It's pumpkin time!

I've been in a pumpkin baking mood from the time the weather turned cooler last week. I resurrected the pumpkin cheesecake brownies from Red Kitchen Project for my co-workers last week.

And for a co-worker's birthday this week, I made these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from my friend Erin at A Perfect Pairing. They were super easy to make — and super delicious. I tend to not eat too much while I bake, but this time I had a couple of cookies fresh from the oven and (perhaps) a little leftover batter, too.

Adorable mansions

I recently read a book about the history of U Street, the neighborhood where I now live in D.C. The history of the area is really interesting, as it went from predominately white residents to predominately black residents to a mix brought by recent "gentrification" of the area.

But while reading the book, I also learned more about the LeDroit Park neighborhood, which borders the U Street area. It began as an area full of wealthy white folks in large mansions, most built in the 1870s. When those people deserted the area, others moved into those homes and the area became predominately Africa-American by World War I. Many prominent African-Americans (famous in D.C. as well as famous nationwide) were associated with the area.

I finally had a chance to walk around the area this weekend and explore a bit. It has some gorgeous and HUGE houses. (Many appeared to be split into multiple units.)

The neighborhood is adorable, with many small, well-landscaped lawns (and a few larger lawns), a park and even a little circle park in the middle of the area. I failed to take a camera as I incorporated my walk through the neighborhood into my morning jog, but photos would definitely supplement my descriptions.

Definitely a place worth walking through if you're ever looking for a little more of the neighborhood history in D.C.

Midwest travels

I was in St. Louis last weekend for the annual conference of the Society for News Design.

And this week, I head back to the Midwest for a whirlwind 10 days in Columbia, Mo. (for the 100th anniversary of Homecoming), Chatham, Ill. (to visit friends), Herrin (to see friends and family) and Springfield, Mo. (for a cousin's wedding).

After that, I'll be holed up in D.C. until Christmas. (It just happened that all my Midwest travels landed in the same month.)

I can't wait to see some friends and have some familiar food I can't find out this way!

Chocolate and hazelnut in a cupcake

A long time ago, the Cupcake Project posted a recipe for Ferrero Rocher cupcakes. They mimicked the flavors of the candy (chocolate and hazelnut) and sounded amazing. I discovered the recipe last year and planned to make them for my co-worker's birthday last year, but when I tried to find hazelnut extract at three separate grocery stores, I failed.

Fast-forward to this year. Shortly after moving into my new apartment, I was exploring the organic market near my place and ran across ... hazelnut extract! So I immediately bought some and waited for a good time to tackle these.

I finally did so when my co-worker's birthday came around again last week. They're chocolate and hazelnut through and through. And they're filled with one type of ganache and topped with another type. I'll admit that I ate one and was pretty excited.

A couple of notes on the recipe:

• Stef of the Cupcake Project noted in the comments section of her post that she couldn't remember if the cupcake recipe listed was for 12 or 24 cupcakes (whether she doubled it before or after typing it). I used what's listed and ended up with about 18 cupcakes.
• Also, I highly recommend NOT buying hazelnuts in the shells (to add to the ganache topping). I bought those because it's all I could find, but cracking them open was a huge pain. (It probably didn't help that I don't have a nut cracker so had to use pliers.) I would either find them de-shelled or skip them altogether, unless a nut cracker makes it MUCH easier.