Pumpkin Pie Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Hi there! Welcome to my new digs! Isn't it pretty???

I've been playing around with the idea of getting my blog designed for me for quite some time. As a birthday/anniversary present to myself, I decided to go ahead and finally take the plunge! And I finally found someone I was really excited about to design it for me!

Sharon over at Redbud Designs was amazing to work with! And I can't say that I'm the best customer...at all. I really had no idea what I wanted. I knew a color scheme and I wanted this space to have a 1950's malt shop type of feel. Other than that, I gave her pretty much nothing! And this is what she came up with! I definitely think she hit the mark!

Many things are the same, but I now have a "browse by topic" drop down box, a fun new blog button, a pretty "print this recipe" button, and I'm loving having my Instagram feed on the sidebar. I'm a bit obsessed with Instagram. LOL! The only thing I feel is missing is maybe some place to share what books I'm reading now. I may have to email Sharon about that.

AND! A friend of mine gifted me my own domain name for my birthday! Now you can type in www.joltsandjollies.com and you will be brought directly here! It makes things a bit easier I think, don't you??

For a while now I've been trying to decide what direction I wanted to take this blog. A while back I decided to create an every day kind of blog. But I don't seem to have time to dedicate to both blogs. So I may just incorporate the two together here. After all, this is where my heart lies. I love sharing recipes with you all. But maybe you will start seeing more about every day things.

I'm definitely interested in opinions and thoughts though. Would you be terribly annoyed if I talked to you about books every now and again? Or had some random post about military living? Or the kids?

I'm always looking to learn, grow, and develop. So any tips or ideas you all can give me would be great!

So. I think that's enough of that...for now. ;-)

Let's talk about pumpkin pie bars!

I have a little baking group on Facebook. I actually started that group before I was a member of The Cake Slice Bakers. At one point, a member of the group would choose a recipe and we would all make it as the "challenge" recipe. However, life gets in the way and we couldn't all keep up. Now it's turned into a place where we can share recipes and idea with one another.

Last month, however, someone shared a recipe for pumpkin bars and we all jumped on it. Most everyone made the recipe as it was written. But all the pictures and reviews of the bars seemed very fluffy and cake like. That wasn't what I wanted.

As I read through the reviews, I decided to make a more gooey bar. Mine didn't come out like cake, it came out more as pumpkin pie. It was definitely gooey...and moist.

The bar themselves were pretty good. But I paired mine with a maple cream cheese frosting that was to die for!! Truly, the frosting was definitely the star of the show. I couldn't get enough of it! I put little dollops on each of my bars but I think spreading it would be amazing too! However you choose to add the frosting, just make sure you have enough on each bar to have frosting on each bite. You won't regret it. Shoot...you may even just end up grabbing a spoon and forgetting about the bars all together. But hopefully not.

Let's get baking!

Whisk together your flour, leaveners, and some choice spices. Set aside.

Now beat together the pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and oil until thoroughly combined.

Add in the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time. Mix until well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Scrape the batter into your prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake it up then let it cool completely.

Now make your frosting...this is the best part! Cream together the butter and cream cheese, then beat in some vanilla, maple, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a bit of salt.

Mix in a couple cups of powdered sugar, then taste it. If you want it thicker, add more. Mine worked with 2 cups.

When your bars are cool, slice them up, dollop the frosting on top (unless you want to spread it, that works too), serve, and enjoy!!



Pumpkin Pie Bars
Adapted From allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with baking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, on medium speed, mix together the pumpkin puree, sugar, eggs, and oil until combined.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture 1/3 at a time and mix until thoroughly combined.
5. Scrape batter into baking dish and spread into an even layer using a rubber spatula.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the middle no longer jiggles and a tester inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
7. Allow to cool completely before frosting**.
8. Slice, serve, and enjoy!!

**Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from The Cake Book

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon maple extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch nutmeg
• Pinch salt
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, on medium high speed, cream together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Beat in the vanilla, maple, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt until well combined.
3. With the mixer on low, beat in 2 cups of the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until well combined.
4. Check for desired consistency and taste, add more powdered sugar as desired.

Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Giveaway Winner

The giveaway winner is announced at the end of this post.

Before last week, I had never truly appreciated the memories I had from my grandma's house. 

I mean, I knew that those memories were special. I just didn't realize *HOW* special. Until all of your lovely comments. 

I absolutely LOVED reading all of the wonderful memories each of you had from "back in the day." Several stories made me laugh and a few brought me to tears. Thank you all for sharing such special moments with me. As each email came in and I read your stories, I felt honored to be reading them. Seriously, if y'all get a chance you should go back and read all the stories and memories everyone shared!

