homemaking

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

October 18, 2019 by Sandra 1 Comment

A special thanks to Good Cook for the bakeware and kitchen tools I received to create
a delicious recipe for pumpkin spice cupcakes.

This fall, I’ve been going a little crazy when it comes to pumpkin.

But who isn’t, right? It’s that time of year. Pumpkin EVERYTHING.

I’m all for it.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Since I have a strong love of pumpkin, I’ve naturally tried to get my family to share in this love, so that we can enjoy more pumpkin-laden foods together. Honestly, I’m surprised by how easy it has been this year. 😉

But I shouldn’t be. Because who doesn’t want to eat pumpkin spice cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting?

That’s right. They most certainly do.

Good Cook Bakeware
This week, I threw caution to the wind and made a huge mess in the kitchen baking with my boys. We made a big batch of pumpkin spice cupcakes using Good Cook bakeware.

And they turned out beautifully.

I actually compared the cupcakes made in the Good Cook pan to cupcakes made in one of my older muffin pans, and the ones baked in the Good Cook pan turned out superior in shape and size compared to the ones baked in my old pan. Those came out wider and flatter, but they still tasted amazing, which is what really counts.

Here’s the recipe:

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1-1/4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup of almond milk combined with 1 tablespoon of vinegar -- left standing for 5-10 minutes)

Instructions

Adjust an oven rake to the middle position, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar, then adds eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition. Add the pumpkin puree to the mixture, then slowly whisk in the buttermilk.
Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined.
Line muffin pans with cupcake liners and fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes.
Cool completely, then frost with buttercream frosting (see recipe below).

https://thesensiblemom.com/2019/10/recipe-pumpkin-spice-cupcakes-buttercream-frosting/

Buttercream Frosting Recipe
While the cupcakes are scrumptious on their own, the buttercream frosting makes them even better. I think you’ll love this recipe. It’s easy to whip up, and takes just a few ingredients.

Here’s the recipe:

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 stick of butter, softened
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons almond milk

Instructions

In a medium sized bowl, stir ingredients together until incorporated.

https://thesensiblemom.com/2019/10/recipe-pumpkin-spice-cupcakes-buttercream-frosting/

Have you ever baked pumpkin cupcakes? What’s your favorite way to use pumpkin in a recipe?

Scrumptious Baked Pumpkin Donut Muffins

September 20, 2019 by Sandra 4 Comments

Do you know what resourceful people do when they want to make donuts, but they don’t own a donut pan?

They make donut muffins.

And that’s what I did.

I made the most scrumptious donut muffins ever. Ever. Ever. Ever.

They’re that good. 😉

Baked Pumpkin Donut Muffins

Here’s the recipe:

Baked Pumpkin Donut Muffins

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg (for Vegan donuts, use egg-replacer - I used Ener-G Egg Replacer)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup rice milk

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to the middle position, and then preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease muffin pan or line with baking cups.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and ground ginger.
In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, brown sugar, egg (or alternate egg substitute), vanilla extract, pumpkin, and rice milk.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and, with a spatula, mix just until ingredients are incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly among baking cups. *I used a 1/4 measuring cup and a spoon to measure out the batter and then scoop it into the baking cups.
Place donuts in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few crumbs on it.
Allow donuts to sit in the muffin pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack and glaze. See recipe below this one for the glaze.

https://thesensiblemom.com/2019/09/baked-pumpkin-donuts/

Donut Glaze Recipe

Donut Glaze

Ingredients

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix ingredients together until smooth.

https://thesensiblemom.com/2019/09/baked-pumpkin-donuts/

I used a regular nonstick muffin pan (not mini) and found that with this type of pan, you can expect to make eleven absolutely delicious donut muffins.

I hope your family enjoys these as much as mine. 🙂

Have your ever made donuts at home?

DIY: How to Make Homemade Hair Conditioner

September 13, 2019 by Sandra 6 Comments

Of all the do-it-yourself recipes I’ve tried, homemade hair conditioner is one of the easiest.

It’s seriously simple and only requires three ingredients: hot distilled water, apple cider vinegar, and jojoba oil.

That’s it! Best of all, it only takes a few minutes to make at home.

Apple Cider Vinegar? On My Hair?

If you have apple cider vinegar in your home or have used it in the past, you know that it has a strong odor; so you may be apprehensive about adding such an ingredient to your hair conditioner.

