Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

Two of my family's favorite things, pumpkin and ginger is all baked up into this wonderful dessert. They really do go for anything pumpkin and anything ginger, so I had to make this.

I've been meaning to make a pumpkin cheesecake for a while now, and I never get around to it because we always have pumpkin pie. This time around, I made an apple pie, so I finally got the chance to make this for Thanksgiving.

At the last minute I was almost hesitant to try this recipe. Although it has a 4 1/2 star review, there are quite a few people who mentioned this wasn't like cheesecake, or there wasn't enough pumpkin flavor, or it was bland altogether. After reading a few reviews, I decided to take matters in my own hands and adjust accordingly. In the end, I doubled the amount of total spices buy subbing with my homemade pumpkin pie mix, and I used a whole can of pumpkin, instead of the one cup it originally called for.

I think my changes made all the difference. There was definitely a more prominent pumpkin flavor and just enough spice. In the end this came out beautifully, and despite the cracks, it tasted great.

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Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake
adapted from allrecipes

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 8 from this recipe)
1/2 heaping cup pecans halves
1/3 cup butter, melted

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 15oz can of pure pumpkin (or 2 cups fresh)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). In a food processor using the chopping blade, mix together the gingersnap cookies and pecans. Pulse to form crumbs. Stream in the butter and pulse to combine. Alternatively, if you don't have a food processor, you can crush the cookies in a heavy duty zip top bag, add finely chopped pecans and butter to form a crust. Press crust into the bottom, and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice into the remaining mixture in the bowl.

Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top. Tap the bowl lightly to combine the two batters. Swirl with a knife or toothpick to create a marbled effect.

Place pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn off oven and let cool in the oven for 30 minutes with the door propped open with a wooden spoon. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Allow to fully cool before removing pan rim. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

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Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

When I first came up with this, I was originally going to mix in some spaghetti so I didn't totally shock Gary when there was no pasta. However, I ran out of spaghetti, so left it as all squash. To my surprise, Gary actually liked it. When I told him all these vegetables were in them, he was surprised as well. I did a good job hiding them! He enjoyed it and gobbled it up even though he knew all these different vegetables were in the dish.

So I wasn't planning blogging it. It didn't seem too intriguing, but I took a picture anyway and Gary encouraged me to blog it. It was a half-assed quick pic, so please ignore the craptastic photo above. I guarantee it's quite tasty indeed. I was also super hungry from the time change (an hour really throws everything off!) and couldn't wait any longer to eat. I wasn't sure what I would call this, so since the meat sauce is similar to a bolognese style sauce, that's what I ended up naming it.

If you have some fresh basil or parsley, I would suggest adding that as well. Although this dish was tasty, it was missing a fresh ingredient garnish.

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Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

ingredients:
1 small spaghetti squash (3-4 lbs)
1 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper

2 TBSP canola oil
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 stalks celery hearts, finely chopped
3/4 lb ground turkey
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I used a tomato basil)

directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Line a sheet pan with foil, and lightly spray with oil. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Place the squash cut side down and bake in oven for 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly before handling.

Meanwhile, on medium-high heat, add 2 TBSP oil. Sweat the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery for 10 minutes. Add turkey and cook until no longer pink while breaking it down with a wooden spoon. Add mushrooms and cook for another minute. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Using a fork, scrape the spaghetti squash into a large bowl. Toss in 1 TBSP olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the meat mixture to the bowl and toss together to combine. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings.

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Veggie Loaded Turkey Meatloaf

As I was making the chocolate zucchini cake, I shredded a bit too much zucchini. Gary came home with some ground turkey so I decided to use the rest of what I had in this meatloaf.

We rarely eat meatloaf, but Gary for some reason wanted after seeing the meatloaf pan on an infomercial. So I have my fair share of unitaskers, but this one was something I would NOT get! I have two loaf pans and they're already rarely used, so getting another one was out of the question!

I think this meatloaf turned out great. Leftovers were even great as a sandwich! Gary thought it could have used a little bit more salt, but it was fine for me. So if you like things a little bit saltier, you might want to add more. This is definitely a great way to use up some leftover summer vegetables!

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Veggie Loaded Turkey Meatloaf
sauce adapted from allrecipes.com

ingredients:
1.5 lb ground turkey (the pack we bought was 1.3 lb)
1 medium zucchini, grated about (1 cup grated, more or less)
1 large carrot, grated
1 egg
1/2 cup panko
1/2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
1/4 tsp black pepper
2-3 dashes worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP brown mustard

directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray (not necessary if using nonstick)

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the loaf (turkey through worcestershire sauce). Shape into a loaf and press into loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160°.

