Sweet Suppertime

heavy on the butter and sugar...

Pumpkin Pie Spice

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Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pumpkin Pie Spice.  Even if I didn’t bake I would want to own a jar of Pumpkin Pie Spice simply because it sounds so domestic and Fall-ish.  Since I do bake, and because so many recipes call for this combination of spices, it has become a staple in my kitchen.  I don’t necessarily have an aversion to purchasing Pumpkin Pie Spice, although it can be pricey.    The problem rests in the fact that I go through so much of it that I always seem to be out.  I guess what I am saying here is that I make Pumpkin Pie Spice because I can. There are 5 spices that I combine to make Pumpkin Pie Spice; allspice, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon.    A note about allspice.  My understanding of allspice is that, although it is it’s own dried berry and NOT a combination of spices, it does closely resemble the combined flavor of  cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.  The reason this is important to someone like myself is that I am not deterred in making Pumpkin Pie Spice just because I am out of something like say…allspice.  I just add a bit more cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in equivalent proportions.  There.  I hope I have convinced you not to put off making delicious things just because you are out of Pumpkin Pie Spice. Grab and empty jar and let’s get started.

You will need the following:  Nutmeg, Ground Cloves, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Ground Allspice.  These spices just make you happy!  Seriously. ingredients for Pumpkin Pie Spice

Into a bowl measure 6 Tablespoons ground cinnamon, 4 teaspoons ground ginger, 4 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground allspice and 2 teaspoons ground cloves.  They look so beautiful in the bowl don’t you think?

pumplin pie spice measured ingredients

 

Grab a fork and give it a stir until the spices are nicely incorporated.  Store in an airtight jar to keep all the aroma and flavor tucked nicely away and get busy making those pumpkin cookies or rolls or pie or bread…..and remember you made this just because you can.  Happy baking!

 

Pumpkin Pie Spice
 
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I love making large quantities of this to keep me from running to the store!
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Ingredients
  • In a bowl combine:
  • 6 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 2 teaspoons ground cloves
Instructions
  1. Mix together and store in an airtight container.

 

 

 

Crushed Peppermint

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crushed peppermint Confession.  I have a unique hobby.  I love to visit my favorite cooking/baking websites and shop.  I fill my cart with all kinds of gadgets and fun baking supplies.  It’s therapeutic for me.  What’s so strange about that you may ask?  Well, I almost never buy the items in my cart.   In the end, as I sit there chewing on my lower lip trying to decide if I should buy all those lovely items… it sometimes seems too expensive or I wonder if I will ever use whatever it is that I have whimsically selected for my cart.  My husband gets the biggest kick out of this part of my personality.    But.. where I might not feel comfortable going to a physical store and browsing for hours without shelling out a dime, I can wander to my hearts content on an online store.

Recently I had crushed peppermint in my virtual cart.  In fact it found it’s way there on several “trips” to my online hangouts.  It looks delicious and fun…and a bit expensive.  As I was putting away the last remnants of Christmas I ran across 2 lonely looking candy canes.    I thought of my often filled and abandoned cart.  I thought about putting those 2 candy canes to good use.  They would be great mixed with cookie dough, sprinkled on ice cream, mixed with hot chocolate or adorning a cupcake.    I put them front and center on the counter so that I would not  forget to crush them.  A little later I went back to crush those canes into submission and my husband had left me a love note:

crushing candy canes To crush your leftover candy canes, locate a clean jar, a plastic bag that seals, a piece of parchment and a mallet of some sort.  Fold a piece of parchment in half and slip it inside the bag.  This will become a double layer so that the bag doesn’t split open when you are taking out your aggression on the candy!  Unwrap your candy canes and break them into a about 3 inch pieces.  Place them in the middle of the folded parchment and place them in the freezer for about half an hour.  This helps the candy become especially brittle.

crushing candy canes Now we get to crush the candy.  There’s no need to get super ambitious here.  Just work a little at a time until you have the consistency that you want.  I personally don’t love huge chunks of crunchy peppermint candy so I worked until I had the consistency of sand with just a few larger pieces interspersed.

crushed candy cane Pretty, pretty, pretty….

crushing candy canes Remove it from the parchment and bag and store it in a small jar with a seal.  Use it to flavor your hot chocolate or sprinkle it about on your baked goods!

crushed candy cane Fun–and now you don’t have to wonder what to do with all those leftover candy canes on your counter!   I think I’ll start warming the milk for the hot chocolate, grab my ipad and do a little light shopping.

If you find you are not up to all that hard work–or if you threw away your candy canes just yesterday–one place you can find crushed peppermint is at King Arthur Flour.

Crushed Peppermint
 
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Wondering how to get the best crush out of those leftover Christmas candy canes?
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Recipe type: Kitchen Tips
Ingredients
  • 2-4 large candy canes
Instructions
  1. Place a piece of parchment, folded in half, inside a seal-able plastic bag.
  2. Unwrap candy canes and break into 3 inch pieces.
  3. Place the candy between the parchment paper and place in the freezer for at least one half hour.
  4. Remove from the freezer and using a mallet, begin hitting the candy until it is the consistency you desire.
  5. Place in a small jar with a lid and store for use with cupcakes, hot chocolate, cookies etc.

 

 

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter

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Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter

Well if you are tired of wading through wordy descriptions and far too many photos, today is your lucky day.  One photo.  Short description.  You want to make this butter.  You want to make it and you want to slather it on french toast, toast, pancakes, muffins, rolls, pumpkin bread and of course–cinnamon bread.  Whip it up in no time and eat it in even less!

5.0 from 1 reviews
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter
 
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Spread this on anything from pumpkin bread to french toast to add a little something special. This is great to take along to a party with your homemade bread.
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Ingredients
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • Sprinkle of cinnamon as garnish
Instructions
  1. Soften ½ cup butter
  2. In a mixer or with your muscles, whip butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until it is smooth and creamy.
  3. If you are feeling extra domestic pipe it into a dish using a decorating bag.
  4. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
  5. Store leftover portion in the refrigerator, if there is any 🙂

 

Fajita Seasoning

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You’ve got to love holiday food.  Turkey, ham, turkey, something involving cranberries, more turkey.  But there comes a point where I just cant take it anymore, eventually even the thought of turkey or any other gravy laden leftover makes me cringe a little.  My husband and I hit our anti-turkey wall today.  We needed a little zip, a little culinary kick if you will, so we did what any couple suffering from an excess of turkey would do. We whipped up some south of the boarder goodness.  There’s a lot to be said for a few tortillas and fresh salsa after a two day sweet potato binge.

Our fiesta amid today’s snowstorm couldn’t be complete without our South American standby: fajita seasoning. This recipe is a combination of all my favorite Mexican restaurant flavors. I use it on everything.  A teaspoon or so spices up tortilla soup and a dash adds kick to otherwise boring canned black beans. Today I used it as a rub for my fajita meat.  After slicing up my chicken in my brand new Cuisinart food processor {one of my lovely Christmas presents} I massaged about a teaspoon and a half of this fajita seasoning into the meat before tossing it in my frying pan.

Since I’m only cooking for two, a batch of this seasoning will get me through two or three dinners.  I keep any extra in an air tight container near the rest of my spices.

Fajita Seasoning

2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 chicken bullion cube {crushed}
*If I’m craving extra kick I’ll add 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix all the spices together and add to fajita meat/veggies.