Archive, Cookies, Holidays, Life, New Years, New Years

Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year everyone.  Today is the first day of 2012!   I wonder what this year will hold for me and my family.  I’m trying not to have any preconceived expectations because this year will inevitably be a year of change.  But as Price Pritchett said, “Change always comes bearing gifts” and I do believe that to be true. After all, last year was full of changes and I received so many blessings I would never have expected.  I start this year with a new job and I am getting settled into a new routine which feels good.  I am excited to have the time to start blogging again and am already planning a few things I want to try.

For a while now I’ve been wanting to make a gingerbread centerpiece.  I had plans to make them and give them as gifts to a few people. So I shopped and shopped to find small candles.  I made the dough and baked the cookies.  And then life got a bit out of control and I had to work all through Christmas.  Needless to say, the centerpieces didn’t get made.   This weekend I looked at my gingerbread cookies and decided that rather than throw it all away, I would try to make them into New Year’s centerpieces.  They aren’t what I would have made if the circumstances were different, but I was happy with them all the same.

I wish you all a happy new year and hope that each of  you can find peace and happiness in your lives.

 

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Archive, Cookies, Easter, Spring

Spring Has Sprung

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With the first day of spring behind us, I have officially survived another midwest winter.  Rochester had record amounts of snow this year (of course) and the snow was piled about 4 feet high in our front yard.  Most of the mailboxes down are street were barely peaking above the snowline for several months.  But after about a week of temperatures in the 40’s (yay!) the snow melted surprisingly quickly.  Even with a surprise snow storm that laid down a couple of inches earlier this week, we can now see almost all of the front lawn.

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Archive, Cakes, Chocolate, Christmas, Desserts, Fall

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

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Today is a very special day because today I am going to share with you one of my very favorite recipes: Chocolate Pumpkin Bread.  I don’t know who to give credit to for this recipe as I believe it came from the newspaper when I was young.  My Mom happened to see it, cut it out and decided to give it a try.  Needless to say, it was a big hit and she often made it to give as gifts during the holidays.  Last weekend I decided to make my Mom’s Chocolate Pumpkin Bread to take to a party.  I have had several people ask for the recipe so here it is.  I hope you all enjoy it.

  • 1-1/4 cups oil
  • 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
  • 3-1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 29 oz. can pumpkin
  • 1-1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 3-3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1-3/4 tsp salt
  • 1-1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1-1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1-1/4 tsp ground clove
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 8 oz. chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped nuts

Melt together over low heat half of oil with chocolate; set aside.  Cream remaining oil with sugar.  Beat in eggs.  Add melted chocolate mixture and blend.  Combine pumpkin and vanilla and add to batter.  Slowly blend in sifted dry ingredients until moistened, then beat well until no lumps appear.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until firm for small loaf pans, 1 hour 15 minutes for large pans.  Let stand 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool.  Makes 3 loaves (9×15); 4 loaves (8×4); 7 cans or 7 mini loaves.

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