Flipped Out Pumpkin Cherry Cake

Pumpkin Cherry Upside Down Cake

When it comes to desserts, for me, there are many choices that do not tantalize.  I can walk away from ANYTHING vanilla, pecan pie, and most ice cream without a backward glance.  But there are four flavors that I cannot resist listed here in order of temptation:  dark chocolate, cherry, cinnamon and pumpkin.  This concoction hits three of the big four combining cherries, cinnamon and pumpkin in a beautiful upside down cake.  I flipped when I found this recipe, which is like having your pumpkin cake and eating cherry pie, too!  

Pumpkin Cherry Upside Down Cake

adapted from a recipe on BHG.com
2 10 oz. jars cherry preserves
1 cup Craisins
1/3 cup butter
1/2 t cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup butter softened
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 t vanilla
1 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil.  Grease foil; set aside.  In a saucepan, combine cherry preserves, Craisins, cinnamon and butter.  Heat and stir until boiling; remove from heat.  Pour 3/4 of the cherry mixture into prepared baking pan and spread evenly.  Set aside.









In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and spice.  In a mixer, combine butter and shortening.  Add sugar; cream.  Add eggs and vanilla until mixed.  Beat in pumpkin.  Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to the pumpkin mixture.  Beat after each addition until just mixed.  Carefully spoon pumpkin batter and smooth atop cherry preserves in baking pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack fro 5 minutes.  Turn onto a large patter.  Serve warm!  Use reserved topping if needed to cover entire cake.

Fall Colors and Seasonal Tastes for Thanksgiving

Sage Advice: Try Pumpkin Grits!

Cinnamon Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin Sage Grits

Grits.  They are the ultimate comfort food for Southerners.  Their mild flavor is perfect for add-ins such as cheese, peppers, shrimp and most any savory flavor.  I found an intriguing recipe online that features cinnamon roasted chicken and pumpkin (you knew it) grits and decided it must be next up for a try out in CindysCozyKitchen!  The pumpkin flavor is mild, but delectable, and serves as a delicious backdrop to the cinnamon-coated chicken.

Cinnamon Coated Chicken Ready to Roast

 Cinnamon Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin Sage Grits
adapted from a recipe on BHG.com

6-8 skinless, boneless chicken breast tenderloins
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 t salt divided
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cups instant grits
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
24 leaves fresh sage
1 t butter
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese (can be omitted to reduce calorie count)

Stir and Crisp in Butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Arrange chicken in baking dish. Drizzle chicken with oil and sprinkle with 1 t of the salt, cinnamon and black pepper on both sides.  Roast in oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Heat butter in small frying pan until melted, add 16-18 leaves of sage.  Cook and stir over medium-high heat until sage becomes crisp and browns.  Crumble.





In a saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Stir in grits until combined.  Stir in pumpkin, a tablespoon of the crumbled sage and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat, stir in cheese.

To serve, spoon grits onto dinner plates.  Crumble additional crisped sage over chicken.  Garnish grits with fresh sage leaves.  

Tricked Out Ogre Treats

Li'l Ogre Cupcakes

Still on the pumpkin kick, I found that I had bits and pieces to make something for Halloween.  Since tomorrow is the day when the spooks come out to haunt, there was no time to waste!  I started with a pumpkin cupcake, naturally, added a nice buttercream frosting, but the real fun began with multi-colored sprinkles, some pumpkin pie flavored candy corn, edible googly eyes and bones!  The result was an ogre cupcake that is as much fun to ogle as it is to eat!

Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

2 1/4 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
2 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, pumpkin pie spice in a bowl.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs; add pumpkin, mix.  Alternate adding dry ingredients with milk and blend until smooth after each addition.  Spoon batter into well greased and floured or paper lined muffin tins.  Bake at 375 about 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in middle of cupcake comes out clean.  *This recipe makes some slight changes to the pumpkin cupcake recipe posted previously, with a little less sugar and using pumpkin pie spice.  

 Buttercream Frosting Recipe

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 t salt

1 t almond extract

4 T milk or heavy cream

Cream butter in mixer.  Sift powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl.  Mix all together on low speed until the sugar and cocoa are incorporated.  Increase speed to medium and add almond extract and milk or cream.  Beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth.  Add more milk/cream if frosting is too thick.  This frosting works well to spread or use in a pastry bag to pipe.   

All Treats, No Tricks!

Dark Delight for Halloween Night

Dark Delight!

Even though my nest is empty, I continue to enjoy the child-like pleasures associated with Halloween.  When my boys were young we carved a pumpkin each year.  They weren't too crazy about the stringy pumpkin "guts," but toasted pumpkin seeds were a tasty treat!  Thinking it was time for a version that was better suited to adult palates, I decided to give this recipe a test.  The coating of dark cocoa, a little salt and a bit of sugar turns the ho-hum-kin seed into a yum-kin seed! 

