Double Crust Apple Pie

Decided to change it up for Thanksgiving this year and made my very first double crust apple pie  instead of the usual pumpkin pie and/or pumpkin cheesecake.  Recipe was from Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts book with no adaptations.

I thought this pie was a fail as the second we cut into it all this liquid flooded the bottom of the pie plate.  Turns out we just didn't let it rest long enough.  The leftovers the next day didn't have the same problem.

Pumpkin Bread

I couldn't let Fall past me by without baking anything with pumpkin; so, enter this pumpkin bread.  I quickly whipped up a batch and took a loaf over to the in laws for dinner this past weekend.  The bread had a great texture (dense and moist) however, I must admit that it was lacking pumpkin flavor.  The topping which I thought would be a streusel turned into this liquid mass that just sank into the bread once baked.  If anyone else has made this bread, from The Pastry Queen, feel free to leave me a comment on how it turned out for you.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

For the last few days, I have been hooked on eating these banana oatmeal muffins for breakfast.  The best part is that I don't even have to feel guilty about it.  Instead of flour, they are made with ground up oatmeal.  The ones featured here are made with sugar but you can definitely substitute  apple sauce or honey for it.  Most of the ingredients are readily found in your kitchen at home too.

For the recipe and step by step instructions, be sure to visit my sister's site Simply Pinspirational as she made these for the household upon discovering them on Pinterest.

SF Giants Cake

For my friend's husband's birthday, I suggested making a cake and she requested a small and simple one, as we would just be having dinner at a restaurant with a few family members and friends.  (Last year, I made him an iPad cake.)  I made him a 6-inch chocolate cake covered in vanilla buttercream frosting.  I brought back a favorite technique of mine for this cake, the buttercream transfer.  It was the easiest way to copy the logo of his favorite baseball team onto it.  The fun part was that I purposely picked a chocolate cake in order to fill it with an orange frosting to mimic the team's colors on the inside as well.