Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

2 cups flour2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¾ cup chocolate chips (other options: walnuts, raisins)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

¼ cup milk

¾ cup chocolate chips (other options: walnuts, raisins)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, baking soda, cloves and chocolate chips*; set aside. In a large mixer bowl beat together brown sugar and butter till well combined; beat in eggs. Add pumpkin and milk; mix well. Add flour mixture to sugar-pumpkin mixture, mixing until combined.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. For best flavor, wrap and store overnight before slicing.

*Many recipes mix these in after the batter is complete, but I heard somewhere that if the chips are coated in flour, they are less likely to sink to the bottom while cooking.

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 oz cream cheese (original Philly Brand please)

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla till light and fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar.  With the mixer on low, mix til combined, then increase the speed until light and fluffy again.

A must for Carrot Cake.  Completely covers two-layer round cake.  Half the recipe if only frosting the tops and not the sides.

Carrot Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups minus 2 Tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups finely grated carrot

1 cup extra light olive oil

5 eggs

Cream Cheese Frosting

Grease and flour two round cake pans.  To guarantee a clean removal of cake from the pans, also line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a mixing bowl combine the first 6 ingredients, stir well.  Add the next 3 ingredients, beat on low until combined.  Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Pour batter into pans.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  The cake is done if a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack, removing layers from pans after 10 minutes.  Peel parchment paper off the cakes and allow to cool completely.  Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

For a 13x9x2 cake, bake for 50-60 minutes.

Birthday Cake - repeating stars in M&Ms

This cake is pretty self-explanatory.  Just make a star in the center (lightly pressing a star-shaped cookie cutter works well), in the M&M color of your choice, and then repeat over and over.  I've done this cake a few times.  It looks best if the outlining M&Ms are close together--especially that second and third level.  So don't worry about even numbers or anything--just keep them almost touching.  You can keep all the outlines solid, but the girls really like how this one kind of drapes down the sides.

Birthday Cake - number and heart M&M's, Kit Kats, Whoppers

This cake is simple and easy to make, but has a big wow factor.  I like that.  All you do is make a two-layer cake and frost it (both layers are upside down so that the top is flat).  Lay down a row of Whoppers.  Press on Kit Kat sections (use a knife to cut the sections apart--you'll have neater edges).  This cake used nine Kit Kat bars.  We like how they look like exclamation points, but I don't sweat making sure the Whoppers and Kit Kat sections line up.  Then create the number and heart, and then the outlines, all in M&Ms.  And there you have it!

Snickerdoodles

I got this recipe from my trusty 1981 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, now out of print.

Dough

3 3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cinnamon Sugar

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Grease a cookie sheet.  Stir together first four ingredients.  In a separate bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds; add the 2 cups sugar and beat till fluffy.  Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; beat well.  Add dry ingredients to beaten mixture, beating till combined.  Form dough into 1-inch balls; roll in Cinnamon Sugar.  Place balls 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet; flatten slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass.  Bake in a 375 degree oven  about 8 minutes or till light golden.  Makes about 66.

Hollilyn's Chocolate Pudding Cake

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix

1 large box Chocolate pudding (cook and serve)
3 cups milk (whole milk of possible)

Chocolate Chips (about 1 cup)

Prepare pudding as directed on the box (Only Cook and Serve works). Mix pudding with cake mix until well blended. Put in a greased 9x13 pan. Top with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. The top will be shiny, but as long as the toothpick comes out clean, it is done.

Thanks Hollilyn!