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Pumpkin Cake with Candied Pecans, Apple Butter, & Mascarpone Cream Cheese Icing

Okay, here we go – less talk, more cake.

pumpkin cake batter
golden pumpkin cake
apple butter and mascarpone
pumpkin cake
pumpkin cake

Pumpkin Cake with Apple Butter & Mascarpone Cream Cheese Icing
cake slightly adapted from Cozycakes Cottage
icing slightly adapted from The Roaming Kitchen

  1. Preheat your oven to 350° F.
  2. Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt and set aside.
  4. In a second medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla and set aside.
  5. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporating and scraping down the sides before adding the next.
  6. Reduce your mixer speed to low and alternately add your flour and pumpkin mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
  7. Pour the batter into your prepared pans. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (some crumbs are okay since it will be moist).
  8. Cool the cakes in their pans for about 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from their pans and let cool completely before frosting.
  9. For the icing, bring a small pot of water to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk the egg whites, sugar, and salt together in a metal bowl (ideally the bowl of your stand mixer) and set the bowl over the simmering pot of water. Continue whisking the mixture for 2-3 minutes without stopping, until the mixture heats up and slightly thickens, and the sugar dissolves completely. To check that the sugar has dissolved, rub some of the mixture between two fingers to feel for any remaining granules of sugar.
  10. Once the sugar has fully dissolved, take the bowl off the heat and put it into the base of your stand mixer. Using your whisk attachment or an electric mixer, continue beating the egg white mixture on high speed until it forms hard peaks (about 10 minutes).
  11. Adjust the mixer speed to medium and add the butter one piece at a time to the egg white mixture. Be careful that each piece of butter is incorporated with the mixture before you add the next. Note: it is important to continue mixing during the entire time you add the butter, cream cheese, and mascarpone.
  12. After all of the butter has been working into the mixture, add the vanilla, being sure to keep the mixer at medium speed the entire time.
  13. Add the cream cheese little by little, just like the butter, ensuring each piece has been incorporated in the mixture before adding the next.
  14. Repeat the process with the mascarpone cheese. Mix until you have a cohesive icing, about 10 minutes.
  15. For the candied pecans, melt the butter in a small pan over low heat. Add the pecans, sprinkle with sugar, and turn to coat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar coats and caramelizes the nuts. Remove to a plate and sprinkle with salt and pumpkin pie spice. Let cool.
  16. To assemble, top one cake with apple butter (the amount is up to you for how thick or thin you liked your cake filling).
  17. Top the other cake with some of the mascarpone cream cheese icing.
  18. Sandwich the cakes together so the apple butter and mascarpone cream cheese icing are smooshed in the middle.
  19. Ice the rest of the cake with the remaining mascarpone cream cheese icing and top with the candied pecans. Feel free to experiment here and throw some pecans in between the layers, too!

Ingredients
For the pumpkin cake
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin puree
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 large eggs

For the mascarpone cream cheese icing
2 large egg whites
5 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 1/3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1/2 cubes
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature

For the candied pecans
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Fine salt, for sprinkling
Pumpkin pie spice, for sprinkling

For the assembly
Apple butter (I used this one)

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Apple Butter Pecan Cinnamon Rolls with Quick Puff Pastry

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Everything Bagel & Cheese Biscuits

In the words of Stefon, these biscuits have everything.

The flavors of an everything bagel, King Arthur’s Self-Rising Flour, and a little bit of cheese all come together in these biscuits of epic breakfast proportion.

Put an egg on it, along with some bacon and more cheese, and you’re the star of Sunday brunch. Or dinner. Or afternoon snack. These biscuits have no rules.

The star of the show in these biscuits is the Everything Bagel Blend from The Bagel Shake Co. A combination of salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion, and garlic all toasted together, this blend combined with cheddar cheese is like a savory, breakfast-y party in your mouth.

After whisking together our flour, sugar, Everything Bagel Blend, and cheddar cheese, we work the cold, cubed butter in with our fingers until it’s nice and crumbly. Those pellets of butter help make our biscuits flaky and tender.

Cold buttermilk is poured into the flour mixture, and the dough is folded until just barely moistened. Careful to not overmix here!

