Fall 2012. ❤

I know... it's still fall. There's still salted caramel in the world, leftover Halloween pumpkins in my apartment, Thanksgiving is still another week away... and I even feel like there's one last pumpkin recipe in me. Maybe a bundt cake. Bundt cakes are festive. Something with brown butter icing? Stop it.

But I'm ready to make room for Christmas trees and mistletoe. Maybe because every trip to Target stresses me out, with those sparkling, lit-up Christmas signs and the Christmas trees and the glittery Christmas cards next to all the red and green ornaments, wrapping paper, and bows.

I'm not saying yes... but yes, yes it does.  

So let's get with it and give Fall 2012 the high-five it deserves. 

And then find some dang mistletoe.

Can September just always start like this? 

I spent seven stress-free, totally necessary, slowed-down days in Hawaii. 

Seven days of this. 

And island life.

Girl... I need to get my nails done.

A gem. From me to you.

I saw a sunrise in its entirety. It made me feel small and connected and totally at peace. 

Maybe it was all the mai tais.

Or the fact that at this hour, please... I am basically still asleep.

Bananas!

Hawaii is all about finding little hidden adventures to be had, just tucked off the road in all that green.

Like conquering a fear.

P.S. Swinging bridges are both awesome and terrifying... and I totally crossed this.

What's everyone staring at?

Oh nothing. Just WATER EXPLODING OUT OF NOWHERE.

Bucket list! I finally drank out of a coconut.

... and I didn't like it. Coconut water is just not my thing.

In October I went to Disneyland for magical Halloween times.

I finally visited Radiator Springs!

... where the wait for this ride was almost two hours. I waited one hour.

It broke down.

I switched out my coconut for a traffic cone.

How cute is this? The Disneyland monorail is in the Cars Land spirit too. 

Does anyone else watch Once Upon a Time? Because I flipped when I saw this display.

Sigh... to be a little girl for just one more day.

Lusting.

Breakfast.

Lunch.

Dinner.

You think I'm joking. 

P.S. Disneyland, what is your secret? How do you make these giant, perfect scooped-shaped cookies with chunks of white chocolate and peanut butter discs? 

Like... I don't even like snickerdoodles that much, but I still devoured three of these. 

Whatever it is, as I get older... Disneyland is still pure magic. From the tallest peak to the smallest (not-so-small) cookie.

Legendary fall? Check.

Okay. Now I'm totally ready for candy canes.

Pumpkin Spice S'mores Cracker Candy.

Remember a couple summers ago when I made graham cracker s'mores candy? 

You know... chocolate and marshmallows melted over a layer of bubbling caramel and graham crackers?

It's been my summer 2012 go-to, last-minute, I've-been-at-the-beach-all-day recipe. Wait, we're going to a barbeque where? You said I'm bringing what? Tonight? 

Give me just one second. I need some graham crackers.

   

Well, this is that recipe... hunkered down for fall.

Graham crackers become cinnamon-sugar grahams.

Marshmallows become orange, pumpkin-shaped pumpkin spice mallows.

And white chocolate chips and toasted pecans replace the handfuls of Hershey milk chocolate squares and chocolate chips. 

Basically buttery, brown sugar, caramel-y goodness.  All in a pan, all for you.

P.S. Should I be worried that most of my favorite holiday recipes involve crackers? 

This.

This is what November tastes like.

It's pumpkin spice meets pre-game bonfires meets cinnamon-sugar s'mores, all together, during Revenge commerical breaks, in under twenty minutes. 

Seriously, these are so easy. If have butter and graham crackers, you're halfway there. 

If you have a new apartment, no kitchen table, no place to sit, one baking sheet, one spoon, and one pot holder, you're also halfway there. In case you were wondering.

Pumpkin Spice S'mores Cracker Candy

Printable Recipe 

12 sheets of cinnamon graham crackers

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 (8 ounce) package pumpkin spice marshmallows

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

1 cup toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang over the ends, and spray foil with cooking spray. Line graham crackers up on the foil so that the sides are touching.

Toast pecans for 4-5 minutes on a baking sheet (I used a metal pie pan). Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and mixture comes just to a boil (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and pour evenly over crackers. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until bubbly.

Remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle marshmallows, white chocolate chips, and toasted pecans over the crackers. 

Return pan to oven for another 2-3 minutes, or until marshmallows begin to soften and puff up. 

Cool completely before serving. Lift from pan using foil edges; cut into bars and enjoy!

Source: Adapted from my graham cracker s'mores candy, originally from Stefanie's Cooking Spot.

If I Could Only Bake Ten Things This Fall...

