I think I am way overdue to post something savory around here! I love this time of year with all of the sweet treats and other goodies, but we all still need to eat dinner, right?

This is a pretty basic  seared pork tenderloin recipe, but the addition of a balsamic-cranberry sauce turns it into something a bit more seasonal and adds another level of flavor. I love using fresh cranberries this time of year, but you can substitute canned whole berry cranberry sauce if you prefer. I served the pork with mashed baby red potatoes to soak up some of the delicious sauce, and my family (even the kids!) really enjoyed it.

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Cranberry Sauce

• 1 cup whole cranberries
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp sugar (more to taste, if desired)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin
• salt
• pepper
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup chopped shallot (or onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Bring water, sugar, and cranberries to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the berries and most of the water cooks off, leaving a homemade whole-berry cranberry sauce.

Preheat oven to 400. Add olive oil to an oven-proof sauté pan over medium-high heat. Pat pork loin with paper towels to dry. Season liberally with salt and pepper and place in pan. Sear pork on all sides and place pan in the oven. Roast until thermometer inserted into center registers 155, about 20 minutes.Let meat rest in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a plate and tent with foil.

Place pan over medium-high heat and add butter, shallot, and rosemary. Cook until shallots are soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add broth and scrape up the bits from the bottom and sides of the pan. Add cranberry sauce and vinegar and bring to a boil, reducing heat to medium-low and simmering for ~15 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Slice tenderloin to desired thickness and serve with sauce.

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride, who adapted the recipe from Bon Appetit.

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Back when I posted my All About Apples round-up, I included some apple recipes that I couldn’t wait to make during apple picking season. This recipe for caramel apple cheesecake bars was one of them and I finally got around to making them this past weekend. I know I made these bars for the first time a couple of years ago, but never blogged about them. I had completely forgotten about them until I saw them over at Delicious Meliscious. I am so glad that she blogged about them because they are delicious and I won’t forget about them again!

There are four layers to these bars. A buttery, sweet crust is topped with a layer of creamy cheesecake, then spiced chopped apples, and finished off with a streusel crumb topping. They are a bit more time-consuming than most bar recipes, but the taste is well worth the effort!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Streusel topping, recipe follows
• 1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 30 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping.

For the Streusel Topping:

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Source: Paula Deen via Foodnetwork.com, as seen on Delicious Meliscious.

 P.S. If these bars look good to you, you will also love this Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie!

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I remember when Starbucks opened in my town several years ago, I was so excited that my beloved White Chocolate Mocha would no longer be just a rare treat when shopping in the big city. Then, the seasons changed and I was introduced to those beautiful red cups that only come out during the holidays. It was the beginning of a serious relationship between me and the famous Eggnog Lattes.

So you can imagine how excited I was when I was chosen by Foodbuzz and Starbucks to review the new Starbucks K-cups. I work nights and my husband works days, but we both drink coffee. It was becoming really inconvenient to make sure there was fresh coffee for both of us, but the Keurig one cup coffee brewer has solved that problem for us. The only thing better than the Keurig, is the fact that Starbucks has started manufacturing K-cups. The K-cups are made with the same high quality coffee that you expect from your local Starbucks store, but now you can make it at home in single servings. You can buy your favorite Starbucks coffee flavors including Breakfast Blend, House Blend, Pike Place Roast, French Roast, Sumatra and Cafe Verona, as well as Tazo Tea K-cups at your local grocery or department store.

While I love a fresh cup of the House Blend straight from the Keurig, I decided to see if I could save some cash this holiday season and make my own Eggnog Lattes at home. After some googling, it looks like Starbucks uses a 2:1 ratio of eggnog to milk, steamed and blended with espresso to make their lattes. After some experimenting with both the House Blend and French Roast K-cups, eggnog and milk (it was a tough experiment, let me tell you), the recipe below is very, very close to my favorite Eggnog Latte. It is rich, creamy and has the perfect balance of coffee and eggnog. I like my coffee a little sweeter, so I added a touch of brown sugar, but feel free to leave it out.

Homemade Eggnog Latte Coffee

• 1 cup of brewed Starbucks coffee (French Roast for a bolder coffee flavor)
• 1 cup eggnog
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• whipped cream, for garnish
• ground cinnamon or nutmeg, for garnish

In a small sauce pan, whisk together the eggnog, milk and brown sugar over medium heat until steaming. Poor into a large (20 oz) mug and mix with the coffee, top with whipped cream and ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

Note: This makes the equivalent to a Venti Starbucks eggnog latte.

Source: A Made in Melissa’s Kitchen original.

Disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received two boxes of Starbucks K-Cups and a Keurig Brewing System, but the opinions in this post are 100% my own.

P.S. Are you on Pinterest? I have started adding a “Pin it” button to the bottom of my posts to make it for you to pin things!

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I know I did! I was lucky enough to host this year, and one of my favorite things about hosting is that I get to plan most of the menu! My favorite part of the day? Dessert of course. It has been well documented on this blog that I do not like to bake pies. So, other than my favorite pecan pie, I left the pie baking to the experts (my mother-in-law and sister-in-law!). But I still wanted to contribute something pumpkin, enter these Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Pots.

I could have made any number of pumpkin-y things (pumpkin whoopie pies, pumpkin cake truffles, a pumpkin roll, pumpkin snickerdoodles, pumpkin cupcakes, just to name a few), but I loved the look and sound of these little desserts. A pumpkin cheesecake mixture is layered with toasted graham cracker crumbs, pecans and maple whipped cream. These were a huge hit on Thanksgiving day, and may just make another appearance at Christmas.

A note about the serving dishes, I used these dessert cups that I found at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and just did one layer. I got eight servings out of the recipe, but the original poster doubled up the layers in a different kind of dessert cup and got four servings. Just something to keep in mind when you are planning what to serve these in!

Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Pots

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (or gingersnap cookie crumbs)
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup cold whipping cream, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 14 ounces pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional – a natural thickener)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 4 teaspoons real maple syrup
• 4 whole pecan halves

Melt the butter in a small saute pan over medium heat, add the cracker crumbs and toast for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, sugars, 1/4 cup whipping cream and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, spices and xanthan gum and mix well.

Divide the toasted graham cracker crumbs between your dessert bowls (you may not use all of them), top the cracker crumbs with the chopped pecans and gently push into the bottom of the bowls.

Transfer the pumpkin cheesecake mixture into a piping bag, or a large ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. Gently pipe into the dessert bowls on top of the graham cracker crumbs.

To make the maple whipped cream, pour the whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high until soft peaks form, add the maple syrup and continue to beat until firm. Pipe or spoon the maple whipped cream onto the pumpkin cheesecake and garnish with whole pecans. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

Source: Adapted from Good Life Eats.

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Here is that apple recipe I promised you! I first saw this caramel apple dip on Pinterest (if you have not heard of Pinterest, check it out!) and found a reason to make it pretty quickly. Sweetened cream cheese is layered with thick, gooey caramel dip and topped with crunchy toffee bits. Thick slices of apples are used for dipping, but really a spoon would work just as well.

I halved the recipe in the picture below, but if you are making it for a crowd, stick to the original, I promise it will get eaten!

Caramel Apple Dip

• 2 8-oz packages of cream cheese (regular or 1/3 less fat), softened to room temp 
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 16 oz carton caramel dip, such as Marzetti’s
• 1 cup toffee bits
• 4 large Granny Smith Apples, sliced thick
• lemon juice  (if you are not serving immediately)

In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy. Spread mixture evenly onto a platter. Spread caramel apple dip on top of the cream cheese layer. Sprinkle top generously with toffee bits.  Serve with thick slices of Granny Smith apples. If you want to prep the apples ahead of time, dip the slices in a 50/50 mixture of lemon juice and water, then dry. This will prevent the apple from browning.

Source: Adapted from Jane Deer as seen on Pinterest.

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Are you guys sick of pumpkin yet? I mostly only bake with and eat anything pumpkin this time of year, so I love it! I do realize though, that not all of you may feel that way. If you are in the not-sick-of-pumpkin camp, this is a great recipe for you!

These whoopie pies are very popular in the blogosphere, and for good reason, they are amazing! Flavorful little pumpkin cakes are filled with sweet, maple cream cheese filling. I took these to work and people were taking 3-4 at a time! They would also be a fun “non-pie” Thanksgiving dessert.

Oh, and for you so-sick-of-pumpkin folks, I will have an apple recipe later this week.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Filling

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 TBSP cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground fresh nutmeg
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed (I didn’t have dark, and used light brown sugar without any problems)
• 1 cup canola oil
• 3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk to sugars and oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to drop heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the pan while you make the filling. They will look more like mini cakes than cookies, so don’t panic about that.

Maple Syrup Cream Cheese Filling:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 TBSP maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure.

To assemble the whoopie pies:

Turn half the cooled cookies upside down. Use a large round tip to pipe filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.

Source: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, with adaptations from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

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I love baking with pumpkin, but I always seem to have some leftover! Not enough to bake something else, but too much to throw away. Enter this homemade pumpkin spice coffee creamer.

