In honor of the season of giving, our team decided to share a few of our sweetest recipes. Baking can be such a warm respite from the darker, shorter, and much colder days we’re already experiencing with winter’s approach.
So, whether you need something sweet to grace the Thanksgiving table, or simply want to surprise your friends and loved ones with a homemade treat, the following three recipes are among our absolute favorites.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pie
It seems like the pumpkin spice craze comes earlier each year and what was once reserved for fall has begun making its appearance during the late lazy days of summer.
Whatever your feelings on that, we’re sure you’ll agree that pumpkin is worthy of praise throughout the fall and winter seasons. Sure, you could go the traditional pumpkin pie route this Thanksgiving — no complaints here — but why not pursue a different kind of pie… like a whoopie pie?
Our own Terri Wentworth shares her secrets for perfecting pumpkin whoopie pies…
Ingredients:
For the cake batter —
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. oil
2 eggs
1 ½ c. can pumpkin
1 tsp. Vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ T. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
Directions:
Mix the sugar and oil.
Add the eggs.
Add the pumpkin and vanilla and mix well.
Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger; add to the pumpkin mixture.
Drop by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350˚ for 10-12 minutes.
Transfer to a cookie rack and let cool.
Ingredients: For the filling
3 oz. cream cheese
½ c. butter
2 ½ c. confectioner’s sugar
Directions:
Cream the cream cheese and butter.
Add the confectioner’s sugar and mix well.
Spread a little over the flat bottom of the whoopie pie and top with a second whoopie pie.
If you’re not already (and we’re sure you are), these pumpkin whoopie pies will surely make you the favorite relative around the Thanksgiving table this year. Thank you, Terri!
Pretzel Turtles
Our next recipe is a simple confection that is sure to satisfy any candy connoisseur.
These Turtles Win the Race. Okay, not really — we’re talking about candy here.
However, toting a tupperware container of these turtles to Thanksgiving should earn you a few accolades. What we love the best about this recipe is that perfect marriage of salty and sweet. When pretzels meet chocolate, we’re looking at a match made in heaven.
Make that two matches… Let’s not forget the caramel and pecans.
We would like to thank Lois Wisler for presenting us with this recipe for pretzel turtles:
Ingredients:
20 mini pretzels
20 chocolate-covered caramel candies (ROLO candies)
20 pecan halves
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300˚
Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Place one chocolate-covered caramel candy on each pretzel.
Bake for 4 minutes.
While the candy is warm, press a pecan half onto each candy covered pretzel.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Enjoy!
Oh, we will!
Blueberry Buckle
For those of you interested in something a little more fruit-forward, our final featured recipe will fit the bill, thanks to Joe Thornton.
Everything’s Better with Blueberries!
Don’t let anyone fool you into believing that blueberries are strictly a summertime treat. In our opinion, any fruit that can be folded into a cake batter counts as fair game, year-round. Besides, blueberries have antioxidant properties and we could all use more of those, especially during cold and flu season!
Without further rationalization, we give you Marie’s Blueberry Buckle…
Ingredients:
For the cake —
¾ c. sugar
¼ c. vegetable oil
1 egg
½ c. milk
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. Salt
2 c. blueberries
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and vegetable oil.
Add the egg and milk.
Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Fold in the blueberries.
Spread in a greased 9×9 pan.
Sprinkle with the topping mixture.
Bake at 375˚ for 45 to 50 minutes.
Did you say topping mixture?
Ingredients:
For the topping —
½ c. sugar
1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. butter softened
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter.
Now that you’re salivating, we invite you to try these recipes and also share your own with us on social media. After all, it is the season of giving, and as the old saying goes, “sharing is caring.”
No matter the season or reason, we always invite you to contact our team for all your banking — and in this case, baking! — needs.