Tried and True Archives - Busy Moms Helper

Tried & True Recipes: Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

October 31, 2016 by Danielle

It’s been awhile since we’ve done a Tried & True Recipe, so let’s give this Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Bread a try! Super easy to make, delicious and super moist.

As with all of our tried & true recipes, we’re just sharing our experience using another fabulous blogger’s recipe. To get the recipe and instructions, head to the post at Running to the Kitchen. We love her many fantastic recipes, from tasty desserts to yummy dinners. When I saw this one, I just HAD to give it a try – and of course it was every bit as delicious as I’d hoped!

The only twist I’d maybe do to her recipe is to add some Pumpkin Spice to it – for a little bit more pumpkin goodness. But that’s just me…we’re major fans of all things pumpkin, so want us much of the flavor as we can get!

I did make one loaf without chocolate chips, since hubby isn’t a chocolate fan (I know, crazy, right?!) and he agreed that everything from the texture, to the flavor combos was perfect – just needs a bit of pumpkin spice.

This is a tried and true recipe that definitely passed our test! Head over to Running to the Kitchen for this pumpkin banana chocolate chip bread recipe – or check out all her other amazing creations on her home page!

Other Tried & True Recipes

Caramel Frosted Pumpkin Cookies & The I Heart Naptime Cookbook

September 5, 2016 by Danielle

I received a free copy of THE IHEARTNAPTIME COOKBOOK to assist this review. All opinions are mine alone. #naptimecookbook

It’s almost fall, which means pumpkin season – YAY! Yes, you all know my love of everything pumpkin – so of course I couldn’t wait to try these Caramel Frosted Pumpkin Cookies from The I Heart Naptime Cookbook. They taste incredible, and are one of over 100 easy (and delicious) recipes that you can make in less than an hour. Yup, she knows us busy moms sure love saving time in the kitchen!

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When I look back on how I got started with my own blogging journey, I have to give credit to a handful of truly phenomenal blogs that first inspired me – and Jamielyn of IheartNaptime was one of them! She shares so many tasty recipes, along with fun crafts and more. When I was offered a chance to review her new book, The I Heart Naptime Cookbook, I was so excited because I knew it’d be chuck full of great stuff – and I wasn’t disappointed 😀

Her new book is now available, so be sure to grab your copy HERE. I love that she shares some of her own stories and the background of things through-out the book – she’s always been so relateable and just down-to-earth, which is one reason her blog is so great!

Now onto these DELISH pumpkin cookies – they’ve got me in the perfect mood for fall, and I already can’t wait to whip up another batch!

Caramel-Frosted Pumpkin Cookies

Makes 36 cookies Prep 20 min Cook 10 min Chill 15 min Total 45 min

When we moved to Ohio for my husband’s residency, I quickly fell in love with autumn. With fall comes the leaves changing, pumpkin patches, apple cider, and, of course, pumpkin desserts.

Whenever I take these pumpkin cookies to a get-together, my friends always ask for the recipe. They are the perfect cookie to celebrate autumn, although we love making them year-round, too. These pumpkin cookies are so soft and the caramel frosting is worth making all on its own. These do take a few extra dishes, but I promise, they will be worth it.

Ingredients

For the cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon table salt

For the caramel frosting

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more as needed
½ cup packed light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Method

1. Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the pumpkin and mix until smooth.

3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Slowly add to the wet pumpkin mixture and beat until just combined.

4. Using a medium cookie scoop or large spoon, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the portions two inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Make the caramel frosting: In a small saucepan, combine the butter, heavy cream, brown sugar, and salt and, while whisking, bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the caramel mixture into a medium bowl and let cool for 1 minute.

6. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Frost the cookies immediately with a rubber spatula, as the frosting will begin to firm up quickly.

7. Store in an airtight container or large zip-top bags at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Get your copy of The I HEART NAPTIME COOKBOOK here!

Tried and True: Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

February 5, 2016 by Danielle

It’s been awhile since we’ve done a Tried and True recipe – where we test out a popular recipe from other bloggers we love and share if it was a thumbs up or down. Today we’re sharing our thoughts on this DELISH recipe from Lemons for Lulu for Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies – simple to make AND tasty!

As I was searching some of my favorite sites for what I wanted to try next, I came across these chocolate peanut butter cookies – and of course I couldn’t resist! First you whip up the chocolaty cookies, which are flavorful and perfect themselves.

Next is a CREAMY peanut butter and chocolate chip frosting for putting between these yummy cookie sandwiches – taking this dessert to a whole new level of YUM! Glancing at the recipe I was worried it wouldn’t be as quick as I was hoping – you know how much I love easy and fast recipes – but it ended up being really simple!

Now I want to go try the frosting with other things, too – perhaps on top of a chocolate pie? Hmmm….might need to stock up on peanut butter! 😉

To try out this THUMBS UP recipe, go to Lemons for Lulu!

Other cookie recipes you may like…

No Cake Mix Red Velvet Cookies

Tried and True Recipes: Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars

October 2, 2015 by Danielle

Being a busy blogger myself, I’m often sad that I just don’t have the time to try hardly any of the recipes I drool over on other blogs! However, I really want to help support others and share the love – plus enjoy eating the creations! So I decided to try something new, and I’m calling it Tried and True Recipes! To start it off, I picked these Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars from Crazy for Crust!

I’ll basically pick a recipe from another blog and recreate it – not changing anything (within reason). Then I’ll share my pictures of the outcome, how simple or challenging it was, and – or course- how tasty it was….or wasn’t. I will NOT share the actual recipe, because I don’t believe in stealing, and using someone else’s recipe IS STEALING. So follow any of these links to Crazy for Crust to get the recipe, and her much better photography skills – once you see how my attempt at it went!

One great thing about this is – I’m totally a common, everyday mommy in the kitchen. I’m average – no special training, no particular talent. So based on my experience, most people can relate equally!

Ingredients – all of them are common kitchen/pantry items, not requiring what most people would consider special stuff.

Time – She says prep time 25 minutes and bake time 20 minutes. This is about accurate to what it took me. Also does need some cooling time, so this can’t be made right before an event.

Difficulty – As long as you read the entire instructions first so you know as you go, and follow it closely, you’re fine. I did have some struggle getting the cookie layer AND the peanut butter mixture layers to spread smoothly.

Did I have to make a change – I started making this, positive I had the peanuts for the topping. Turns out I didn’t, so mine is without that sprinkle on top!

Taste – Amazing, and totally worth any effort put into making this!