Say it with Sprinkles: A baking blog filled with recipes & photos of sweet treats & savory eats.

I love brussels sprouts so freaking much.  I feel like there are some people out there, however, who aren’t such huge fans.  I know!  I’m as confused as you are.  For whatever reason…too bitter, too green, too tiny cabbage-esque, whatever.  Pan roasting is the cooking method that changes all of that.  Brussels sprout haters become brussels sprout lovers, or brussels sprouts toleraters, at the very least!  This recipe is so easy, super healthy, only requires a few quality ingredients, and turns out tasty delicious.  I made this as a Thanksgiving side dish this year, and it was quite the hot commodity!  I can see this being extra yummy with dried cranberries tossed in at the end!  This is a new staple side dish for me, I can see making it alongside brown rice and a piece of salmon or baked tofu.

Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts

Ingredients:

* 4 heaping cups large brussels sprouts, cut into quarters

* 5 medium to large cloves of garlic

* 4-5 Tbsp olive oil

* 1 cup toasted walnut halves

* Kosher salt, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* F.

Line a cookie sheet and spread walnuts evenly.  Toast about 10 minutes, checking often until toasty brown (don’t burn, though!)

Wash and quarter the brussels sprouts and set aside.  In a large frying pan with a lid, heat the olive oil.  Roughly chop garlic cloves and add to pan, stirring constantly until soft and lightly browned.

Add brussels sprouts to the pan, and cover, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes.

Once the walnuts are toasted, remove from the oven and allow to cool in a bowl.  Turn oven temperature up to 400* F.  Transfer brussels sprouts from the stove top pan to the baking sheet, spreading out into an even layer.

Sprinkle with salt, to taste.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and toss with toasted walnuts on the pan.  Bake about 10 more minutes, until brussels sprouts are fork tender and slightly crispy on the outside.  Serve!

If the last thing you want to see right now is a pumpkin pie, and the last thing you want to to do right now is follow a pumpkin pie recipe to make a pie…then turn away now!

If you’re still on board with the whole make more pie since the pie from Thanksgiving was so amazing idea, however, then you’ve come to the right place!

As I mentioned before in my Thanksgiving Recap, pie was abundant, but didn’t include much in the way of pumpkin until the next morning.  My brother’s fiancee, Becky, is obviously pretty die hard, even during the holidays- she had to go in to work on Black Friday, while most of the rest of the world was either fighting off crowds at Best Buy, or continuing to digest Thanksgiving dinner from the night before.  Before she left, though, she whipped up this classic pumpkin pie!
There’s nothing much new about this particular pumpkin pie since the filling is the result of the tried and true Libby’s recipe on the back of the pumpkin puree cans, but a pie is always set apart by its crust, which she made from scratch.  It was basically a hit, so here it is!

Libby’s Classic Pumpkin Pie

This recipe is for one pie, with a single, bottom crust.  The recipe on the Libby’s canned pumpkin is for 2 pies.
Probably one of the simplest of all pies, but always a Thanksgiving favorite, for sure!  I bet if you’re a pumpkin purist you could use your own stewed pumpkin, or you could probably use this recipe with canned butternut squash or sweet potato puree even, if that’s what you have on hand!

Ingredients:

* 3/4 Cup Sugar
* 1/2 tsp Salt
* 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
* 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
* 2 Large Eggs
* 1/2 of a 29 oz can of Libby’s Canned Pumpkin
* 1 Can Evaporated Milk
* 1 Store bought, or Homemade pie crust (see below for crust ingredients + how-to)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425*F.

For the crust-

1.5 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 cup shortening, 1/4 cup butter and 2-4 tbsp of cold water.

Mix flour and salt, blend in the fats with a pastry cutter, then add water until the dough just forms a ball (don’t add too much H20 and don’t overwork the dough once the water is in. Otherwise the pie crust will be tough.)  Roll out the dough on a floured surface until slightly larger than the size of your pie pan.  An easy way to transfer the dough to the pan is to roll it up on your rolling pin, lift it up, and unroll it over the pan- voila!  Now use your fingers to crimp the edges and make it pretty (or if it’s not quite perfect, do what I do and call it rustic 😉

For the Filling-

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in a small bowl.
Beat eggs together in a separate bowl, and stir in the pumpkin and sugar and spice mixture.
Slowly stir in the evaporated milk.

Pour into your pie shell, and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350*F and bake for another 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack thoroughly. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Flaky crust + custardy pumpkin = fall.  There, I said it.  Pumpkin pie doesn’t JUST have to be for Thanksgiving anymore…you can make it any time you want, I promise!

