Summer has officially ended, and fall is here to stay. This season of brisk mornings and changing leaves comes with the warm, comforting flavors of pumpkin and cinnamon. Pumpkin spice lattes are back on the menu, and canned pumpkin is back in stores. Naturally, we decided to make our first fall post a pumpkin recipe. 
These pumpkin pie truffles are the perfect way to usher in the season. Imagine taking the pumpkin pie off of your thanksgiving table, mashing the crust into the filling, balling it up, and dunking each ball in chocolate. These truffles are the realization of that fantasy. The filling of each truffle contains pumpkin, spices (pumpkin turns into an edible hug with a bit of ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon), cream cheese, melted chocolate, and graham cracker crumbs. How could it be any better?
These truffles are truly the perfect way to usher in the season. Enjoy!
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INGREDIENTS: (makes 8 truffles) 
  • 3 Graham crackers, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp pumpkin puree
  • 1 oz cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup melted white chocolate (for filling)
  • 1/2 cup melted white chocolate and 1/2 cup melted semisweet chocolate (dipping)

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DIRECTIONS:
  • Mix graham crackers, spices, and powdered sugar in a bowl
  • Add pumpkin, cream cheese, and melted chocolate
  • Stir until well combined
  • Refrigerate filling for 4 hours (or overnight)
  • Form filling into 7 or 8 balls
  • Refrigerate for 2 hours
  • Melt dipping chocolate
  • Dip truffles 
  • Wait for chocolate coating to harden (or not) and dig in!

 
The great thing about having a double boiler with a maximum capacity of one cup is that all our recipes must be made in small quantities. These quantities are sometimes perfect for a single serving ( the recipe for our S'mores Bar produces exactly one bar), but in most cases we choose to make many mini portions. Why? Cute food is fun! Not only are tiny desserts visually pleasing, but all of the flavors and textures are guaranteed to combine in a perfect bite! 
Today, we created a tiny dessert based on the classic mixture of peanut butter and apples.  Our bites have a peanut butter oatmeal base that is covered with spiced apple sauce, and topped with freshly sliced apples.  Each bite is basically a miniature peanut butter apple sandwich...except better. Enjoy!
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INGREDIENTS (makes 6 bites):
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Base:
  • 1 packet instant oatmeal (f)
  • 1 tbsp almond flour 
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon granola
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter (f)
  • 1/2 tbsp (1 pat) butter (f)
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar (f)
  • 1 tbsp apple sauce (f)

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Spiced Apple Sauce:
  • 1/4 cup apple sauce
  • pinch cinnamon

Topping:
  • 1/2 small apple, sliced
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp brown sugar
  • Cinnamon granola (to sprinkle over tops)

DIRECTIONS: 
  • Mix oatmeal, almond flour, cinnamon, and granola together
  • In double boiler, melt peanut butter and butter 
  • Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar and apple sauce
  • Add to dry ingredients and mix until combined
  • Divide mixture into 6 cupcake liners (doubled for integrity)
  • Press liners and bases into small dixie cups (to support sides)
  • Stir together apple sauce and cinnamon, and spoon on top of base
  • Toss apple slices with cinnamon and sugar
  • Layer apple slices over apple sauce
  • Sprinkle with granola
  • Let set in refrigerator for 1 hour
  • Remove from dixie cups, and enjoy!
 
It has been more than a year since we last updated Dorm Room Delights. In that time, we were busy sophomores who were too pressed for time to come up with new recipes for the site.  Now, as mature Juniors who have completely mastered our classwork and extracurriculars, we are ready to come back to the blogging world. 
When we took a look at the old site, we realized that it needed some serious sprucing up.  To start, we've changed the overall design and layout, with a more image based recipe page and simpler navigation. In addition, we have decided to go through the old recipes and save the best ones, re-make the slightly less successful recipes, and come up with exciting new creations. Here goes!  

INDOOR S'MORES BARS

There are a million recipes for s'mores bars floating around the internet. Obviously, the combination of chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows is delicious. But, the truly irresistible feature of good, old fashioned s'mores that you make by the campfire is the contrasting textures. Melted chocolate with crunchy graham crackers and gooey marshmallows combine magically in your mouth.  
The challenge of creating an indoor s'mores dessert is capturing these varied textures. I have seen s'mores brownies where chefs add marshmallows to brownie batter and bake it over a graham cracker crust, but in that case the texture of crust and brownie is too similar....and where is the melted chocolate?
Here at Dorm Room Delights, we have made a s'more (using just our electric kettle) that has all of the textures and flavors of an honest to goodness campfire s'more. How did we do it? Simple, we kept a graham cracker in its purest, crunchiest state, layered it with a mixture of marshmallows and melted chocolate (to prevent the chocolate from hardening completely), covered that layer with plain melted marshmallows, poured chocolate over the top, and sprinkled with marshmallows and crushed graham crackers. The crunchy graham cracker base and hard chocolate layer top form a sandwich around the chewy inner layers in the same way graham crackers sandwich a real s'more. 
If we haven't convinced you that this is almost as good as any s'more out there, all you'll have to do is give it a shot. Here's the fantastically simple recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 Graham cracker
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:
  • Wrap single graham cracker with aluminum foil
  • Melt 1/4 cup marshmallows and 1/4 chocolate together in double boiler
  • Spread over graham cracker base
  • Melt remaining 1/2 cup marshmallows
  • Spread over cooled chocolate layer
  • Melt 1/4 cup chocolate chips
  • Pour over top
  • Sprinkle with marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs
  • Cool in refrigerator for 30 mins and enjoy!