While baking, prepare sauce. Spread sauce over top of the loaf, and put back into oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve as sandwiches or with sides of your choice.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

You would never have known that this innocent looking chocolate cake would be chock full of vegetables!

For my mom's birthday, I decided to make this chocolate zucchini cake. I purchased some zucchini because I had plans on making chocolate chip cookies with them. I didn't make them yet, but since I was going to need to use them up, I made this cake. I figured if carrot cake is one of my faves, why not zucchini!

This cake came out beautifully and nobody knew there were hidden vegetables inside! My little cousins ate up big slices and gobbled it up just like any old chocolate cake! However, I'm not saying this is a healthy cake, since it does have a lot of oil in it! I originally intended to use some applesauce in place of some oil, but I noticed it was already expired, (whoops). I also don't know what the nutritional value of the zucchini ends up being after it's baked into a cake.

Even after I mixed in the eggs and oil, I thought the batter looked a little stiff, almost cookie batter-like. However after I folded in the zucchini, it was fine and easily pour-able. I used my food processor to grate the zucchini, and I did not squeeze out any liquid.

I did change this from a bundt cake recipe to a layer cake one. I omitted the nuts since I didn't have any on hand. For the frosting, I reduced the amount of sugar by 1/4 cup from the original recipe.

*note: this is tagged as dairy free, as the cake itself is dairy free. For a dairy free/vegan chocolate frosting option, see this cupcake recipe.

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake
cake adapted from allrecipes.com
frosting adapted from More from Magnolia

ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (or replace some with applesauce)
3 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium)

9 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm
3 sticks (1.5 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

directions: 
bake the cake: 
Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in zucchini until it is evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks and cool cake completely before frosting.

prepare frosting: 
In a medium saucepan bring an inch of water to a boil. Reduce heat to low to simmer. Place chocolate in a glass or heat proof bowl over the simmering water and mix to melt the chocolate. Once all the chocolate is melted, remove from heat, set aside and let cool to room temperature, 5-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, on medium speed beat butter in an electric mixer for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Slowly pour in milk and continue to beat for 2 minutes. Add vanilla and beat for 3 more minutes. Add in powdered sugar in small increments and beat at low speed until it reaches the desired consistency.

Frost cake as desired.

Butternut Potato Soup

Every once in  a while I would pick up a butternut squash from BJ’s. It’s usually pretty expensive from the supermarket, even when on sale, so I normally wouldn’t get it there. I was thinking about making a butternut squash soup because I’ve had it in the past and really liked it.

Usually it does contain heavy cream or some kind of dairy, so I tried to find one that didn’t, but would still be creamy. I didn’t really find one I liked, so I decided to wing it. I was initially going to add a little bit of cornstarch or flour to thicken, but Gary suggested using potatoes instead. I thought it would work, so I added that in. It worked pretty well, and since we’re both huge fans of potatoes, it tasted very good as well.

One of my fellow food bloggers is also on a mission for soup recipes. Branny will be donating $1 to the ASPCA for every soup recipe she receives for her Charity Souper Bowl. This post is dedicated to Gary’s dog, Humphrey. This was him way back in 2004 when we got him.

  

He was so tiny….he’s probably around 120lbs now and still thinks he’s a little puppy! And look how much Gary has changed over the years too! He has hair!

Butternut Potato Soup

 printable recipe

ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash (about 3 lbs)
2 TBSP Earth Balance butter (or regular butter)
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 potatoes, diced
4 cups chicken stock (or sub vegetable stock for vegan)
nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a shallow baking sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place the squash flat side down on the foil lined sheet and roast in oven for about 30 minutes or until fork tender.

Meanwhile, dice up onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes. In a dutch oven on medium heat, melt the butter, then add in diced vegetables and allow to cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove squash from oven. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh, then discard the skin. Add squash to pot and stir. Add in chicken stock, stir, cover and bring to a boil.

Using an immersion blender, blend until desired consistency. Add a dash of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 4-6 servings, about 2 quarts of soup.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

After making the pumpkin bars, I still had 3/4 cup pumpkin left. I was going to try to attempt scones again, but then I came across this recipe for cupcakes. This was perfect, since I was in a cake mood anyway and I had cream cheese to use up.

The original recipe yielded 32 cupcakes, but I halved the recipe and ended up with 18.  I did use buttermilk powder and water instead of actual buttermilk. I found that the batter was nice and fluffy from the use of the cake flour and buttermilk powder. Also, since I didn’t have any more unsalted butter left, I used salted butter, but forgot to reduce the amount of the salt. It didn’t make a big difference at all. To top it off, I used my favorite cream cheese recipe. It’s not too sweet to my family’s tastes, and it’s a good ratio of butter and cream cheese.

