Category: Desserts

Pumpkin Cake Roll

I love cream cheese so much! And I love this pumpkin cake roll. We made it for my brother’s wedding lunch (in addition to chocolate strawberries and eclairs), and I even got to make it for a How-To video when I was working at Harmons. Haha, it turned out a little flat in the video–I don’t think I beat the eggs for 5 minutes in the video, and they could’ve used more air.

The pumpkin roll also freezes well. We had a bunch left over from the wedding, and I ate it at least six months later with no hint of freezer burn.

I haven’t tried making this gluten free yet, but I’ll try using cup for cup flour and let you know how it goes.

Pumpkin Cake Roll

  • Servings: 12?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Cream cheesy, spiced, and amazing when served chilled.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 c. Sugar
  • 2/3 c. Pumpkin
  • 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
  • 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 2 tsp. Cinnamon
  • ¾ c. Flour
  • ½ tsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Ginger
  • ½ tsp. Nutmeg

Filling

  • 1 c. Powdered Sugar
  • ¼ c. Butter
  • 1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions

For cake, beat eggs for 5 minutes (don’t skip this). Gradually add sugar. Add rest of ingredients. Grease a large cookie sheet (especially the middle) and bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Sprinkle dish towel with powdered sugar. Gently loosen cake from pan with a spatula, then turn cake out onto dish towel. Roll up in towel to cool.

For filling, beat together ingredients. Unroll the cake and spread with filling. Then roll back up. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve chilled and sliced (it is messy to cut, FYI). (This also freezes well, just wrap in plastic wrap then foil.)


 

Pumpkin Dessert

This recipe comes from my friend Heidi Pitkin who doesn’t like pumpkin pie, but she loves to have this for Thanksgiving dessert. I LOVE the sweet topping with nuts, and it’s amazing when served warm.

I’ll always remember that Thanksgiving with her, when we were serving a mission in Vienna and trying to put together a traditional Thanksgiving for all the missionaries during our few hours off during the week. Haha, the funniest was special ordering a giant turkey that looked like the size of a toddler, wrapped in a big white bag, and seeing it carried through the busy Ubahn (subway).

I haven’t tried making this gluten free yet, but you’ll just want to use yellow cake mix. Hopefully it turns out better than when I tried to make a dump cake with gluten free cake mix–that was terrible.

Pumpkin Dessert

  • Servings: 12?
  • Difficulty: medium
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The perfect Thanksgiving dessert for people who don’t want pumpkin pie.

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 large can Pumpkin
  • 1 c. Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Nutmeg
  • 1 ½ tsp. Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. Ginger
  • ½ tsp. Ground Cloves
  • 1 can Evaporated Milk
  • 3 Eggs
  • ½ tsp. Salt

Topping

  • 1 Yellow Cake Mix (or gluten free cake mix)
  • 1 c. Walnuts, chopped
  • ¾ c. Butter, melted

Directions

Mix together all filling ingredients and pour into a greased oblong cake pan. Then sprinkle cake mix and nuts on top. Pour melted butter over all. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until set. *Most delicious when warm.


 

Raspberry Cake

My Aunt LaRee introduced us to this amazing cake, and the house smells so deliciously of warm cake and sweet raspberries when it’s baking. Combine it with cream cheese frosting and you’ve got a match made in heaven. Finding sweetened raspberries in the frozen section is getting hard, so I often buy unsweetened raspberries (frozen or fresh), then when I’m ready to put them in the cake, I shake 1/4-1/2 c. sugar over them and pour the 1/2 c. water over that. Then I let them sit for a few minutes to absorb the simple syrup. Also, if I don’t buy a can of frosting, I’ll often make the cream cheese frosting from the pumpkin bar recipe (you may want to double it) or a half batch of buttercream. You can make it as a regular cake or in a big cookie sheet. Here’s the version in the cake pan:

For gluten free, I’ve used a GF confetti cake mix and 1-2 Tbsp. cornstarch added. It turned out amazing. And I’ve even made the recipe dairy free (except for butter) by using a half batch of the buttercream recipe, and it was great.

Raspberry Cake

  • Servings: 12?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Delicious with whole raspberries in the middle and cream cheese frosting on top.

Ingredients

  • 1 White Cake Mix (or gluten free cake mix)
  • 2 Tbsp. Flour (or 1-2 Tbsp. cornstarch)
  • 1 small pkg. Raspberry Jell-O (4 Tbsp.)
  • ¾ c. Oil
  • 4 Eggs
  • ½ c. Water
  • 10 oz. pkg. Frozen Raspberries (sweetened) (or use unsweetened with 1/4-1/2 c. sugar, with the 1/2 c. water above poured over top)
  • White or cream cheese frosting

Directions

Mix together all ingredients (except the frosting) and spread in large greased cookie sheet (aka jelly roll pan). Bake at 350° for 30 minutes (or about 45 minutes in 9×13 pan). Frost with white frosting (generally cream cheese frosting).


