Thanksgiving Wishes

 With only TEN days until Thanksgiving, I hope your menus are starting to come together. Mine is planned, the turkey has been purchased and is waiting in the freezer, as are the fresh cranberries. Next Sunday the bird will make its way into the fridge to begin thawing, and before you know it, the parade will be on and Santa will be making his way down 34th Street! 

Twelve years ago the EMM Thanksgiving recipe was for Pumpkin Dump Cake, and when I was trying to decide what this year's would be, I decided it was time for an update, beginning with the name. 

Don't get me wrong, I am not hating on anyone's "dump cake" game. The entire concept is you can dump all the ingredients together and bake. Super easy and the name completely makes sense. I just have this aversion to the word dump. It's one of those that makes me cringe every time I hear it. We all have those words, right? We will get to the new name in a bit.

The next step in this recipe upgrade was decided when I was wandering the baking aisle looking for the yellow cake mix that was on sale that week. That is when I found a spice cake mix and it was like the angels were singing right there in Walmart. 

Pumpkin and spice are a match made in heaven, after all they are the stars of an entire flavor craze every fall. So why not add another layer of flavor to this dessert, knowing it would be perfect for Thanksgiving dessert. 

Now, for the name. I still hadn't decided what I was going to name this 2023 version, until I took it out of the oven. The little guy was walking past and said "Mommy, your cobbler smells so good!" Ta-da! Sure, it's not a traditional cobber, but if it looks close enough for a 7 year old, that's good enough for this food blogger. 

If you have never made this style of "dump" (ugh!) dessert before, the most important things to remember are to use the cake mix dry, you will not need the oil and water on the back of the box, and yes, you truly do need both sticks of butter. This isn't the time to start counting calories! 

I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with bountiful blessings, people you love and memories to last a life time. And if you still need one more dessert, this Pumpkin Cobbler would be a tasty choice. 

What kind of pumpkin do I use?

For this recipe you want a can of pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix. 

What kind of cake mix can I use instead of spice?

You could also use yellow cake mix or even white. I would love to try a gingerbread cake mix too.  

Do I have to use pecans?

You could swap them for chopped walnuts, or omit them completely.

What is Ceylon cinnamon?

Ceylon cinnamon has a lighter, brighter and spicier flavor than the cassia variety, which is what most of us use. I like using Ceylon when baking, but traditional ground cinnamon would work too.

Does this have to be refrigerated? 

Yes! Keep any leftovers in the fridge, covered for 2-3 days. I actually really like how this tastes chilled

 

Best Tips 

Make sure your 9x13 baking dish is deep enough to prevent spilling over.

The mixture is very wet. Don't be alarmed when it looks like soup before baking.

Be sure to pour the melted butter evenly over the top. This is how the cake mix turns into a crispy topping.

 If you use ground cinnamon instead of Ceylon, you might only want 1 teaspoon.

Ground nutmeg can be swapped for allspice.

Pumpkin Cobbler

1 (15 oz.) can pure pumpkin

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

3 eggs

2 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. salt

1 (13.25 oz.) spice cake mix

2 sticks butter, melted

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 baking dish. In a large bowl combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, cinnamon and salt. Stir well. Transfer to baking dish. Sprinkle with DRY cake mix. Sprinkle with pecans. Pour butter over top. Do NOT mix. Bake for 50-60 minutes until browned and a toothpick inserted into middle comes out mostly clean. If it is still loose in the middle, don't worry. It will continue to set as it cools down. Serve with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon. 

More Thanksgiving Recipes To Try:

Easy Corn Casserole

Cranberry Fluff

Praline Roasted Acorn Squash

Autumn Apple Fruit Salad

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole 

Orange Cranberry Sauce

Slow Cooker Acorn Squash

Autumn Brussels Sprouts Salad 

Skillet Candied Sweet Potatoes 

Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots

Bye Bye Summer Sweet Treat

So, summer was a fun 15 minutes...or so it seems! Winter lasts 36 months, but you blink and summer is gone. But we've still got some warm days ahead of us, and there are Labor Day cookouts this weekend, so we still need some summer time food! 

Looking back over this summer, of course one of our favorites memories is our Florida vacation. Two weeks on our favorite beach, lazy days in the pool, watching our boys at Sea World, and of course eating amazing food. And one treat, we get every single year, and drool over the entire time we're eating it, is key lime pie.

Our favorite? Out of the Publix grocery store bakery. No joke! They are always perfect, and oh so yummy.

So when I wanted to bring back some of those memories, as we prepare to say goodbye to summer, I took a page out of the key lime book. Maybe not pie, but just as delish!

This would be a great take along to that lake party this weekend. Or if you're having a crowd over to barbecue in the backyard, you could easily whip up a couple of these in almost no time!

Key lime is such a summer time, tropical flavor, but I will be honest, I might have bought some extra pie filling, so there is a good chance we will be eating this as we watch the leaves fall or even worse...that stuff that comes next!

Key Lime Cobbler
2 (21 oz.) cans key lime pie filling
1 box white cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
Whipped Topping, if desired


Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Pour pie filling in dish and spread evenly. In a medium bowl combine DRY cake mix and butter. Mix with a fork until a crumbly dough forms. Using your fingers, sprinkle topping on pie filling evenly. Bake for 30-45 minutes until browned around edges. Serve warm, or transfer to wire rack to cool. We actually like this in the fridge.

Shared at Weekend Potluck
Shared at Meal Plan Monday

The Very First

As most of you already know, my woes of a broken oven are over. My man fixed it, and it's up and running...baking, roasting...doing all the things it is supposed to, beautifully.

 But I'm not going to lie. As much as I love no bake desserts, I was starting to crave something freshly baked from that oven. I'm not kidding you, he got it fixed on a Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning I got up extra early to bake something, simply because I knew I could; and this recipe was the very first thing I baked in my newly fixed oven!

This is a take on my Strawberry Cobbler I shared last summer. See, not only are my boys raspberry and blackberry fanatics, but this year, we actually have fresh blackberries growing in our backyard. Alex gets so excited every time he checks the bushes and finds those purple beauties staring back at him. So, Mommy just had to find a yummy dessert to use some in to reward all his hard work.

I love this recipe because it is truly fool proof. Even if you aren't much of a baker, I guarantee you can make this. Mixing, pouring, baking. That about covers it. And I don't see why your favorite berry couldn't be substituted.

I'm so grateful to have my oven up and working again. Not only does it make menu planning so much easier, but in insures scrumptious things like this are going to keep showing up on EMM!

Blackberry Cobbler

1 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 egg, beaten

4 TBS butter, diced

4 c. blackberries, fresh or if frozen, thawed and drained

Whipped Cream, optional

Preheat oven to 375. Spray an 8x8 baking pan. Layer berries in bottom of pan. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients. Mix well. Add egg. Using a fork, mix until forms a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle over top of berries. Dot with butter dices. Bake for 45-55 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Cool slightly before serving. Top with whipped cream, or ice cream!

Shared on Lady Behind The Curtain Aug. 21, 2013
Shared on The Country Cook Aug. 23, 2013