Pumpkin Mini Muffins

Last week Puja and I took our second cooking class at Sur La Table and walked away with many delicious new recipes and tips, and one gross recipe (parker house rolls)

The first recipe I've tried on my own was mini pumkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting. They are so good plus with their small small size they make them perfect finger food dessert.

Here is the Recipe:
Batter:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk
Frosting:
12 ounces cream cheese
3/4 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 3/4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 cup pecan pieces for garnish

Preheat oven 350 F

1. Cream the butter with the sugar (4-5 minutes in an electric mixer till the mixture changes colors to a lighter brown)
2. Add the eggs and vanilla while mixer is on a medium setting
3. Add the pumpkin and blend well
4. Mix all the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl
5. Alternate adding some of the dry and wet (buttermilk) ingredients while mixing by hand
6. Cook the mini cupcakes (makes 65) for about 10 minutes
7. Blend the cream cheese untill smooth in the mixer
8. Add the remaining frosting ingredients
9. Frost and enjoy!

Mistakes Were Made, Lessons Were Learned

In honnour of halloween and the fall season I thought I'd try making one of my favorite meals. Pumpkin Ravioli (did she say pumpkin?). If this item is on the menu you can put money on the fact that I will order it. Last year my favorite cooking magazine, Cooking Light, published a recipe which Leslie tried last hannukah for a dinner party. They were delicious so I thought I'd give it a try as well...It had potential, but I'd definitely change a few things



Lesson #1. As a shortcut the recipe calls for won-ton wrappers for the outside. I tried three stores and could not find the wrappers! How difficult could it be to just make the pasta wrapper myself right? The answer turned out to be very difficult. I made the dough just fine with a simple flour, water, and eggs recipe found online. Peter and I then rolled out the pasta and formed them into little raviolis with the filling. When we sat down to eat it, it turned out that we didn't roll out the dough NEARLY enough and ended up with a gooey outside and a tough inside. I'm looking into getting the pasta attachment for my kitchen aid for next time

Lesson #2. The sauce was a Gorgonzola cream sauce made by heating non fat milk and flour and then mixing in gorgonzola cheese. The only milk I had however was the Over The Moon brand non fat but tastes like whole milk. This turned out to be the wrong choice, and the tastes like whole aspect of the milk made the sauce much too thick. Next time I may look into making a brown butter sauce instead.