It’s actually pretty nice featuring someone else’s recipe for a change and not having to do the work…thanks, Becky!! =)

…Any chance I can get guest posts out of anyone else?!  Just asking 😉

I guess since you’re reading this right now you successfully made it out of your Thanksgiving induced food coma, so congratulations!  You’re probably enjoying Thanksgiving round 2 today, also, which I fully support.  Black Friday shopping?  I wasn’t brave enough, but I admire you if you braved the crowds today! 😉

Last night my family and I enjoyed turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and most of the other dishes that are traditional for us on turkey day.  My favorite, part of dinner was definitely the turkey paired with my super simple cranberry sauce.  I’ll definitely be making it again soon!

I’m sorry to tell you, but I despiseeeee potatoes!  That means mashed potatoes, too, but everyone else seemed to enjoy them.

Various fruit salads…I know, we get pretty fancy with the dishes 😉

Sparkling cider for toasting & sipping!

And last but not least, pie!  Everyone was so stuffed from dinner, though, that we waited several hours to indulge.  I didn’t snap pictures in the horrible, 10:30pm lighting, or lack there of, but the line-up included various berry pies, brought by a family friend (including a gluten-free mixed berry pie that was amazing! YES!), a bit of pumpkin, and a chocolate pecan pie.

Obviously this morning my brother’s fiancee whipped up this classic pumpkin pie!  You can never have too many pies!

Good luck digesting!

Happy (Turkey Day) Thanksgiving!

I know it’s a little late in the game to be posting a Thanksgiving recipe, since most of you are probably spending time with friends, family, and massive amounts of food resulting from weeks of pre-planning and not scouring the internet for last minute recipes…but this cranberry sauce is fairly holiday universal.  I’ll be smothering my turkey with it tonight, but I can see baking it into muffins, globbing it on oatmeal, or even cooking some up for Christmas dinner.  It’s festive!

I’d love to stay and chat, but I have thanks to be giving, and turkey to be getting ready for!  More on that later.

Super Simple Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

* 1 bag (12 oz.) fresh cranberries
* 3/4-1 Cup granulated sugar
* 1 Cup Water
* 1/4 Cup fresh squeezed orange juice
* Zest from 1 Orange

Directions:

Add all ingredients into a sauce pan and heat to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Once boiling, turn down the heat to allow cranberries to simmer and pop. Continue simmering for about 10 minutes.

Allow to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before transferring into a jar or pretty dish. Eat as is, or refrigerate.

Have a great time with loved ones!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

I suspect that you’re all eating modestly today in preparation for tomorrow’s gluttonous extravaganza, so maybe you aren’t interested in a cookie recipe right this second, right?  Haha, ya, I know  good one.  There’s nothing like the holiday season to really bring out everyone’s eating potential to the fullest- just anticipating a giant turkey leg smothered in gravy and cranberry sauce and then dipped in mashed potatoes is probably just about all that’s necessary to spark the appetite, days to weeks ahead of time.  You can totally handle these cookies.  You’ve got it under control.

I’d say these cookies were pretty standard, if by standard I meant completely not standard at all.  I mean, they look innocent enough.  You’ve seen chocolate chip laced cookies before, they’re pretty classic…even standard.  But something about the holiday season brings out a desire in me to bake with things that are green, and red, and probably glittery.

Since I had no edible glitter on hand, and since let’s face it, I’m not on an episode of Top Chef Just Desserts creating centerpieces out of chocolate that will probably tragically be thrown away 1o minutes after presentation, or like….that guy who used edible glitter a lot…I’m going with the holiday color variations.  Green pepper cookies?  Probably not.  But cranberries?  Doable.  Done.

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Ingredients:

* 1 Cup Butter flavored Shortening (or butter)
* 1 Cup Brown sugar, packed
* 1/2 Cup Granulated sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 tsp Vanilla extract

* 2 1/2 Cups All purpose flour
* 1 tsp Baking soda
* 1 tsp Salt

* 1 Cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 1 Cup Pecans, roughly chopped
* 1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries

Directions:

Beat together the shortening and sugars with a stand mixer, or by hand, until fluffy.
Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing between additions. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry to the wet mixture, mixing between additions. Don’t overmix, though!

Stir in the chocolate chips, pecans, and cranberries by hand. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour, wrapped up, or covered.

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
Scoop out cookie dough using a dough scooper or a spoon (about the size of a golf ball). Bake 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven, until tops are golden brown. Allow to cool on the pan a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack, or directly to your mouth, if you feel like you can take the heat. =p

But seriously, don’t burn yourselves…

You probably shouldn’t let the fact that come tomorrow you’ll be knee-deep in cranberry sauce, doubled over in regret grasping your stomach as you slip into a turkey-gravy-pie-to- top-it-all-off coma affect your decision to make these or not.  You probably should go for it.