Pumpkin Patch Sugar Cookies

Spritz sugar cookies were a holiday staple at my house growing up.  Although the original recipe calls for a cookie press and sprinkles, I have always rolled them out and decorated them with icing. 


Spritz Cookie Dough
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups margarine (3 sticks)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400

Stir together flour and baking powder.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter or margarine for 30 seconds.  Add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla; beat well.  Gradually add dry ingredients (about 1/2 a cup at a time) beating well after each addition.  Mix until blended.

Do not chill dough.

Sprinkle flour on a surface (counter top).  Divide dough in half.  Ball half of the dough, press flat between your hands, dust with flour on both sides and then using a rolling pin, roll dough until it is about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick.  Use cookie cutters and put cookies on a baking sheet.  Add leftover dough to remaining dough in bowl and repeat until all dough has been used.

Bake in oven for approximately 7-8 minutes.  Edges will start to get slightly browned.  Cool on a wire rack, parchment paper or paper towels.

Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Milk

Put powdered sugar in a bowl, add vanilla, add enough milk to make a drizzling consistency.  Add food coloring if desired.

Spread icing on cookies.  If decorating, add all decorations (sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc) immediately after frosting as the icing will harden quickly.

The jack-o-lantern cookies pictured have chocolate chips for the eyes and nose and mini chocolate chips for the mouth. 

Pumpkin Spice Cupcake

Cake

(www.duncanhines.com)

1 box spice cake mix

1 can pumpkin (Libbys pumpkin)

½ cup water

Mix and bake for approximately 21 minutes.  Makes 22-24 cupcakes

Frosting

3 ounces cream cheese

¼ cup butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

~3 cups powdered sugar

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Beat cream cheese and butter until combined and fluffy.  Add vanilla and ½ tsp of cinnamon.  Beat together.  Add powdered sugar ½  cup at a time beating well after each addition until desired consistency is reached (I always add enough sugar so that the frosting is slightly more stiff rather than creamy - reason: frosting needs to be thicker when using decorator tips).  Add a dash or two of nutmeg.  Add additional cinnamon until desired flavor is met. 

Frost cupcakes using a Wilton 1M tip starting from the outer edge and swirling the frosting towards the middle.  Sprinkle with cinnamon. 

Banana's Foster Cupcake

Cake

Part 1

2 bananas

4 tablespoons dark rum

2 tbs butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup brown sugar

Part 2

1 box yellow cake mix

Rum

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tbs caramel

Part 1

Slice bananas.  In a skillet, heat rum, butter, vanilla and brown sugar on medium heat until mixture bubbles.  Add bananas and cook for 2-3 minutes until bananas are hot..  Set aside.

Part 2

Prepare cake as directed, replacing 1/3 cup of the water with rum.  Add cinnamon, caramel and bananas.  Bake as directed.  Tap the top of a cupcake.  If the top springs back they are done baking.  If an indentation is visible, leave in oven and check again after 2-3 minutes.  Repeat until cupcakes spring back upon touch.

Frosting

Caramel Buttercream

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar (1 box)
2-3 tbs milk
2 tbs caramel

Beat the butter and vanilla together.  Alternately add the powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency is reached.  Add caramel and blend into mixture.  When using decorating tips, frosting should have a slightly thicker consistency, otherwise it will look melted on your cupcakes.  Note: if you end up with frosting that is too thin, just add more powdered sugar. 

Decorating
Using Wilton decorating tip 1M squeeze 1 large star of frosting on to the top of each cupcake.  Dust with Cinnamon.

Keep refrigerated. 

Toffee Cupcakes

Toffee Cupcakes
Chocolate dipped and Butterscotch dipped

Cake

Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix
Eggs
Oil
Water
Caramel sundae syrup
Toffee pieces

Prepare cake as directed.  Add 1/4 cup caramel sundae syrup to batter and 1/2 cup of toffee pieces.  Mix thoroughly.  Bake as directed.

Frosting

Caramel Buttercream
1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 lbs confectioners sugar
2 tsp milk
3-5 tsp caramel sundae syrup

Place butter or margarine in a bowl and beat until fluffy.  Add vanilla.  Alternately add confectioners sugar and milk.  Once all milk has been added, alternately add caramel syrup and confectioners sugar until desired flavor and consistency are reached.

Generously frost cupcakes.  It works well to cut a whole in the decorator bag like a large round tip and swirl frosting onto the cupcake.

Set excess frosting aside for later use.

Decorating

Ingredients
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 butterscotch chips
1/2 cup toffee pieces

Place toffee chips in a shallow bowl or on a plate.

Step 1: Place chocolate chips in one small microwave safe bowl.  Heat for 30 seconds, stir.  Repeat until chips have melted.  Note: if you microwave for too long the chips will burn and become chalky and unusable.

Step 2: Dip a cupcake in the warm melted chocolate until the entire top of the cupcake is covered then roll the edges in the toffee.  Decorate one cupcake at a time in order to avoid having the chocolate harden before the toffee has been added.  Repeat for 12 cupcakes.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 with butterscotch chips.

Once all cupcakes have been dipped and rolled in toffee pieces, put the excess frosting in a decorator bag and using Wilton tip 1M add a squeeze of frosting to the top of each cupcake.

Store at room temperature.