I've also now decided that I love the idea of tradition. From all the memories, I have been inspired to start cookie decorating at Christmas time with the kiddos and making pizza every Friday night. We'll see how long that lasts! LOL! But it sounds super fun. Especially during the school year. Going to the grocery store after school on Fridays to pick out toppings. Little Butt will love that!!

Speaking of Little Butt. She's enjoying her Summer at her grandma's house. It being her first time there without me (for this long) she is definitely homesick. But we get her back in a little under 2 weeks. I can't wait!!

My sister in law sent me this picture of my baby girl a few days ago. Dang that girl loves her some chicken wings. Hahaha!

While Little Butt has been gone, Baby N has been getting into all kinds of mischief. He pushed that toy shopping cart up against the couch so he could climb up to get to the window and play with the Christmas lights around the window. Yes. I am aware that it's August now and I still haven't taken down my Christmas lights. I'm okay with this. 

He has also decided that this chair that is acting as a barrier to the cords under the television is now a great option for climbing to get to the cords behind the television.

He has been discovering new headgear. He loves to put this bucket on his head and shout "ba ba!" Then he giggles and does it again. I think he likes the echo inside. Or how hollow it sounds. I don't know but he does it several times a day.

He has also taken to rearranging my cabinets. That's all in between him walking like he has walked all his life. The boy is ridiculous.

While I'm on ridiculous things, let's get back to this hummingbird cake. I've made another hummingbird cake in the past. That is when I discovered how delicious this cake is. I've talked about this type of cake so much that when my mother saw the recipe in The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook she requested I make one.

I made the cake and we snacked on the trimmings from it. Then my mom asked if I wanted to go to a birthday celebration with her. I figured why not? I have a cake! Unfortunately, the party went so long that we left about half an hour before the cake was cut! 

Luckily, I made the cake again yesterday. This cake is another winner from this cookbook. It is so moist. I told my nephew that Hummingbird cake is like banana bread on crack. The texture of the cake is dense because of the 5 mashed bananas in it. Little pockets of sweet pineapple are studded throughout and chopped pecans give the cake a little texture.

The frosting is out of this world. Cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. What more can a girl ask for?? I found the frosting a bit difficult to work with right after mixing. I needed to refrigerate it a bit to get it to hold any type of shape and not melt off the cake. But that was my only hiccup.

This cake is big, beautiful, and would make a stunning addition to any dinner table. The next time you have friends or family over I suggest you place this cake in the center of your spread.

Let's bake!

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.

In a stand mixer, beat together both sugars and the oil until smooth.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. After all the eggs have been added, beat for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Beat in the vanilla, bananas,and pineapple until just combined.

With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour mixture in 3 additions, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until combined.

Fold in a 1/2 cup of pecans.

Evenly distribute the batter between 2 prepared pans. Smooth with a rubber spatula. Then tap the pans firmly onto the counter tops to release any air bubbles that formed in the batter.

Bake the cakes then let the cool.

Mix up the frosting and frost the cake. Then decorate the sides of the cake with the remaining cup of pecans.  

Slice, serve, and enjoy!


Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups canola oil
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 5 large bananas)
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
• 1 recipe cream cheese frosting, recipe below

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9 by 2 inch round cake pans (I used 8 by 3 inch pans) with baking spray. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat both sugars and the oil until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. 
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 
5. Add the vanilla, banana, and pineapple, mixing until just combined.
6. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, and beating until combined.
7. Fold in 1/2 cup of the pecans
8. Divide the batter evenly among the 2 prepared pans, smooth the tops with a rubber spatula, and tap the pans firmly on the counter tops to remove air bubbles that may have formed.
9. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.
10. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Then invert onto wire racks and allow to cool completely.
11. To assemble the cake, level the top of one layer and place cut side down on a serving platter. 
12. Using an offset spatula, evenly spread a large dollop of frosting on the top of the cake layer. Top with the second cake layer, right side up. 
13. Frost the top and sides of the of the cake with the remaining frosting. 
14. Press the remaining cup of pecans into the sides of the frosted cake. 
15. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 to 6 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. 

AND THE WINNER IS!

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:145Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The MommyCollapse

My favorite food/baking memory would be making Christmas cookies with my Grams.  She taught me how to put a little love in it and it always tastes better!  To this day, I bake to relieve stress - probably because that's when I can feel the love!

Congratulations The Mommy! Please email me your address at mannadonn@msn.com 

(You have one week to reply before I pick another winner)

Divine Chocolate Cake

Wow. It's been a while huh?

