Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

 

 

 Great for breakfast or a snack, these muffins fit the bill.  I make them all year round and my family loves them.  You can freeze them after baking and use as needed.  I also have been known to throw in some chopped pecans, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or toffee chips or any combination of those. Make it how you like it! Enjoy!

 

 

 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Serves about 36

Ingredients
2 cups brown sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin puree (about 2 cups)
1 cup light tasting olive oil or same amount of applesauce
2/3 cup water
4 large eggs
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips or white chocolate chips


 Directions
 Preheat oven to 350 degrees . Line muffin tins with papers. In a large bowl, blend the pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs until smooth. Mix all the dry ingredients together and then gradually blend that into the pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips (do not use mixer for this part). Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 15-19 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing.

Pumpkin (and White Chocolate) Puppy Chow

Pumpkin (and White Chocolate) Puppy Chow
8 cups Chex cereal
10 ounces white chocolate, melted
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Measure Chex into two separate gallon sized Ziploc bags, and set aside. Melt white chocolate, then stir in pumpkin. Pour half of the chocolate and pumpkin (about 3/4 cup) into each Ziploc bag. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to each and shake to coat. (I separated the mix into two bags to allow room for the cereal to coat evenly.) Transfer to a serving bowl and eat/serve.

Baking Serendipity

Salted Chocolate Pretzel Toffee (aka Crack Bark)

Salted Chocolate Pretzel Toffee (aka Crack Bark)

Adapted from Legume Loyalist and Flower Patch Farmgirl

• Mini pretzels, broken into smaller pieces (as many as it takes to cover your pan)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 cups (one 12-ounce bag) chocolate chips
• Sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 11″ x 17″ jelly roll pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Cover the pan in a layer of broken mini pretzels.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and brown sugar. When the mixture starts to gently simmer and bubble, let it cook that way for 3 minutes. (Don’t stir.)
4. Pour the butter and sugar mixture over the pretzels.
5. Bake for 5 minutes.
6. Place the pan on a cooling rack, and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Wait for about 2 minutes, until the chocolate melts. Grab a spatula, and spread the chocolate over the toffee. Sprinkle with sea salt.
7. Let the toffee cool completely, and break it into pieces. (To speed up the cooling process, you can place the pan of toffee in the refrigerator or freezer.)

Peanut Butter-Pretzel Truffles (a.k.a. Chubby Hubby Truffles)

Peanut Butter-Pretzel Truffles (a.k.a. Chubby Hubby Truffles)
Yield: About 18 truffles
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Chill Time: 1 hour, total
1½ cups pretzel pieces
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 cup milk or semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1. Put the pretzel pieces into a resealable plastic bag and crush into very small bits (a rolling pin works great for this).
2. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt. Stir until all of the ingredients are completely blended and smooth. Add the pretzel bits to the peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely combined.
3. Line a small baking sheet with wax paper. Using a small cookie scoop, or about 2 teaspoons worth of peanut butter mixture, gently shape into a ball with your fingertips. Place the ball on the wax paper-lined cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining peanut butter mixture. Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.
4. When ready to dip the truffles, microwave the chocolate chips and vegetable shortening together in a small bowl at 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until completely melted and smooth.
5. Working one at a time, dip one peanut butter-pretzel ball into the melted chocolate and use a fork to roll it around, ensuring that it is completely coated with chocolate. Let any extra chocolate drip off and place back on the wax paper-lined sheet. Repeat with all of the peanut butter-pretzel balls.
6. Return the baking sheet to the refrigerator and again chill for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with a drizzle of melted peanut butter and crushed pretzels, if desired. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
(Recipe adapted from make happy)