Old Fashion Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Treat number 2 for 12 Days of Christmas Treats is this yummy spice cake! The cream cheese icing is a wonderful compliment to the spice cake! I loved this recipe because it wasn't a huge cake it was perfect if you want make it for a friend or for a dinner party. This recipe is from the Imperial Sugar website. 

Cake:

1 2/3 cups cake flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup salted butter (room temperature)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs (room temperature)

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:

6 tbsp salted butter (room temperature)

6oz cream cheese (room temperature)

3 cups powdered sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Heat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 pan. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Set to the side. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the oil.  Beat in eggs one at a time while scrapping down the sides between each egg.  Combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Alternate between adding buttermilk and the flour mixture until combined. Pour the batter until the greased pan. Bake fro 40 minutes or until the cake is cooked through. Beat together the butter and cream cheese until it is smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and pinch of salt then beat until fluffy. Spread the frosting over the cake once it has cooled..

Soft Baked Gingerbread Cookies

12 days of Christmas treats are here! I'm really excited to do this and hopefully I can keep up during this crazy holiday season! These cookies were delicious. This recipe is from Dessert Now Dinner Later.

1/2 unsalted better (room temperature)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup molasses
1 3/4 flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar for rolling

Cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in the egg, vanilla extract and molasses until.  In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.  Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix.  Chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Once the dough is chilled roll into 1 1/2 inch balls, roll in sugar then place on a lined baking pan. Slightly press down on each cookie before baking. Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet then remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Turkey and Cheese Party Rolls

These were the perfect little pick up food for a get together I was going to!  Everyone raved about them and there wasn't a single one left at the end of the night! This recipe was adapted from Passion for Savings.

8oz cresecent rolls
8 thin cut slices deli turkey
8 slice provolone cheese
1 stick melted butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp poppy seeds

Heat oven to 350. Roll out the crescent rolls and press the seems together. Layer the turkey and cheese over the dough. Roll up tightly then cut into 12 pieces. Place in the bottom of a greased 9x11 pan. Mix together the melted butter, garlic powder and poppyseeds. Brush over the rolls until coated well. Bake for 12-16 minutes or until browned and melty. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Pimento Cheese Grits

Pimento Cheese Grits is one of my absolute favorite things to get at one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Mount Pleasant South Carolina. Last time we were home in Columbia, I grabbed some yummy grits from a few different local companies and I have been waiting to use them! These turned out great and even my sometimes picky 10 year old that doesn't like grits or cheese (!!!) had two servings!

1 cup stoned ground grits
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup pimento cheese (i used a jalapeno pimento cheese)

In a pot stir together the grits, chicken stock and water.  Stir the grits over high heat for 2 minutes then reduce heat. Strain off the floating grounds on top. Stir in the salt. Bring back to high heat. Once the grits begin to boil reduce to low heat and stir every few minutes making sure the bottom doesn't burn. Cook the grits over low-medium heat until they begin to soften and firm up, 25-30 minutes. Once the grits begin to firm up, stir in the whole milk and butter. Once that has combined, stir in the pimento cheese and continue stirring until it is melted. Serve.

Creamy Minestone Tortellini Soup

This soup was delicious, I loved that it used tortellini. It was very filling and everyone in my family loved it. My 10 year old took the leftovers to school the next day! This recipe was adapted from Cooking Classy.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
42 oz chicken or vegetable broth
2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cups cut and quartered zucchini
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 (14oz can) kidney beans
9oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 1/4 cups half and half
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large pot and saute onions, carrots and celery until tender. Stir in the garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add in the broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, zucchini, basil, oregano and thyme. Season with salt and pepper then bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the tortellini and kidney beans and cook for 7 minutes. Stir in the spinach and half and half and cook for another 5 minutes then serve.

Homemade Squash Casserole

I'm posting the full recipe for this but I halved it when I made it because I had a sneaky feeling that my people were not going to be as on board with this as I was. I LOVED it, I mean I love squash casserole so no surprise. Everyone else, not so much. But they don't love casseroles like this so...their opinions just don't count. This recipe was adapted from Chef in Training.

3 cups water
1 cup chopped onion
3 cups chicken broth
10 cups sliced yellow squash
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4oz cream cheese (softened)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
1 1/2 cups crushed ritz crackers
4 tbsp butter

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan.  In a large pot bring the water, chopped onion and chicken broth to a boil. Add the squash and bring to boil with the squash. Reduce heat and simmer for 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the squash and onions. In a large bowl combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder and egg. Stir well. Carefully stir in the squash. Stir in the cheddar cheese. Pour into the greased baking dish.  Top with the crushed ritz crackers. Cut the butter into small slices and place over the top of the crackers. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

So I accidentally took a week off from blogging. Whoops! It was a long week and I wasn't feeling great and every time I actually had a free minute I just wanted to rest instead of blog. Anyways, I made this cake a few weeks ago with my 3 year old. I was excited about it because I love pumpkin but I thought she wasn't going to be such a big fan once she had a bite but she loved it! The great thing was this cake wasn't overly sweet. It's a great fall dessert. This recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction.

 Cake:
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 can pumpkin puree
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Layer:
12oz cream cheese (softened)
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350. Grease a bundt pan and set to the side. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. In a separate bowl whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, white sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold until it is completely combined. In a different bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the egg, sugar and vanilla extract. Spread half of the pumpkin cake batter into the bundt pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top then the remaining cake batter. Bake for 55-70 minutes or until the cake is cooked through. Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 hour in the pan then flip onto a wire rack to continue cooling.