Pumpkin Bars

We had these at a church activity once when I was a teenager, and I loved them so much that I kept bothering my leader for the recipe until I got it. Haha. Even if you’re not a pumpkin fan, these spiced cake bars are so delicious, especially with their cream cheese frosting. They make a lot of bars, and they’re always very popular.

If you’re making it gluten free, it turns out wonderfully. I would’ve had no idea it was gluten free. Just use gluten free flour plus 2-3 tablespoons extra.

Pumpkin Bars

  • Servings: 40 small bars
  • Difficulty: medium
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Spiced cake with delicious cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 c. Oil
  • 2 c. Sugar
  • 1 lb. can of Pumpkin
  • 2 c. Flour
  • 2 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • ½ tsp. Salt
  • 2 tsp. Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. Ginger
  • ½ tsp. Ground Cloves
  • ½ tsp. Nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 3 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 Tbsp. Milk
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla
  • 1 3/4 c. Powdered Sugar
  • 6 Tbsp. Butter, softened

Directions

For cake, beat eggs and mix together well with oil and sugar. Add pumpkin to mixture and mix. Add flour and spices. Slowly mix together well. Pour into greased 11×17 jelly roll pan (big cookie sheet). Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Cool.

For cream cheese frosting, mix all ingredients until smooth, then spread over cooled pumpkin squares.


 

Muddy Buddies

I’ve always enjoyed Muddy Buddies, and now that I have celiac, I eat them a lot more because they’re naturally gluten free. We always seem to have Rice Chex around the house now, as well as the rest of the ingredients. I’ve even used milk chocolate chips, and it was still delicious. This recipe is straight from Chex itself, and it’s always a winner. Sometimes we’ll even put in seasonal M&Ms to add color and fun, like Valentine or Halloween M&Ms.

And of course this one is naturally gluten free. Just make sure your peanut butter jar is new or dedicated gluten free. And if you may have ever used the same measuring cup for flour as your powdered sugar, use a new bag.

Muddy Buddies

  • Servings: 8?
  • Difficulty: easy-medium
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Crunchy, chocolatey, and peanut buttery.

Ingredients

  • 9 c. Rice Chex
  • 1 c. Semisweet Chocolate Chips 
  • ½ c. Peanut Butter (new or dedicated GF jar)
  • ¼ c. Butter
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla
  • 1 ½ c. Powdered Sugar
  • (Optional: M&Ms)

Directions

Measure cereal into large bowl; set aside. Microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in 1-quart microwavable bowl, uncovered for 1 minute; stir. Microwave 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal in bowl, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into gallon bag; add powdered sugar. Seal bag and shake until well coated. Add more powdered sugar if necessary.


Peanut Brittle

In the family recipes, this was labeled as “Buttery Peanut Brittle”–and it definitely is buttery. That might be what makes it better than most. I love it at Christmas and probably end up eating more than we deliver to neighbors and friends. Haha. This was also a great treat for me when I had to do the FODMAP diet.

The original recipe calls for 2 c. peanuts, but I want it insanely loaded with peanuts, so I upped it to 3 c. Also, sometimes raw peanuts are really hard to find. We have made this with unsalted roasted peanuts when we couldn’t find raw peanuts. It’s still delicious but obviously has a slightly different taste and texture.

And thankfully this one is naturally gluten free. Just check your nuts that they don’t say they may contain wheat.

Peanut Brittle

  • Servings: 8?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Crunchy, buttery, and bursting with peanuts.

Ingredients

  • 2 c. Sugar
  • 1 c. Light Corn Syrup
  • 1/2 c. Water
  • 1 c. Butter
  • 2 – 3 c. Raw Peanuts (a 16 oz. bag is about 3 c.) (check for gluten free)
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda

Directions

Line two cookie sheets with foil and butter them, then place the pans on hot pads. In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves. When syrup boils, blend in butter. Stir frequently after the mixture reaches 230°. Add peanuts when the temperature reaches soft crack stage (around 280°) and stir constantly until the temperature reaches hard crack stage (around 305°). (You may want to use the ice water method to check for desired texture.) Remove from heat and quickly stir in soda. Mix thoroughly. Pour onto prepared cookie sheets. As candy cools, stretch it out thin by lifting and pulling from edge, using forks. Loosen from pans as soon as possible and break into pieces.


Peanut Butter Magic Middles

Man, I love these cookies. The recipe is adapted from one in a cookie magazine that my roommate had–these won an award at a fair. They do take quite a bit of time, but they’re always delicious and impressive. The original name was “Peanut Butter Munchies”–but I never liked the name, and people always wonder how the peanut butter got in the middle. Haha. The answer is forming the chocolate dough around a peanut butter ball, then pressing them flat with a glass dipped in sugar. FYI, the dough does have peanut butter in it–I’ve considered making it straight chocolate like with the Black Cat Cookie dough then filling with peanut butter, but I haven’t yet.

I haven’t tried making this gluten free yet, but I’ll definitely use cup for cup flour and let you know how it goes. And make sure your peanut butter and powdered sugar are new or dedicated gluten free.

