Pumpkin-Pecan Cookies...with Brown Butter Frosting

I saw this YUMMY recipe posted in the Cooking Club magazine this month...I thought to myself, "hmmm...I LOVE pumpkin bread...I LOVE cookies...and I LOVE butter...who cares if it's brown!" After a quick run through of the ingredients I found that I had everything I needed...plus a little extra so I could put my own little twist on it!

Here's what you need:

2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 C Canned pure pumpkin**(I used the pumpkin pie mix instead of canned pumpkin, if you do that you won't need the cinnamon below...)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 C Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 C Chopped pecans, toasted**(Place them on a baking sheet, and bake them at 325 until they turn slightly darker.)
**I then decided to add 1/2 package of Jello Instant Pudding mix "Pumpkin Spice" to the mixture!

Frosting
1/2 C Butter
2 1/2 C Powdered sugar
1/4 C Cream Cheese**(I added this...it just tastes soo good!)
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1 C Heavy Whipping Cream (I added this to my frosting...you can use less if you want...it makes it so much fluffier)
1/4 pkg of remaining Jello Instant Pudding Mix..."Pumpkin Spice"**(I STRONGLY suggest you use this, it makes the frosting taste perfect!)
1/4 cup chopped, toasted, pecans

Okay, just make the cookies as you normally would...dry ingredients then wet ingredients mixed in...they will turn out a bit "gooey" more than regular cookies, just grab a tablespoon and scoop them onto a baking sheet, lined with Parchment paper, for an easy clean up afterward!

Bake them at 325, for 18-20 minutes...or until a toothpick comes out clean. (so it could be faster...just check!)

They come out really puffy looking...like this.

To me they taste like bite sized pumpkin breads...in the shape of a cookie! Very moist and delicious! But you're not done! Don't forget the frosting!

For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together until they're smooth. Then add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Then slowly add the heavy whipping cream until it's the perfect consistency. Be careful NOT to overmix...or your cream will seperate!

After you're done, spread a generous amount onto each cookie and sprinkle them with chopped, toasted pecans!

If you don't want to eat them all...give them away as gifts! They're so perfect for this time of year! YUMMY!!!!! (I know I say that about everything...but seriously, they are!)

Paris' lost a tooth...literally!

Paris "FINALLY got a loose tooth", the kids' words, not mine! I always HATE it when they go from the cute little teeth phase...to the big awkward looking teeth! I am always amazed at just how big the new teeth are and how they seem to fit into their little mouths! Ah...in any event, it became loose last Thursday and after A LOT of wiggling...it fell out today at school!

She was beaming ear to ear when she got in the car to tell me it had fallen out:)

We decided that we had better go home and celebrate...Phil took it as an invitation to go out to dinner,(it really doesn't take much) which meant Shavonne and Greg were dialed too! We went out to Arribas!

While I was taking Paris' picture I had a little one saying, "I do" "mommy" "cheese"...

Of course I couldn't resist...and then I would just be mean if I didn't take this one's little picture:) The rest of the kids were "throwing wishes" (pennies) into the pond outside!

After dinner we went home and Paris was making her PB&J sandwich for lunch tomorrow and I guess when she was throwing away her crusts...she accidentally threw it away too! Unfortunately she didn't notice until much later when it was time for bed:(
After a loooong talk about how I couldn't go digging through the garbage...(sorry a tooth just isn't worth it!) I suggested she write a letter to the tooth fairy and tell her what happened. This is 1 of the 2 notes the tooth fairy received...I will stay on the look out for the other letter...it's so cute!

Transaltion: "Paris told me to write this note. Paris wants to know how many children do you have. What are there names are they boys or girls. What age are they? Write back please! Xo XO ♥' Brooklyn"

Paris must still be holding on to the note that the "Tooth fairy" replied to! I'll just have to find her "special" hiding place?!

Little Ghosts...and Truffles!

I was in the mood to make something...so while I was in the kitchen "attempting" to make "cake pops" from Bakerella's blog...which, if you really want to see what they're supposed to look like...look there! Way flipping cute!
I dipped my white ones into almond bark...
And my chocolate ones into some dark chocolate ganache I whipped up...they were good, but way too rich/sweet if you ask me! So I tried rolling them into balls half the size...and that was better! I was getting them ready for a quick freeze, so they would stand up!
While I was in the kitchen...these little monsters were running around the house with my "chair"ghosts (they were on the back of my chairs) and saying ooooh! I was bugged that they took them off..but still had to laugh because it was pretty cute!

I talked them into getting a photo...don't you just love the little guitar Haven's strumming?

I swear there's NEVER a dull moment here!

A Twist on Rachel Ray...

So I was watching Rachel Ray the other day on t.v. and she made these really yummy looking "blue" potatoes that were broiled in the oven! What? You're wondering what they went with...oh yea for all the meat lovers out there she served them with Blue Cheese Mushroom Burgers.

