Style Sprinkles

Thanksgiving is a time fondly known for family and friends, generosity and gratitude, and last but not least – pumpkin pie. As I’ve mentioned before, I am not a fan of pumpkin pie. But since the people I love happen to enjoy all pumpkin-infused sweets, I thought I would bake pumpkin bread as pre-treat to Thanksgiving’s customary pumpkin pie ritual.

Ingredients needed: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour,1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 cup solid pack pumpkin puree, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of softened butter, 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl.

Then mix in the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, buttermilk, egg and butter until well blended.

Pour into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Make sure you grease it well or you’ll have a difficult time getting it out after it bakes.

Smooth the top. Bake for about 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool.

In a bowl, add 2 cups of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of buttermilk, and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Mix well until completely smooth.

Generously pour frosting onto bread. Using an icing spatula or spoon cover the top of the bread. Make sure you put a paper towel or parchment paper under the bread to catch any frosting that spills over.

Let the icing firm. Then slice and serve.

The pumpkin buttermilk bread is incredibly moist. The flavors of pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon are perfectly balanced by the sweet frosting.

The pumpkin bread was so delicious – even I wanted to gobble it up!

While we all embrace looking the idea of looking our best as we gather to celebrate the holiday – say “cheese” everyone – looking prim and acting proper quickly goes out the door along with our good diet intentions after that second helping of our favorite dish. Besides the aforementioned list, Thanksgiving should also be a time to embrace stylish sweatpants and elastic waistbands. Why can’t one enjoy another slice of pie and still look and feel good? I want to stuff my closet’s belly with these crave-worthy choices:

T by Alexander Wang  Pique Oxford Combo Sweatpants (Available: Shopbop, Alexander Wang)

Splendid Waistband Pants (available: Splendid (several colors), Shopbop

Baby don’t you cry
Gonna make a pie
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle

Have you ever seen the movie “Waitress” with Keri Russell? It’s such a cute movie. Whenever I watch it, I start humming that song and start daydreaming about pies. And since it’s pumpkin pie season, I sort of feel like I should be making one.

One problem though: I’m not really a pumpkin pie girl. I know that may seem like blasphemy to some, but it’s true. The mere thought of it makes me frown. But I do like nutella. Inspired by the creative pies baked in the movie, I’d decided I’m gonna make my own pie with a heart in the middle.

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients: nutella, pie crust, powdered sugar

You can slave away in the kitchen and make your own homemade crust. Or you can take a shortcut like I did and just use Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust. It couldn’t get an easier – you simply unroll it on a lightly floured surface. Shhhhh, don’t tell.

With a cookie cutter begin cutting out hearts.

Place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Time to get out the nutella. Resist the temptation to dip your finger into it.

Place about a 1/2 to teaspoon. You want to get as much nutella in the middle – not too much, not too little. Try to stay away from the edges, otherwise it will squeeze out.

Now you need to cutout some more hearts. I decided to use a mini heart cutter and gently pressed it into the bigger heart. Just enough to make an impression.

Place the second heart cutout over the the one with the nutella. Gently pinch the sides together.

Tip: You may want to  use a little water to help seal the edges by running water along the edges before pinching together.

Use a fork to crimp the edges.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Generously sprinkle with powder sugar.

These little pies are sweet. The flaky crust, the rich hazelnut chocolate, and the sweet powdered sugar create a pie that warms the heart and makes the taste buds smile.

Not only is it pie season, but it’s sweater season too. Similar to pie, sweaters are like comfort food for your closet. And I’m currently craving sweet hearts. There are so many sweet sweaters; I couldn’t choose just one.

a. ASOS Heart Elbow Patch Sweater b. ASOS Chunky Heart Sweater c. Love Sweater with Heart Elbow Patches d. Oasis Heart Embellished Sweater e. A Wear Heart Stitch Jumper f. River Island Chelsea Girl Heart Print Sweater

There were scary noises coming from my kitchen yesterday. With all the moaning, growling, and screaming, you would have thought a zombie, a monster and Jamie Lee Curtis circa 1978 Halloween were having a get-together. You see, I thought it would be fun to make an Edgar Allan Poe Portrait Cake for Halloween. Fun? Not quite. Yesterday I not only challenged my baking skills, but my patience and sanity too. Let me share with you this tale:

First mistake? Deciding to make my own marshmallow fondant, which I had never made before. I heard it was easy and much more delicious than the premade stuff. If I could do it over, I would just choose the premade stuff. It wasn’t exactly super easy making your own, more specifically kneading the fondant. Always opt for the choice that doesn’t induce a headache.

Double, double toil and trouble;  Fire burn, and caldron bubble. Oh wait, that’s Shakespeare. But that’s what I thought of when I made the black fondant.

Photo: Crumb coating the cake. Unfortunately, I did not take photos of the actual cake before the icing. Why, you ask? Well for starters, I realized a little too late into the cake making process that I didn’t have the full amount of liquid red food coloring. Officially known as problem #2 of this baking project. I had most of it, but not all. The cake is a Waldorf-Astoria Cake, supposedly the original version of the red velvet. Since the cake is supposed to have a deep blood red color, not having the exact of food coloring was not ideal. I hesitantly continued on.

Problem #3 presented itself, when I poured the cake batter into the round pans and then I realized I had forgotten to add the last ingredient/step (the white vinegar and baking soda) to the batter. So back into the mixer the batter went. Frustration level: Major ughsies.

This is when things got really nightmarish. I didn’t have an X-acto knife on hand so I opted for a paring knife instead. Big mistake. Huge. Hence, problem #4.

