Pumpkin Spice Cake With Cookie Butter Frosting

I can't stand clutter.  At. All!  Seriously.  It makes my head want to explode.  However, I live out in the boonies and it's a 30 minute round-trip to the grocery store to get stuff when I need it.  That being said, my pantry is in constant need of help and organization.

So, it is with moderate disgust that I am admitting, out loud, that I am a border-line hoarder when it comes to my kitchen.  I'm not sure if it has something to do with all the post-apocalyptic fiction that I read, (I actually wrote a whole blog years ago on this topic) or all the hours that I used to spend listening to Glenn Beck go on and on and on about the impending "end of the world" and how we needed to stock up for the Great Tribulation.  It may have a little bit to do with the fact that on more than one occasion, my family has been stranded in our little corner of the middle of nowhere due to severe weather and 6 foot snow drifts.  (I know, it's weird, we live in Texas, yet snow has trapped my family, more than once, for days on end, and we have been forced to survive on what we have on hand.)

This past Monday, being the first day of school and the happiest day of the whole year for me, I decided it was time for the annual pantry purge.  Imagine my surprise when I found I had been hoarding 5 jars of Trader Joe's Cookie Butter!  What?!?!  How did that stuff even survive a night in my house--much less the six months that it took me to amass such a stockpile.  Needless to say, this little find set me off in a direction where I felt able to get a little creative with my newly-found jars of heaven.  It became the catalyst for my latest creation and magnificent work of art.  And, lucky you, I am willing to share.

So, here it is. . . my easy as pie (or cake) recipe:

Pumpkin  Spice Cake With Cookie Butter Frosting. . . 

The Cake:

1 pkg spice cake mix
1 pkg (the small one. . . 3.4 oz) vanilla pudding mix
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

*  Side note:  I also had a package of cheesecake flavored pudding in my pantry that I considered using. . . maybe next time. . .

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place all ingredients into mixing bowl.  Mix 3 minutes on medium speed. Pour cake batter into 9X13 cake pan and bake for 35 minutes.  Cool completely before frosting.

The Frosting:

1/2 cup butter (the real stuff--not that partially hydrogenated crap)
1 cup cookie butter (I used creamy, but I am intrigued by what the crunchy would be like. . . also, next time)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tblsp heavy cream or milk

Cream butter, vanilla and cookie butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix completely.  Slowly add cream or milk and whip (with whip attachment on your mixer) until smooth and creamy.  Spread onto completely cooled cake and serve.

If you are fortunate enough to live close to a Trader Joe's, you have no idea how lucky you are.  If, like me, you have to drive several hundred miles (or more) to this perfect little self-contained amusement park of food perfection, I have found that this little product is a fairly decent substitute for cookie butter:

My local grocery store (United) carries this on the shelf.  It's a bit more expensive, but can you really put a price on such a delightful product?  Really?  Trust me, if you've never tried it, you should just shell out the 4 bucks for a jar.  I promise, you will thank me later.

Seriously, this cake is a dream in your mouth.

So, there it is!  My latest culinary creation!  I have to admit, I feel a little weird posting this recipe just days after the blog post on my Plexus weight loss journey.  However, it really is delicious. . . I'm willing to share. . . and I don't plan on eating the whole thing by myself. . . although I have thought about it!

Enjoy!  And make sure to share with your friends. . . they will thank you, I promise!