I didn’t quit have enough frosting to frost all 18 cupcakes based on the amount of frosting from the picture. I was able to frost 14. Next time, each cupcake will get slight less frosting on them so all of them will have some!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

printable recipe

ingredients:2 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 TBSP ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree

for the frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup confectioner’s sugar

directions:Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 2 muffin trays with 18 paper liners. In a medium bowl sift together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside.

In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until each one is fully incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat until just combined, then add pumpkin and beat until just combined.

Using a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop, scoop and fill the lined cups. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with little or no crumbs. Allow to cool in the pan on wire racks for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

for the frosting:
Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat for 5 minutes or until fluffy.
Attach your favorite tip into a piping bag, or cut the corner of a ziploc bag and pipe onto cupcakes from the outside in. Alternatively, you can scoop and spread the frosting with an offset spatula.
Makes 18 cupcakes.

Swirled Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

Although it’s now officially winter, I’ve still had pumpkin and the fall spices on my mind. When my sister came over to make treats for coworkers for the holidays, she came armed with this recipe in mind. She must have read my mind! I still had one lone can of pumpkin in my pantry from stocking up last year. I wonder if I should stock up for next year now! :)

This recipe turned out very well. The ratio of spices gave it a nice kick. The bottom was a nice layer of pumpkin spice cake with a layer of cream cheese on top. I guess it’s a cheesecake bar, since the ingredients for the cream cheese layer is everything I would add in a cheesecake.

I’ve made adjustments to the original recipe since the original recipe wouldn’t be clear for beginners. We both read the recipe over many times and we almost made mistakes since it didn’t really call to divide anything in the ingredients list. I’ve separated the ingredients for the pumpkin cake part and the cream cheese mixture below. In the end, I also cut it into 48 pieces instead of the original 24. Since we were sharing other treats as well, a little taste was all you need of this. I think the smaller size is what most people can eat anyway. These fared very well when I brought them to work.

Swirled Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
adapted from: Sunset via myrecipes.com

 printable recipe

ingredients:
1 3/4  cups  all-purpose flour
1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cinnamon
1  teaspoon  baking soda
1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
1/2  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
6  tablespoons  butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2  cups  sugar
2 large eggs
1  cup  pure pumpkin puree
1/3 cup water

cream cheese mixture:
1  package (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar

directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg.

In an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until smooth. Beat in 2 eggs, pumpkin, and 1/3 cup water until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir or beat the dry ingredients into butter mixture until well blended. Spread batter evenly in a buttered and floured 10- by 15-inch baking pan.

Beat  cream cheese, egg, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar at medium speed until smooth.

Drop tablespoon dollops of cream cheese mixture evenly spaced over the batter. Pull a knife tip through filling to swirl slightly into batter.

Bake in a oven until center of pumpkin batter (not cream cheese mixture) springs back when touched, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan, then cut into 24 bars. (I actually cut it into 48 and they were still good sized for me)

Store in fridge for up to 3 days.

Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream

In an effort to use up a can of pumpkin, I decided to make this pumpkin ice cream. Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite pies. It was also requested by Gary during Thanksgiving. Usually I would suggest an ice cream flavor to Gary, and he wouldn’t be interested. I suggested pumpkin flavor, and I was surprised that he actually was ok with the suggestion!

The batter smelled great as I was mixing it. I used all coconut milk in it, but the original recipe called for soy creamer and non dairy milk. Since I’m able to find coconut milk in 8 oz packages at my local Chinese supermarket, I did it this way. I’m so glad I found this too! I hated opening large cans of coconut milk only to use half, and not having a recipe to use the other half. If I didn’t have this, I would use one cup of soy milk instead.

After leaving it in the fridge overnight, the batter was very thick, just like a baked pumpkin pie. I used the spatula to scrape the mixture into the ice cream maker. I’m not sure how thick it would have been if I only left it in the fridge for 3 hours. It seemed to get stuck on the ice cream paddle in the end, so keep a close eye on it after a little while.

Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream
adapted from: The Vegan Scoop

 printable recipe

ingredients:
1 (14-15 oz) can plus 1 cup coconut milk (about 2 3/4 cups total), divided
2 TBSP arrowroot powder
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice
1 TBSP vanilla extract

directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup milk with the arrowroot. Set aside.

Mix the remaining milk, brown sugar, pumpkin, and spices in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat. Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and stir in arrowroot slurry. Stir in vanilla extract.

