I joined the Cookie Carnival group! Every month, members are sent a cookie recipe and we have the month to bake it. At the end of the month, the kind hostess, Kate, posts a roundup of all the contributing members. What I like about this group is its laidback approach – we don’t have to participate every month and we can post our results any time during the month. So here’s October’s cookie: Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.

I’ve never even tasted a whoopie pie before, so never mind baking them! So I was pretty excited when I saw this was the recipe, as it’s always fun to try something new.

I really liked these cookies. I wasn’t sure what they would be like, but I was pleasantly surprised. They’re very cakey, and moist. Admittedly, alone they are a tad boring…but when combined with the pumpkin cream cheese filling, they are delicious! The filling isn’t too sweet, and tastes remarkably like pumpkin. I upped the spice amounts in the filling and am happy I did – I love the pumpkin pie flavour it has. When combined with the chocolate, it makes for some tasty cookies. The combo of textures is also really nice, as the filling is very creamy and smooth; it balances out the cakiness of the cookie perfectly.

They did take a long time to prepare, mostly because I only have one cookie sheet and you end up having to make about 40 cookies. Note to self – buy a smaller ice cream scoop for making smaller drop cookies like these; it would’ve made them far prettier, I think. I used a plastic baggie with a corner cut off to pipe the filling onto the cookies. I was stingy with the filling at first, but no worries…the filling recipe makes enough to be plentiful!

All in all, I really enjoyed these cookies, and would love to try them a variety of flavoured fillings. But for these fall months, the pumpkin was an awesome choice!

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Adapted from Martha Stewart

COOKIES

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

PUMPKIN FILLING

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

COOKIES

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

4. Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

PUMPKIN FILLING

1. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

2. Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

Every Wednesday, the local newspaper here prints a food section, full of recipes, stories and other fun food-related things. A few weeks ago, this section was all about French cooking, and featured this stunning tomato tart recipe, taken from Recettes en Aveyron, a cookbook by René Husson and Philippe Galmiche and published in France.

Being a tomato-lover, I had to make it. Given that it’s the end of the tomato season, I figured there’s no better time. Oh, and I bought my first tart pan ever this past weekend, so I was all set. And wow, what a beautiful thing this was.

It tasted absolutely wonderful. Its flavours were dynamic and rich, but still simple. You definitely want to use sweet, tasty tomatoes – if not, I have a feeling this tart would fall flat. The tomatoes take centre stage, so if you like tomatoes and have some really ripe, in-season ones, you’ll love the tart.

The mustard on the bottom adds a depth to the flavours, and the two types of cheeses blend perfectly. Some tomatoes, a little bit of parsley, and you’re done – a tart delicious and beautiful enough to serve with any meal you may be having.

I made a few changes with the recipe, so here’s the original with my alterations in italics.

Tomato Tart or Tarte à la tomate
Adapted from Recettes en Aveyron by René Husson and Philippe Galmiche

1 unbaked pie shell, 9 inches (23 cm) in diameter
3 large or 5 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled, and their peel (Peeling them is necessary – don’t skip this step!)
1 tablespoon (15 mL) Dijon mustard (I used Keen’s hot mustard, and more than a tbsp)
200 grams (2 cups/500 mL shredded firm cheese*) (I used about 1 1/2 cups fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons (30 mL) crumbled blue cheese
Olive oil

*Aged cheddar or other strong, white cheese.

1. Drop tomatoes one at a time into a large pot of boiling water, remove after 30 seconds with a slotted spoon (and place in an ice bath) and peel will come off easily. Save peel and chop it. Slice peeled tomatoes thickly, about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick.

2. Spread bottom of pie shell with mustard.

3. Spread cheese over mustard.

4. Arrange tomato slices in overlapping circles on cheese.

5. Insert chopped peel between slices. (I skipped this step, and I am happy I did. I don’t think chopped peel would’ve been the right thing in here at all!)

6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, parsley and blue cheese. Drizzle with a little oil.

7. Bake in oven preheated to 400 degrees F (200 C) for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Soli has a good backlog of dishes he has made (from soup to poached eggs to filet mignon) that he still needs to post about, so I’m going to lighten the load a little here and write briefly about the amazing and simple breakfast he made a few weeks back: Egg-In-A-Hole (or Egg-In-A-Basket or Toad-In-A-Hole or Bird’s Nest, depending on who you speak to).

I loved this breakfast. Soli punched some holes out of normal, Italian white bread, threw the bread (and the holes!) into a buttered pan, and cracked an egg into each hole. Some pepper, some salt, turn the stove on…and then you’re done.

