. Begin by setting your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In an electric mixer whip the following until it’s “light and airy”:

1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
1 cup softened unsalted Butter

3. To the mixture combine well:
3/4 cup canned Pumpkin
1 beaten Egg
1 tsp Vanilla

4. The dry ingredients are next, combine these together and then add the dry mixture to your bowl and mix well:
2 cups all purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Salt

5. Fold in one package of Pumpkin Spice Latte M&Ms (it’s roughly 10 ozs).

Spoon generous tablespoons onto a baking sheet (I use nonstick baking mats in mine) and bake for 10 mins. These cookies don’t really spread out, but remain pretty much in the “footprint” you put them in. You’ll know they are done when the cookie gets a golden brown appearance on it’s edges.

These cookies are best eaten after a few hours as the cake-y cookie crumbles easily if it’s even remotely warn.

6. Pour yourself a glass of milk and let the nibbling begin.

Bread Pudding

September 14, 2015 by Dan Leave a Comment

Bread Pudding

Seemingly in the blink of an eye, Fall is upon us, it’s time to think about new recipes for the holidays. This week we tried bread pudding with peaches and a peach schnapps caramel sauce. OMG – yes!

Let’s get baking…

Bread Pudding

6 Eggs, beaten
2 cups unsweetened, vanilla Almond Milk
1 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
1 cup White Sugar
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
1 14.5 oz can unsweetened, sliced Peaches
2 pounds Bread, cut into cubes, slightly stale works best or dry in the oven for a little while (15 mins at 150 degrees F.)

Caramel Sauce

1 cup White Sugar
1 tablespoon Corn Syrup
1/4 cup Water
1/2 cup Almond Milk non-dairy Creamer
2 tablespoons Butter, unsalted
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Peach Schnapps

To make the Bread pudding:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Combine the 6 beaten eggs, 2 cups of vanilla almond milk, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, 1/4 maple syrup and the cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves and everything is well mixed. Add your bread. I used two round loaves of white Italian bread. Any bread with some body will work fine. Don’t try to use white sandwich bread, it doesn’t have enough body to it.

Let the mixture stand for 10 to 15 minutes so the bread absorbs most of the custard. Pour the mixture into your greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. It should fill it nicely.

Place on the center rack in your oven and back 35 to 45 minutes, or until the custard is set. Remove from the oven and let cool. (Note, it is best served warm with the caramel sauce, below, whipped cream or even a scoop of ice cream.)

To make the Caramel Sauce:

Combine the sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium sauce pan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to boil. Once it starts to boil, stop stirring and cover for a few minutes. (The condensation will dissolve any sugar stuck to the side of the pan.) Remove the lid and let boil until the mixture reaches a medium to dark amber color. Do not stir while it is boiling.

Remove from the heat and add the almond milk creamer slowly while stirring with a wooden spoon. This will bubble up a great deal, so be careful. Stir until smooth, scraping the bottom of the pot so nothing settles out. Add the butter and stir until dissolved. Add the vanilla and the peach schnapps. Return to the heat, bring to a bubble over medium heat, turn down to low and let simmer for a few minutes to boil off most of the alcohol. Remove from the heat and let cool. Stir periodically. Once cool, you can store this in the refrigerator. It is a thick liquid at room temperature.

Serve over the bread pudding above or over ice cream. Yummy!

Strawberry Jell-O Pie

August 19, 2015 by Dan Leave a Comment

Strawberry Jell-o Pie

Here’s a pretty dessert that tastes as yummy as it looks!

1 pound fresh Strawberries
1 1/3 cups boiling water
1 6 oz. package Strawberry Jell-O
1/2 cup cold water
ice cubes
16 oz. Cool Whip
1 Graham Cracker crust (1-9 inch or 2-8 inch)

Stem and slice your strawberries. Set aside.

Add the boiling water to the Jell-O. Whisk for 2 minutes to be sure all the Jell-O is dissolved. Take 1/2 cup cold water and add enough ice cubes to make 1 cup. Stir into Jell-O. Stir until the ice cubes dissolve. Place into the refrigerator until the Jell-O begins to thicken. Remove from the refrigerator and whisk in the Cool Whip then whisk in the Strawberries. Place into the pie crust and mound up as high as you’d like. (This will make 2 8 inch pies or one 9 inch and some extra you can place in a bowl.) Refrigerate for several hours.

Serve cold.

Peach Crisp

August 13, 2015 by Dan Leave a Comment

Peach Crisp

Tonight’s offering is a simple Peach Crisp, perfect for that weekend bbq party or weeknight indulgence. The sweetness isn’t overpowering, and the oat topping compliments the stone fruit very well. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 1/2 to 4 pounds fresh, ripe Peaches
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup Flour
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Peal and pit your peaches. Slice into even, thin slices. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar and toss to coat evenly.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Place the peaches in a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the peaches. It should coat the entire top nicely. Don’t press it in, you don’t want a cookie.

Cook at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. The oats should be a little browned and the peaches soft.

Serve with a scoop of ice cream for a nice summery treat.

Mudslide Pudding Pie

July 30, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Mudslide Pudding Pie

So there I was, enduring another abominable day at work, chomping carrot sticks like I was crushing the heads of my enemies when I came across a mudslide pudding shot recipe. (Yes, I daydream of cocktails at work and Google is my partner in crime.) The recipe was straight forward, and seemed to be replicated across a dozen foodie sites and a darling of Pinterest boards – but the serving was so small! That teensy little pudding cup…it needed to be supersized to exorcise my demons. So hide the scale, banish calorie counting and get ready for something over the top – Mudslide Pudding Pie.

For the filling:

1 cup cold milk (you could use 2% but why bother)
1 3.9oz package of chocolate pudding
3 oz Kahlua
3 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
8 oz Cool Whip
1 chocolate pie crust
optional: shaved chocolate from dark chocolate bar (I used a 60% cacao bar)

Super easy – AND you can eat the batter without fear of salmonella. Hello?! The best tip I have for this recipe is to leave your cool whip in the fridge a few hours before you incorporate it into this recipe, you’ll want it fairly soft. To begin: Whisk together the milk and pudding mix until all the lumps are gone. Whisk in the Kahlua and Baileys, then carefully fold in the Cool Whip. There will be a few lumps, just gently fold these down. Pour into a chocolate pie crust until it reaches almost to the crust top. You will have a bit of filling left over, so you can make some petite pudding shots if you’re willing. (I just sat with the bowl in my lap and watched Sharknado 3 with a happy pudding smile on face.) At this point you can artistically scatter chocolate shavings on your pie, or forego this step and just place your pie in the freezer. I let mine sit for 24 hours before serving. The pudding will warm fairly rapidly so remove from the freezer only when you’re ready to cut a piece. Enjoy!