Jalapeno Cheddar Pancetta Muffins

Happy New Year Friends!

The holiday season has come to a close unfortunately, but fortunately no matter what time of year it may be it is always baking season. For most of the country it is pretty chilly right now, which provides the perfect opportunity to stay inside and make something delicious.

This recipe Jalapeno Cheddar Pancetta Muffins works well for a bite-sized appetizer, a side on chili night, or just an everyday snack. It is also kid-approved. My 7 year-old nephew tried these when I made these while home for Christmas and proclaimed "They were yummy".

I made these as mini-muffins, but you could also use this recipe for a dozen regular sized muffins. It might also be good in an 8x8 pan. I haven't tried it, but if you do let me know how it turns out!

Start by gathering your ingredients.

Spray your muffin pans with non-stick baking spray.

In a large mixing bowl mix together all of your dry ingredients.

In a small sauté pan cook 1/4 cup diced jalapenos (approximately 2 jalapenos) in a tablespoon of butter for about 2 minutes.

Add 4 oz of diced pancetta and cook for about 5 minutes longer.

While the pancetta is cooking add the egg, sour cream, and 4 tablespoons of melted butter to the dry ingredients.

When the pancetta is done cooking add to the muffin batter and stir to combine.

Stir in shredded cheddar.

Portion evenly into the muffin cups.

For mini-muffins bake for approximately 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.

Share with friends and enjoy!

Jalapeno Cheddar Pancetta Muffins

Makes approximately 36 mini-muffins or 12 standard muffins

Ingredients
1 cup Medium-Grind Corn Meal
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
5 tablespoons butter, divided
4 oz Pancetta
1/4 cup Diced Jalapeno
3/4 cup Sour Cream
1 Egg
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar



Instructions

1. Spray muffin pans with non-stick baking spray and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
3. In a small sauté pan melt 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the diced jalapenos for about 4 minutes. Add the diced pancetta and cook about 5 minutes more.
4. While the pancetta is cooking melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and add to the dry ingredients along with the sour cream and egg.
5. After the pancetta and diced jalapeno has finished cooking add to the cornbread batter. Stir in shredded cheddar.
6. Evenly portion the cornbread muffin batter into the muffin cups.
7. Bake until the a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean. This will be about 15 minutes for mini muffins or 22 minutes for standard muffins.
8. Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Oat Cookies

I love the holiday season and the new ingredients that appear during this time because it reminds me of traditions with family and friends. The time preparing for the holiday is in some ways more exciting than the actual day. I grew up with my mom making a large variety of Christmas cookies every year so I love the familiar recipes that remind me of being a kid, but also like to experiment with new creations.

I created this recipe for Salted Caramel Pumpkin Oat cookies a couple months ago. They feature a ton of holiday flavor all rolled into one cookie and are super soft and delicious. During the past couple weeks I have had a lot of questions about the recipe for these so I wanted to ensure I included these as a post before the season ends. I am also pretty sure that the salted caramel chips are a seasonal variety and not sure they will make an appearance in stores next year so better make them while you still can!

Start by gathering your ingredients

I used these chips as an inspiration for this recipe, but they are not the easiest to find. Currently you should be able to find them in some Target locations and I have also seen them on Amazon. If you cannot find them feel free to substitute Ghiradelli caramel chips, or white chocolate chips. They won't be "salted caramel" in this case, but still delicious.

In a medium mixing bowl mix together the flour, oats, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugars together using an electric mixer.

Add the egg and beat until fluffy.

Mix in the vanilla extract and then the pumpkin puree.

On the low setting stir in the flour mixture.

Then add the chips.

Your finished dough should look super light and fluffy like this.

Using a medium cookie scoop portion the dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Ensure you leave enough room in between each one to allow for the cookies to spread while baking.

Bake for about 12 minutes at 350 F. Allow to cool completely before stacking as these cookies are very soft and will stick together.

Enjoy!

Make Ahead Tip- This dough can be pre-portioned and frozen individually so that you can easily make a batch of cookies on any day. Simply portion the dough balls onto a sheet tray and freeze for a couple hours. Remove the tray from the freezer and transfer all of the frozen portions of dough into a freezer bag. Place back into the freezer until the mood for cookies strikes you. These can be baked straight from frozen and only require a couple extra minutes added to the bake time.

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Oat Cookies

Makes 3 Dozen

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (reduce to 1/4 tsp. if using salted butter)
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• ¾ cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup salted caramel chips
*1/2 teaspoon if using chip flavor other than salted caramel

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Mix flour, oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl.
3. In a large mixing bowl beat butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together in a bowl until creamy. Add egg and mix well. Next add in pumpkin and vanilla extract; beat until smooth.
4. Stir flour mixture into creamed butter until combined. Fold chips into batter.
5. Use a medium cookie scoop to portion batter for each cookie onto a greased baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges of each cookie are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes or 12 minutes if baking from frozen.
7. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes than transfer to a cooling rack.
8. Share with friends and enjoy!

Nutella Peanut Butter Fudge

My birthday was last week and I was lucky enough to be surprised with a dozen cupcakes. I shared the majority of these, but the one I immediately claimed for myself was chocolate peanut butter cup flavored. Chocolate and peanut butter has always been (and probably always will be) my favorite flavor combination. The best part of this cupcake was the peanut butter frosting. I really wish I could just eat a big bowl of it, but of course that is not socially acceptable.

Earlier this week I combined the same chocolate peanut butter goodness into a treat that is just as tasty, makes a great gift, and is not frowned upon if you eat it straight in public. Let's not think about how this is basically thick frosting...

Here are the ingredients you will need:

To get started line a square pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray.

To prevent lumps of powdered sugar in your fudge sift 4 1/2 cups and set aside.

Next in a heavy duty sauce pan combine the butter and the peanut butter:

Cook the mixture until it comes to a boil.

Quickly work to stir in the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla extract.

Heat the nutella for 30 seconds in a microwave and then add to peanut butter mixture. Stir just a few times so that you will have a swirled effect.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and distribute evenly with a spatula or spoon.

Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and smooth the top. 

Chill for 2 hours, slice into 32 pieces, and enjoy!

Yes, it's that easy and oh so amazing!

Nutella Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cups salted butter
• 1¼ cups smooth peanut butter
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4½ cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup Nutella

Directions:

1. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the butter and peanut butter until the mixtures comes to a boil. Remove from the heat.
3. Stir in the powdered sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add in vanilla and salt and stir again.
4. Heat Nutella in microwave and then add to peanut butter mixture. Stir to achieve a swirled effect.
5. Pour the fudge mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and press down in all areas to ensure it is smooth and even. Cool until set in the refrigerator, about 2 hours.
6. Cut into 32 pieces and share with friends!

Fudge can be stored at cool room temperature in an airtight container.