Category: Holiday Desserts

Pumpkin Pie Bars

It’s that time of year! Pumpkin Pie Time 🙂 Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I have the perfect recipe for you! Pumpkin Pie bars taste like pumpkin pie, but better. They are very moist, just like pie, but the crust on these is sooo good! Could you imagine the holidays without a pumpkin dessert?!

If you like pumpkin, these are a must! I have made these for years and they are always a crowd pleaser.

I got this recipe off the tasty kitchen back in 2011. I have made it every year since! Hats off to the person who came up with this delicious dessert.

This recipe can be soy free, dairy free and gluten free! It’s all in the cake mix! Choose a soy free mix or get the gluten free yellow cake mix! You can also substitute the milk and butter for non dairy options!

Ingredients

  • FOR THE CRUST:
  • 1 box Yellow Cake Mix, 18 Ounce Box, Reserve 1 Cup
  • ½ cups Melted Butter
  • 1 whole Egg, Beaten
  • FOR THE MIDDLE LAYER:
  • 2 whole Eggs
  • ⅔ cups Evaporated Milk
  • ¼ cups White Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 15 ounces, weight Canned Pumpkin
  • ½ cups Brown Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • FOR THE TOPPING:
  • 1 cup Reserved Cake Mix
  • ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
  • ½ cups White Sugar
  • ½ cups Melted Butter

Instructions

  • Mix together the first 3 ingredients (make sure to reserve 1 cup of the cake mix and set that aside) and press into a 9×13 ungreased pan.
  • Combine the eggs, evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla and pour over the crust.
  • Lastly, mix together the topping ingredients: reserved cake mix, cinnamon, white sugar, and melted butter. Spoon over pumpkin filling.
  • Bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes (it will be a bit soft still).
  • Serve with whipped topping, warm. OR even better, serve it the next day, cold!
I definitely prefer these cold! They are so delicious and make me so happy!

I hope you enjoy these Pumpkin Pie Bars as much as I do! Follow me on Pinterest or right here on my blog for more recipe ideas!

Brown Sugar + Cinnamon Buttercream

Must Try!! This Brown Sugar Buttercream is AMAZING! This is definitely next level for Buttercream. It adds so much flavor and amps up any cupcake!

This buttercream is the perfect flavor for fall and all things holiday!

Try this Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream with my Simple Cinnamon Cupcakes for the perfect fall cupcake! Great for the holidays too!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup softened butter
  • ½ cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream optional
  • Cinnamon Sugar for topping

Instructions

  • Whip the butter until creamy. Then mix in the brown sugar
  • Add in the vanilla and cinnamon
  • Slowly add n the powdered sugar, 1/2 a cup at a time
  • Add in the cream 1 tablespoon at a time
  • Frost your cupcakes or cake and sprinkle on some Cinnamon Sugar for some added flavor!

Gingerbread Bars

I have made these Gingerbread Bars for the past two Christmas’. They have been circulating around Pinterest from various blogs. I am not entirely sure where they originated from, but my guess is Six Sister’s Stuff. They always have great recipes and this one is no exception!

The holidays are so busy with gatherings and everyone always expects me to bring dessert! (which I enjoy!) I try to make a variety of desserts and different flavors to mix things up a bit. I can tell you my husband appreciates that! These Gingerbread Bars are an unpredictable dessert, and everyone loves them, including myself. These are one of my favorites…Yum!! I will be taking these to work tomorrow, for a holiday party. I guarantee they won’t last long 🙂

These Gingerbread Bars incorporate all of those spices associated with Christmas smells, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and molasses! This dessert is just the right amount of sweet!

This is definitely a recipe to hold onto!!

Ingredients for the Gingerbread Bars

  • 1/2 Cup butter, melted
  • 3/4 Cup sugar
  • 1/4 Cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 Cup molasses
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 Cups flour
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Gingerbread Bar Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  • Grease a 13×9 baking dish. You can get my cake release recipe here. It’s easy to make and Soy Free!
  • In your stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and molasses.
  • Add in the egg, and mix until fully incorporated
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients
  • Slowly add them into the stand mixer, and mix thoroughly
  • Pour mix into baking dish and pat down to get it evenly distributed
  • Bake for 15-18 Minutes
  • Let cool before frosting!