Refrigerate mixture until chilled. Freeze according to your ice cream manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes about 1 quart.

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

While I was contemplating desserts for Thanksgiving, I was thinking of something Gary would be able to eat too. A few weeks earlier, I had seen Alisa from One Frugal Foodie make a dairy free pumpkin pie that looked awesome. I thought it would be a great addition to the menu, since I love pumpkin pie and the ingredients looked pretty good as well. The hint of ginger flavor was a nice addition to this recipe.

I did bake it about 20 minutes longer than the original recipe called for, but it got done eventually.

I did use a different crust recipe than her though. I used to use an all butter crust, but now I’ve started using an all shortening crust. Yes, it’s not that great for you, but what can I do. I’ve never really had a reason to use shortening before, but if it’s a good substitute for butter in some recipes I’m ok with it. To me, everything is ok with moderation anyway.

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie
adapted from: One Frugal Foodie
printable recipe

ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg or allspice 
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup regular coconut milk
1 recipe for a single  pie crust, unbaked (recipe below)

For pie crust (from Crisco)
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening OR 1/2 stick shortening sticks (butter or all vegetable), chilled in freezer
4 to 8 tablespoons ice cold water or milk

directions:

At least 30 minutes prior (or overnight) prepare pie crust:
In your food processor using the steel blade attachment or mixer bowl using the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle one tablespoon ice-cold water or milk over part of mixture. Toss gently with a fork; push to side of bowl. Repeat just until mixture is moistened and can be formed into a ball. (The dough should hold together when picked up and pressed, and should not crack).

Flatten ball of dough into a disk. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.

Remove disk from fridge. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to 12 inches in diameter for a 9” pie crust, adding more flour if dough sticks.

Transfer dough to 9-inch, 4 cup capacity pie plate, being careful to avoid stretching pastry. Trim edge of pastry 1/2 to 3/4 inch beyond edge of the pie plate. Fold excess under to build a thick crust and flute with your thumb and forefinger. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes to overnight before baking.

To prepare pie:
Preheat your oven to 425ºF.

Combine the sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or allspice, cloves and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in the sugar mixture, pumpkin, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the coconut milk.

Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350ºF and continue to bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean (I baked for almost  20 minutes more before the knife came out clean).  It may be a bit wobbly still, but it will firm-up as it cools.

Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Crockpot Chicken and Butternut Squash Stew

I love fall colors and flavors. There’s something about the warm colors of the trees and food around this time that is so comforting. One of my favorite foods in the fall is squash. I love all squash, whether it be pumpkin or anything other type. I’m so glad that Gary likes it as well, so it’s not hard to convince him to eat recipes using squash or pumpkin.

When I first showed him this recipe, he thought it would be a winner. While he was eating this, he asked me if I was going to add this to our favorite recipes box.

The original recipe called for using beef stew meat, but neither of us are big red meat eaters, so I used chicken instead. I also omitted the mushrooms because I didn’t have any on hand even though I thought I did.

Crockpot Chicken and Butternut Squash Stew
adapted from: about.com
printable recipe

ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 small butternut squash
1 large onion, sliced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced (I omitted, since I didn’t have it on hand) 
4 ounces baby carrots left whole (about a handful)
1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano

directions:
Peel and halve the butternut squash. Deseed, then cut into 1-2 inch pieces. Add squash, vegetables and chicken into a 4 or 5qt crockpot.

Add tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and oregano.

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through.

Serve over rice or eat as is.

Pumpkin Pie Pecan Candy

I guess it’s inevitable that pumpkin season and fall foods eventually appear even though I’m not ready to give up summer foods yet. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fall! It’s my favorite time of year. I just feel like I was gypped of a summer this year because it felt so short!

One of my favorite fall foods is pumpkin. I’ve only really made pumpkin pie, but my mom makes this awesome pumpkin dish that is made with black bean garlic sauce and cane sugar. I don’t think I’ve ever attempted to recreate it yet, but if I did, it still wouldn’t taste like hers.

I’ve heard talk about a pumpkin shortage this year. I saw plenty of pumpkins at my supermarket, but I’ve never seen canned pumpkin there. I guess I’ve never looked. I did find canned pumpkin at Target last year (although after pumpkin season), so I had a can in the pantry available to use.

I saw this recipe for pumpkin pecan candies that looked pretty interesting. The recipe called for 2 cups sugar, it did seem like a lot to me, but I left it as is. As I suspected, it was pretty sweet. It also called for 3 cups chopped pecans, but pecans are expensive! I first started out with 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans and would add more as needed, but it was the perfect amount. I’ve also never seen unsweetened coconut in my supermarket. I bought mine at the Chinese supermarket. I originally bought it 2 weeks ago without a recipe in mind, so I’m glad I came across this recipe.

