Chocolate Dipped Pumpkin Shortbread

In an attempt to tame my sweet tooth, I am trying to train my body to appreciate sugar more (says the girl who is now posting her THIRD dessert recipe in a row. I promise we eat real food--and I have a savory recipe coming Monday!). Don't get me wrong, desserts--even the super sweet kind--aren't being banished from my house (everything in moderation!), but I am on a mission to reduce sugar where possible, especially since it's already hidden in just about everything. You can usually cut some sugar out of most baked goods recipes and you won't notice a difference. You can also make less sweet desserts, like shortbread! 
The star ingredient in shortbread is butter, not sugar. Again, everything in moderation...and it's always worth it for this buttery dessert. I was sent some Kerrygold coupons via my partnership with Cooking Light and while I love their cheese, my mind immediately went to butter and to shortbread! When you're making shortbread you want good butter, since that's the dominant flavor, and I knew Kerrygold wouldn't lead me astray. I couldn't resist a fall twist, hence the pumpkin, and while good, it just didn't seem complete...until dipped in chocolate! The pumpkin makes the cookie a little softer than a traditional shortbread, so reduce to 1/3 a cup if you want something a bit crunchier. These are the perfect treat to eat with some coffee. Given that today is Halloween and excessive sugar is EVERYWHERE, whip up something to balance (?!) all that sugar--this shortbread won't disappoint!
Note--this post is not sponsored. I was sent coupons, but opted to post and share based on my own experiences. 

One Year Ago: Monster Marshmallow Treats
Two Years Ago: French Apple Galette and Slow Cooker Applesauce
Three Years Ago: Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Havarti Croutons and Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling and Buttercream Frosting
Four Years Ago: Pumpkin Granola Bars
Five Years Ago: Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings and Stuffed Acorn Squash

Caramel Apple Bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

Okay, parenting tirade over for today. Instead let's talk pretzels. Pretzels, chocolate, and peanut butter, to be specific. Three ingredients I love, although I wouldn't say I wake up surprised to find I love them more each day ;) The execution of these dessert bars wasn't perfect--they became a little bit crumbly and the crust kind of separated from the chocolate / peanut butter topping. Reading the reviews from the Williams Sonoma site, it sounds like this is a common problem. Honestly most stuck together well enough and I was still totally smitten with the finished product! (The crumbles would go really well on top of ice cream, too!) Store these in the fridge or freezer, but don't expect them to last long!

One Year Ago: Avocado Feta Salsa 
Two Years Ago: Scotcheroos and Mediterranean Vegetable Salad
Three Years Ago: Smoky Black Bean Soup and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Toasted Pecans & Dried Cranberries
Four Years Ago: Moroccan Stew and Gingersnaps

Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

When I made blueberry buckle coffee cake, I told you I hadn't been doing much baking with blueberries this summer. I've since been making up for lost time, and I'm now regretting not making this much, much sooner in berry season! I brought these to my brother-in-law's 30th birthday party a few weeks ago, knowing he is a huge fan of blueberry desserts (remember the blueberry flan from a few years ago?).
The next day I asked him what he thought of them and he broke the news that they had all disappeared before he had a chance to try them! It was then that Ryan, my father-in-law, and other brother-in-law Daniel all 'fessed up...not only had they each tried some, but they'd eaten multiple.
Although the birthday boy didn't get to enjoy these, there's no question of whether or not they were a hit! Make 'em quick, while blueberries are still easy (and inexpensive!) to find. 

One Year Ago: Summer Rice Salad and Chocolate Nutella Cookies
Two Years Ago: Amaretto Blondies and Buffalo Sloppy Joes
Three Years Ago: Balsamic Feta Slaw and Vegan Mango Banana Bread

Oatmeal Brownie Bars

Chocolate Pudding Shortbread Bars

If you haven't figured it out by now, I really really love pudding. I make it homemade, I stick it in ice cream, and I'll never ever get sick of Southern Banana Pudding! Naturally, as soon as I saw this recipe for Chocolate Pudding Shortbread Bars, it went straight to the top of my list of desserts to make.
The recipe is exactly as it sounds: a shortbread bar topped with chocolate pudding. This isn't oozing snack pack pudding like you might be picturing. Instead, the pudding sets up nicely in the fridge so that the shortbread can be cut into perfect little squares. If you're really feeling daring, sprinkle a little sea salt atop the pudding before serving and watch people go mad for the sweet and salty combination! 

