Sour Cream Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

I love coffee cake that's light, fluffy, and filled with a sweet cinnamon filling. I've had this coffee cake recipe for several years and always made it once every year. It's perfect to have with your morning cup of coffee or a midday snack for a sugar rush. It's incredibly addictive and if you're like me and enjoy a cinnamon cake then you'll definitely enjoy this fluffy cake. Plus, it makes your house smell AMAZING while it's baking :o)

Sour Cream Coffee Cake 

(Source: Chicago Tribune)

Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sour cream  (16 oz)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon, ground

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into chunks

1 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350ºF. Combine all filling ingredients in small bowl. Set aside. Combine sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add all remaining coffee cake ingredients. Beat until well mixed. Spread 1/3 batter into greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan. Sprinkle with half filling mixture. Repeat with batter and filling mixture. Spread remaining 1/3 batter over filling. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

It was quite cold in Chicago last night so I thought it would be fitting to make a hearty soup for dinner. I found a Stuffed Pepper soup recipe several months ago and saved it to make when the weather gets cold. This soup is incredibly tasty! Everything you love about stuffed peppers in a soup form. Plus, it's super easy to make and it's hearty enough to eat for dinner on a cool fall evening. If you're a fan of stuffed peppers then I highly recommend this recipe!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

(Source: Taste of Home)

2 pounds ground beef  (I used a little over 1 pound)

1 medium onion, diced 

3 garlic cloves, minced 

2 quarts water*  

1 can (28 ounces) tomato sauce

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cups cooked long grain rice

2 cups chopped green peppers

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt  (taste soup first before adding the salt)

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules   (I used 4 beef bouillon cubes)*

1 teaspoon pepper

In a Dutch oven, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until peppers are tender. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

*You can use beef broth in place of the water and beef bouillon.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I decided to bake my boyfriend's favorite cookies to take with him on his trip to California. I know I shared an Oatmeal Chocolate Chip recipe several months ago and mentioned it's the best I've ever tried. However, I didn't have this gem of a recipe back then and I can confidently say THESE cookies are the best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies ever. I'm not sure if the milk made any difference but it is phenomenal. I needed to step away from the plate because I couldn't stop popping these in my mouth.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 

(Source: Frog Commissary Cookbook)

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 cups chocolate chips (about 12-oz.)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk and the vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Either by hand or with the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the flour in to the sugar mixture until just incorporated. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand. Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread. Bake at 350F for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center. Cool on baking sheet for at least 1-2 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.

Popeye's Biscuits

So these 7-Up biscuits or "Popeye's Biscuits" have been going around in the Pinterest world so I decided to give them a try myself. They're amazing fresh out of the oven but I wouldn't go so far and say they're like the biscuits you get at the fast food chain. I'm definitely adding this recipe to my biscuit repertoire since it's only four ingredients which makes it super easy and quick to whip up. Plus, they taste pretty good for biscuits that are so simple to make :o)

7-Up Biscuits 

(Source: Pinterest)

4 cups bisquick

1 cup sour cream

1 cup 7 Up (or Sprite or Ginger Ale)

1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 450. Cut sour cream into biscuit mix, add 7-Up. Makes a very soft dough. Sprinkle additional biscuit mix on board or table and pat dough out. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a 9 inch square pan.  Place cut biscuits in pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

*Since the dough was very wet, I just dropped the biscuit dough onto a baking sheet using an ice cream scoop. 

Cream Cheese Swirl Pumpkin Bars

Clearly I'm excited for autumn weather and baking again. Especially after this excessively hot summer that we had I'm tired of the heat and counting down until the cool fall weather arrives.  That said, I've started my fall baking already and baked up the Cream Cheese Swirl Pumpkin Bars. I found this recipe in the Better Home and Gardens magazine and I'm extremely glad I did because these bars are phenomenal! The texture is more like a cake rather than a brownie but it's still great nonetheless. Plus, it's wonderful to have with your morning cup of coffee.

Cream Cheese Swirl Pumpkin Bars

(Source: Better Home and Gardens Magazine)

Pumpkin Bar: 

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

1 cup vegetable oil

Cream Cheese Swirl:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cloves. Add eggs, pumpkin, and oil; stir until combined. Spread batter evenly into an ungreased 15X10 inch baking pan. Set aside. 

In a medium bowl combine half  of an 8 ounce package of cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat with an electric mixture on medium speed until combined. Beat in 1 egg and 1 tablespoon milk. Drizzle cream cheese mixture over pumpkin batter in pan. Use a knife to gently marble the mixtures together. 

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 hours.