Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Does cooking the turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings make you dread the thought of making even more for dessert? Pumpkin pie is a must, but let another one of your guests worry about that perfection... after all you can't spoil the pumpkin pie...that pie crust needs to be perfectly flakey and tenderly firm. So make these quick, and easy cookies, and take the stress away from pumpkin.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup (250g) dark chocolate, chopped

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350F/180C. Grease cookie sheets.

Beat the butter, white and brown sugars until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and allow to cool.

Watch for my pumpkin pie finale on Saturday!

Look the part when showing up with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies:

Pic courtesy HarpersBazaar.com

  

Tweet

Thanksgiving Mini Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

Looking for easy bite-sized treats for Thanksgiving? Especially ones gluten and dairy free? Well I've found your recipe! These are the easiest little things to make... Before you start, be sure to have a mini doughnut tin or mini muffin tray. By all means make regular size, but these are an easy, sweet bite to add to your Thanksgiving feast.

Mini Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts (Gluten and Dairy Free) *Not Vegan

Doughnuts:
1 3/4 cups brown rice flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup oil (canola or olive)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup apple cider

Cinnamon and Sugar Coating:
1/4 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 cup nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease inside of doughnut tray or muffin tray (I used doughnut tray.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and apple cider until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Fill tray (each doughnut mould half full) and bake for 10-12mins. While the doughnuts are baking, mix sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the coating. Remove doughnuts from oven and allow to cool for 2mins. Then roll each doughnut in cinnamon&sugar mix, and enjoy!

Thanksgiving fashion that goes well with doughnuts...

Pic courtesy of HarpersBazaar.com

Tweet

Treats at Tu-Lu's

Gluten Free Cupcakes. Photo courtesy of Tu-Lu's.

Finding the best up-and-coming bakeries in NYC can be a challenge considering there are so many that come and go lacking originality, staying-power, and that unique niche that sets them apart from the rest. Well... I just might have found a new(er) bakery to beat. The only 100% dedicated gluten-free bakery in NYC, Tu-Lu's Gluten Free Bakery boasts mouth-watering baked goods all at gluten-free standards, brought to you with the most pleasant service and humble smiles.

GF Birthday Cake. Photo courtesy Tu-Lu's.

Partners Tully and Jen opened Tu-Lu's Gluten Free Bakery because they couldn't let their love of baked goods be lost for good to their gluten intolerances (Jen with Celiac Disease and Tully with gluten intolerance.) The rational solution? A gluten-free bakery of course, where allergy considerations (gluten, nut, and dairy) are of the utmost importance.

Watch as I bring Haut Appétit behind the scenes at Tu-Lu's to get the full scoop on everything gluten-free, their favourite fall fashion trends, and most importantly on how to frost those yummy cupcakes of theirs...

Frosting cupcakes à la Tu-Lu's...

Be sure to check out Tu-Lu's Gluten Free Bakery compete in Le Parker Meridien's Gingerbread Extravaganza competition this year. With several bakeries in the city competing, you can vote on your favourite gingerbread house for $1 where the proceeds go to charity, and watch which bakery wins! Go Tu-Lu's! (Not that we're biased!)

Gluten-Free Coffee Cake. Photo courtesy of Tu-Lu's.

338 East 11th Street, NY. 212-777-2227

Tweet

Pastries from Bobbette and Belle

If you're looking for exquisitely made cakes, French macarons almost too delicate to eat, or cupcakes decorated with English rose gardens in mind, then you will have come to the right place at Bobbette and Belle Artisanal Pastries. Toronto's very own pâtisserie du jour has been praised by the likes of WedLuxe and House&Home magazine, and is easily one of the top patisseries in Canada. The owners, Allyson Bobbitt (Bobbette) and Sarah Bell (Belle), came together as fate would have it, to open this gem of confectionery delight, and have never looked back.

Allyson Bobbitt and Sarah Bell
Photo by Tara McMullen

I had the pleasure of interviewing them at their shop in Toronto on Queen St. East, where we talked about everything from French macarons, to fashion! Take a look...

Allyson Bobbitt showed me how to decorate a cupcake by shaping buttercream frosting into a flower - leaves and all. I must say, if you have the necessary frosting tip and piping bag, you can really frost your own cupcakes like a pro! Learn how by watching the video below...

Brides-to-be, you won't need to look much further than Bobbette and Belle for the perfect wedding cake. An otherwise miserable afternoon will be filled with delight upon opening a box of their signature French macarons. And their cupcakes... You can never go wrong with flowers made of buttercream frosting.

Some of their cakes on display

Detail on one of their wedding cakes

BobbetteandBelle.com

Tweet

D'Espresso Cafe on its side

The ceiling at Grand Central Station NYC where my cafe hunt begins...

A discrete, cubby-hole of a cafe, apparently flipped on its side or at least made to look that way, has managed to squish itself on E 42nd St. between Madison Ave. and Vanderbilt. Grand Central ticks somewhere close by, and the passersby seem to streek its glass storefront windows as their reflections pass. I must admit, it took my friend Kim and I some time to find this inconspicuous cafe in quite an obvious location, where I concluded (after circling the corner and telling Google Maps that it was wrong) that the cafe could have benefited from a larger, more obvious, D'Espresso signage. For those yet to visit, look out for the large ice cream bar in the window, and you've found your destination.

Note the D'Espresso sign on the door...

The food was typical quick cafe eats, reminding me of cafe bars in my time spent in Milan - delicious espresso, stale croissants. Considering the food could have used some work, the interior design was definitely worth the trip. It was designed by Anurag Nema and his team at nemaworkshop where they have designed other NY cafes like Delicatessen. Much smaller than I had anticipated, I suppose the pictures speak for themselves...

Floor wall, wall ceiling....

I didn't go in for fear of a sideways toilet...

We left the bookshelf walpaper for the real thing, when we ventured nearby to the New York Public Library, and although they weren't serving up any cakes or soufflés, I thought the the interior and information-desk-lady were worth mentioning.

Stairs leading to the library

Information desk lady

Kim works in textiles and knows her prints. 

Derelicte Club Monaco bag

Tweet