Soli did pop the pan into the toaster oven for a bit, to melt the cheese he had sprinkled over the top.

The end result was perfectly cooked eggs stuck nicely into toasted bread, with cheesy bread circles on the side, and you don’t even need a fork or knife. Good morning!

Today is my birthday (I am now in my last year of my twenties, oh no!), so in “celebration” of today, a somewhat birthday-ey treat – Caramel Apple Cupcakes. I made these a few weeks ago for the Friday snack session at work, as they sounded like the perfect fall treat. And the combination of apples and caramel is one that I love…so when I read about this recipe on The Cupcake Blog, I was pretty excited.

These really are decadent treats, but not without a few flaws (though I think I have to blame myself and lack of candy-making skills).

The apple cupcake is a bit more like a muffin, but that’s not a bad thing at all, especially given the calories and fat content that is added to this dessert. I really like baking my apples and using that, rather than a chunky applesauce; it added a much more definite apple flavour to the cupcake. The recipe claims that it makes 9 cupcakes, but I needed more than that, so I made 1 1/2 the recipe, giving me 14 cupcakes to work with. The cupcakes rose up beautifully and smelled fantastic while baking.

The filling was a breeze to make, with an ideal creamy texture and sweetness. I used a plastic baggie with the corner cut off to pipe the filling into the cupcake. I didn’t increase the quantity of filling, and I had enough to put into all the cupcakes I had made.

Finally, the caramel topping. Now, this is where I met with a few problems. I prepared it as instructed, using my candy thermometer. Indeed, I did have to work fast to get the topping on the cupcakes, as it was hardening fast! And then it hardened a bit more, then, a bit more. I was very nervous that it would be a tooth-breaking substance…it was not creamy in the least.

However, the end result did not mean a trip to the dentist. The caramel topping turned into something like a Skor bar – crunchy, but an easy crunch that just exploded in your mouth with a sweet and slightly salty taste. It melded perfectly with the creamy sweet cream cheese filling, though the apple flavour didn’t really stand out. They were a rich, messy and sticky treat….much like a caramel apple, I suppose!

I loved the method of stuffing the cupcakes with cream cheese (read the recipe to see what I mean) and even if I don’t make this particular cupcake again, I will use the filling recipe and method to fill some of the other muffins I make in the future.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes
adapted from Cupcake Bake Shop

CUPCAKES
2-3 apples, granny smith
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Rinse and core the apples. Place them on an ovenproof pan or baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes until soft.

2. Remove the apples from the oven, let cool slightly, then remove peel and mush the apple with the back of a fork. Measure out 1 cup of apple mush and set aside to cool.

3. Combine flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.

4. Crack the eggs into a separate, medium sized bowl and beat with a form to break up. Add the oil, apple juice, vanilla, and cooled apple mush and mix to combine.

5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until all ingredients come together.

6. Scoop into cupcake papers about 3/4 full so cupcakes will have a significant dome. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

CREAM CHEESE FILLING
4 ounces Philly cream cheese
1/4 stick butter
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Be sure to bring the butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours. Then beat the butter vigorously with an electric mixer.

2. Scrape the bowl and add the cream cheese and beat until combine.

3. Add the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.

FILLING THE CUPCAKES
1. Cut out a cone from each cupcake. Flip the cone and cut off the excess. Set the top aside.

2. Fill each cavity with the cream cheese filling.

3. Replace each top.

THICK CARAMEL
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
6 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Bring the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk to a boil over medium-high heat stirring to combine.

2. With a wooden spoon, stir all ingredients together and then slowly add the heavy cream.

3. Continue to stir for about 20 minutes until the caramel reached 248 degrees. It is important to continuously stir the mixture and to allow it to reach temperature.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Transfer to a bowl and continue to stir for 2-3 minutes allowing the caramel to cool slightly.

FINAL ASSEMBLY OF CUPCAKES
1. Using a small offset spatula, frost each cupcake with the caramel.

2. If desired sprinkle warm caramel with any number of toppings, like coconut or crushed nuts.

3. Transfer the cupcake into the freezer to allow the caramel to set without dripping over the edge of the cupcake paper.

4. Continue frosting and topping the cupcakes and try to work fast. As the caramel cools, it becomes less spreadable. If possible work in pairs and let your helper top the cupcakes and transfer them to the freezer. By the time you reach the last few cupcakes, you will not longer need to freeze them and you can take all the cupcakes out and transfer them to the counter.

5. Top off each cupcake with a popsicle or craft stick to finish off the look.