Weekend Cooking: Pumpkin-Nutella Loaf

I pinned this pumpkin-Nutella loaf a while ago. I bought a box of canned pumpkin in October thinking I would make all sorts of pumpkin dishes. This is the first thing I've made using that canned pumpkin. Only 23 more cans to go!

I made this loaf to take to a party last night. It was a huge hit. Not only did it get gobbled up, but plenty of people asked me for the recipe.
Here's the original pin:

Source: yasalamcooking.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's mine:

I followed her recipe exactly except I added 1/2 tsp of ginger and 1/2 tsp of cardamon. I thought the additional spice would enhance the flavor. I was right, it did. Tai's asked me to make this again so it might be my go to dessert for the holidays.

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Pin It And Do It Challenge: The Catch Up Post

So I've been making some of my pins but been lax on posting them. So here's what've been up to.

I pinned these cookies because they looked good. I made them for 2 different parties.
The original pin:

Source: onehundreddollarsamonth.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here are mine:

They are delicious. Mine were flatter than hers. She does mention that humidity affects the cookies and make them flatter.

It quickly became fall around here. I love making soup. I had my eye on making this beef barley soup:

Source: bettycrocker.com via Linda on Pinterest

But I didn't like some of the ingredients. I left out the corn, bell pepper, and onion. But it was delicious anyway.

It made it tons. We had few bowls the day of and plenty of leftovers. I would definitely make it again.

I love roasted potatoes so when I spotted this recipe, I knew I had to make it.
Here's the original pin:

Source: myadventuresinthecountry.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's mine:

So tasty. We really liked this one. It takes some time. It's not a weeknight dish but worth the effort on a weekend.

Plus the four other dishes I made, I did 7 pins this month. All food pins, no crafts pins :(

Pin It And Do It Challenge: Peanut Butter Fudge Pretzel Brownies

I choose to make these Peanut Butter Fudge Pretzel Brownies for a work event.

I was a little nervous since I made the brownies two days before and didn't have time to taste them until their unveiling. But I didn't need to worry. Once people tried them, they couldn't stop eating them. One coworker said that every bite was a whole new experience. Needless to say I will make these again.
The original pin:

Source: howsweeteats.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's another picture of mine:

I thought they were so decadent so I cut small pieces. Some people took 2 or 3 at once so I probably could have cut them larger.

Pin It and Do It Challenge: Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

The minute I saw these, I knew I had to make them. Gooey, chocolatey yummy goodness. I'm so glad I did. They were delicious.

Source: noshandtell.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's how mine turned out:

They were a huge hit. So rich and delicious. And actually pretty easy to make.

Weekend Cooking: Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs

Another recipe I pinned! I love actually using the recipes I pin on Pinterest rather than just staring at them wistfully!

Tai and I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. After any holiday, I'll stop at Target or Rite Aid to pick up any form of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups that are on sale. In fact we have peanut butter bunnies leftover from Easter. So when I saw I can make a homemade version, I had to try it. The one stumbling block for me was coconut oil. I'd never used it before and didn't have any. I've heard the wonders of coconut oil but never gave it a try. In fact, Linda convinced me with this post (and some email encouragement) to try coconut oil.

Here's the final result:

Copycat Resse's Peanut Butter Eggs

from Chocolate Covered Katie

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp agave 

2 tbsp coconut oil

Mix peanut butter and sugar together. When it's crumbly, form little balls with the pb/sugar mix. You can flatten them out or make balls. It's your choice. Once you have the balls/eggs, put them on a wax or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze for an hour or so.

Mix cocoa powder, agave and coconut oil together. You might have to microwave the coconut oil if it's solid. Once it resembles chocolate sauce, you are ready to dip. I found a fork to be the easiest way to dip candy, but keep a spoon handy in case you need to pour some chocolate over top. 

I dipped the balls twice, freezing in between each time. Tai wanted more chocolate and thinks I should triple dip next time. We both thought they were a delicious alternative. I don't think they taste exactly like Reese's but it's pretty close!

Weekend Cooking is a chance to share the food love. On Saturday mornings, I'll publish my post -- perhaps a cookbook review or maybe just some favorite food-related quotes.
 I hope you'll join in when your weekend (or recent) reading or movie watching fits in with the theme. Remember, the definition of Weekend Cooking is free and easy, if you think your post even remotely fits the theme, grab the button and sign in to Mr. Linky.

The One Where We Learn To Make Chocolate Candies

As part of our anniversary weekend extravaganza, we went to Oh! Chocolate for their chocolate class. I was lucky to get discounted tickets through LivingSocial for the class. At $60 a person it's not cheap but well worth it.
So Saturday we headed to Bellevue Square and Oh! Chocolate:

Once you arrive they give you either hot chocolate, tea, coffee or a mix of hot chocolate and coffee. We both choose the awesome mocha :)
Once class starts they talk to you about chocolate. Where it comes from, how it's made, etc. Then you taste some different chocolates:

Starting at the top it goes coco nibs, baker's chocolate, dark chocolate, a mango habenaro truffle, semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. White chocolate is not really chocolate. And I never really like white chocolate but theirs is pretty good.
After the tasting then we got to the dipping:

We each got a cup of milk and dark chocolate. They had pretzels, potato chips, marshmallows, oreos, graham crackers, strawberries and blueberries to dip.

Here's Tai tempering his chocolate before he started dipping.
Here's what we walked home with:

A ton o'chocolate! I highly recommend this class. It was so worth the money.