Dark Side Pumpkin Seeds

Fresh pumpkin seeds (1-2 cups) from one 3 lb. pie pumpkin cleaned of strings but NOT rinsed

3 T granulated sugar

2 T brown sugar

1 T cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey's Special Dark)

2 t kosher or sea salt

Combine sugars, cocoa powder and salt in mixing bowl.

Add seeds and toss until coated.  The "sticky" on the unrinsed seeds will allow the coating to cling.  Spray a rimmed baking sheet lightly with Pam.  Bake in 350 degree oven about 20 minutes or until you hear the seeds begin to pop.  Remove from oven and loosen pumpkin seeds with spatula.  Allow to cool on baking sheet, as this will crisp the seeds.  

 Relax and enjoy your dark delight on Halloween night!  

Cats Rule! Jack-O-Lantern and Dark Side Treats

Perfect Pop of Pumpkin

de Calabaza Paleta

A friend, one of my darling formers, posted on Facebook that this is a "boots-in-the-morning, flip-flops-in-the-afternoon kind of day."  She described it perfectly!  Here in Texas, it feels like fall in the morning, but we're thinking summer by 3 p.m.  This treat, the pumpkin paleta, preserves the spice of autumn in a cool pop when the temp warms up.

Pumpkin Spice Paleta
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
3 scant T sugar
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 t pumpkin pie spice, or more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until blended.  Pour mixture into molds.  Freeze 4-6 hours.  Substituting whole milk for skim will add a creamier texture.  Skim milk keeps the calorie count down.  Delicious any way you mix it!

Warm Up, Chill Out

Pumpkin Latte

What could be more cozy than being curled up on a cool fall morning with a seasonal drink in hand?  On a relaxed weekend, the last thing I want to do is jump in the car and wait in a long line at the local coffee shop for a spiced latte.  With a few ingredients on hand, and no special equipment required, the only thing compulsory in acquiring this latte is about 5 minutes in the kitchen!  Warm up, chill out and enjoy!

Pumpkin Latte

2 cups milk

2 T canned pumpkin

3 T sugar

2 T vanilla

1 t pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup strong coffee

Whipped cream
Additional pumpkin pie spice for topping

Combine milk, pumpkin and sugar in saucepan and stir over heat medium heat; keep from scalding.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice.  Place mixture in a blender to froth, or use a whisk to froth by hand. 

Divide mixture into 2 coffee mugs and carefully pour coffee along the side of the cup to preserve froth.







Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with additional spice if desired.  To reduce calorie count, make this a skinnier latte by using non-fat milk and no topping.

Chocolate Makes a Good Pumpkin Great

Great Pumpkin Cookies

In my childhood, in the time before DVRs, I counted the fall days until "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" animated television special aired each year.  It was truly an event when the entire family settled in to watch Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang.  I chose this recipe for the nostalgic name, but I'm sharing it because it combines two of my favorite flavors:  pumpkin and CHOCOLATE!

Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

Great Pumpkin Cookies
2 cups flour
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Cream butter, gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla; mix well.  Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in morsels.  Drop dough onto lightly greased cookie sheets, bake 11 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet to cool.  Once cool, drizzle chocolate over each cookie.

Cool on Wire Rack

Chocolate Drizzle

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate

1 T shortening

Melt chocolate in microwave or use double boiler method.  Add shortening and stir until smooth.  Place chocolate in heavy, sealable plastic bag.  Create a pastry bag for piping by snipping one corner of the Ziploc.  Drizzle chocolate over cooled cookies.  Chocolate will remain slightly gooey.  Halve shortening if you wish chocolate to set.  

A Little Chocolate Makes Pumpkin Great!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

I have a new job!  Ellis Home and Garden in Longview hired me as their event specialist, and our first event, Pumpkin Glow, is less than three weeks away.  Many of you have noted that CindysCozyKitchen has been on hiatus for a month or so.  Blame it on the pumpkins!


I feel fortunate to have work that is fun and fulfilling.  The store is retail, but they have a heart for the community, especially for children and families.  While I am working towards the event, I am also spending time in our area schools meeting teachers and principals, forming relationships that will forge partnerships in the months to come; that's gratifying.  My other duty, the piece that is pure pleasure, is decorating pumpkins with children...lots and lots of pumpkins...724 pumpkins to be exact!

Pumpkin Grin!

After cutting eyes, noses, mouths and wigs to create almost 500 pumpkin faces, it is impossible to get pumpkins out of my head!  Instead of shedding the pumpkin glow, I'm embracing it with a delicious recipe for pumpkin cupcakes.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed cooked or canned pumpkin

3/4 cup milk

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs. Blend in pumpkin. Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, blending until batter is smooth after each addition. Spoon batter into well-greased and floured or paper-lined muffin pan cups. Fill about 2/3 full. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup shortening

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

3 cups powdered sugar 

3 tablespoons half and half 

Place butter, shortening, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in mixer.  Mix until smooth.  Alternate adding powdered sugar and half and half until the desired consistency is reached.  Place buttercream frosting in a pastry bag and use star tip or petal tip to pipe frosting on the cupcakes.  Sprinkle with a small amount of cinnamon if desired. 

Cinnamon Desired