Even if you don't consider yourself a pudding lover, I'm willing to bet you'll have a hard time resisting these!

One Year Ago: Avocado Citrus Salad and Quinoa and Brown Rice Bowls with Vegetables and Tahini  
Two Years Ago: Buffalo Chicken Cups and Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream
Three Years Ago: Banana Pudding Ice Cream and Taco Pasta Salad
Four Years Ago: Banana Lime Coconut Cake and Jam & Prosciutto Panini with Walnuts, Apples, and Brie

Lemon Cranberry Pie Bars

Can we talk about baby girl clothes? Ugh, such a guilty pleasure. For so long I was completely convinced that I was having a boy and I was excited at the prospect for a lot of reasons, but a small part of me mourned the fact that I wouldn't be shopping for pink clothing and bows and butt ruffles. Color me surprised, of course, when February 2nd came along and our baby GIRL arrived. Visions of little dresses immediately danced in my head! Needless to say, I've had a lot of fun shopping for Brecken over the last few weeks and my mother-in-law commented that it's like I'm dressing a Barbie every day ;) Come to think of it, when my sister and I played Barbies, all we really ever did was change their clothes a million times!
Baby girl clothes really have nothing to do with brownies, except I'd say they're another guilty pleasure...especially when they contain a peanut butter cheesecake layer! As soon as I saw these brownies on Joanne's blog, I knew I needed to make them asap. Cut 'em small and serve them cold. If you're the type who loves a glass of milk with your chocolate dessert, these are the perfect accompaniment!
As little Miss Brecken outgrows some of my favorite newborn outfits, you can probably find me crying in a corner stuffing my face with these brownies! Slow down baby girl!
One Year Ago: Chickpea Curry and Egg & Hash Brown Casserole with Spinach and Mushrooms
Two Years Ago: Braided Garlic Herb Bread and Peanut Butter and Chocolate Dipped Pretzels  
Three Years Ago: Apple Cranberry Baked French Toast and Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies 
Four Years Ago: Golden Grahams S'mores Bars and Baby Blue Party Punch

Coconut Cashew Dulce de Leche Bars

Funnily enough, I made these caramel cashew bars with some Stonewall Kitchen Maple Dulce de Leche before I went and visited Stonewall Kitchenin Maine. I actually won a giveaway on Delicious Dishings and was the lucky recipient of some Stonewall Kitchen products. I immediately began brainstorming how to use the dulce de leche and I was reminded of one of my flavors at Kopp’s Custard in Milwaukee: caramel cashew. 

Transforming the custard flavor into a bar cookie wasn’t all that difficult. I made a buttery oatmeal crust and reserved half of it for the topping. Between the two layers I stuffed the maple dulce de leche, chopped, salted cashews, and some toasted coconut for good measure. The finished result exceeded my expectations and made me think Kopp’s should start adding coconut to their caramel cashew custard! 
Friends went crazy for these bars. The maple in the dulce de leche adds an interesting element, but any dulce de leche (or even caramel ice cream topping) would work equally well. Because they’re so rich, you can cut them in small pieces and serve a crowd. The filling makes them pretty sticky, so you’re best off storing them in the fridge and serving them slightly chilled.

One Year Ago: Roasted Carrot, Leek, and Goat Cheese Hand Pies and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup
Two Years Ago: Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches and 50 Thanksgiving Recipes
Three Years Ago: Oatmeal Buttermilk Muffins with Peaches and Pecans and Shrimp Fajitas
Four Years Ago: Candy Sushi 

One Year Ago: Lentil Quesadillas and French Apple Galette
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling and Buttercream Frosting and Candy Corn Sugar Cookie Cupcakes
Three Years Ago: Cranberry Bliss Bars 
Four Years Ago: Spinach Apple Salad and Spinach and Artichoke Calzones

Grandma Grump's Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

What can I say about the chocolate peanut butter combination that I haven't already with one of my many chocolate peanut butter recipes?! Yep, I think I've covered it. And if I had to guess, I'm probably preaching to the choir. 
I'm just going to cut to the chase then. If you love the classic combination, you'll love these cookie bars. They won second place in a Chicago Tribune recipe contest a few years ago and while I completely understand that they're award-winning, I can't figure out what could have possibly taken the grand prize! 

