Pumpkin chocolate chip minis with Cream cheese frosting November 10, 2010

Great for a party or a crowd!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup canned pumpkin, or 1 cup fresh roasted pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1  cup chocolate chips

Beat together butter, pumpkin, eggs, and water. Set aside.

Sift together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

Combine dry ingredients with pumpkin mixture until well-blended. Spoon batter into lined mini cupcake pans. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 60 minis. Wait until they’re completely cooled before icing.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar. Mix in vanilla. Store in the refrigerator.

Apple Crisp November 7, 2009

This recipe comes from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook and is one of my fall favorites.

INGREDIENTS
5 pounds apples
grated zest of 1 orange
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. orange juice
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg

TOPPING
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

Peel, core and slice the apples. Combine the apples with the zests, juices, sugar and spices. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly. Scatter evenly over the apples.

Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for one hour at 350 until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

NOTES:

• If I’m in a hurry, I omit the zests and it seems to turn out just as well.

Pear, Apple & Cranberry Crisp November 23, 2008

This recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook. I made it yesterday for a pre-Thanksgiving potluck, and I confess I ate the leftovers for breakfast this morning.

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds ripe Bosc pears
2 pounds firm Macoun apples
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

TOPPING
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Peel and core pears and apples and cut into large chunks. Place fruit in large bowl and toss with cranberries, zests, juices, granulated sugar, flour and spices. Pour into a 9x12x2 baking dish.

For the topping, combine flour, sugars, salt , oatmeal and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place baking dish on a rimmed cookie sheet (to catch any that might bubble over) and bake at 350 for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm. Serves 8.

MY NOTES:

• You can buy the dried cranberries in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods. I bought exactly how much I needed, which was relatively inexpensive (compared to, for example, buying Craisins).
• Instead of buying Macoun apples, I bought another firm, red variety that was regional and on sale.

Walnut persimmon bread November 1, 2008

Up until last year I had only eaten persimmons in the form of persimmon pudding, a traditional southern dessert that is typically part of my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, though not my favorite. My friend Gayle has a hachiya persimmon tree in her backyard that produces a beautiful orange fruit. I’ve learned from Gayle that there are other uses for persimmons. This is my first attempt at persimmon bread.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup persimmon pulp (approximately 2 ripe Hachiya persimmons)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 to 1 cup chopped walnuts

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Mix the persimmons, sugar, eggs, milk and melted butter in a large bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Stir in nuts. Pour in a well-greased loaf pan, 9x5x3 inch. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack. Remove from loaf pan when cooled completely. Makes 1 loaf.

MY NOTES
I let the persimmons ripen on the kitchen window sill for about a week, then scooped out the pulp and chopped with a food chopper to bring out the juices.

Pumpkin Crisp October 20, 2008

This recipe is a family favorite. I started making it for my roommates in college and have served it to company many times. Even people who claim to dislike pumpkin have been known to eat this dessert.

INGREDIENTS
16 oz. can pumpkin, or 2 cups roasted pumpkin
16 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix
chopped pecans (enough to cover the 9×13, about 1 cup)
1 cup melted butter

Mix pumpkin, condensed milk, sugar, spices and eggs. Pour in a lightly-greased 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle entire cake mix over pumpkin mixture, then sprinkle chopped nuts over cake mix. Pour melted butter over the cake mix and chopped pecans. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until bubbly and slightly browned on top. Serve with whipped cream.

Chocolate chip pumpkin bread October 19, 2008

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup canned pumpkin, or 1 cup roasted pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1  cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Beat together butter, pumpkin, eggs, and water. Set aside.

Sift together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

Combine dry ingredients with pumpkin mixture until well-blended. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Cool in pan. Makes 1 loaf.

Lime sugar cookies October 14, 2008

This recipe comes from fellow foodie Kristin. Once I start eating these cookies, I can’t stop. Literally. You can find pepitas (pumpkin seeds) in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods.

INGREDIENTS
1 c sugar
¼ c butter
1 T vegetable oil
zest of 1 lime
2 T lime juice
1 egg
1 ¾ c flour
¼ c pepitas (raw)
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Cream sugar, oil, butter, and lime zest until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and lime juice.

Mix the dry ingredients separately, then stir into the wet ingredients.

Roll batter into 3 T balls and flatten slightly onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle with more sugar. Bake for 8 minutes at 350. Makes 11 large cookies.

Appalachian Blueberry Pie September 8, 2008

This slightly-modified recipe comes from Susan Jakes. As a child, one of my absolute favorite things was eating fresh blueberries. On one memorable family beach vacation, my uncle Glenn brought several pints of blueberries from his farm to share with all of us. He would make fun of me for how quickly I could single-handedly down a pint. I never seemed to get enough. This year I received an invitation to drive up to the farm in July, where I could pick all the pesticide-free blueberries I could carry (and more). I took the morning off from work and we set out early to beat the heat. I picked a few and ate a few until hours had gone by and several baskets rested in my designated spot. Most of those blueberries are now in my freezer, with the exception of the ones that have already been made into blueberry pies.

PIE FILLING
In a medium bowl, mix:
4 cups blueberries
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar

Pour into a deep pie shell that has already been baked for about 10 minutes (until lightly browned).

PIE TOPPING
Cut 1/2 cup butter into 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup oatmeal. Spread over pie filling.

Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes.

Lemon Bars August 18, 2008

This recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook. I made them for Lynn’s birthday because they are one of her favorites.

CRUST
1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

FILLING
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups sugar
2 Tbps. grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Gather dough into a ball. Flatten with floured hands and press the dough into a 9x13x2 inch baking dish, building up a 1/2 inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Makes 20 squares or 40 triangles.