Apple Cranberry Cake

It's no secret that my favorite thing about fall is the variety of apples that are available. Anything I can make with apples is a winner to me, so recently when I needed to make a dessert to take to a friend's house I knew apples had to be involved. This bundt cake is everything you want in a great fall recipe. The apples make the cake extremely moist, & the cranberries offer that perfect tart bite. The original recipe didn't specify the types of apples, but Honeycrisp are my favorite so that's what I used. I also made the addition of cinnamon because everything's better with a little cinnamon. I highly recommend that you try this very soon; I've made it twice & have gotten rave reviews both times.

Apple Cranberry Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups apples, peeled and diced
1 cup canola oil
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Topping
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir until blended; batter will be stiff. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour 25 minutes. Mix all topping ingredients together until well blended. Pour over and down sides of hot cake while it's still in the pan. Let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan.

Donut Muffins

Muffins? Donuts? Muffins that taste like donuts? Yes please! For the first time in I don't know how long I actually had the chance to try a new recipe tonight. I came across this one a while ago on The Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen. If you've read this blog, you know that I'm all about the easy recipes, & this one is so easy. And the taste...cinnamon-sugar cake donut deliciousness. You have to try these!

Donut Muffins

1-¾ cup Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Nutmeg
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
⅓ cups Oil
¾ cups White Sugar
1 whole Egg
¾ cups Milk
_____

FOR THE TOPPING:
¼ cups Butter
⅓ cups White Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees & grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the white sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl.
Shake muffins out while still hot. Dip muffins in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon mix. Let cool.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

I recently came across a post by Risa from Baked Perfection with a recipe for Snickerdoodle Blondies that she had found. I love snickerdoodles, so I bookmarked the recipe. I had a little free time this evening, so I decided to whips this recipe up. The original recipe called for 2 cups of brown sugar, but I only had 1 so I had to substitute with a cup of granulated sugar. These blondies are so delicious & super easy to make!

Snickerdoodle Blondies

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and/or line a 9x13 inch pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Makes 20-24 bars.

TWD - Dressy Chocolate Loafcake

Well there's no TWD post for me this week because of all things for a baker to own, I don't have a loaf pan. I know...I'm just as shocked as you are! How to any respectable baker not have a loaf pan?! I didn't realize it until I went to bake this cake. Ah well...such is life.

This week's recipe was chose by Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes, so head over to her blog for the recipe. Also be sure to visit the TWD blogroll for everyone's gorgeous cake creations.

TWD - Raisin Swirl Bread

No TWD for me this week...I've been swamped with cake/cupcake orders. I'll be back next week!

Check out Susan of Food.Baby for the recipe, & the TWD blogroll for everyone's beautiful loaves.

TWD - Tender Shortcakes

Well well...look who's finally back in the blogging game. What better reason to come back to the blog than for a delicious shortcake/berry treat? This week Cathy of The Tortefeasor chose Dorie's Tender Shortcakes. This has been by far the easiest recipe we've had on TWD. The key was to not mix it a lot, but I had a problem with getting a lot of the flour incorporated into the dough. It was extremely loose & crumbly so I just piled the dough up as best I could & prayed that it would bake correctly. Sure enough...those little beauties baked up perfectly! I've been craving blackberries lately so I chose to put them with these shortcakes. Talk about heaven on a plate. These are the perfect summer treats, & they're great ways to impress your family & friends at your next dinner party. They look so hard to do, but they're so simple & oh so delicious!

 

Check out Cathy's blog for the recipe, & the TWD blogroll for everyone's creations!

TWD - Dulce de Leche Duos

Happy Tuesday!!

This week's TWD recipe, Dulce de Leche Duos, was chosen by Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake. I was a little concerned at first about whether or not I would be able to find dulce de leche at my local grocery store, but it was super easy to find in the ethnic foods aisle. I loved this recipe because it only had a few ingredients & was so easy to put together. My only issue came when scooping out the dough onto the cookie sheets...the dough was extremely soft & a little hard to work with. I was afraid that the cookies wouldn't hold their shape, but they turned out beautifully. They were soft & perfect with my Sunday morning cup of coffee. These cookies are absolutely delicious & a great addition to anyone's cookie repertoire.

Head on over to Jodie's blog for the recipe, & check out the rest of the TWD blogroll!