Recipes for Winter Break

By Megan VanScoyoc

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Semisweet chocolate chips (I used 3/4 cup of mini semisweet chocolate chips!)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F and place muffin liners in a muffin pan
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix well.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips
6. Fill the lined muffin cups to about 3/4 of the way full
7. Bake the muffins for 15-17 minutes, or test by poking a toothpick near the center and remove the muffins when the toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack
9. Enjoy! These are delicious both warm and cold, but I prefer mine when they’re colder. When they’re warm, you will get more of a chocolate flavor, and when they’re cold, they will have more of a pumpkin flavor.

Snickerdoodle Brookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Cinnamon Sugar: 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat the hoven to 350˚F and line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper
2. Cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Mix in the egg and vanilla until well combined
4. Add in flour, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar, and cinnamon until the flour mixture disappears when mixing
5. In a small bowl, mix the 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of sugar until well combined.
6. Press the dough into the baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes. TOOTHPICK TEST! Mine took about 30 minutes to bake properly, but some of my taste testers preferred it when it wasn’t baked completely for its gooey texture.
8. Cut into squares and enjoy!