Usually Found in a Cup Cake

A bread that will warm you up like a cup of tea. 

This recipe, Honey-Spiced Chai Cake, was given to me by a friend that moved to Arizona from New England. Once she learned that my favorite hot drink was a chai latte, she made me this cake. It has become one of my favorites! It is great for a breakfast treat or an after dinner taste. Usually I would make it as a bundt cake, but I wanted to make mini loaves to put on my trays for the neighbors. However I knew I had to make myself a normal size loaf because I couldn't give it all away!

Honey-Spiced Chai Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup brewed chai tea
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease bundt pan or 2 regular loaf pans. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, tea, buttermilk, honey, butter, eggs and egg yolk. Beat 1 minute or until just blended. The mixture will be really wet/thin. Pour batter in prepared pan(s).

Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Remove from pan.

If desired, sprinkle top with powdered sugar. Or make a glaze with a 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 3 Tablespoons of water and pour over top. (Glaze will help to give the cake a bit more moisture)

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Colors of fall in soft cookies.

Usually my first pumpkin baked good of fall is pumpkin bread. However I was feeling a bit more like cookies, after making some for the dog! I had to give half of this batch to some friends because they are easy to eat at least 3 in a sitting. Having them sit on the counter means that they disappear in hours. Hayden woof thought when we were eating these that we were eating his and we should share. However we never did because of the chocolate chips! These are quick and easy cookies as they are just dropped onto the cookie sheet, or rolling into ball or cutting out. Quick to make and go quickly!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Changed from cooks.com

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup sugar 
1/2 cup canola oil 
1 egg 
2 cup all purpose flour 
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a tiny teeny ball, dissolve baking soda in milk; set aside for now.
In a large bowl add pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg; combine until well blended.
Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda/milk mix to pumpkin mixture, stirring to  mix wet and dry ingredients completely together to form a soft dough. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla.
Spoon onto cookie sheet, slip mat, parchment paper, or ungreased sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until done. Edges will be slightly brown where the cookie hits the sheet.

Caramel Apple Cookies

First day of Fall, needs a fall treat.

These little caramel apple cookies are perfect for the first day of fall. I have made these cookies for multiple occasions, and always leave with an empty plate. These won't even get stuck in your teeth, but a much simpler way to eat a caramel apple than on a stick. Since I have embraced fall already, the first day needs a treat to ring in the best season! So put on a sweater, take a walk in the crisp morning air, and bake these caramel apple cookies.

Caramel Apple Cookies
Big thanks to Craft Mag and GoodLifeEats

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, room temp.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 3/4 cups old fashion oats (not quick-cooking oatmeal)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 oz (1 bag) caramel baking bits
2 cups granny smith apples, peeled and chopped into small pieces

In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs. Beat until combined.
Measure oatmeal into a food processor or blender, and pulse until ground finely. Stir in the oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until combined. Set aside.
Using a mixer, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Stir in the caramel bits and apples. Save a few of pieces the apple and the caramel for dotting on top of the rolled cookie dough balls.
Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. Roll the cookie dough into golf ball-sized balls. Bake on a parchment paper-lined or slipmat baking sheet in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F, for 10-12 minutes. The sheet should be placed on the upper middle rack. Cool on the pan for 4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
 Note: Dough is best the day of. In time the apples add extra moisture to the dough, causing a wider spread on the baked cookies. Alternatively, you can pre-roll the dough into balls and freeze if you aren't using it all the first day. Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet until solid, and then transfer to a labeled sealable freezer bag. Use within one month. Simply add an extra couple minutes to the baking time since the dough is frozen.

Pumpkin Dog Drops

A drop for the dogs.

I finally admit that it is fall, with the crisp morning and nights! I LOVE it! My little woof loves the fall, too! He spends his days laying out on the deck soaking in the cooler temperatures or carrying his football around the yard. Hayden also really enjoys pumpkin! So in order to give him a little taste of fall, I made him these pumpkin drops. I don't want him to feel left out from the fall baking. 

These little drops were sitting on the counter when my husband got home from work. When he had his mouth full entering the family room, I just laughed. He gave me a confused look. I told him that was nice that Hayden was sharing his treats. The response "Well they aren't half bad, lucky little guy!" Hayden enjoys them too, he was staring them down when I was trying to photograph them outside.

Pumpkin Dog Drops

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 Tablespoons butter (can leave out but keeps really moist)
1 whole egg
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put a silicon slip-mat or parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter.
In a medium bowl, beat egg with buttermilk and pumpkin. Combine with flour mixture, mix until well combined. Stir until a soft dough forms.
Drop tablespoons of dough unto cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, edges will be slightly golden. Let cool and then have the woof perform a trick.