Fall is here and happening and I am knee-deep in moving boxes. Here's what I wish I was baking.

(... if only I knew where my mixing bowls were.)  

1. Skillet-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie

Fall is about anticipation and good things coming. You know. Pumpkin spice lattes, chunky cableknit throws (wanting), Christmas ornaments, the Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, Revenge, and Once Upon A Time... basically just really good/please don't judge me television. 

Which means... I love you, but I do not have time to stand around baking you cookies. 

Solution: put it in a skillet! 

2. Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes for Two

One for you... and one for you. Now is the time to be a little bit selfish.

3. Fat, Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

Here's the thing about biscuits: you need them.

See also: fat, fluffy, and buttermilk.

4. Buttons & Bowknots

Doughnuts just got easier. Like... scary easy. So scary they're perfect for Halloween, if you think about it.

And Fridays. And weekends. And breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We've all been there.

5. Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I hearby declare oatmeal cookies a fall recipe. Was it already? Am I just craving oatmeal? Whatever. Let's bake cookies.

6. Cinnamon Pinwheels with Maple-Coffee Icing

So easy my boyfriend's baked them.

No really.

7. Cinnamon Streusel Pecan Coffee Cake

You had me at streusel.

8. Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie

A tangy, sweet twist on a fall classic.

9. Gingerdoodles/Snickersnaps

Stop it. These were a crazy idea meets best impulse bake ever.

10. Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Kiss Blossoms

A fall-twist on a Christmas classic... and the only thing I've baked since August. That's real.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Kiss Blossoms.

I literally do not have my act together.

I made these thick, sugary cinnamon kiss cookies in September. Then a whole cluster of real life situations happened. 

Like... I went to a wedding. 

A wedding in a beautiful vineyard where maybe I learned that if you drink several glasses of crisp, sweet champagne on an empty stomach there's a good chance that you'll end up barefooted in a muddy vineyard plucking fat purple grapes off the vines and declaring them, "SERIOUSLY THESE ARE THE BEST GRAPES EVER."

Hypothetically.

I signed a lease on an apartment with my boyfriend. We move in next Wednesday. In nine days. I'm not stress-eating candy corn. I'm not.

I'm not. 

I totally am.

There were football games. Lots of them. Real ones. You know, the kind where you sit in the bleachers and try to understand what a tight end is... while secretly pretending you're at a Quidditch match.

There was a sand and sun-filled week in Hawaii where I did absolutely nothing but nap by the pool, tuck flowers in my hair, and order mai tais for breakfast. 

And now there are pumpkin patches and Christmas trees in the world. It's October. I bought Christmas ornaments today. When did summer end? Is it Halloween? Is it winter? What, what are we doing for Thanksgiving?  

Whatever. Let's just make cinnamon cookies.

Pumpkin spice kisses. Have you put these in your life?

These little orange morsels taste like fall. Like October and November-times.

You know: pumpkin spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, white chocolate. Fall things. 

These chewy cinnamon cookies are crazy good. The first batch around I made them like so: Plain cookies. Stick a kiss in it. Honestly, I'm not trying to make things complicated around here.

... but then the kisses melted and mistakes were made. 

They ended up looking like little orange Sorting Hats.

So I swirled the melted kisses and made it fancy and totally on purpose.

But something was missing.

Oh yes. More sugar.

Can I share some secrets? 

Freeze the Kisses. 

Roll everything in sugar. 

Yes, this is totally breakfast.

And always, always drink less champagne. 

... unless you're moving in nine days. Then do your thing and pass the candy corn.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Kiss Blossoms

Printable Recipe

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1-3 tablespoons milk, if dough is crumbly
1 package Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses
1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling cookies in

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Unwrap pumpkin spice Kisses and place them in a small bowl in the freezer until ready to use. Place 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a bowl for rolling cookies in; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and eggs and beat until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Gradually add in small batches to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined. If dough is crumbly and not coming together, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until dough forms.

Scoop dough into 1 tablespoon-sized balls, roll in sugar, and place on baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until done.

Remove from oven, flatten just slightly with the back of a spatula (if you want them less pillow-y) and allow to cool three minutes. Gently push a frozen pumpkin spice kiss into the center. The Kisses will get shiny and start to melt after a few minutes... at this point I popped the whole baking sheet into the freezer until the chocolate set to keep that traditional-looking blossom cookies...

... or you can let the Kisses melt and swirl the melted chocolate with a toothpick for a pretty marbled effect like this.

Or both! Definitely do both.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies. 

Source: Barely adapted from Sprinkle Some Sunshine.