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Sharing Holiday Joy with Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

3 · · 29 Comments

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars // My all time favorite Christmas goodies are my Mom's Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars…

Some of my earliest Christmas memories are hanging out in the kitchen with my Mom and sometimes my Dad while they made their famous holiday concoctions. They had a few staples on the list… Fudge, peanut brittle (not my favorite,) your classic Christmas Sugar cookie and then my favorite the chocolate peanut butter bar. I remember dreaming about this little treat all though out the year. Not to mention the anticipation I would feel when Mom would start the task of holiday baking. She always kept the pans of goodies out in our cool garage which acted as our overflow kitchen storage. They were supposedly hidden from sticky little fingers, but no… I always found them. Nibbling little morsels here and there until the sad day when the pan of chocolate peanut butter goodness was gone for another year.

I remember that sense of pride I felt as we would travel out as a family to deliver our plate of goodies to friends and neighbors. I always felt like my Mom's holiday plate was just a little extra special because of the chocolate peanut butter bars. My Mom would always make them in a 9×13 pan and then cut them into bars. This year I made some for my family and friends in these super cute mini paper loaf pans that I found at Walmart and then wrapped them with decorative parchment paper tied with bakers twine. A nice little updated touch to an old family classic.

I just love these little treats full of messages of love from giver to the lucky person receiving the special gift. Whether it's a personalized card or cookies right out of the oven, I love sharing the warmth of the holiday season with my family, friends and, of course, my readers! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2 sticks butter (melted)

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

Mix graham crakers crumbs, peanut butter, sugar and butter together well and press into a 8×8 pan. Melt chocolate and spread on top of peanut butter mixture and chill for 30 minutes. Cut into small squares and serve at room temperature.

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

4 · · 5 Comments

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie // I didn’t grow up eating Shepherd’s pie, not sure why… It just wasn’t in my Mom’s repertoire which kind of surprises me. Now that I am master of my own kitchen, I pull out this humble show stopper every once in a while and I LOVE it!  I  went a little crazy this time and created a sinfully fabulous Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie rather than the traditional potato Shepherd’s Pie or Cottage Pie as it is known in other circles…

Sinful Sweet Potato Sheperd's Pie copy

Traditionally Shepherd’s Pie is made when you have some leftover meat and you toss it together with some veggies and add a topping of mashed potatoes.  I’ve had good and bad renditions of this casserole type dish and so far this one is hand’s down my favorite! It took a little time to think about all of the different layers and I played around until I came up with the perfect combination, but now I think I have a fabulous recipe that is perfect for these chilly fall and winter evenings. Just remember to season every layer in order for it to turn out aaaamazing!

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

Sweet Potato Topping:

2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes

1 stick butter

8 oz. pumpkin cream cheese (if pumpkin isn’t available just use regular cream cheese and add 1 T sugar, 1/2 t. cinnamon. 1/8 t. nutmeg)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Meat Filling:

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 –2 medium onions, diced

1 c red wine

2 lbs. ground beef

2 T flour

1 c beef broth

2 T tomato paste

1 T Worcestershire Sauce

4 c frozen peas and carrots

1-2 parsnips, peeled and diced

Salt & Pepper to taste

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Directions

Sweet Potatoes

In large pot, place the cubed sweet potatoes and cover with water.  Let pot come to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Place potatoes into a mixing bowl with the butter, cream cheese, salt & pepper. Mash & whip the potatoes until light and fluffy. Taste to make sure they are seasoned well.  Add more seasoning if needed.

Meet Filling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large skillet, heat oil and then add onions to caramelize, this will take 15- 20 minutes over medium heat. Once the onions are caramelized remove them from the pan and set aside.  Put a skillet over high to medium high heat and brown the ground beef. Season the ground beef with salt & pepper. Once the ground beef has browned sprinkle the flour over the meet and cook for 1 minute before you add the red wine, stock, tomato paste & Worcestershire Sauce. Let mixture simmer for 5 minutes then add the vegetables and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Check the seasoning level and add salt & pepper as needed.

Place the meat mixture into a 9×13 baking dish (or,12 individual baking dishes) and cover with sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the  potatoes start to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15-20. Garnish with chopped green onion.

Serves 12-14 people \\  This is a large recipe, cut in half for a smaller gathering.

