pumpkin blondies

 

three days into september & i am already busting out the pumpkin recipes! i haven't had a pumpkin spice latte yet though, i am still on the ice coffee train. one of my instagram followers left a comment yesterday that i was the first pumpkin recipe to come up on their feed this year, that made me a little too proud. anyways, todays recipe isn't something you often see, a pumpkin blondie! i wanted to create a simple one bowl recipe that incorporated all the pumpkin pie spices we love. this recipe features farmer's market foods organic pumpkin puree & it is honestly the best canned pumpkin puree you will ever come across. the colour of the pumpkin is as vibrant as freshly steamed pumpkin & makes for the most gorgeous coloured pumpkin desserts. i keep a few jars of this in my pantry all year long because i am a fall enthusiast so you never know when that pumpkin craving will strike! pumpkin bread in june? yes please.

ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup farmer's market foods organic pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped

directions

  • preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • in a large mixing bowl whisk together the butter, brown sugar, egg, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract until smooth.
  • sift in the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. stir until the batter comes together.
  • fold in the white chocolate chunks & nuts.
  • pour into a greased 8-inch square baking dish.
  • bake for 20-25 minutes.
  • let cool completely before slicing & serving!

salted caramel apple cakelets

 

SEPTEMBER!!!! i am probably most excited for this month then i am any other month. especially because it is no longer signals back to school time for me. instead, i just get to take it all in & enjoy what early fall has to offer: pumpkins, apples, corn mazzes & more pumpkins! i already decorated the house earlier this week for fall. justin claims it was too early but i don't think it is ever too early when it comes to fall. we rock that pumpkin spice soap all year long! next on my list is to decorate the front porch when the real pumpkins start popping up at the farm. i am going all out this year... whymsical white pumpkins galore! we got our rejuvenation x o&g studios rocking chairs the other week so i am ten times more motivated to get the porch ready.

okay, but enough about my fall obsession! let's talk about these little cakelets. i had to kick september off with an apple recipe because apples are starting to pop up at the local farmers market. this recipe is infused with a homemade salted caramel, but you can also go the extra mile and drizzle a little on top too! i grated the apple into the cakes so the cakelets aren't filled with apple chunks. i baked them in the cutest nordic ware "apple slice cakelet pan"! i am just in love with it. the pan is made of cast aluminum & features all different sliced apple designs rather then just the same one. i think kids would love these as a back to school snack! i gave the pan a quick spray & not a single cakelet stuck.

p.s. nordic ware make a pumpkin pan too! i so need that for october when pumpkin takes over my kitchen. it is called the "autumn delights cakelet pan".

happy september friends & enjoy the long weekend:) xo

ingredients

for the salted caramel

  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

for the apple cakelets

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups raw sugar
  • 2 tablespoons salted caramel (see recipe above)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 medium apples, grated
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • powdered sugar, for serving
  • salted caramel, for serving

directions

for the salted caramel

  • in a saucepot add the sugar and water. bring the pan to a boil while wiping down the crystals that form on the sides of the pan using a pastry brush (do not stir, i repeat, do NOT stir).
  • continue to boil until the mixture turns to a deep amber colour, approximately 5 minutes. be sure not to burn the caramel! it will go from a deep amber to burnt sugar VERY quickly.
  • remove from heat and immediately whisk in the butter, cream & salt. cool to room temperature before serving.

for the cakelets

  • preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • in a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, raw sugar, salted caramel and vanilla. stir in the grated apples.
  • in a separate mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. add this mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until batter just comes together (do not over mix).
  • lightly grease apple slice cakelet pan and pour a tablespoon of batter into each cakelet.
  • bake for 20 minutes or until the top bounces back to touch.
  • dust with powdered sugar & drizzle with salted caramel before serving.

hygge home office

 

i am so excited to finally be able to share this space with you! the office was a very important room to me because i spend half my time in here working. when i am not in the kitchen baking & photographing recipes, i am in here writing, editing & e-mailing. i wanted a space that was cozy, simple & overall just a space i wanted to spend time in. i think i acheived everything i hoped for in a home office! i smile everytime i come in here.

this was the first room where i opted to wallpaper every single wall. i had two reasons for doing so: the old plaster walls had a lot of imperfections so i wanted to cover them up & it was a small enough room where a feature wall wouldn't do the wallpaper justice. for this space we used farrow & ball's samphire wallpaper in dark grey. i was a little worried going dark would make the room feel smaller but honestly it didn't at all. also, for such a busy looking pattern up close, it ends up being so simple and subtle on the walls. as with all my farrow & ball wallpapered walls, i couldn't be more happy with how it looks. now i want to wallpaper the guest room & the loft... seriously i think it is contagious! for the trim we stuck to farrow & ball's wevet in estate emulsion. for the doors we went with farrow & ball's moles breath which is actually the base colour used in the wallpaper making it seamless. lastly, the ceilings in the house were painted an off white (most likely the standard ceiling paint), but i wanted to brighten & clean them up so we are slowly painting all the ceilings in the house with farrow & ball's all white!

the desk was the most important furniture piece to decide on as it is where i do all my work. crate & barrel has the most gorgeous walnut mid century inspired desk that features drawers! a lot of the desk designs i looked at did not include drawers & that just wasn't going to work for me. i want the desk top clean & clutter free at all times. this desk is called the kendall walnut desk & the book shelf is the matching piece to the desk called the kendall walnut bookcase! the drawers store all my paper work (it even has an option for a filing cabinet!) whereas the bookcase shows all everything i want on display (aka my favourite cook books). lastly, the chair is one of the best finds! i had so much trouble finding a comfortable & stylish desk chair. it seemed to be one or the other. however, the harvey chair from crate & barrel is the best of both worlds! it looks like a beautiful sitting chair, but offers back support AND it swivels. you will often find the dogs curled up in a ball on it in the chunky knit blanket.

p.s. this space was featured on the crate & barrel blog this week!!!! if you want all the FULL details of everything in this space including that bear print, check out the article here.