Nah. It's only been over a month. That's not too bad. LOL!

It's crazy how life gets away from you sometimes. The kids and I went to El Paso for Spring Break. Little Butt started Soccer. Baby N has been crawling around everywhere and keeping me super busy.

I'm just tired lately. I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to blink, let alone blog.

But I miss it. I miss talking about food. I miss baking. I miss it all.

So here I am.

This recipe is one that I made for my JerBear for his 43rd birthday. That birthday happened back in February.

Nonetheless, this cake has been on my mind ever since.

You all know how I feel about chocolate. I'm definitely not a fan. However, this cake makes me believe that I'm a chocolate lover.

When they say "divine" chocolate cake, they mean divine. And the chocolate cream cheese frosting is like heaven on Earth.

This cake was moist, with the perfect level of chocolatey goodness. Not only was it scrumptious, it was also really pretty. It was the perfect addition to my second dad's birthday.

Whether you are a chocolate love, or not, I highly recommend you give this cake a try. It would sure look lovely on your Easter table!

Let's bake!

Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the oil, eggs, and coffee. Beat well.

Stir in the sour cream and vanilla.

Evenly distribute the batter into prepared cake pans.

For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth.

Add the cocoa powder.

Gradually beat in the powdered sugar. Then stir in the vanilla.

Spread the frosting between the layers and on the top and sides of the cake.

Slice, serve, and enjoy!!!


Divine Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Southern Cakes Magazine

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup strong coffee, room temperature
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 recipe chocolate cream cheese frosting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 3 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray. Set aside.
2. In the large mixing bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add oil, coffee, and eggs, beat on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla.
5. Divide batter evenly among the 3 cake pans.
6. Bake cakes until a tester inserted in the center of the layers comes out clean, 28 to 30 minutes.
7. Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto a wire rack and cool completely.
8. Spread chocolate cream cheese frosting between layers and on the top and sides of the cake.
9. Serve and enjoy!!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Southern Cakes Magazine

Yields approximately 5 1/2 cups

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 7 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth.
2. Mix in cocoa powder.
3. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating well.
4. Stir in vanilla until combined.
5. Spread onto chosen cake, enjoy!!

Apple Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Do you ever get super disappointed in yourself??

Like, you know what you want to do...you just have trouble getting it done?

That's how I've been feeling lately.

I know I'm just in a funk. It's probably because The Hubble is gone again. This time it's for real. This time he's heading off for Afghanistan. This time we have no idea when (or if) we will see him again.

I tend to get in these moods. I feel like nothing I do is good enough.

I think I just get really hard on myself and feel the need to be perfect because it helps take my mind off of what is really bothering me.

I also have a tendency to procrastinate things, which allows me to be even more hard on myself.

Take this cake for example. I'm disappointed in the pictures AND I was supposed to post this on the 20th. (Yes...I'm a wee bit late).

This cake is our first cake from the new Cake Slice Bakers book!

I'm pretty stoked on this new book. For one, the recipes sound amazing!

For two, this cake...

Though the pictures may not look like much, this is the perfect cake to ring in the Fall weather.

The spices really compliment the sweet fruit and the maple frosting will definitely be used again.

Before we get baking, I wanted to say thank you for sticking around while I've been running around all over Texas and spending time with my little family while The Hubble was home.

Okay..now. Let's get baking!

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and a few fall spices.

Cream the butter until smooth then add in the brown sugar.

Add in the vanilla.

And the eggs, one at a time.

Then toss in the flour, in 3 additions...

While alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions.

Take the bowl off the mixer and stir in the apples and nuts by hand.

Scrape the batter into your prepared pan and smooth it out as best you can.

Bake that baby up then let it cool.

Whip up your frosting by creaming together some cream cheese and butter then tossing in some flavor and spices.

Then adding in some powdered sugar.

Frost the top of your cake with this delicious frosting...

Slice, serve and enjoy!!

Apple Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from The Cake Book

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups peeled and chopped (1/3 inch pieces) Granny Smith apples (about 2 apples)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• Maple cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 inch square baking pan with baking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until light, about 1 minute.
4. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until light and well blended, about 2 minutes.
5. Add the vanilla extract.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
7. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions. Beat until just blended.
8. Stir in the apples and walnuts by hand.
9. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth with a rubber spatula.
10. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a  tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. 
11. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.
12. Frost with maple frosting, cut into squares, serve and enjoy!

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from The Cake Book

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon maple extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth.
2. Beat in the extracts, spices and salt.
3. Reduce speed to low, gradually add powdered sugar and beat until well blended.
4. Raise speed to high and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.