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1/4 unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Frosting Instructions

  • In your stand mixer, cream butter and cream cheese together. Make sure they are both softened and at room temp. Otherwise your frosting will be chunky
  • Add in the vanilla and mix
  • Add in the powdered sugar slowly until all incorporated
  • Pour on the sprinkles, or cinnamon and serve!

Make sure to store them in the refrigerator!

I hope you enjoy these Gingerbread Bars. If you want more Fun and Frosted recipes, make sure to follow my blog, and my Pinterest page!

I really appreciate all of my subscribers! Thank you

Perfect Sugar Cookie Recipe from the 1940’s

This sugar cookie recipe is very special to me, because it was my grandmother’s recipe. She clipped it out of a newspaper sometime in the 1940’s. It was re-written on a piece of paper, which I still have, stains and all!

Everyone needs a basic sugar cookie recipe! Growing up it was always a tradition to make these sugar cookies for Christmas with my mom. I have carried this tradition on with my kids now too! I can remember as a kid always eating these while frosting them. I couldn’t resist. My kids do the very same thing! Frost one, eat one, frost one, eat one! Lol! These sugar cookies are the best! Let’s be honest, we need to continue to pass along recipes from the past when we can. These cookies are made with love!

This recipe makes a lot of cookies! You could cut it in half, thirds or make the whole thing and freeze some fully baked cookies for later. Bake these right, and they are soft and oh so delicious! Depending on the size of the cookie they will need to bake at different times. The bite size cookies can really bake in 4-5 minutes and the larger cookies are done in about six minutes. I like them a little brown on the bottom, but not on the top. Underdone is better than overdone!

You are definitely going to need a stand mixer for this recipe. There is a lot of flour and you have to add it slowly while the dough is mixing.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

  • 1 1/2 cups Shortening (I use Spectrum because it is soy free!)
  • 3 Cups sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 Cup milk
  • 3 tsp vanilla
  • 8 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp cream of tarter
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 400 degrees F
  • Blend shortening, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla
  • In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients
  • Slowly add in the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until well incorporated
  • Once it’s mixed, put in the refrigerator for 15+ minutes until chilled
  • On a well floured counter roll out dough 1/8th of an inch thick
  • Bake 5-7 minutes
  • Let fully cool before frosting

These cookies are so good! I hope you enjoy them 🙂

Cinnamon Swirl Cake

Who doesn’t love a warm Cinnamon Cake? It has one of those irresistible smells, like the smell when you walk past Mrs. Fields cookies or Cinnabon! This cake is great for dessert, breakfast/brunch or even a snack. I mean what cake isn’t!!!!!

I love a simple dessert, because I am a mom on the go and I don’t have a lot of time on my hands. With two wild boys, who are always on the go I am constantly running around. Everyone has a good intention to make dessert from scratch, but it doesn’t hurt to get a little help from a box mix. There is no shame with that. With seven simple ingredients this cake is fast, fun and oh so delicious!

Ingredients

For The Cake

  • 1 Box of Yellow Cake mix. (I used Duncan Hines – Soy Free!)
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1/3 Cup Oil ( I use Canola – again Soy Free)
  • 1 Cup Water

For the Cinnamon Mixture

  • 1/3 Cup melted butter
  • 1/3 Cup light brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Icing

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Grease 9×13 glass dish with butter and flour (you can use baking spray but I avoid that because it has soy). You can also use a metal dish as well. I like to use glass to see how the bottom is baked
  • Follow the instructions on the box of cake to make the cake
  • Pour into dish
  • Melt butter (30 seconds or so)
  • Mix in the brown sugar and cinnamon – Stir it up nice and good!
  • Drizzle over the cake and swirl it around with a knife. See my video below!
  • Bake for 20-24 Minutes
  • Let cool completely
  • I put half a can of Vanilla frosting in a piping bag and used Wilton tip #22
  • The rest of the frosting I put in the microwave for 15 seconds to drizzle on top. Yum! You can be as liberal with the frosting as you want
  • I hope you enjoy this recipe. Come back for more deliciousness!!