Peanut Butter Magic Middles

  • Servings: 32
  • Difficulty: hard
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Soft chocolatey cookies with a peanut butter filling. Delicious but time-consuming.

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 1 ½ c. Flour (or gluten free flour with xanthan gum, plus a few tablespoons extra)
  • ½ c. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • ½ tsp. Baking Soda
  • ½ c. Butter, softened
  • ½ c. Sugar
  • ½ c. packed Brown Sugar
  • ¼ c. Peanut Butter (new or dedicated GF jar)
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tbsp. Milk
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla

Filling

  • ½ c. sifted Powdered Sugar
  • ½ c. Peanut Butter (new or dedicated GF jar)
  • (2 Tbsp. Sugar for dipping glass)

Directions

Preheat to 350°. In medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Beat in flour mixture. Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1 ¼“ in diameter. Set aside.

For filling, combine powdered sugar and peanut butter until smooth. (Add more peanut butter if it’s too dry.) Shape mixture into 32 (3/4”) balls. Slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball; top with peanut butter ball. For each cookie, shape chocolate dough over filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Place balls 2” apart on cookie sheet. Lightly flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in the 2 Tbsp. sugar. Bake for 8 minutes or until just set and surface slightly cracks. Let stand 1 minute. Transfer to wire racks; cool.


Lion House Pie Dough

The Lion House is a historic building in downtown Salt Lake City. It was originally a house belonging to Brigham Young, but now it’s a restaurant. My mom had a recipe book with several Lion House recipes, and we still use the pie dough recipe today.

If you’re making it gluten free, try a different recipe. I made this with gluten free flour, and taking it out of the oven was like taking out hot sand. Haha. Terrible. Maybe if I’d added more eggs or something. But I’d suggest just searching out a recipe formulated for gluten free.

Lion House Pie Dough

  • Servings: 2 crusts
  • Difficulty: medium
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Perfect for all your pies. Note that this uses dry milk.

Ingredients

  • ½ c. Butter (original recipe calls for 1/4 c. butter, 1/4 c. margarine)
  • 2/3 c. Shortening (original recipe calls for 1/3 c. shortening, 1/3 c. lard)
  • 1 Tbsp. Sugar
  • ½ tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Nonfat Dry Milk
  • 3 c. Unsifted Flour
  • ½ c. Ice Water

Directions

Cream together butter and shortening. Add sugar, baking powder, salt, and milk. Add half the flour and mix well. Add water and remaining flour. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough and place in pie tin. For edges, cut off excess and pinch dough between fingers for peaks. If baking for cream pie, poke with fork several times before baking (at least 10 minutes at 400° or until golden).


Homemade Oreos

This recipe comes from my sister-in-law Stephanie. These are always very popular, and might even be considered whoopie pies because of their rather cakey chocolate cookies and white filling. Whatever they’re called, they’re always delicious.

I haven’t tried making this gluten free yet, but you’ll want to use gluten free cake mixes and check the texture before baking.

Homemade Oreos

  • Servings: ?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Cakey cookies with white filling.

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 2 Devil’s Food Cake Mixes
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 ½ c. Shortening

Filling

  • 2 pkgs. Cream Cheese (16 oz. total)
  • ½ c. Butter
  • 4 tsp. Vanilla
  • 4-6 c. Powdered Sugar

Directions

For cookies, mix together all ingredients and form into small round balls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes.

For filling, mix together and spread on one cooled cookie. Then place another cookie on top of frosting and press down.


Lion House Cheesecake

The Lion House is a historical building in downtown Salt Lake City. It was originally a house belonging to Brigham Young, and is now a restaurant. My mom had a book with several Lion House recipes, and this is one of our favorites to make. I think my favorite part is the cinnamon in the slightly crunchy crust. The original recipe calls for just making it in a pie pan, but we usually make it in a springform pan. Also, the recipe doesn’t call for it, but I usually put a pan of hot water in the oven below the cheesecake to help prevent cracking.

I haven’t tried making this gluten free yet, but you’d need to change the crust, either using gluten free “graham” crackers or something like gluten free Oreos.

Lion House Cheesecake

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: medium
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Creamy filling with an amazing crust.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 ½ c. Graham Cracker crumbs, rolled fine (or gluten free graham crackers or cookies)
  • 3 Tbsp. Sugar
  • 6 Tbsp. Butter, melted
  • 1 tsp. Cinnamon

Filling

  • 1 ½ lbs. (3 8 oz. Pkgs.) Softened Cream Cheese
  • 1 c. Sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • ¾ tsp. Vanilla

Directions

For the crust, thoroughly mix ingredients and press into 9″ or 10″ pie pan or spring form pan. 

For the filling, beat cream cheese well. Add sugar a little at a time; add eggs one at a time; add vanilla. Combine thoroughly until smooth. Pour into crust and bake for at least 1 hour at 300° until set. (Cheesecakes are done when there’s a tiny bit of wobble in the middle or when the internal temperature reaches 150°.) Serve chilled.