sweet potato pie with marshmallow meringue

"This looks suspiciously like pumpkin," you must be thinking. But, I am very happy to say that you are wroooong! This is actually sweet potato pie. It tastes a lot like pumpkin pie, it looks a lot like pumpkin pie, but it's not. And it's topped by a delicious cloud of fluffy marshmallowy meringue, which is reminiscent of sweet potato casserole and takes this pie to a place where good ol' pumpkin pie can only dream about. I am not the type to make pies, as uh, I have no patience. And I like things that are already pre-proportioned. Like cookies and muffins and cupcakes and that sorta stuff. But every once in a while, I make pie and I think to myself, "Well, this really isn't bad to make and I'm a pretty good pie maker if I do say so myself. I should make pie more often." But do I? Nope! Pie just seems like a special occasion sorta thing to me, so I only make it on holidays, and usually only when it's cold outside. I'm picky like that.

The recipe originally called for a graham cracker crust, but I like to make things difficult for myself so I made a pate' brisee' crust, aka "cutting butter into flour" crust, and not to sound showoffy, but I think it was the best pie crust I've ever made. I finally followed the advice of leaving kinda large chunks of butter in my crust (as much as my OCD was telling me not to) and I am so very glad I did. The crust came out flaky and delicious and I was very satisfied with the outcome. Wanna know a secret? I had never made pie meringue before, and I think it came out really yummy! I've always been kinda grossed out by the barely-cooked egg whites but this one was different because of folded-in marshmallow creme. It was deeeelicious! I feel silly posting this pie post-Thanksgiving, but maybe you can bookmark it for next year, no? ;) Besides, it's almost December, which I'm sure you know what that means... bring on the Christmas treats! I am so excited! Til then, enjoy drooling at this pie and wishing it was before Thanksgiving so you could make it and not feel like a doofus. :)

healthy pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip muffins

Okay, I know. I said no more pumpkin and chocolate recipes... but I found these pictures buried in my Food folder and I felt so stupid for not having posted about these muffins sooner! I promise this is seriously the last one. I've got no more up my sleeve. And besides, I will tell you a reason I figured I might as well post these muffins is that they are healthy, hearty, and really easy... all things you could really use if you're trying to recover from Thanksgiving's major fat-and-calorie food coma. These have pumpkin, which is rich in Vitamins A and C; oats and whole wheat flour, which are full of fiber; and dark chocolate chips, which have antioxidants and are also the most delicious things in the whole wide world. See? These are basically a health food!

They are thick and chewy, and like I said, really easy. Technically two-bowl, but it can easily be made one-bowl if you are lazy enough. It's okay, nobody is judging! I made these one bowl. I will admit that I love butter, as a lot of desserts really need it to come out as delicious as they should, but I actually love it even more when a recipe uses oil instead of butter because, 1. it's better for you, and 2. I don't have to break out my mixer to cream such butter. It's great! I'm the epitome of lazy in the kitchen. Sometimes. It's okay if you are too, especially after Thanksgiving. :) These are great, and they're a great healthy breakfast or snack or whatever you want to call it that will help ease you back on track after all that crazy eating. They don't look too appetizing, but they taste a lot better than they look. Promise!

pumpkin swirl brownies

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! Unbelievable. If you're an American (like most of my readers, I'm assuming), you're probably freaking out because maybe you're hosting Thanksgiving at your house tomorrow (bless your heart, I do not envy you one bit), or maybe you're freaking out because it's a potluck and you have so much food to make or maybe you don't know what to bring (although hopefully you have it figured out by now) and oh man, I bet you are just going crazy. As for me... well, we don't really do Thanksgiving. Like I said, my family's full Italian and Thanksgiving is a purely American thing, so we just hang out and do whatever. Our dinner tradition? Going to eat at Cracker Barrel. On Thanksgiving. No lie! Their food is delicious and we get all of the delicious goodies we would if we made a traditional dinner except we don't have to cook it, and we don't have to deal with copious amounts of leftovers. It's great. Anyway, pardon me for going completely off-topic yet again. You are here because you saw this lovely title saying "Pumpkin Swirl Brownies," and you're not quite sure what they are, but all you know is that your mouth is watering and you want some. Now.

