. . . While Visions Of Walnut Toffee Squares Danced In Their Heads

My crazy, busy semester has come to an end, thank goodness. My wrapping is not yet finished (and this is after noon on Christmas Eve Day), but last night I spent the night baking baking baking!

Here are the fruits of my labors, some of my favorites!

Walnut Toffee Squares

Walnut Toffee Squares
Photo (c) by Stephanie Miller 2013

Walnut Toffee Squares

12 whole graham crackers (or more, depending upon the size of your cookie sheet or jelly roll pan)

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

Assorted nuts and/or chocolate chips as desired.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet that has sides with aluminum foil and lay out the whole graham crackers to fill the pan.  I used a jelly roll pan, so I needed more than 12.  I also had to break some graham crackers in half to fill in some empty spots around the edges.  

Stir together butter and brown sugar in a 2 quart saucepan on the stove top.  Stir until boiling.  Boil 1 minute.

Pour the butter mixture over graham crackers.  Place the pan in the preheated oven.  Bake 3-6 minutes until it's bubbly.  Remove from the oven.

Cool slightly.  Sprinkle on toppings as desired (as shown: 1 cup chopped walnuts and 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips).  Also delicious: crushed pecans, chopped or slivered almonds, heath bits, white chocolate chips, etc.  

Cool completely.  Break each cracker into 4 sections (I use a butter knife when the toffee squares are nearly cool. I then place them on a wax paper lined platter or table to continue cooling so the toffee doesn't stick to the aluminum foil.)

Makes 48 rectangles (or more, depending upon the size of your pan).  

WARNING: These are addicting!

Rumchata Buttercream Frosting

Pumpkin.
Sugar.
Bread flour.
Cake flour.
Whole eggs.
Coconut oil.
Pumpkin pie spice.
Salt.
Baking soda.
Baking Powder.

Pumpkin cookies = Fall deliciousness.

I contributed for the conventional basket with Bountiful Baskets, a food co-op I enjoy utilizing.  With our preschoolers and my husband's schedule being crazy at times, I haven't been able to volunteer as I did in the spring.  I was so excited to pull into the distribution location parking lot and see the baskets all set up outside, in the wonderful fall weather.

Council Bluffs, IA, Bountiful Basket pick up location.
Photo (c) by Stephanie Miller
Taken 12 October 2013

Even though the service fee went up slightly to cover additional costs for transportation, I think our baskets were much more bountiful this week!  You'll notice that there is a "left" (vegetable) and "right" (fruit) basket to the set.  Here is what I got this week:

Top: The gorgeous pumpkin cookies.
Bottom: The conventional basket
Photo (c) by Stephanie Miller

I also splurged and contributed something like $4.50 for a dozen Pumpkin Cookies.  These beauties are like mini Pumpkin spice cakes -- so poufy, soft, and dense.  Very moist.  With the simple ingredients listed at the start of this entry.  Although they were beautiful as they arrived, I really wanted a cream cheese frosting with them.  

I wanted to make a cream cheese frosting.  You know.  The typical pairing for a pumpkin/spice cake.  No cream cheese frosting in can in the pantry.  My dear friend Amy is at WalGreens; they only have chocolate frosting in a can.  Took the cream cheese out of my fridge, and I discovered it expired April 2013.  WHAAT!?  

Plan B: Butter Cream frosting.  

And this is what I came up with: Rumchata Buttercream Deliciousness!  (Although you should know that my mixer even broke down in the midst of beating this.  I swear, forces were conspiring against me!)

Photo (c) by Stephanie Miller 2013

Rumchata Buttercream Frosting

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 capfuls of Rumchata (until you get the right consistency)

Place the softened butter and the powdered sugar in a bow.  Mix on low until blended, then beat on medium for another 3 minutes, adding the Rumchata until the frosting is the desired consistency.  

This should frost an 8x8 pan, or in my case, 12 lovely pumpkin cookies with some left over for sampling!