With a mild spice and pumpkin flavor, a cup of coffee with this creamer has become my daily afternoon treat (made even better with these pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies!). The flavor is similar to commercially flavored creamers, but not as sweet. So, if you are a person who likes your coffee sweetened (I am), then you will still want to add a bit of sugar or other sweetener.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons pureed pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, heavy cream, pumpkin, spices and maple syrup. Heat on medium heat, stirring frequently until mixture begins to steam. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Strain through a fine mesh seive, and store in the refrigerator.

Source: Slightly adapted from Deliciously Organic, where Carrie has several other flavors posted!

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I love snickerdoodles and I have seen have recipe everywhere over the past couple of years, but I kept putting off actually making them!  I love pumpkin as well, but I already have a great snickerdoodle recipe, and it sort of felt like I was betraying my beloved classic snickerdoodles by making pumpkin snickerdoodles. Well I did finally make them, and while classic snickerdoodle will always be a year-round favorite, this pumpkn version will be fall staple from now on!

These taste a lot like classic snickerdoodles, except with a very mild pumpkin flavor. Even the pumpkin haters in your life might like them. I personally have been enjoying them for breakfast with a cup of coffee in the afternoon.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• For the cinnamon sugar:
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter until fluffy. Add sugars and pumpkin puree and beat well. Mix in egg and vanilla, scraping down sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the ingredients.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Beat flour mixture into liquid mixture a little at a time just until incorporated.

Cover dough with plastic and chill at least an hour, or until dough becomes slightly firm.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (or spray with nonstick spray). Mix rolling sugar ingredients in a small bowl.

Remove cookie dough from refrigerator. Use a medium cookie scoop (1 1/2 Tablespoons) or a large spoon to scoop out dough and roll into balls. Use your hands to roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and make sure they’re coated really well. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a glass with a nice, flat bottom to dip in sugar and flatten the balls.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes or so, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Originally from DLYN, as seen on Fake Ginger with adaptations from Recipe Girl.

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So I have had this recipe saved for years, but never got around to making it until recently. I am not really sure why I waited so long, but finally made it last month. And then I made it again this month, twice. Don’t make the same mistake as me and make this popcorn as soon as possible, in fact this would make a perfect Halloween treat for this weekend!

The popcorn does take a bit of time to make, but I promise that it is not complicated at all. You don’t even need a candy thermometer for the caramel and if you don’t have a popcorn popper, I am sure microwaved popcorn would work just as well! You won’t regret it (or maybe you will if you are on a diet) when you are happily munching on this highly addictive snack.

Caramel Corn

• 1 cup popcorn unpopped  (about 6 quarts of popped popcorn)
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla

Pop popcorn using your preferred method. Place the popcorn in a very large bowl, or two large bowls if necessary. Preheat oven to 250F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan, over medium heat. Stir in the corn syrup, brown sugar and salt. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the sugar mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.

Boil for 5 minutes, without stirring. Remove from the heat, stir in the baking soda and vanilla. Note: The mixture will foam and become frothy.

Pour the caramel sauce over the popped corn and toss to coat throughly. Don’t worry about clumps as the caramel will remain spreadable while cooking and the coating can be evened out. Spread the popcorn evenly onto the baking sheets. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Popcorn should be crispy and not soft when you test it. Let the popcorn cool completely before breaking apart.

Source: Adapted from Christie’s Corner.

{Giveaway winner}

Using random.org, the winner of the Eggland’s Best Prize Pack is comment number 33:

 brandi October 24, 2011 at 4:08 pm [edit]

Congratulations Brandi! I will be sendng you an e-mail. Thank you to everyone that entered and thank you Eggland’s Best!

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As I am sure you have noticed, pink is everywhere this month! Pink is the color of breast cancer awareness month, and it seems like every year more and more people and corporations are working hard to promote breast cancer awareness in October. One of those people is Jen over at Beantown Baker. This month she is hosting The Power of Pink Challenge, where she is encouraging everyone to make something pink! I am submitting these strawberry muffins that I made when I had my Pink Party. I promise they were more pink in person!

I wanted to bake some sort of pink muffin for my party, and strawberry seemed like the logical choice. I especially enjoyed these muffins with a cup of coffee, and I can’t wait to make them again next summer when strawberries are actually in season!  The only thing I would do differently next time would be to add a bit of vanilla, and I have made that change in the recipe below.

Strawberry Muffins

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oil an 8 cup muffin tin, or use paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine oil, milk, egg and vanilla. Beat lightly. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.

Fill muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

*To make the muffins pink, I added a couple of drops of red food coloring to the batter.

Source: Adapted from allrecipes.com.

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