Gimme some sugar

Have you ever broken the cardinal rule of baking? You know, the one where you’re supposed to read the entire recipe from start to finish, checking off the list of ingredients to ensure that you have all the necessary components for a finished product of perfection? Unfortunately, I often bake on a whim (or just have a minor case of ADD) and forget this step. You know, like the time I had to run out for more jam in the midst of making my peanut butter & jelly bars for July 4^th. Or the time I was elbow deep in mixing meatloaf, only to realize that I had nary an egg to bind the whole thing together. Well add another one to my list friends, because during Lindsey and my 1950’s playdate where we spent the entire day making (and subsequently taste testing) apple pies, I was midway through Pie #4 when I realized that I had no brown sugar in the house.

And isn’t brown sugar such a tough ingredient to keep? It’s sold in small packages so I use it up quickly (not to mention the fact that sometimes while baking, I eat small scoops of it since I love it so much - I know, gross). It hardens very easily. It’s not really a baking staple that always graces my cabinet, unlike white sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder or vanilla extract. Instead of stopping midway through our day o’fun to run out to the store, I realized that I could just whip up my own. And honestly? It couldn’t be easier. Or more delicious.

Simply mix 2 tbsp of molasses with 1 cup of granulated sugar. And don’t think the irony is lost on me that I was out of brown sugar, but somehow managed to have a more elusive ingredient like molasses on hand.

I used a fork to mix it altogether until it resembled the brown sugar I know and love.

Though it was a bit more orange that typical brown sugar and at first taste, the molasses was very apparent, I just went with it. We scooped some up and used it in Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie and it worked perfectly!

I stored the rest in an air tight container and by the next day, the molasses flavor had waned a bit and the mixture had turned golden brown. Success all around! And now I never have to worry about running out of brown sugar. Instead, I just have to worry about running out of molasses…

So there you have it. A quick and easy fix in the kitchen. So what I want to know is, have you ever run out of an important ingredient while cooking or baking? Got midway through your recipe only to send the hubs out running to the local store for that last ingredient? Or were you able to improvise? And completely unrelated bonus question: what’s getting you jazzed for the upcoming weekend? I have no plans aside from getting my teeth cleaned and catching up on Boardwalk Empire!

Psst...Miss out on our Two Girls, Two Guys, Four Pies series? Get the scoop from the beginning, here, here, here and here!

DIY Pumpkin Spice Coffee

It's Friday! We made it! Hurrah!

Now that our collective celebration is out of the way, let's get down to the fun stuff. Last night I baked a pumpkin pie (which I'm crossing my fingers that the crust cooked all the way through, but won't know for sure until it's go-time), made white turkey chili for dinner and curled up to watch Fringe. Is anyone else watching? It has been so outta control good this season. Plus, an hour of Joshua Jackson ain't so bad either. I'm so excited for spending time with friends and family this weekend and for getting to rock my brandy new Giants zip up on Sunday!

Anyhow, after two weeks of sipping on delicious pumpkin spice coffee, I thought it time to share my tale with all of you!

Today's recipe is a result of my plight of righteous indignation over expensive coffees and other coffee-laden drinks. You see, all summer I've had an injured wrist. After finally having it looked at by none other than a hand specialist, I found out that the problem was all stemming from a cyst - aka a giant egg on the top of my wrist. After a not-so-pretty shot and a splint, I was sent on my way. And since I was such a good patient, I felt that my inaugural pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks was just the ticket as a reward for my good patient behavior. You know, like I'm an eight-year-old.

Imagine my outrage that a Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte was nothing short of $5.17. I mean...seriously? Ok for a once in a while splurge, but how could I possibly justify over $5 per day to get my pumpkin spice fix? There had to be a better way.

And that's when I came across a yum-inducing recipe for Coffee Shop Pumpkin Syrup on Savvy Eats. Bingo. I altered the recipe a bit to eliminate more sugar and overall, this recipe really hits the mark for a super delicious autumn coffee. Oh and minus all the extra calories of a latte!

DIY Pumpkin Spice Coffee
*Adapted from Savvy Eats
2 tbsp canned pumpkin
1/4 C Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1/2 C + 2 tbsp water
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves (or leave out altogether if you have an aversion to its pungency)
ground coffee (as much as you want to make)
half and half or milk of your choice

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine pumpkin, Splenda, water, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Stir together until ingredients have melted together. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens, resembling syrup, but making sure that it doesn't get too thick. Stir frequently so that it doesn't burn. This entire process took about 5 minutes. I had many reservations about the Splenda's ability to syrupify, but it worked! Hurrah for not wasting calories! I poured mine into that pretty saucer you see above to cool and then transferred it to a plastic container and stored in the fridge.

