Give Thanks...I'm BACK!

Well hello there, dear friends!  A thousand apologies for the almost solid year disappearance, but you know how things go.  A few very big things have happened to me, most notably that I have returned to my roots and am no longer a Yankee in the South, but never fear!  Confessions of a Yankee Baker will still be chock full of delicious recipes and adorable crayon sketches.

It's Thanksgiving here today, but Yankee Momma had to work, so instead of stressing all day cooking a dinner she may or may not be home in time to enjoy, I made the Yankee Parentals a Thanksgiving brunch.  In honour of the day we celebrate the things we are most happy to have in our lives, I present a couple recipes I made this morning that you can use and be thankful for because they are delicious.


Pumpkin Muffins

Yes, I know what you're thinking (if you read last year's October posts): pumpkin?  Really?  Well, the nice thing about taking an 11 month hiatus from your blog is that you have plenty of time to repair your relationship with the big orange gourd.  We're friends now.  It's cool.

Preheat your oven to 400.  If your muffin tin is not nonstick, spray it to make it so.  Melt a stick of butter and set it aside to cool.  Soak about 1/3 cup sultanas in hot water till you're ready for them (patience, grasshoppers).  In a large bowl,  whisk together 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon allspice, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  In a separate bowl, blend together your melted butter, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1 cup pure pumpkin, 1/3 cup buttermilk (or, more likely, 1/3 cup milk [2% or higher] and 1 teaspoon white vinegar stirred together--let it sit 5 minutes before using) and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Add your wet ingredients to your dry and mix till just combined.  Now it's time for your sultanas-drain them and chuck them in the mix.  Spoon your mess into your muffin tin and bake about 20 minutes (use the toothpick test to ensure they're done).  These delightful little fellows will certainly help mend any residual rifts between you and pumpkins, I promise.

I'm glad we're friends again, pumpkin.

Fluffy Fruit Salad

This next recipe is a staple for Yankee Baker's family, usually at Thanksgiving, though we've started doing it for Christmas since my sister and I have been scattered about the country for the last few years.  We always called it Waldorf salad till my grandmother was with us for Turkey Day one year and informed us that proper Waldorf salad involves celery, which is gross, so apparently this isn't actually Waldorf salad.  I think some people probably call this ambrosia, but I have decided to title it "Fluffy Fruit Salad" because alliteration.

There are no measurements involved--go wild!  Make as much or as little as you want, but I encourage making a lot because it is flippin' delicious and you will want to eat loads of it.  Basically, you toss some red delicious apples, red grapes, chunk pineapple, chopped walnuts and mini marshmallows in a bowl.  Then throw in some sour cream and whipped cream in a roughly 50/50 ratio and mix it up real good.  Ta-da!  Delicious.
 

Recipe for scrumptious.

Yankee Dog wishes everyone out there on the interwebs a very happy Thanksgiving!