Well, let me enlighten you! Pumpkin Swirl Brownies are pretty much the most delicious, chocolatey, autumnal, moist, gooey, addicting things you have ever laid your eyes on. Once you taste one, you won't be able to stop. I think I've eaten like a gazillion of these since I made them last night. They.are.so.good. If you make these for your family and then you decide to hoard them and not let anyone else have a bite, don't say I didn't warn you. I can't stop eating these. I want one right now. Send help. P.S. Hopefully you're not totally chocolate-pumpkin-ed out yet? Maybe? Exhibits one and two. As my first season discovering pumpkin as a baking ingredient, I guess I went a little crazy. Me and my family have had it up to our eyeballs... after like 12 dozens of chubby pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and pumpkin chocolate whoopie pies twice in one week, I think we're about ready to call it quits. But these brownies are so, so good. If you're at a loss for what to make tomorrow, make these. They're so easy and life-changingly delicious. Send leftovers home with other people or you won't be able to keep your hands off of them. Well... if there even are leftovers. You've officially been warned!

apple pie rugelach cookies

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving! Woohoo! I am very excited, not because of actual Thanksgiving (because I'm Italian and we don't really celebrate that, like, at all), but because I will finally get to see my boyfriend after 3 looong weeks. I'm a loser, it's alright. :) I'm also excited because it means we are just that much closer to Christmastime, and if you know me at all, you know I am absolutely obsessed with Christmas. I wish it was Christmas allll year long! I love the cold and the cute boots and scarves and the (occasional) snow and the holiday music in stores and decorations everywhere and aaahh, I just love everything about it! So, to force myself to stay in the present and not get carried away with this Christmas thinking, I thought I would squeeze in a couple more autumnal recipes pre-Thanksgiving. I found this recipe in the Christmas edition of Good Housekeeping, but it seems more fall-ish than wintery to me... whatever. One thing I think we will all agree on is that they look adorable and delicious!

These look like little crescent rolls, but they're much smaller and much crunchier than the kind you buy at the store... I guess that's why they're rugelach and not croissants. :) They're a little bit more labor-intensive than a regular cookie, but they're more time-consuming than difficult. Once you get the hang of it though, you can crank them out pretty quick! They're called apple-pie rugelach because they're filled with apple jelly, walnuts, dried apples, and brown sugar, but I imagine you could make these with any filling and they would be delicious! And there isn't any sugar in the dough, so if you were feeling daring, you could even attempt making savory ones! Mmm. That sure does sound yummy! These rugelach belong on your Thanksgiving table in any variety you can imagine. These are delicious. Make them. I rest my case!

chocolate-pumpkin whoopie pies

I have a confession to make... every time I've made whoopie pies, I've had a disaster. The first time I tried, they came out hard and thin like sugar cookies. The second time, they weren't bad, but they were huge. Like, GIANT! I had definitely underestimated how much they would spread. And the filling came out gross. I guess third time's the charm! I made these sweet little pumpkin whoopie pies with chocolate filling and they were perfect. I watched in the oven as they didn't spread out obscenely, and I was beyond happy when my filling was fluffy and delicious and not watery or lumpy. Ahhh, much better. Not to mention, they're so cute!

Like little bites of autumnal deliciousness. Also, I am quite happy that they came out looking exactly like the picture of the originals. If you've ever baked from a cookbook or magazine and you see the pictures, you know that 90% of the time, your food looks NOTHING like the picture... so I was happily surprised! We made this today in my first Baking Class and they came out just as good as they did when I tested the recipe a couple of days ago. Thank goodness... you know how it usually is, when you make food with/for someone else, it doesn't come out right. The planets must have been aligned in my favor today! She took some whoopies with her, and she emailed me shortly after she got home, saying "My family loves them!" Music to my ears. These are really yummy and really easy, and if the whoopie-ly challenged (such as myself) can make them, so can you! P.S. do you prefer your whoopie pies with a powdered sugar coat (like above) or simply naked (like below)? Not judging you if you say you like naked whoopies... I'll just laugh. A lot. :)

fancy hot chocolate

I don't know about y'all, but I am beyond excited that it's finally cold! It's feeling like... well... honestly, winter. Texas kinda skipped out on fall this year, it went from a summery 80 to a chilly 40 overnight. Literally. So, even though I am missing out on crunchy orange leaves and sunny days with a crisp breeze, I'm kinda just happy it's not hot anymore. Having an extra-long summer makes you miss the most normal things about colder weather. For example, long pants. Jackets. Closed-toed shoes. Decorative scarves. Decorative hats. Have you ever tried wearing an accessory scarf in Texas summer? One word for you, DON'T. Something else I miss during hot weather is purely wintery treats, like chocolate and peppermint treats. Or hot chocolate with a mountain of marshmallows... kinda like this.

