you probably came here for TWD. I suck. But this weeks pick was pumpkin muffins and I have two versions. One pecan and white chocolate chip and a chocolate covered raisin version as well. I promise there is a reason for being a slacker.

Sometimes we become a creature of habit, especially in the world of food. So often I order the same thing, I am most guilty of this when it comes to Chinese food. For even when I try to mix it up, I often find myself longingly looking over at someone who ordered one of my regulars. Then end up ordering it and taking it home for lunch the next day. When will I learn.
My husband often puts me into baking ruts. Chocolate chip cookies and red velvet cake…with cream cheese frosting. So when going through Baked I noticed that they have a version of red velvet cake that was called Red Hot. At first I was afraid they did the whole chocolate and chili thing which I am not a fan of that movement at all (Bobby Flay can keep that one) but it was just basic red velvet cake, but with a cinnamon frosting. Hmm, cinnamon frosting, I felt the need to give that a try (not to worry I made my husband plain old cream cheese frosting).
I must admit I am not sure if I was up for the change. I like the cinnamon flavor with the cake a lot but missed the tang of the cream cheese. I think next time I will make a hybrid of sorts using a cream cheese frosting with cinnamon. If you want to make the little Red Hot (where it got it’s name from) decoration you just simply melt some chocolate, pipe it through a bag, place a Red Hot on top, and stick in the fridge to set up.
I used a different red velvet cake (recipe here) but I included the frosting recipe if you want to break away from the normal standard.

Cinnamon Frosting

1 ½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole milk
¼ cup heavy cream
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter; beat until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and cinnamon and continue mixing until combined. If the frosting is too soft, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator to chill slight, then beat again until tit is the propers consistency. If the frosting is too fir,, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is proper consistency.

Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

In these times of economic down turn you can see that the Fluff Ticket has chosen to temporarily suspend their campaign. (That and we ran out of money). But CCS and LFB have a very important message for you…Remember those less fortunate than you.
Of course everyone we know is struggling with the cost of food along with many other things (as you can see pictured above CCS is quite depressed about it). And in times of economics strife one of the biggest sufferers are Food Banks and Animal Shelters. There have been many food drives around here as of late, they simply are not getting the donations used to, and we all know why. The same goes for the Animal Shelters.
The Fluff Ticket begs you to think about others and please contact your local Food Bank and Animal Shelter and see what they need. And then donate. Even if you only have $2 to give, that is $2 more than what they had. Every little bit truly does help!!!
In good news, LFB is recovering nicely. She now has a 90% chance of keeping her eye (though we will love her just the same if she has to lose it). I can tell you though she is a little tired of being poked in the eye several times a day with medicine. We wont for sure know until about December, but we are hopeful.
The Fluff Ticket would like to thank everyone for the growing support they are receiving. Why just look at the variety of animals who are on board with the Fluff Ticket (with special mention of Emma (corgi), who belongs to Cassie a fellow food blogger). Corgis, bears, chickens…oh my! With this kind of momentum we can’t help but feel optimistic for a win in 2012!
In crappy financial times like these I like to stress eat. One of my all times comfort foods is one that I will admit I am embarrassed to like. I like it so much that I only allow my mother to make it for me as I seriously eat the whole pan. And what is worse, I have to have Cool Whip, not whipped cream on it. So. Very. Wrong.
This is about the easiest recipe every created. You literally dump everything in, hence the name. There are a ton of varieties of this cake but this is my favorite flavor combo. It’s a good potluck cake or family meal as it feeds many…or just an afternoon snack if you are me.

Oh and in case you are wondering, no I did not make the dump cake. It’s a picture from when I was at my parents house in July. I really mean it when I say I can’t stop eating it and therefore wont make it.

Dump Cake (My mom’s version)

1 (20 ounces) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (21 ounces) can prepared cherry pie filling
1 (18.25 ounces) box yellow cake mix
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
½  cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 for glass baking dish).
Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking pan.
Dump undrained pineapple baking dish or pan and spread it out evenly.
Using a spoon, dump globs of cherry pie filling evenly on top of the pineapple.
Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the cherry and pineapple layers.
Pour butter evenly over cake mix.
Sprinkle nuts and coconut if using them.
Bake for one hour.
Remove from oven and let cool for 20  minutes.
You can serve either warm or cold. I like it room temperature with Cool Whip (yes, I know that is wrong ).

Yield: about 10 to 12 servings (or two if I am eating it)

We’re CCS and LFB and we approve this message.