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
 
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Your family will love this scrumptious meat pie topped with luscious whipped sweet potatoes!
Author:
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: English
Serves: 12-14
Ingredients
  • Sweet Potato Topping:
  • 2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
  • 1 stick butter
  • 8 oz. pumpkin cream cheese (if pumpkin isn’t available just use regular cream cheese and add 1 T sugar, ½ t. cinnamon. ⅛ t. nutmeg)
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • Meat Filling:
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1½ –2 medium onions, diced
  • 1 c red wine
  • 2 lbs. ground beef
  • 2 T flour
  • 1 c beef broth
  • 2 T tomato paste
  • 1 T Worcestershire Sauce
  • 4 c frozen peas and carrots
  • 1-2 parsnips, peeled and diced
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Sweet Potatoes
  2. In large pot, place the cubed sweet potatoes and cover with water. Let pot come to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Place potatoes into a mixing bowl with the butter, cream cheese, salt & pepper. Mash & whip the potatoes until light and fluffy. Taste to make sure they are seasoned well. Add more seasoning if needed.
  3. Meet Filling
  4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  5. In a large skillet, heat oil and then add onions to caramelize, this will take 15- 20 minutes over medium heat. Once the onions are caramelized remove them from the pan and set aside. Put a skillet over high to medium high heat and brown the ground beef. Season the ground beef with salt & pepper. Once the ground beef has browned sprinkle the flour over the meet and cook for 1 minute before you add the red wine, stock, tomato paste & Worcestershire Sauce. Let mixture simmer for 5 minutes then add the vegetables and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Check the seasoning level and add salt & pepper as needed.
  6. Place the meat mixture into a 9x13 baking dish (or,12 individual baking dishes) and cover with sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the potatoes start to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15-20. Garnish with chopped green onion.
  7. Serves 12-14 people \\ This is a large recipe, cut in half for a smaller gathering.

Let me know what you think. Do you have other sweet potato recipes that you just adore.  Let me know, I would love to try them!

Heather copy

The Most Amazing Ombre Whopper Cake /// Autumn Inspiration

15 · · 17 Comments

Today was my sweet Husband’s birthday and of course in true WhipperBerry fashion I had to make him a fabulous cake for his special day. I asked him what he would like and his one request was for, “one of those Whopper cakes with your Amazing Chocolate Cake recipe.”  What can I say, the man has good taste! Here we have it… as my spunky daughter decided to name it, The Whipper Whopper Cake!

Ombre Whopper Cake from WhipperBerry #cake #baking #ombre #dessert

This is not a new cake or a new concept at all. As a matter of fact my sweet friend Michael from Inspired by Charm made the most stunning Strawberry Malt Ball Cake that I just LOVE!  I needed to put my own spin on it.  With our move to Nebraska from the desert of Las Vegas, our family is falling in LOVE with Autumn all over again.  The colors, the crisp feel to the air, hazy days and foggy mornings are something we missed for the last several years.  I thought, since Mike’s birthday is in October, why not make a Whopper Cake with a little bit of Autumn flair.  Using Duff Goldman’s Gold Cake Graffiti, I gave the cake a bit of an ombre look, by spraying the top half of the cake gold.

Whopper Cake

I also found some fall leaves out in our yard to decorate the table with.  I lightly sprayed them with the Gold Cake Graffiti as well to class up the rustic look.

 

Autumn Whopper Cake

Recipe

I used the same cake and frosting recipe from my Most Amazing Chocolate Cake post from a few years ago.  It’s a classic cake and chocolate buttercream that can be reinvented in soooo many ways. Luckily we have some new friends here in Lincoln that we can share this cake with because it is a rich one that is meant to be shared.

Tips for Cake Assembly

 

  • Freeze your cake after it cools to create a firm surface to work with when putting the cake together.
  • Make sure the frosting is a good stiff frosting that will hold those lovely Whoppers in place.
  • Place some bamboo skewers into the cake before you frost it to give it a little help in the stability department.
  • Once the cake is assembled, place in the refrigerator for an hour or so to firm up the frosting and hold tight to the Whoppers.
    Ready for a little bit of autumn love from my backyard.  These are the things that a girl who just moved from the desert just relishes…

Gold Leaves

I just can’t get enough of the fall colors, they are just making my world so happy right now.  I was photographing the cake outside and just looked up and to a picture.  Here it is in all it’s simple glory.