Let me tell you, while the apple cider vinegar’s scent is noticeable when you apply the hair conditioner, it’s barely discernible as your hair dries.

And it’s undetectable once your hair is completely dry.

Storing Homemade Hair Conditioner

My favorite way to store DIY hair conditioner is in an inexpensive dispenser bottle. The one I currently use was $0.98 at Walmart; and it’s perfect because of the long tip that makes it easy to apply the conditioner effectively. This is important because this particular hair conditioner has a watery consistency and is quite different from the store bought versions.

Do you know what else makes this conditioner different?

It isn’t full of chemicals.

It only has three ingredients, and you can pronounce them all. Plus, it works! 🙂

How to Make Hair Conditioner Video

To show you how quick and easy it is to make this recipe, I created a video for you.

And here’s the Printable Hair Conditioner Recipe:

DIY Homemade Hair Conditioner

Ingredients

1 cup distilled water, hot
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon jojoba oil

Instructions

In a measuring cup with a spout (for easy transfer) or even in the container that will hold your conditioner, combine the ingredients and stir or shake, if you're using a dispenser bottle. If necessary, transfer hair conditioner to a different container for storage. Use as desired.

https://thesensiblemom.com/2019/09/diy-make-homemade-hair-conditioner/

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. It’s definitely a keeper. 🙂

What are some of your favorite DIY recipes?

How to Make Homemade Pizza from Scratch (Pizza Dough Recipe) + Cooking with Kids using Curious Chef

August 26, 2019 by Sandra 6 Comments

Thanks so much to the folks that work with Curious Chef for the 5-Piece Pizza Kit we received to review and share.

Hi, guys! Today, I’m sharing a video on how to make homemade pizza from scratch. I show you how my family makes pizza, and I show you how to make my favorite homemade pizza dough recipe.

And cooking with kids is a lot of fun, right? 🙂

So in this video, my daughter, Elisabeth, joins me and shows you how she uses her Curious Chef pizza kit kitchen tools to help Mommy make pizzas.

We ended up making pepperoni, veggie, and mini pepperoni pizzas, and they all turned out so delicious!

I hope you enjoy the video, and as always, thanks so much for watching!

Here’s the Delicious Homemade Pizza Recipe:

Homemade Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

For the Pizza Dough:

4 cups of bread flour, plus more for the counter (you can also use all-purpose flour if you don't have bread flour in your pantry)
1 envelope of instant or RapidRise yeast (or measure out 2-1/4 teaspoons if you're measuring the yeast out of a jar)
1-3/4 teaspoons salt (I use Himalayan Pink Salt)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-3/4 cups warm water (around 120 degrees)

For the Pizzas:

pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
your favorite pizza toppings
olive oil for brushing the outside of the pizza crusts

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt.
Stir in the olive oil with a rubber spatula. Then pour in the warm water and stir the ingredients together until a rough dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for a few minutes. Then shape the dough into a round ball and place it in a large bowl that's been lightly oiled with olive oil.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and then set the dough aside in a warm place and allow it to rise for about 1 to 2 hours.
Once the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, knead it for a few minutes, then shape it into a "log."
Divide the dough into three equals parts, and knead each part into a dough ball.
Using a rolling pin, roll out one ball of dough at a time to create the pizza crust.
Once the pizza dough has been rolled out, place it on a pan, and add sauce, cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings.
Brush the outer crust of the pizza with olive oil, then place it on the lowest rack in an oven that's been preheated to 500 degrees. Set a timer and bake for 8 minutes. *Your baking time may vary slightly depending upon your oven and pizza toppings.
Remove the pizza from the oven and enjoy! Repeat steps 7 through 10 for the remaining two balls of dough.

https://thesensiblemom.com/2019/08/how-to-make-homemade-pizza-from-scratch-pizza-dough-recipe-cooking-with-kids-using-curious-chef/

You can find the Curious Chef 5-Piece Pizza Kit on Amazon using the affiliate link here.

homemaking

Baked Pumpkin Donut Muffins

Here’s the recipe:

Donut Glaze Recipe

Apple Cider Vinegar? On My Hair?

Storing Homemade Hair Conditioner

How to Make Hair Conditioner Video

And here’s the Printable Hair Conditioner Recipe:

Here’s the Delicious Homemade Pizza Recipe:

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