 The process was way more difficult than I anticipated as I tried to outline the printed image by cutting through the printout and into the fondant. This resulted in not smooth but rough-jaged edges. Plus, I had to improvise on some of the detailing. Lesson learned: use X-acto knife whenever it is mentioned in the directions. Quoth the Raven me, “Nevermore.”

There were definitely a few times when I thought I would kill myself while making this cake.

In the end, I opted to slice the cake. It was bloody delicious.

It’s impossible to think of Edgar Allan Poe and not immediately think of “The Raven.” While I was weak and weary while making this cake, the thought of these  Christian Louboutin Alti 160 spiked patent-leather pumps kept tapping at brain. The raven black patent leather, the signature blood red leather sole, and cutting-edge spike detailing are killer. I’m dying to own them.

(Available: Net-a-Porter, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus)

For your listening pleasure: James Earl Jones and Christopher Walken reading “The Raven.”

Happy Halloween!

Recipe Adapted from the more impressive Sprinkle Bakes

It’s officially the month of tricks or treats – emphasis on the treats. Since next week is the season premiere of “Vampire Diaries” – one of my most guiltiest of pleasures – I thought these vampire cookies were an ideal way to start October. I’ve made these cookies before for a “True Blood” party and they have since become a cookie cult favorite. They’re sort of like the cookie version of a jelly donut.

What you’ll need: 3/4 cup butter (softened), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 tsp salt, raspberry or strawberry jam, 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk

In your mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar until lightly whipped. Beat in the egg and extract. Slowly add flour and salt until dough is just combined. Then wrap the dough either in plastic wrap or a sealed container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. You want the dough to be nice and chilled.

Preheat oven to 325F. Divide the dough in half, keeping the half you’re not using in the refrigerator. For the next step you’re going to want to work somewhat fast because the dough gets warm pretty fast which causes it to be sticky and kind of difficult to work with (especially if you live in Florida). Gently roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/8-inch thick.

Next use a cookie cutter to cut out 2-inch rounds and place them on baking sheet.

Add a heaping 1/2 of teaspoon of jam on each round and cover with another round of dough.

Gently press the edges down, pinching the two together. Bake for about 10-12 minutes (until cookies look set). Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

While cookies are cooling, take about a cup of powdered sugar and add 2 tablespoons of milk to create the pale icing (I used almond milk because that’s what I had available and it works great). Whisk the two together and let it sit for a minute or two. You’ll want your icing to be slightly thick, not too runny. Once the cookies have completely cooled, generously frost each cookie with an icing spatula or spoon. Let the icing firm up for at least 30 minutes.

Next, take about 1/4 of a cup of jam and heat it up in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then stir. To create the vampire bite, take a toothpick and poke two holes into each cookie, twisting the toothpick. To create a blood trickle, dip the toothpick into the warm jam and drag it from the holes downward.

I want to eat youuuuur cookies.

They’re so delicious looking – you’ll want to take a bite!

When I like something, I tend to go full nerd mode. The thought of watching “Vampire Diaires” while eating vampire cookies and wearing this Markus Lupfer Vampire Sequin Sweater is enough to make me seriously geek out. The black sweatshirt features a sequin vampire mouth that is as sexy as Ian Somerhalder. Okay, almost as sexy.

(Available at: Net-a-Porter, ASOS, Shopbop, My-Wardrobe, Matches)

Recipe Adapted from Baking Bites

While most people are enjoying the romantic spoils of fall – changing autumn leaves, stylish scarves, and crisp-cool air – I am not. Only recently has there been a somewhat noticeable drop in temperature, offering a momentary but sweet respite from the unbearable heat and humidity of Florida. Alas, the A.C. must still work it’s magic. And although autumn is probably my favorite time of year, Floridians really don’t get one. So sometimes you just have to fake it. An autumn scented candle and “You’ve Got Mail” usually help, but the best cure for fall cravings are satisfied easily with the taste buds. I tend to gravitate toward the flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg. Over the weekend I was tempted to make these again, but after a lot of back and forth I opted to make Iced Oatmeal Cookies.

What you’ll need for the cookies: 2 cups quick cooking oats, 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 sticks of unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 large eggs

First: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Next: In a food processor, pulse your oats about 4-5 times until partly ground. Then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Set aside. (Warning: the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg is completely intoxicating)

Next: Melt butter in the microwave. In your kitchen aid bowl, beat together the sugars and the melted butter. Then add in the eggs one at a time. Slowly add in the oat mixture until well combined.

Use your cookie scoop or drop tablespoons onto cookie sheets. Bake for 14-16 minutes, rotating halfway through. After they bake, let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I just love seeing the little specs of cinnamon and nutmeg in the cookie dough.

For the icing: Simply whisk together 2 1/2 cups of powder sugar with about 4-5 tablespoons of milk.

Once the cookies have completely cooled, generously spoon frosting onto cookies.

Let the cookies sit for about an hour until the frosting glaze fully hardens.

These oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy. The powder sugar glaze offers just enough sweetness to complement the comforting flavors of nutmeg and cinnamon.

I’ve professed my love for everything Isabel Marant many times on this blog. The brand is always a crave. During the fall season, I’m always drawn to her chunky knit sweaters. There’s just something so appealing about slipping on a chunky, cozy knit sweater when the temperatures gets just a little chilly. This Isabel Marant Quena chunky-knit wool and alpaca sweater has a delicious neutral oatmeal color and an incredible soft texture.

(Available at: Net-a-Porter, Matches, La Garconne)