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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When I saw that this month’s Flavor of the Month theme was “boozy,” I decided that I wanted to bake something sweet with an addition of rum. My first thought was buttered rum bread, but unfortunately that turned out to be a big fail, both in texture and in taste. So, I started over with a friend’s recommendation, which was tropical cupcakes with rum. The first thing that sprang to my mind was pina colada, so that’s exactly what I made. They were absolutely delicious! I loved the hint of pineapple in the cupcakes, and the rum frosting topped with shredded coconut helped me forget for a while that it’s 10 degrees and snowing outside. If you want to be transported to a tropical place for a while, try these today!

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Well, I thought this month’s Flavor of the Month was going up today, but I guess I am a little late since it went up yesterday. In any case, here are the many gingerbread cookies I made using my leftover dough from the Daring Baker challenge this month (you can find the recipe and instructions for making the dough here). They were perfect for taking to work for our Christmas parties and for packaging up as part of the homemade Christmas gifts I’ll be posting about later. (I know I’ve been slacking a little on the posts since I’m on vacation this week, but I promise I’ll get to them soon!)

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I was so excited when Bridget announced that the theme for this month’s Flavor of the Month would be traditions – the perfect theme for Thanksgiving! I decided that since I was hosting Thanksgiving for my family this year, I’d make my mother-in-law’s cracked wheat rolls so that I could also bring a little of hubby’s family traditions to the table. I whipped these up the day before Thanksgiving so they’d be ready to go; they keep well stored in resealable plastic bags. They’re perfect just plain, warmed up with some butter, or for making leftover turkey sandwiches for a snack!

• 2 packages yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cup cracked wheat

Pour the water into a small bowl, and then sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let sit for a few minutes. In the meantime, scald the milk (heat to almost-but-not-quite boiling). In a larger bowl, whisk together the sugar and salt. Pour the scalded milk and butter over the sugar mixture and mix until well-combined.

Stir in the eggs and 1 cup of the flour; then stir in the yeast mixture.

Stir in the cracked wheat.

Incorporate the rest of the flour to make a soft dough, and then knead until smooth. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough, and then let it rest again for about 10 minutes before shaping into rolls. Divide the dough into 20-24 pieces, then allow to rise again for about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

On a lightly greased baking sheet, bake for 18-20 minutes. Serve warm!

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!