Now it's morning and time to put it altogether! Get your coffee grounds and make your coffee as usual...

I store my Dunkin' Donuts original blend in this pretty mason jar that I scooped up for just a few buckaroos at Michael's. Isn't it so much nicer than dealing with that awful and annoying bag that coffee comes in?

Since the syrup has a tendency to sink to the bottom, I mixed a teaspoon of the syrup with a bit of half and half (ok, more than a bit...I like my coffee creamy! You see why I don't have calories to spare on extra sugar) in a mug and microwaved it for about 20 seconds so that the syrup could dissapate into the cream. Yum!

Not to mention that adding warm cream to the hot coffee makes all the difference in the world! I carry mine around in a sweet tumbler that I bought at Target a couple of years ago. Add any further sweetner that you deem necessary and you're set with your cheap DIY Pumpkin Spice Coffee! Now do the happy dance because you are saving mucho moola with this creation.

So there you have it. A cheap and easy way to enjoy an autumnal favorite. What do you think? Do you ever prefer to DIY things in the name of saving a few bucks? Am I the only one outraged by the prices of Starbucks and other specialty coffee shops? And bonus question, what are you most looking forward to this weekend?

Fall Treats: Apple Surprise Muffins

This past weekend, K and I braved the rain and snow for a long-awaited reunion with C out in State College, PA at her new Penn State home. Though the weather left much to be desired...and by much, I mean all to be desired...and wasn't quite the Fall foliage weekend I had counted on, one road trip, a football game, many red bulls, and lots of Domino's cheesy bread later, there's nothing quite like a girls only weekend with my sisters. Since C is in her first year at Penn State and living in the germ-infested, underfed dorms really leaves much to be desired, I thought a tasty, homemade autumn treat was in order to let my baby sister know how much I miss her. Though autumn is my favorite baking season due to the heightened pumpkin usage, I recognized that not all people are quite as obsessed as me. Keeping in mind K's penchant for chocolate and everyone's love of apple, I chose a chocolate-apple muffin as the ticket to filling everyone's tummies with Fall cheer.

This recipe was adapted from the cookbook Muffins: Sweet & Savory Comfort Food by Cyndi Duncan & Georgie Patrick. A gift from one of my bestests, this cookbook is fabulous for both dessert and dinner muffins. With options like bran, jalepeno corn, pb & j, rum raisin, frosted pumpkin, and chocolate chip banana to name a few, you basically can't go wrong.

2 medium apples, peeled, cored, diced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar + 1/2 C sugar
1/4 C chopped nuts (I used pecans...yum!)
1/4 C melted butter
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa
3/4 C applesauce
1 1/4 C flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. Combine apples, cinnamon, 1 tbsp sugar and nuts in small bowl; mix well and set aside. Thoroughly combine butter and cocoa; then add applesauce. In large bowl, combine flour, 1/2C sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in cocoa mixture and egg just until moistened. Place 1 tbsp batter in each of the 12 muffin cups; spoon 1 heaping tbsp aple mixture into each cup, pressing into batter. Cover each cup with 1tbsp batter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

My adjustments:
1) Since I was bringing this to a dorm full of hungry ladies (and left a few home for S and I wanted to be able to snack on one or two on the trip up) I doubled the recipe exactly.
2) I also left out the 'surprise'. In my haste to get all 24 muffins complete on a Thursday night, I simply folded the apple mixture into the wet ingredients, then filled the muffin cups with the mixture all combined.
3) I used muffin cups, not just the bare muffin tin
4) I also made a quick maple glaze for the top.*

Beware: These muffins are extremely moist. Between the applesauce and fresh apples, it makes for quite a wet muffin. I didn't mind as eating a dry muffin might as well be eating a cement brick.

Bottom Line: A great fall treat! Not quite as sweet as a cupcake, but more substantial than a cookie, these were a great weekend comfort food and a nice treat for C.

*Maple Glaze:
Combine 3 tbsp confectioner's sugar and 1 tbsp maple syrup. Whisk together and adjust ingredients to desired thickness. Drizzle on muffins.

The Cannon Girls take Penn State!