Make it Mondays: Mini Pumpkin Cake Loaves with Maple Sugar Glaze

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Its Make it Mondays and in honor of Christmas, I am covering a recipe that can be served in ramekins on breakfast morning, be given as a very thoughtful last-minute gift,
 and is just sweet enough to be served as a dessert for Christmas dinner.




The mini loaf is much more cake- like then bread. It can be eaten with a spoon and has hints of pumpkin spice that gives it that delicious winter-comfort feeling. It is definitely most delicious when served warm. *When reserving, wrap bread in heavy foil and reheat in the oven at 350 for 15 min.

 

The maple sugar glaze gives the pumpkin cake that rich, winter-comfort feeling that makes it feel "homey." This icing can be whipped up with just 2 common ingredients in your house and can be used on nearly anything. From pancakes to dipped in pretzels, it is sure to taste delicious.

This recipe can also be used to make delicious muffins you can serve on Christmas morning...

It can also be packaged in mini bread loaf aluminum container that you can get at your local grocery store for packs of 3 for under $2. These containers can be personally gift-wrapped and given as a great little gift for a holiday party.

You can even add a cute card with a clever message to go with it...

I hope you have enjoyed these past few Make it Mondays involving holiday recipes. Below I have organized all of the Make-It Monday recipes with their links in order to inspire your holiday menu.

Christmas Eve Desserts

• Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (served in mason jars)
• Sea-Salt, Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles

Christmas Breakfast

• Sweet & Salty PB Granola
• Pumpkin, Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
• Walnut Streussel Bread
• Pumpkin, Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

 I'll see you all tomorrow for a special edition of Takeout Tuesdays where I cover healthy tips for survivingChristmas dinner & your New Year's Eve party. 

Create a great Monday Everyone! Below is your daily dose of inspiration...

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* Follow @Creatively Lu on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Make it Mondays: Sea Salt Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles

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The moment for me when in which it starts to feel like Christmas has nothing to do with the time in which Christmas commercials begin debuting on TV,or when the lights go up on the neighboring houses, or  even when the Santa pictures begin  at the mall. But rather it finally feels like Christmas to me when my family takes out the boxes of ornaments and decorates our tree. 

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As a child, I remember placing a significant meaning behind going to pick out our tree. It meant that I was the brink of a couple of exciting weeks ahead. Picking up the tree felt like finally cutting the ribbon for a store opening. I could now "head on in" to the holiday season. When the tree was decorated, I knew I would soon start school vacation, which meant flying to Indiana to spend Christmas with my mom's whole side of the family.

Each year, someone is chosen as the person responsible for handing out our gifts. My mom is wearing the Santa hat in the right corner , because that happened to be her year in which she was chosen. The couples along the far left are the married "kids" of the family.

I remember one year in particular in which we set out to get our tree.  I was roughly 8 years old and I was sitting in the back seat of my mom's car on a drizzly and particularly cold December night. We had just picked out our tree at a local tree farm, and I had insisted on getting the more "mangled" tree in the back of the lot because I was worried that no one would want to buy it. On the way home, we pulled up to the gas station and my mom ran into the mini-mart, as my dad pumped our gas. As she got back in the car, I could tell by the smack of her lips that she was chewing on a candy.  She placed her seatbelt on and leaned over the back of her seat to hand me a Rolo. I wondered what this unfamiliar candy was and if I would like the taste of it. Well, it turns out... I did. And from then on, each year I would make sure to get a roll of Rolos for our car ride home to get our tree. Rolos became a snack, in which I only consumed during the holidays. 

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For my mom, her holiday snack of choice was Snickerdoodles. My grandmother knew this and so when we would fly there for Christmas, she would have a fresh batch of Snickerdoodles laid out upon our arrival. 

Grocery shopping with my Mamaw and cousin Kristin

 This is the first year I will not be going to Indiana along with my mom and so I decided to try and bake the Snickerdoodles at home in Boston. As I searched for a Snickerdoodle recipe, it occurred to me that I could combine the two holiday traditions..why not combine the Boston holiday tradition of Rolos with the Indiana holiday tradition of Snickerdoodles? And so I did...and believe me, you're welcome! 

This year, I encourage you to create a tradition that makes you feel like the holiday season is upon you. And if you choose to make these cookies as part of your holiday traditions, I would be more than honored to have my recipe included in your kitchens. Below is the Sea Salt Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodle recipe.

 

Create not only a great Monday, but a wonderful holiday season! Below is Monday's dose of inspiration. 

*To follow the Creatively Lu posts daily,  "like" the FB page 

 Follow @Creatively Lu on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.