I love watching my children fall in love with a new season that most of them haven’t ever really experienced.  While I was engrossed with taking pictures of the cake, my spunky Emily was out playing in the yard and came running over to me to share her most amazing discovery. Of course I had to stop what I was doing so that I could come over and photograph it for her…

Fall Mist

Today had been a bit of a gray misty day and she was just aaaamazed to find spider webs in the grass with little rain drops dotting their surface. Ahhhhh, I love when my kiddos can find the little beauties in nature that we as grown-ups sometimes pass on by. Of course I had to take a picture and Em insisted that I share it with all of you. What’s your favorite hidden gem? What makes fall magical for you? On a sweeter note, what’s your favorite go to cake recipe? What makes your special days, even more special?

Heather copy

61 Autumn Pumpkin and Apple Recipes

15 · · 32 Comments

It’s finally September… This is my favorite time of the year. Even though it’s still in the low 100’s here in Vegas, I just can’t help but bust out the pumpkin and apple recipes and pretend the air is starting to crisp-up.  Today I thought I would put together a list of some fabulous autumn recipes for you guys to give a whirl.  Here are 61 autumn pumpkin and apple recipes …

WhipperBerry Autumn Recipes

Breakfast

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1. whole wheat pumpkin waffles /// 2. cranberry pumpkin drop cookies /// 3. pumpkin cream cheese scones with brown sugar honey glaze /// 4. baked pumpkin spice donut holes /// 5. cinnamon crepes with spiced pumpkin mousse and graham crumble /// 6. pumpkin salted caramel blondies /// 7. pumpkin spice donut holes /// 8. petite pumpkin spice donuts ///  9. pumpkin spice pancakes /// 10.pumpkin spice syrup /// 11. pumpkin butter /// 12. pumpkin cinnamon streusel pancakes ///

Breads

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13. pull-apart cinnamon sugar pumpkin bread /// 14. maple pecan streusel pumpkin bread /// 15. caramel glazed apple bread ///

Drinks

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16. pumpkin spice white hot chocolate /// 17. pumpkin and apple cider fizz /// 18. pumpkin pie milkshake ///

Savory

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19. curried pumpkin stew /// 20. creamy pumpkin risotto with bacon and parmesan ///  21. pumpkin seed pesto /// 22. roasted pumpkin and garlic lasagna ///

Cake

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23. apple stack cake /// 24. caramel apple cake /// 25. cinnamon apple cake with salted caramel /// 26. apple upside-down biscuits /// 27. autumn delight cake /// 28. apple fritters with ice cream /// 29. cinnamon roll pumpkin vanilla sheet cake /// 30. spiced apple cream cheese coffee cake /// 31. apple upside-down cake /// 32. pumpkin pie cupcake with whipped cream /// 33. salted caramel apple cupcakes ///

Bars & Candy

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34. pumpkin chocolate chip bars /// 35. pumpkin cheesecake with ginger & white chocolate ///  36. pumpkin streusel bars /// 37. apple pie caramel apples /// 38. pumpkin cheesecake bites ///

Cookies

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39. whoopie pies withy pumpkin buttercream frosting /// 40. apple almond snail pastries /// 41. pumpkin whoopie pies /// 42. cinnamon apple macarons with apple butter buttercream and tart green apples /// 43. chai pumpkin spiced thumbprints ///  44. pumpkin gingersnap cookies /// 45. caramel stuffed apple cider cookies /// 46. pumpkin ice cream sandwiches ///

Pies & Tarts

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47. pumpkin ricotta crostata /// 48. cheater baked apple cuplettes /// 49. baked apple pancake with apple cider syrup /// 50. pecan and chocolate tart /// 51. norman apple tart ///  52. quick & easy apple tart /// 53. pumpkin pie spice ///  54. pumpkin pecan dessert in a jar /// 55. tikvenik, bulgarian pumpkin pastry /// 56. pumpkin chiffon pie ///

Pudding & Trifles

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57. simple pumpkin cheesecake trifles /// 58. pumpkin pots de crème with spiced whipped cream /// 59. pumpkin pecan cheesecake pots /// 60. pumpkin leche flan ///  61. pumpkin pudding ///

I hope this provides some inspiration for you this season.  What are some of your favorite autumn apple or pumpkin recipes? If you’re like me, it’s hard to choose!!

Heather copy