The moistened dough is turned out onto a lightly floured surface and folded over itself. We are literally creating the layers of our biscuits!

After a few more folds, we are ready to cut. A circular biscuit cutter pushed straight down will do it. Remember to flour your cutter in between cuts to avoid squishing the dough and crushing your layers.

The biscuits are cozied next to each other on a parchment-lined baking sheet to encourage their neighbors to rise high and mighty. Brushed with melted butter and topped with more Everything Bagel Blend, our speckled biscuits are ready for the oven.

Fifteen minutes later, and bam! Flaky, tender, and wonderful, these biscuits are ready to be devoured.

Now let’s turn these bad boys into breakfast sandwiches. Split in half and topped with bacon, egg, and cheese, this biscuit heads back into the oven briefly to get a nice sizzle-y, melty thing going on.

Squish your halves together for an ooey, gooey breakfast of champions. If runny yolks are your kinda thing, here is your time to shine.

Happy breakfasting, my friends.

Everything Bagel & Cheese Biscuits
slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients
For the biscuits:
2 cups King Arthur Self-Rising Flour
1 Tablespoon Everything Bagel Blend
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2-2/3 cup cold buttermilk
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Additional Everything Bagel Blend, for topping (optional)

For the assembly:
Eggs, cooked to your preference (I fried mine over easy for a nice runny yolk)
Cheese, cut in slices (I used white cheddar)
Bacon, or other breakfast meat of your choice, cooked

  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Whisk together the Self-Rising Flour, Everything Bagel Blend, sugar, and shredded cheddar cheese in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add the cold, cubed butter to the bowl and work it quickly into the flour mixture. The mixture should be crumbly, with some pea-sized butter crumbs remaining. I prefer to use my hands for this, but you can also use a pastry cutter.
  4. Make a well in your butter-flour mixture, and add 1/2 cup of the cold buttermilk. Fold gently until everything is moistened, adding the remaining buttermilk if necessary. Be careful not to overmix here.
  5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Carefully fold it over itself 3-4 times (we’re creating flaky layers here!).
  6. Gently shape the dough to a 3/4″-inch thick rectangle. Remember – you aren’t as concerned with the shape of the dough as much as an even height.
  7. Cut the dough with a 2″ to 2 1/2″ biscuit cutter, making sure to dip the cutter in flour between each cut to avoid squishing the layers together. Gently combine the scraps and continue cutting to use up the remaining dough.
  8. Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining Everything Bagel Blend, if desired.
  9. Bake the biscuits 10-14 minutes, until lightly golden.
  10. To make the sandwich, split a biscuit and place on a baking sheet, insides up. On the top half, place the slice of cheese and top with bacon, or other choice of breakfast meat. On the bottom half, place your cooked eggs.
  11. Place the baking sheet bake in your preheated oven for 1-2 minutes, until the cheese is melty and the bacon starts to sizzle.
  12. Remove immediately, combine halves, and enjoy!
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Apple Pie Biscuits

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Fried Chicken Biscuits with Whole Grain Honey Mustard

Let’s talk about Sundays.

Specifically, summer Sundays. Summer Sundays are an accepted and encouraged kind of lazy that you only get so many months of the year. They’re filled with late morning cups of coffee, extra afternoon naps, and evening sunlight that lasts for hours on end. They are for lingering and reflecting, relaxation and self-indulgence, both in appetite and in activity (read: Netflix).

Before football and school nights take back our Sundays, let’s hold on to these last few in true summer fashion, complete with warm evening strolls and these fried chicken biscuits. Summer Sunday indulgence at it’s finest.

First, we combine King Arthur’s Self-Rising Flour with grated, frozen butter to ensure we have tender, flaky layers with plenty of rise.

Lightly-sweetened, cold buttermilk brings our dough together in a shaggy, butter-studded way, which is just the way we like it. Just a few quick folds will do.
Quickly and gently, we gather our dough on a lightly floured surface and suggest it into a 1-inch thick rectangle, as opposed to kneading. This keeps our biscuits light & fluffy.

Cut with a round biscuit cutter and cozied up on a parchment lined baking sheet, these bad boys are ready for the oven.

Baked for 20 minutes, brushed with honey butter, and topped with sea salt, these high-rise biscuits have a sweet & salty thing going on that we love.

While your biscuits cool, whisk together your sauce ingredients. Creamy yogurt balances the tangy mustard, while a touch of honey and sea salt encourage our sweet & salty theme.

Now, we’re ready. Biscuit, sauce, chicken, sauce, biscuit. The layering technique of champions.

Have one for breakfast. Have one for dinner. Have one as a 4 pm snack just because. It’s Sunday. Chicken biscuits for all.

Last month, I partnered with King Arthur Flour in the Campaign for #BetterBiscuits, which inspired me to set out on a biscuit baking journey. Complete with King Arthur’s Self-Rising Flour and biscuit essentials, I’ll be sharing a new biscuit recipe every Sunday in September, both in celebration of National Biscuit Month and in celebration of Sundays.

Because Sundays are most definitely for biscuits.

Fried Chicken Biscuits
slightly adapted from Root & Bone

Ingredients
For the biscuits:
3 1/3 cups King Arthur Self-Rising Flour
8 Tablespoons (4 oz.) unsalted butter, frozen, grated on a box grater, and frozen again
2 1/2 Tablespoons honey
1 cup buttermilk, cold
2 Tablespoons (1 oz.) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
Sea salt, for sprinkling

For the honey mustard sauce:
1 Tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 teaspoons honey
Pinch of sea salt

For the assembly:
Fried chicken, boneless
(I used boneless chicken breasts A’s recipe)

  1. Place the self-rising flour in a large mixing bowl. Use your fingers to toss the frozen, grated butter evenly throughout the flour, making sure to work quickly as to not melt the better. We want those flaky layers!
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey and cold buttermilk.
  3. Make a well in the center of your flour mixture, and pour in the cold honey & buttermilk.
  4. Fold quickly, but gently until the dough barely comes together. It will be shaggy and sticky.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and shape into a rectangle about 1-inch in height.
    Note: Be as gentle as you can while shaping, as overworking will lead to tougher, denser biscuits.
  6. Cut as many biscuits out of your rectangle as you can using a 2 1/2″ biscuit cutter. Gently push scraps together and continue to cut out your biscuits with remaining dough.
    Note: Be sure to use a very sharp, floured biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to not smoosh the layers together. Another helpful tip: push straight down without twisting as you cut.
  7. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place entire cookie sheet of biscuits into the freezer while the oven preheats to help keep the fats cold and encourage flaky layers!
  8. Meanwhile, combine your melted butter and remaining honey in a small bowl. Have a pastry brush handy for when the biscuits are done.
  9. Bake the biscuits for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden, rotating the pan half way through baking.
  10. While the biscuits are baking, make your honey mustard sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, whole grain mustard, honey, and sea salt until combined. Set aside.
  11. Remove the biscuits from the oven and brush immediately with the honey butter. Top with a sprinkle of sea salt.
  12. To assemble, slice one of your honey butter biscuits in half. Add a dollop of honey mustard sauce to the bottom half of the biscuit. Top with a piece of fried chicken, an extra dollop of honey mustard sauce, and the top half of the biscuit.
  13. Enjoy with plenty of napkins in close proximity.
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Buttermilk Biscuits + A Giveaway!

Biscuits are wonderful.

Whether topped with jam, dipped in gravy, or holding bacon, eggs, and cheese, nothing says comfort like a buttery, flaky biscuit fresh from the oven. And the good news is, homemade biscuits are just a handful of ingredients away, with the help of a few essentials.

I’ve partnered up with King Arthur Flour in the campaign for #BetterBiscuits to help get these warm and snuggly biscuits into your homes (and your mouths) as soon as possible. The key ingredient to these tender nuggets of joy? King Arthur’s Self-Rising Flour.

King Arthur’s Self-Rising Flour combines soft wheat flour, baking powder, and a hint of salt, resulting in biscuits so fluffy and delicate, you won’t know how you survived breakfast without it. Bonus: Baking powder and salt already mixed in means less prepwork for you!

These particular biscuits are inspired by Shirley Corriher’s Touch-of-Grace Biscuits (also found in Kristen Miglore’s Genius Recipes). Shirley says the dough “should be a wet mess”, with a slight resemblance to cottage cheese. The moistness of the dough combined with the low-protein self-rising flour will lead you to tenderness Otis Redding hasn’t even tried before.

Drop a spoonful into a quick flour bath, and poof! It’s all coming together.

Cozy each doughball up to their neighbor to ensure they rise up tender, fluffy, and tall.

Brush with butter upon removing from the oven, and eat five immediately.

I love them topped with jam or with ricotta, honey, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Ross likes them with a runny egg. Both are equally messy and delicious.

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Grilled Peach Bourbon Jam Sandwiches – Two Ways

New York City is a crazy place.

It is chaotic and delicious and exhausting and wonderful most all of the time. There are so many places to explore, sights to see, & foods to eat – your seemingly endless to-do list can be overwhelming.

On those overwhelming to-do list days, I find myself occasionally longing for a quick and easy snack that brings all the familiar comforts of home. In the case of this peach bourbon jam, we have two right at our fingertips.

Our first is a twist on a classic grilled cheese, with creamy brie and salty prosciutto to accompany our jam, giving us all the pleasures of our grilled-cheese childhoods with a grown-up flair.

Our second is everybody’s favorite PB&J with a modern spin. Peach bourbon jam meets spiced almond butter for a familiar, yet sophisticated nut butter sandwich that’s anything but boring. Today, I used french sourdough, but soft multigrain would be an amazing alternative.
So, go ahead. Make one or the other or both and call yourself a winner. Cozy up on your couch and eat every bite until your heart is so full of comforting happiness you lay down and take the best nap of your life. To-do lists be damned.

Peach Bourbon Jam

Ingredients
3 ripe peaches, peeled and chopped in 1/2-1 inch pieces
4-5 Tablespoons turbinado sugar, to taste
2 Tablespoons bourbon
1/4 teaspoon of salt

  1. Add all ingredients to a saucepan and bring to boil over high heat.
  2. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Remove from the heat. Using a fork or potato masher, mash the peaches to your desired consistency.
  4. Transfer jam to a airtight container to cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, or use immediately on the sandwich recipes below.

Grilled Prosciutto, Brie, and Peach Jam Sandwich

Ingredients
2 slices of sourdough bread
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
Peach Bourbon Jam (recipe above)
2-3 thin slices of prosciutto
A good slab of brie

  1. Butter one side of each slice of sourdough. Gently place your slices butter side down on a cutting board.
  2. Spread peach jam on one slice of sourdough and top with 2-3 slices of prosciutto.
  3. Smear your brie on the second slice of sourdough, rind and all.
  4. Join the two slices together gently, being careful to not smash them together.
  5. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Place sandwich in butter-side down and cook until golden brown.
    Note: Since I find the second side of a grilled cheese cooks quicker, I like to start with the brie side on the bottom to give the cheese ample time to melt as close to the heat as possible.
  6. Flip sandwich over and repeat until golden brown. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes before slicing.
  7. Slice in half & serve immediately. Enjoy!

Grilled Almond Butter and Peach Jam Sandwiches

Ingredients
For the sandwich:
2 slices of sourdough bread, or soft, multigrain sandwich bread
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
Peach Bourbon Jam (recipe above)
Spiced Almond Butter (recipe below)

For the spiced almond butter:
2 cups lightly salted almonds (if using unsalted almonds, be sure to add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt)
1 Tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of cardamom
Pinch of cloves

  1. For the almond butter, pour the almonds into the bowl a food processor, and process to an almond meal/almond flour consistency.
  2. Add the honey, almond extract, and spices to the bowl, and continue processing to until smooth and creamy, or desired consistency. Depending on the size and strength of your food processor, this could take several minutes.
  3. Transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature.
  4. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Gently place your slices butter side down on a cutting board.
  5. Generously slather peach jam on one slice and your spiced almond butter on the other.
  6. Join the two slices together gently, being careful to not smash them together.
  7. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Place sandwich in butter-side down and cook until golden brown.
  8. Flip sandwich over and repeat until golden brown. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes before slicing.
  9. Slice in half & serve immediately. Enjoy!
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Mini Ricotta Parmesan Cheesecakes with Lemon Curd & Tangerine Marmalade

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