I also think this looks like a truffle and has the truffle consistency. However it can’t really be called a truffle because it doesn’t contain any chocolate. Now, if I coated it in chocolate, then that would be a different story.

Pumpkin Pie Pecan Candy
adapted from: The Ultimate Candy Book
printable recipe

ingredients:
1 (15oz) can pure pumpkin
2 cups white sugar
2 cups unsweetened coconut
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine the pumpkin, sugar, coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. On medium heat, cook and mix together and allow sugar to dissolve. Continue cooking and stirring until mixture forms into a ball, about 15-20 minutes. Have patience, it will eventually turn into a ball once the liquid evaporates.

Remove mixture from heat and add in vanilla. Transfer to a heat safe bowl and cover mixture with plastic wrap so a skin does not form. Chill in refrigerator until cool.

Using a cookie scoop that is about a TBSP size, scoop up balls and roll in the palm of your hands. Roll balls  in the chopped pecan, coating all sides. Put back in fridge to let set.

Store in airtight container up to a week.

Makes about 30 candies.

Pumpkin Puree

Whenever a recipe calls for pumpkin puree, I've only used fresh pumpkin. My mom plants pumpkin every year, and I was also able to nab one from work this past week. This is great substitute for canned pumpkin in any recipe that calls for it.

Ingredients:
1 fresh pumpkin

Directions:
1. Cut a pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and strings.
2. Place face down on a foil lined pan and bake for an hour at 350ºF (180ºC), or until flesh is tender.
3. Cut into pieces and allow to cool.
4. Cut off skin and remaining strings.
5. Place in blender and puree.

I've used this method of pureeing in both my pumpkin pie and pumpkin cake. The hardest part is cutting the pumpkin in half and scooping out the seeds, but once that's done, the rest is a piece of (pumpkin) cake.

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from: Little Corner of Mine
Inspired from: Kraft
Made by: Cathy
Edited: 11/20/08 to add baking soda

Happy Halloween. I wanted to make a themed cake for Halloween this year. I had the day off so I made a pumpkin shaped pumpkin cake. I've never used canned pumpkin in anything, so I used fresh pumpkin for this recipe.

Cake Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree (or 1 15oz can)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
green ice cream cone

Frosting Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
red & yellow food coloring (I used gel food coloring)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugars.
4. Mix in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
5. Pour batter into a greased bundt pan or fluted pan.




6. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting into a wire pan.

Frosting/Decorating Instructions:
1. Allow cake to fully cool before frosting.
2. Combine cream cheese, butter, and sugar. Mix well.
3. Add 2 parts red food coloring and 6 parts yellow food coloring (or as directed on package instructions for orange).
4. Frost in an upward motion.
5. Pour extra frosting into the center of the cake. Place the ice cream cone on top for the stem.
I had fun decorating this cake. I don't have a cake stand, so I frosted this on my wire cooling rack, with a pan underneath to catch drips. Then I use to knives to transfer the cake onto a foil lined pan.

If you can't find the green ice cream cone (I just happened to have one on hand), you can always reserve some frosting for the stem and frost it green. There was extra frosting that I reserved and will probably use for something else.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from: All Recipes
Made by: Cathy

It's pumpkin season! In effort to use the pumpkins from my mom's garden, I decided to see what I could do with her bounty. Since I had the day off I decided to make pumpkin pie with this beauty right here.



The recipe called for a sugar pumpkin, so I used half of this one from my mom's garden.

Ingredients:

For the filling:
1 sugar pumpkin
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie (recipe below)
2 eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

For the crust, I got the recipe from here:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced
1/4 cup ice water

Prepare the crust:
1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

Pie filling directions:
1. Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet lined with lightly oiled aluminum foil. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the peel. Either mash, or puree in small batches in a blender. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C.)
2. In a large bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add brown sugar, flour, salt, 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and evaporated milk. Stir well after each addition.
Pour mixture into the unbaked pastry shell. Place a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust to prevent over browning.
3. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove the strip of foil about 20 minutes before the pie is done so that the edge of the crust will be a light golden brown. Cool pie, and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

I baked it for about an hour.

I couldn't wait. I ate it the same day. I took a picture of it before it sunk. I had just taken it out of the oven for only a couple of minutes. After a little while, the filling flattened out and it looked great. It wasn't smooth like store bought, it looked more like a creme brulee top.

There were extra crust and filling left, so I made little mini pies. Those baked for about 20-25 mins. at 350 degrees.