These have a peanut butter oatmeal base which is then topped with a layer of melted chocolate chips and finally drizzled with a peanut butter icing. Need I say more?

One Year Ago: Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Sandwiches & Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two Years Ago: Curried Cashew, Apple, and Grape Salad & Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread
Three Years Ago: Peanut Butter Banana Panini & Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
Four Years Ago: Amish Baked Oatmeal & Caramel Corn

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling

A few weeks ago I mentioned on The Sweets Life Facebook page that I was in the mood to start my pumpkin baking for the season. Since then I've baked several different pumpkin recipes, some new, some old, but this was the inaugural recipe for the season!
If you've been reading here very long, you know that cupcakes aren't really my thing when it comes to baking. My issues stem not from taste, but from appearance. Thus, I was a little hesitant to bake with the cupcake tools OXO sent me. However, in exchange for a blog post they promised to donate $100 to the Cookies for Kids' Cancer foundation, and that is one cause I can't resist! I love how dedicated OXO is to supporting this mission, so much so that for each of their Bake a Difference products sold, OXO will donate 25 cents to pediatric cancer research!
I was excited to use the new OXO cupcake corer to remove the centers of my pumpkin cupcakes so that I could stuff them with a cinnamon cream cheese filling. Unfortunately I couldn't quite get the hang of the corer; it cuts perfectly shaped pieces but the contraption didn't remove them in one fell swoop as I expected. It was no big deal--I just used a little spoon to remove the cut middle once I used the corer. (For those without a corer, you can just cut out a little section with a paring knife!)
These pumpkin cupcakes were such a hit that I got a whopping one bite of one...the rest disappeared before I had a chance to sample another. From the bite I got, and what I heard, these have reinvigorated my hope in myself when it comes to cupcakes! They don't look half bad, and even if my frosting technique isn't perfect, who's going to complain when you're enjoying a spiced pumpkin cupcake with both a cinnamon cream cheese filling and buttercream!

Note--This post was not sponsored by OXO. They provided me cupcake tools, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

One Year Ago: Chicken, Apple, and Sage Pesto Sandwiches & Cinnamon French Toast Ice Cream
Two Years Ago: Mexican Baked Eggs with Black Beans, Tomatoes, Green Chilies, and Cilantro & Snack Bars
Three Years Ago: Cinnamon Raisin French Toast with POM Syrup & Cooking Lobster/Shucking Oysters
Four Years Ago: Apricot Bran Bread & Cinnamon Cranberry Almond Oat Pancakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling
cake from Color Hungry, frosting my own creation
Printer-Friendly Recipe
Ingredients:
-1 stick butter (melted)
-1/4 cup canola oil
-4 eggs (at room temperature)
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1 cup granulated sugar
-1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
-1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
-1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
-2 cups flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt

for the cream filling
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-1/2 cup confectioners sugar
-8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

for the frosting
-remaining cream filling
-1 stick butter, at room temperature
-2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Add eggs to a mixing bowl and beat for 30 seconds. Add the melted butter, both sugars, vanilla, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice. Beat mixture until well combined. With mixer on low, add vegetable oil and continue mixing. Stir in baking powder, baking soda,a nd salt.
2. Add the flour a little at a time, beating completely before adding more and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
3. Divide batter between 24 lined muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffin tins to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing individual cupcakes to cool completely on wire racks.
4. To prepare the cream filling, beat whipping cream, confectioners sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and cinnamon until smooth and creamy. Once cupcakes are completely cool, use a paring knife or an Oxo cupcake corer to cut out the center of each cupcake, reserving the pieces. Use a small spoon or a pastry bag to insert cream into the center of each cupcake. Use the reserved cupcake pieces (you'll probably have to cut or break off the middle and just reserve the very top) to cover the filling.
5. To make the frosting, add butter to remaining cream filling and beat until smooth. Add confectioners sugar, a 1/2 cup at a time, until smooth. Beat in cinnamon and vanilla (add additional cinnamon, to taste). Pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 I have yet to find a combination that people go more crazy for than peanut butter and chocolate. Yes, people love chocolate and caramel, or lemon and raspberry, but not like they love peanut butter and chocolate. I can always confidently include the two ingredients in a dessert and know it’s going to be a hit.

One Year Ago: Grilled Asparagus Salad
Two Years Ago: Homemade Cheez-Its
Three Years Ago: Grilled Vegetables in a Foil Pack