Teaching, as you know, is often a thankless job. Randomly you might get an atta girl thrown at you but other than that you don’t get a lot of positive feedback. Unless of course, “I hate homework” is positive feedback.
So when I started to get comments on my blog I was just giddy. Wow, positive feedback…and the actual day I post. But sadly there is some feedback I never get and wish I would. You might be surprised at the amount of email I answer a day. Sometimes I am even surprised. I always try and help when I can and I try and be honest when I can’t. No super woman here. But so many times after I get the email and help the person, I never hear from them again. It’s not that I am looking for a thanks, but I really want to know if what I told you worked out or not! It helps me too.
So a few months back (gosh maybe longer than that) a reader (who does not have a blog) wrote me and asked if she could have my address. Now I admit, I get nervous handing out my address to people, though really it is public record, but still (just keep in mind I do have an attack bunny…and a dog that will lick you…and you don’t want to know where that’s been). I gave it to her and that was it. Nothing came in the mail and of course part of me grew suspicious that now I would be getting extra junk mail.
But then the other day I got a letter. Handwritten, so it really stuck out. The name was not one I knew and it seemed bulky. Hmm ( here CCS sniff the letter…you didn’t die, okay, I’ll open it) . I opened it up to find $17 cash and a note. There outlined in the note were 17 recipes that my reader K had tried from my site. It went through each one explaining what she liked about each recipe. It also told me how my suggestions on two of my recipes turned out. Yay, feedback! It also went on to say some nice things about me to further make my day. I also had to laugh as she informed me that she would be sending me a dollar for every recipe that she tried and liked from now on. She said she knew that running a food blog could get costly and she hoped I could use the money ( who can’t ).
So readers of the Culinary Concoction world, please if you ask me a question, let me know how it turns out. Good or bad…I can take it, I’ve got my big girl panties on.

Perhaps one to add to her list is these here Butterscotch Tarts from my new cookbook obsession/crush, Baked. These are essentially Butterscotch Pudding in a Tart Shell, with Butterfinger Candy. So if you were feeling lazy and didn’t want to make the tart dough, you just just as easily spoon this into a glass and have at it.
Mine came no where as dark as the picture in the cookbook. I can understand for the pudding. I didn’t want to caramelize to dark, as it sometimes gets bitter. The tart shells however made no sense. I baked them for longer than what they said and they still stayed pale in color. They had great flavor and crispness but very pale. Odd. But I really liked the shell as it was different than what you normally get. I think it would be good with pumpkin pie filling as well.

Butterscotch Pudding Tarts

Oat Wheat Pie Crust

1 cup rolled oats
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ tsp salt
¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup whole milk

Put the rolled oats in a food processor and process for about 30 seconds, until ground but not powdered. Add the flours, brown sugar, and salt and pulse until combined.
Add the butter and pulse until the butter pieces are small and the dough looks crumbly, like coarse sand. Add the milk and pulse for a few seconds.
Scoop the dough out of the food processor and form it into a large disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.
Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Unwrap the disk of chilled dough and put it directly on the work surface. Cut the dough into eight equal pieces, about 2 ounces each, and gently shape each piece into a smooth disk. The dough will be sticky. Make sure t turn the dough over as needed and keep the working surface floured. Put the dough disks in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a 6-inch round just over 1/8-inch thick. Place a round over a 4-inch tart pan and very gently press the dough into the pan. Roll the rolling pin over the pan to trim off the excess. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds. Use any excess dough trimmings to make a ninth tart shell or freeze for another time.
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Put the tart pans in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Remove the tarts from the freezer, then arrange on a baking sheet and gently prick the dough with a fork.
Bake on the baking sheet until golden brown, 12-15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking time.
Transfer the tart pans to wire racks and let cool completely.

For the Butterscotch Pudding

6 large egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 tsp salt
3 cups whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP unsalted butter
2 TBSP whiskey

Put the egg yolks in a large heat proof bowl and set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, and ¼ cup water and stir gently with a heatproof spatula; do not splash the side of  the pan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, then increase the heat to medium-high heat and cook until the mixture begins to turn dark amber color. Swirl the pan, if necessary, to create an even color, but do not stir. Remove from heat, let stand for 1 minute, then use the heatproof spatula to stir in the cream. Pour the caramel into small bowl. Set aside.
In another small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in the milk and whisk to combine.
Add the vanilla extract. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add the caramel. Whisk together until combined, then pour one third of the mixture over the eggs. Keep whisking the egg mixture and add another third of the hot milk mixture. Transfer the egg mixture back to the saucepan with the milk minute and, whisking the whole time, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 2-3 minutes, or until very thick.
Remove from the heat and add the butter and whiskey.
Keep whisking vigorously for about 1 minute to cool the pudding slightly. Let the pudding sit for about 15 minutes.

To assemble the tarts:

Whisk the pudding one more time until smooth. Divide the pudding equally among the tart shells an sprinkle some crumbled Butterfinger bar over the pudding. Cover the tarts with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving.
The tarts can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito