Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake Cookies

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Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
  • 3/4 cup shredded carrots
  • 3/4 cup raisins
FILLING
  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
  • 2 tablespoons crushed pineapple
  • Additional confectioners’ sugar

Preparation

  1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
  2. Beat in the eggs and extracts.
  3. Combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, ginger and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
  4. Stir in the pecans, carrots and raisins.
  5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets.
  6. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar.
  7. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned.
  8. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
  9. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar
    and vanilla until light and fluffy.
  10. Stir in pecans and pineapple.
  11. Spread over the bottoms of half of the cookies; top with remaining
    cookies.
  12. Sprinkle both sides with additional confectioners’ sugar.
  13. Store in the refrigerator.

Yield: 4 dozen.

 To Make Ahead

Package cookies in an airtight container, separating layers with waxed paper and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in a single layer before filling.

Turtle Pumpkin Ice Cream Cake

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Turtle-Pumpkin-Ice-Cream-Cake
A Thanksgiving dessert and celebration ice cream dessert cake!

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ginger snaps
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 14-ounce can dulce de leche
  • 3 quarts pumpkin ice cream (Pumpkin pie, pumpkin swirl, you name it!)
  • 1 small bottle chocolate Magic Shell
  • 3/4 cup candied pecans

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Trace the bottom of a 9 inch spring-form pan on parchment paper, and cut out a circle to lay in the bottom of the pan.
  3. Using a food processor or high-powered blender, pulse the gingersnaps until they reach a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and egg and pulse a few more times to combine.
  4. Press the gingersnap mixture evenly over the bottom of the spring-form pan, and up the sides approximately 2 inches.
  5. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
  6. Once out of the oven, cut a parchment paper strip 4 inches high, and a little over 2 feet long, to line the perimeter of the pan. Tuck the parchment paper strip carefully between the crust walls and the sides of the pan. Adjust the paper ring to fit snugly around the crust the secure with a paper clip. Press the crust back gently if it has slumped a little.
  7. Spread the entire can of dulce de leche over the bottom of the crust. Then place the crust in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.
  8. Scoop the ice cream into the crust and press down using a piece of wax paper. Smooth the top with a spatula. Place back in the freezer to firm up–30-60 minutes.
  9. Then release the sides of the spring-form pan and remove the ring and parchment paper.
  10. Shake the chocolate magic shell vigorously, then drizzle around the edges. Once the edges of the cake are covered in chocolate, drizzle the magic shell in the middle of the cake.
  11. Quickly top with candied pecans, before the magic shell hardens.
  12. Place back in the freezer until ready to serve.

Note

If you plan to wait more than 1 day to serve the cake, wrap it well with foil, followed by a layer of plastic wrap.

Apple-Pecan Carrot Cake

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Apple-Pecan-Carrot-Cake
Top a showstopping crown of Mascarpone Frosting with swirls of Apple Cider Caramel Sauce and a scattering of salty-sweet Spiced Pecans (minus the ground red pepper). Caramel sauce, rather than frosting, sandwiches together the moist cake layers.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/3 cups finely chopped lightly toasted pecans, divided
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups peeled and grated Granny Smith apples
  • 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
  • 2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Caramel Sauce<,
  • Mascarpone Frosting,

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sprinkle 1 1/3 cups toasted pecans into 2 well-buttered shiny 9-inch round cake pans; shake to coat bottom and sides of pans.
  2. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients.
  3. Stir together eggs and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl until blended. Add flour mixture, stirring just until blended. Fold in apples, carrots, and remaining 1 cup pecans. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  4. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour).
  5. Place 1 cake layer, pecan side down, on a serving plate. Spread top of cake layer with 2/3 cup Apple Cider Caramel Sauce; top with remaining cake layer, pecan side down. Spread Mascarpone Frosting over top of cake. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Caramel Sauce over frosting, and swirl sauce into frosting. Serve immediately.

Apple Cider Caramel Sauce

Apple-Cider-Caramel-Sauce
For straight-up apple flavor, start with fresh-pressed cider from a farm stand.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream

Preparation

  1. Cook cider in a 3-qt. saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until reduced to 1/4 cup.
  2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; boil, stirring constantly, 2 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, and cool completely.
  4. Refrigerate up to 1 week.
  5. To reheat, microwave at HIGH 10 to 15 seconds or just until warm; stir until smooth.

Mascarpone Frosting

Mascarpone-Frosting
Luscious Mascarpone Frosting crowns the top of Apple-Pecan Carrot Cake.

Ingredients

  • 1 (8-oz.) container mascarpone cheese
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whipping cream

Preparation

  1. Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a large bowl just until blended.
  2. Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into mascarpone mixture.

Apple Stack Cake

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Apple Stack Cake
Use six disposable 8-inch aluminum cake pans to create the layers of this stunning cake. Prepare the filling up to three days before assembling the cake.

Ingredients

FILLING
  • 3 pounds tart apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
  • 3 pounds crisp apples (such as Braeburn or Honeycrisp), peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 lemon, sliced
CAKE
  • Vegetable cooking spray
  • 6 (8-inch) round disposable aluminum foil cake pans
  • Parchment paper
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 5 large eggs, separated
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
  • 1 cup apple butter

Preparation

Prepare Filling
  1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a light boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring often, 25 to 30 minutes or until apples are tender and juices thicken.
  3. Discard lemon slices.
  4. Cool completely (about 2 hours).
  5. Cover and chill until ready to use.
Prepare Cake
  1. Lightly grease disposable cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms of pans with parchment paper, and lightly grease parchment paper.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
  3. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
  4. Stir together apple pie spice and 2 3/4 cups flour in a medium bowl; stir together buttermilk and baking soda in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
  5. Stir together pecans and remaining 1/4 cup flour. Fold pecan mixture and apple butter into batter.
  6. Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Stir about one-third of egg whites into batter; fold in remaining egg whites.
  7. Divide cake batter among prepared pans, spreading with an offset spatula.
  8. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes; rotate pans from top rack to bottom rack.
  9. Bake 7 to 9 more minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
  10. Remove cake layers from oven, and brush each with 2 to 3 Tbsp. warm Apple Cider Glaze. (Reserve remaining glaze.) Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks; discard parchment paper. Cool completely (about 30 minutes).
Assemble Cake
  1. Place 1 layer, glaze-side up, on serving platter.
  2. Top with 1 1/2 cups filling. Repeat with remaining layers and filling.
  3. Top last layer with any remaining filling, and drizzle cake with desired amount of reserved Apple Cider Glaze.

Apple Cider Glaze

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup apple cider
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

  1. Bring sugar, apple cider, butter, and corn syrup to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
  2. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring constantly, 4 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.

Note:

If necessary, microwave glaze in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 10 to 20 seconds before drizzling over cake.

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

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Carrot-Cake-Cheesecake
Two of our favorite cakes come together to make the ultimate spring dessert, this decadent carrot cake cheesecake. If you like carrot cake or cheesecake, you have to try this one! It’s an elegant dessert that is certain to impress. It would be perfect to make for Easter or an upcoming birthday. Really, who wouldn’t love this?

The ingredients and directions do look rather lengthy, but this is easier to make than the recipe makes it appear. Besides, even if it took hours to make, it’s worth it, this is carrot cake cheesecake! The hard part of this is the wait. Yes, cheesecake requires that long cooling and refrigeration period but the patience pays off once you get to sink your fork into a piece of this utterly divine cheesecake, through each of those irresistible layers, and you get to slowly savor each and every bite… Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cheesecake Mixture
  • 2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened well (but not melted)
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
Carrot Cake
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoons ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups finely grated carrots
Topping
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 Tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

For the cheesecake mixture:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons flour until well combined. Add cream cheese and using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together cream cheese and granulated sugar mixture until smooth.
  3. Mix in eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined after each addition and adding in vanilla with second egg.
  4. Blend in sour cream. Forcefully tap bowl against countertop about 30 times to release air bubbles.
  5. Set mixture aside.
  6. Rinse beaters clean. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg for 30 seconds.
  7. To a separate large mixing bowl, add canola oil, applesauce, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract and blend mixture using electric hand mixer set on low speed for 1 minute.
  8. With mixer running on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until well blended.
  9. Add carrots and mix until evenly distributed. Tap bowl forcefully against counter, about 3 times, just to release large air pockets.
To assemble cheesecake:
  1. Pour 1 1/2 cups carrot cake mixture into buttered springform pan and spread into an even layer. Dollop about 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture by the spoonfuls over carrot cake layer (don’t spread or swirl).
  2. Spoon remaining carrot cake mixture over cream cheese layer, then finish by drizzling by the remaining cheesecake mixture over carrot cake layer, working to cover all of the carrot cake mixture (I found this easiest to do this was by slowly drizzling over with the spoon).
  3. Bake in preheated oven 60 – 65 minutes, until center portion only jiggles slightly and tenting with aluminum foil at 40 minutes to prevent excessive browning (tent in a way that the foil doesn’t touch cheesecake or it will stick).
  4. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack 1 hour, then cover with foil and chill in refrigerator 6 hours or overnight.
For the topping:
  1. In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip together cream cheese and butter until smooth.
  2. Add remaining topping ingredients and mix until pale and fluffy, about 4 – 5 minutes.
  3. Spread evenly over cheesecake then chill cheesecake in freezer for 20 – 30 minutes. Sprinkle edges with chopped pecans.
  4. Cut into slices.
  5. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Brown Sugar-Pecan Coffee Cake

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Brown Sugar-Pecan Coffee Cake
Start your morning with this delicious coffee cake and you’ll be ready to tackle the day. A brown sugar crumb mixture forms the crust, and cinnamon-sugar pecans add a crunchy topping.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, cubed
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

  1. Stir together flour and brown sugar in a large bowl. Cut 3/4 cup butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or 2 forks until crumbly. Press 2 3/4 cups crumb mixture evenly on the bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan.
  2. Stir together sour cream, egg, and baking soda; add to remaining crumb mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir together granulated sugar and cinnamon. Pour sour cream mixture over crumb crust in pan; sprinkle evenly with cinnamon mixture and pecans.
  3. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.