Mmmmm! Does that look delicious or what? I am not a big fan of coffee (unless it's a Starbucks Coconut Mocha Frappuccino that I got for free because my friend Emily works there and loves me), and I don't really drink tea, but hot chocolate.... ohhh, come to mama. This must be because I am seriously the biggest chocoholic ever! I do like my chocolate milk during the summer, but it is a sorry substitute for real cold-weather, piping hot, hot cocoa, with that yummy foam on top and mini marshmallows that get all melt-in-your-mouth-y and squishy after sitting in there for just a couple minutes. Yuuu-um. Soul warming, I tell ya. Is it cold where you live? Make this tonight. Much better than the stuff from a box, and your family will love you. P.S. You're welcome! :)

tie-dye cake + birthday party!

SHA-ZAM! Pretty cool, huh? This right here was my little brother's birthday cake this year, and I'm pretty sure he thought it was the coolest thing evaaaah. He is so lucky to have a sister who likes to bake like me :) Seriously though, I can't get over how cool it looked! And the best part was that once it was baked, it just looked brown and innocuous and plain on the outside, which made it a total surprise once you cut into it! 

cowboy cookies

If you were sad that yesterday's recipe was not for dessert and was SOUP, which you could even make for DINNER (why would I even ever make a necessary recipe? I am the queen of superfluous treats and not actual meals), stop being sad right now! I have a lovely and easy (as always) cookie recipe that is sure to tickle your fancy. These cowboy cookies are in no way related to my cowgirl cookies, but they are a little similar in the fact that they both have unusual (but delicious) mix-ins. My cowgirl cookies boasted corn flakes, coconut, and toffee bits, among other things. These? They have oatmeal, chocolate chips, and crushed pretzels, of all things. I understand if you're a bit skeptical, but these cookies are actually really really yummy!

The pretzels are a bit different, but they add a nice crunch and burst of saltiness that is similar to what you get with nuts in cookies. So maybe that comparison will help you feel less weird about crushing up pretzels with a rolling pin and adding them in your cookie dough. Or you can just get your toddler to crush the pretzels for you and then you don't have to feel weird at all! There. I'm so glad we came to an agreement. This recipe is from Baked Explorations, a cookbook which I love love love! Some other delicious treats that have come out of this fabulous cookbook? This triple chocolate loaf, and these AMAZING oatmeal turtle bars. I'm not even kidding. Those turtle bars are the best things ever! If you decide to not make these cookies and make those turtle bars instead, I won't even be mad. I understand.

sweet potato soup

I feel so bad I haven't been able to post very much lately! The reason for that is that I am absolutely up to my eyeballs in homework... especially Music Appreciation homework. Eeehh... I haven't even really been able to bake, unfortunately. But dinner? There is always time for dinner, especially when I'm the one making it! Which isn't often, since my mom is the designated cook, but I do love it every once in a while. :) So last time I decided to make dinner was less than a week ago, and I was absolutely obsessed with How Sweet It Is' Loaded Baked Sweet Potato Soup. I saw it and I told myself, "I need to make this. NOW." And I did! May I say, you also need to make this? Like as soon as humanly possible? It is out of this world delicious.

I didn't follow her recipe exactly because hers made enough for 4 servings, and I have a family of 5. Who eats like a herd of starved buffalos. So I had to add in stuff and make it picky-little-brother-friendly and it was a huge success. We all loved it, and we usually don't even go for soup! This recipe is seriously amazing, easy, and easily customizable. You can make your basic soup and offer as many traditional or fancy toppings as you want, it's so great. I also couldn't resist taking this picture of these beautiful autumnal colors that all end up in the soup!