Chocolate Pecan Pie

This is one of my brother's favorite fall recipes. When he found out I was making it for Thanksgiving this year, he asked me to make two so he could have some leftovers. This pie is surprisingly easy and quite delicious!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups pecans

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (I cheat and buy the crust premade but you can make your own)

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch salt

Form the crust on a pie dish or tin.

Pour in the pecans.

Pour in the chocolate chips. Mix the chips and pecans to try to make them even throughout the crust.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.

Add the sugar and brown sugar. Mix well.

Add the corn syrup. 

Tip - you may want to use a spoon because the syrup likes to stick to the bottom of the measuring cup.

Add the vanilla and salt.

Mix well.

Add the mixture to the pie crust.

I suggest putting the pie on a baking sheet. I've learned the hard way that the mixture will spill over in the oven  if you are not extremely careful. Using a baking sheet avoids this risk.

Put the pie in the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until the pie sets.

Make sure to let the pie cool for at least a half hour before serving!

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Banana Nut Muffins

Michael had some old bananas laying around and didn't want to throw them out so we decided to bake something out of them. Since we only had two mushy bananas we had to search for a recipe that specifically only used two. We came across this banana nut muffin recipe and decided to give it a try. The muffins turned out pretty well, but next time we would use more banana (to give it a stronger flavor) and we might possibly toss in some chocolate chips (just because we LOVE chocolate in everything sweet).

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup to 1 cup chopped walnuts (we used 1 cup)

Cream the butter and gradually add sugar. Mix well.

Add eggs

Add the mashed up bananas and mix well...

Next, mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

In a third bowl, mix together the milk and lemon juice and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Take turns adding a little bit of the dry ingredients and the milk mixture. Blend well after each addition. 

Stir in the walnuts.

The batter should make 12 muffins.

Bake for 15 to 22 minutes (whenever a toothpick comes out clean) at 350 degrees.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

As previously mentioned, we love fall and anything to do with pumpkins. These cookies are included in our list of favorite pumpkin concoctions. We like them best soft and gooey, with a lot of chocolate chips. 

Ingredients

1 cup of pumpkin

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Combine the pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk (we usually use a small cup to mix the two together) and stir into the dry mixture.

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix well.

Add the vanilla and fold in chocolate chips.

Form cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. (We usually take them out a bit early so they are really soft and gooey.)

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