Everyone knows I'm not a meat fan...although I DO LOVE BACON! Soooo, I made a variation of the meal she made...

Since Phil WAS going to be eating...that meant I definitely had to include the burgers...AND since he's not a mushroom or blue cheese fan, I improvised!

If you would like her recipe..."Burgers with Bacon Bits and Blue Cheese with Blue Mashed Potatoes"

I basically just switched out the blue cheese, for sharp cheddar and mixed it in with the sirloin and definitely left out the mushrooms! Unfortunately, this is where my non-excitement of the burger shows...(I forgot to take a picture of the finished product!) Phil, the kids, and Shavonne and Greg thought they were REALLY tasty, so if you're into "gourmet" burgers try the recipe!

Now for my favorite part of the dish! I substituted regular potatoes for the "blue potatoes"...whipped them up with a little cream, butter, and salt and pepper until they were light and fluffy...

Then put them into a zip lock back with an end cut off and swirled them onto some parchment paper. Aren't they cute?

I decided to go nuts and sprinkle them all with a little paprika, cheese, and left over bacon bits from the burgers!

I stuck them under the broiler just until they started to brown a little...YUM! They lift right off onto a spatula and are so easy to put on a plate! So again, if you're in the mood to do something different with items you usually make...TRY this one!

Getting Ready...Still!

Okay so we have this HUGE cauldron, so what does Phil decide to do like 2 weeks ago? Oh I don't know....maybe fill it to the brim with CANDY!
I am PROUD to say...that I haven't had 1 freakin piece! Thank you very much! This thing is like halfway gone! And I don't even think I can blame the kids! It's all PHIL! (I think he get's to eat it...and I seem to gain it! What teamwork!)
Here's my awesome "web designs"! I have way too much fun when it comes to decorating...especially when I get to be REALLY creative! My kids get soooo excited!

I just REALLY love my BOO sign...it's all sparkly...yet still so DARK:)
I threw a spider in the top web so that Haven and Madison wouldn't touch the webs...I might have let it slip that the spider would come down and bite them if they touched the webs too...This is my "craft" room...and right now it feels like an autopsy room while it houses all my decorations that are loosely being stored here until they can be revived in a few weeks!
Meet Greta. She used to be my moms...we would see her come out of the attic every year around this time...She's lasted through 12 kids! Us as kids and now mine! This witch is pretty impressive! Ha Ha! I had to!
I painted these "creeps" out of lightbulbs after seeing them in a magazine a few years ago...I was so impressed with myself!
Okay...as soon as I saw this thing I had to get it!!!!! It's a motto we like to live by:)

Everyday something new seems like it's "creeping" into my house or my shopping bags for Halloween! I swear they just come out with better and better decorations...EVERY YEAR!

FEAR FARM 2009!

Every year we take a trip to the hard rockin' Fear Farm! This year it's actually sponsored by KUPD the local "Hard Rock" station that Phil listens to, so it was literally rockin'!

We met up with Shavonne and Greg first at In-N-Out...got all the hungers and thirsts out of the way then we were off to meet up with Josh, Jackie, and their kids!

It was soo completely dusty! So almost every picture is covered with dust spots sorry!

Shavonne's Fam...

Our lovely Fam...check us out! Don't we look like we totally fit in?! Ha Ha!

Jackie and Josh eluded the family photo portion...so I got her and Summer, when she wasn't paying attention...Jackie you look beautiful even when you're not ready!!! It's not fair!

I think we held the record for the most kids on one trip through the maze at one time! It was fun! It was dark so it was a good thing we came prepared with flashlights! This year there was NO map for us to follow...well unless you count the ones the guys saw when they were purchasing our tickets! Might I mention Phil's like the guy in the movie "Momento" sometimes! His memory seriously sucks sometimes!! Soo, we were the blind leading the blind through this thing! It was supposed to be 2 miles if you did it correctly...which I'm thinking we didn't because we came out the same way we started! Suck! We thought we were so freaking cool too!

Madison and Haven held hands pretty much the entire time! It was so cute. They kept talking about the beautiful horse they saw...which I will mention later!

The kids found some nice souvenir's along the way...yum!

We stopped for some photo ops...of course!

The maze next to us was a "haunted maze" and there's a chain linked fence between the two...so you could hear and see some of the stuff going on! It was crazy, they had a headless horseman on a black horse wandering the corn and every once in a while he would charge people! Talk about freaky!!!!! Since we were making a bunch of noise, he galloped over, but I didn't get a flipping picture! He looked so LEGIT!
Oh well, maybe next year.
Actually we all want to go as couples and do the thing as a race!

It was probably low 70's while in the corn...high 70's outside, so Shavonne said it's almost Hot Chocolate weather...do they sell any here? I laughed and showed her the sign above us! Ice Cream and Cold Drinks! Only in Arizona!