You're My Favorite Cookie and Sweet Saturday!

Happy Saturday, my sweet friends! I hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start. :o)

After a far more willy nilly week than anticipated, I have a couple of treats to share with you today. :o) First up is a card that combines two of my favorite aspects of the season: Autumn colors and baking.

"You're My Favorite Cookie"

Isn't she sweet? This is one of my very favorite stamps (Elisabeth Bell~ Willow with Cookies). I was thrilled (and nervous) to color her. This card was designed with a child, best friend, or sweetheart in mind... the one who is your favorite cookie, ice cream flavor, chocolate, etc. Such a high compliment, really. ;)

You just can't bake in the fall without fuzzy slippers, so I cut up a pom pom and adhered fuzzies to her slippers with Glossy Accents. I coated her bow, belt, and the hearts on her pants with Diamond Stickles to give her an autumn sparkle. I lined up the sentiment circle to match the design of the paper so there's no break in the lovely textured quilt pattern and secured it with a heart button and bow. :o) The upper part of the frame is decorated with branches and a sparkly pinecone. I embossed the leaves and interior of the frame for more texture... and like how the dots somewhat resemble chocolate chips. The frame cut-outs remind me of chocolate fragments, too.. but that could just be my chocoholic mind. ;) I hope this sweet little card makes you smile. :o)

Challenges entered:
 * A Gem of a Challenge~ Sketch (my first challenge of this nature, which was quite hard for me)
 * Cooking With Cricut~ Autumn colors
 * My Craft Spot~ Fall Leaves

Dessert makes me smile... and thankfully it's time for another Sweet Saturday! It would have been appropriate to bake a batch of the best chocolate chip cookies in the world as part of this gift, but I couldn't wait any longer to try a new autumny recipe. A seasonal delight with a dose of chocolate: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake!

I turned this amazing bread recipe into a bundt cake yesterday because I just love the simple beauty of bundts. I was a bit skeptical of chocolate chips with pumpkin, but it is delicious! My loved ones enjoyed it immensely. The cake is super moist, with a taste of autumn in every bite. The pumpkin and spices meld together beautiful, while the dollops of melted chocolate provide another fun level of flavor. This is fabulous on its own, but I can never resist a light topping of some kind on my bundts, so I dusted it with confectioners' sugar. (It makes a great breakfast treat, too. I'm just saying.)

The recipe as written makes three loaves of bread, so if you go that route be prepared to freeze a loaf... or better yet, share with your friends and family. Whether in cake or bread form, make it soon and enjoy one of autumn's delights. :o) Thank you for visiting me today, my friends. You make me happy. :o)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Yield: One bundt cake (or three loaves of bread: simply divide batter between three 9x5 loaf pans)

Ingredients:
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons salt
3 cups granulated sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup canola oil
⅔ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º F. Generously spray a bundt pan with Pam with Flour, being careful to get all nooks and crannies.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, canola oil, water, vanilla, and eggs. Mix until smooth. Slowly blend in the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 60 minutes or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Lightly dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Source: Two Peas and Their Pod
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Key Recipe Components (for card):
 * Cricut cartridge: Create a Critter, Elegant Edges, Storybook
 * Cuttlebug embossing folders: Swiss Dots, Victoria
 * Stamp: Elisabeth Bell~ Willow with Cookies
 * Copics: E000, E00, R20 (skin); E25, E31, E50 (hair, pants, cookies); YR 01, YR12, YR18 (shirt); Y13, Y19, YR31 (apron); YG11, YG13 (plate)
 * Sentiment: Computer generated
 * Paper: Core'dinations, Creative Imaginations, DCWV, SEI
 * Self-adhesive Ribbon: K & Company
 * Button: My Mind's Eye Tres Jolie
 * Twine: Sew Easy (limeade)
 * Miscellaneous: rhinestones, Stickles