Oct 23, 2010

Back from the dead...

or at least I'm sure some of you thought I may have fallen off the edge of the world. Nope, I'm still here. Things are going so fast and furious that I rarely have time to blog and now I have added hurdles. Last week we moved to a new house in the same city but a house that we have a 5 year lease on. Now at least we won't have to move to a new house every furlough. The really sad thing about our new house is that there is no internet or phone!!! EKKK!!! No I'm not joking! I am currently sitting at the old house using the wireless that's on until the end of the month.

In 6 weeks we fly out and head to Texas for furlough. This furlough will be different than any other we have ever had. Our oldest son is finished with school, getting his liscense when we return and he'll start college in the fall. We'll be returning to Croatia without him so this furlough will be a bit different. Gonna need LOTS of grace!

Anyhow, I'm totally busy with life here in Croatia and preparing for the upcoming change. I have lots of share but the lack of internet makes that a little difficult.

As soon as we make it to the states, I'm sure I'll be back to blogging again. Until them I'll leave you with a recipe I made today and LOVED.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream-Cheese Filling

INGREDIENTS
Makes 12 whoopie pies.
  • FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon ground cloves
  • 2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS
1.     Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
2.     In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
3.     Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.
4.     Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)
5.     Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days




tori

11 comments:

  1. I promise to be praying for you during this change! And for your son. God bless!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so glad to hear from you. I will be praying for your family as you start your furlough. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to leave a child while you go back to your calling...but I am know the grace of God will be sufficient. How long will your furlough be? Will you be in east Tennessee at all?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, Tori! Glad you're doing okay. Good to hear from you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous2:55 AM

    Good to "see" you again, Tori! Wow, coming back w/o your son will be tough! When our son began to work full-time on his apprenticeship and went from full-time HSing w/ us at home to full-time gone away, IT WAS HARD (for me, not him!). But at least he came home at night & we had a cup of coffee together & chatted about his day! Will be thinking of you! Enjoy your furlough! Keep in touch!
    God bless!
    D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad you're back. I can relate to your internet access dilemma. I have to drive to the church to use it. How long are you going to be in the states? I will be praying for you and your son. It will be hard on him too. He has been in Croatia a long time and will need adjustments to the states again I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, man, that is going to be hard. I'll pray for you, Sister! Is he going to school in Arlington?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous3:17 AM

    I am glad than you're back. I am going to pray for your family. I hope that everything will be fine eventually.
    dining table

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Tori!
    Thanks for the recipe...I was just looking for pumpkin-y baking ideas :-)
    Will be praying for you with all the changes in the days ahead!
    ~Trish

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hoping your journey has been smooth; and that you're stateside again. I'm thinking you'll have LOTS to share when you move into your new blog home.

    Love the recipe!!!! Thank you.

    Blessings,
    Kathleen

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Tori! Just thinking of you. Hope you all are doing well. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. wow! I'm making those Pumpkin Whoopie pies like, RIGHT NOw! I checked and have everything in my pantry! yay! I'll take them to our "Thanksgiving and Pie Fellowship" at church Tuesday night! I'm so glad I visited here today!

    ReplyDelete

Hey thanks in advance for leaving a comment, sure do appreciate it!!