This month’s Flavor of the Month theme was chocolate, which I thought was perfect for February (and well, I thought it was perfect anyway because I love chocolate)! I wanted to share a recipe that I adapted from one I found on Hershey’s website a couple years ago, because whenever I’ve served it, it’s always been a big hit. Plus, it’s a relatively simple dessert, so you can make it in a pinch since you probably have most of the ingredients on hand already!

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There’s been far too much cooking going on here recently and not nearly enough baking, so I thought I’d remedy that today. The truth is that I haven’t been able to bake as much as I’d like to lately because I’ve been busy preparing for Thanksgiving. This is going to be my first year hosting (yay!), so I’ve been planning, working on my menu, and doing a bit of shopping here and there. But, don’t think I’ll be too busy to blog! Quite the contrary; I’m planning on preparing as much as I can ahead of time, so I’ll be doing Thanksgiving posts every day starting the weekend before Thanksgiving. So, if you need any help, ideas, or just want to check out what I’ll be serving up, come on by!

Now, on to the coffee cake. When I first noticed fresh cranberries out on the shelves a couple weeks ago, I immediately grabbed several bags of them. I froze them, but left one in the fridge because I decided that I had to bake something with them soon. This past weekend I had my chance, since we had some company over Saturday morning…so I decided to whip up this coffee cake for breakfast. And as crazy as it sounds, this coffee cake replaces the rhubarb one I made this summer as my new favorite. Seriously, try this as soon as possible. You won’t regret it (your hips might, but don’t listen to them)!

Cake (adapted from King Arthur Flour):

• 8 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups fresh cranberries

Crumb topping:

• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 3/4 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9×13″ baking dish. For the crumb topping, whisk together the sugars, spices, salt and butter in a large bowl. Stir in the flour with a spatula. The mixture will be solid and dough-like (it’s almost the same as the one for the rhubarb coffee cake).

For the cake, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until fluffy.

Add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add to the wet ingredients half at a time until combined.

Stir in those gorgeous cranberries.

Pour the batter into the pans and sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter.

Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Happy Halloween! My final post for the #GreatHallowTweet bloghop also doubles as my post for this month’s Flavor of the Month, which is pumpkin. So, I give you these pumpkin cupcakes, all dressed up for Halloween! I took a tray of these to work on Thursday, and they were gone in an instant. You can make these for your Halloween party this weekend, get your kids to help you decorate them, or make them and hand them out to trick-or-treaters. And if you’re left with any, they’re perfect for breakfast the next day. Be safe, and enjoy the holiday!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup  sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake pans (24 cupcakes) with paper liners. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter.

Add in the eggs and beat until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, beating until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frost with your favorite frosting (I used buttercream), and go crazy with the decorations!

To lessen the blow of my Daring Baker fail this month, I wanted to post again for the #GreatHallowTweet bloghop hosted by Renee! I made this cake for my family when they were visiting a couple weekends ago (and made them take it home with them so that I didn’t eat the whole thing). It’s perfectly delicious plain, or lightly dusted with some powdered sugar…but I couldn’t help myself and made a pumpkin buttercream frosting, which I spread on haphazardly for a more casual look (and okay, because I was hungry).

Taking a bite of this cake was like taking a bite of autumn. If you’re craving pumpkin, try this today – you won’t be disappointed. And be sure to follow the links in my sidebar to see more Halloween treats from other great bloggers!

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups pumpkin
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs

Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting:

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp pumpkin
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• Orange icing coloring (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bundt pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.

In another medium bowl, mix together the pumpkin, milk, and vanilla.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add in the eggs one at a time.

Alternately add in the wet and dry ingredients, beating until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the bundt pan, spreading evenly.

Bake 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes before inverting and removing the cake.  Meanwhile, make the frosting. Cream the butter and shortening together. Add in the pumpkin and cinnamon, beating until smooth. Gradually add in the powdered sugar. Color as desired.

Cool the cake completely before frosting.

After making cannoli last week, there was no way I could just leave it at that; they were too good. Plus, I had a bunch of filling left over that I didn’t want to go to waste. The first idea I had was to use it in cupcakes, and let me tell you, it was the right thing to do. I made a very simple vanilla bean frosting to top them off, and people raved about them and the frosting in particular. They were definitely a big hit! Here’s what you’ll need:

Dry ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 cups flour
• 2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp Marsala wine
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips

For the frosting:

• 1 and 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and line two muffin pans with cupcake wrappers. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

In a different, larger bowl, mix together the butter, eggs, vanilla, Marsala wine, and milk. Also note that I need new mixing bowls, as evidenced by the huge chip in the side (I have no idea how that happened!).

Add in the ricotta cheese, orange zest, and powdered sugar. Mix in the dry ingredients, and then stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into cupcake liners, 24 in total. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the muffin pans to a cooling rack.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Cream the butter and shortening together, and then add in the vanilla extract. Gradually add in the powdered sugar. Mix in the milk, and then mix in the vanilla from the vanilla bean.

Frost the cupcakes once they have cooled completely, and top with additional chocolate chips if desired. Look at those lovely flecks of vanilla!