Pumpkin Cream Cheese Truffles

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As much as I love my sweets and post-dinner treats, after a big Thanksgiving meal (and knowing that I will be enjoying another leftover sandwich plate later in the evening:), I am a bit too full for a slice of pie or piece of cheesecake right then.  In come these little beauties to solve that problem.  One bite will satisfy that seasonal sweet tooth for anything pumpkin or spiced. The best description of these snow white balls-- the love child of a traditional pumpkin pie and a spiced pumpkin cheesecake.  In fact, it is the technique from a spiced pumpkin cheesecake recipe I have that I use to make the filling creamy and rich like a truffle and not like a cream filled chocolate. I'll explain more below.

The original recipe came to me a few years ago via an e-mail from Whole Foods.  I read the name and  was instantly smitten.  But after reading the recipe and a few reviews, I knew I had to make a few changes.  The original called for part gingersnap crumbs and part graham cracker crumbs, but I love the taste of homemade gingersnaps, so I use only gingersnaps (pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust-- oh, yes!).  The recipe also called for orange zest.  As much as I love the combo of pumpkin and orange, I omitted it for a straight spiced pumpkin pie taste.  The original recipe also made 30 truffles, but they were only a heaping teaspoon each, so I doubled the batch for a nice sized truffle.  The biggest modification came from the reviews, which were good for flavor, but the filling was too wet, and not stiff enough to roll.  This is where the handy technique from Cook's Illustrated comes into play.  To remove the unwanted excess moisture from the pumpkin purée...

Line a baking sheet with triple layer paper towels.  Using an off-set spatula, spread the pumpkin into a thin, even layer.

Place more paper towels on top to soak up more moisture.

Look at all that moisture!

Once the towels are completely saturated, remove the top towels and grab the one side of the bottom towel.  Fold the pumpkin in half onto itself.

Flip the pumpkin purée onto the baking sheet and discard the towels.  I actually squeezed several tablespoons out of the paper towel.  Transfer the purée to the bowl of a food processor and proceed with the recipe.

There is still time to put these decadent treats on your Thanksgiving dessert table.  A box or plate full of these with a warm hug will really show your family and friends how thankful you are.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Pumpkin Banana Bread

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Banana Bread-- it wears many hats.  There is the basic banana bread, then there is the chocolate version, the peanut butter, the tropical, the one with nuts, and so on.  But this one is putting on its Fall cap and taking a walk through the autumn leaves.  This is banana bread with the flavors and spices of Fall.  

Enjoyed for breakfast with a slathering of butter or a toasted slice for an after school snack, this loaf is moist, tender, and bakes up beautifully with a nice dome.  From the original recipe, I increased the amount of sugar and used some brown sugar for a deeper, sweet flavor.  I added vanilla and a splash of white vinegar, like I do in my regular banana bread, for a bright, clean banana flavor.  Not only is this a tasty spin on banana bread, but it just so happens to be low-fat.  Just a quarter cup of oil, one egg, and two egg whites is all that is called for.  I am not one to seek out low-fat recipes, but a recipe like this might be needed before we loosen up our belts for the upcoming holiday eats and treats!

Pumpkin Cake with Orange-Cream Cheese Frosting

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My birthday was a few weeks ago and I had a hard time deciding what cake I wanted.  But, after realizing that I had a printout of this recipe for nearly three years without ever making it, I figured that this cake's time had come.  

Just about any cake with a cream cheese frosting is a winner in my book and this cake is no exception. However, I did cut back on the original amount of frosting because, in my opinion, this cake is all about the tender and delicious pumpkin layers and I felt the extra cream cheese would weigh down the cake.  The original recipe made a maple-cream cheese frosting, but I love the combination of pumpkin and orange, like in these Spiced Pumpkin Muffins.  

After taking my first bite-- yum, there were so many flavors bouncing around; spices, citrus, sweetness, not to mention pumpkin and cream cheese.  It was an instant love-hate relationship.  I was in love with the cake, but I hated myself for waiting this long to make it. Please, don't wait like I did.  Just go make this cake!

Homemade Pumpkin Purée

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November 1st is what the calendar says.  The pumpkins on the front stoop have had their days of glory.  As long as a band of marauding teenagers doesn't make my stoop a stop on their tour of smashing tonight, I will have some pumpkins to use (note to self--remember to remove whole pumpkins from stoop tonight).  Halloween is the line of demarcation between Fall and Holiday, at least mentally and planning-wise for me.  It's time to start thinking about holiday recipes and menu planning.  Many of you will be using pumpkin purée for baked goodies and some savory dishes.  As some of you pumpkin pie bakers may remember, a few years ago there was a shortage of canned pumpkin purée-- yikes!  Trying to stay calm, I decided it was high time I make my own.  Why couldn't I bake a pumpkin and purée it?  Is that just weird?  I don't hear about it much, but I'm sure it was done for centuries before supermarkets with all of their canned food bounty existed.  I accomplished the task with much success and even though there are plenty of cans of pumpkin on sale at the market, I still make my own.  It is fresh, it is made from locally grown pumpkins, and well, it just makes me feel better knowing that it is homemade.  

I start with small sugar pumpkins, not the big ones (save those for Jack-o-laterns).  Wash and scrub them well.  Instead of cutting them into pieces before roasting, I leave them whole and deeply pierce the pumpkin in 4 or 5 places to prevent the pumpkin from exploding.

They are baked in a preheated 375º F oven until the flesh is tender, about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes depending on the size of the pumpkins.  Allow to cool.

Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, and peel off the skin.

Place the flesh in the bowl of a food processor and whiz away, 

Until the mixture is smooth and completely puréed.

Strain the purée of excess liquid by placing in a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl.  Do not press, just leave it be for a while.

Et Voilá!  Homemade Pumpkin Purée.  Stay tuned for some recipes:)

Sunday Dinner

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Pimento Cheese and Crackers

Turkey and Sausage Gumbo

served over steamed white rice

Cabbage Slaw with a Red Wine Vinaigrette

Sweet Corn Bread

Double Ginger Pumpkin Roll

This has been our Sunday dinner menu for many years.  The leftover turkey goes into the gumbo and the pumpkin roll is the perfect ending!  We love pumpkin roll more than pumpkin pie.  Cake, pumpkin, cream cheese, and butter...what's not to love?

This is just a jazzed up version of LIBBY'S  Pumpkin Roll.  I changed the spices according to my own taste and I added chopped walnuts and crystallized ginger to the cream cheese.  And since I had ground ginger and crystallized ginger, I changed the name to Double Ginger Pumpkin Roll.  It is so yummy!

                                    

I couldn't decide which picture I liked best for this post.  Anyone care to comment?  I'd love your feedback!

Pumpkin Yeast Bread

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I love leftover turkey sandwiches.  Spread with a good mayonnaise and my leftover whole berry cranberry sauce-- it is my favorite sandwich of all time! I usually enjoy it on leftover rolls or a loaf of homemade white bread, I was looking for something different to try a couple of years ago.  

When I am looking for baking inspiration one of my favorite sites to go is King Arthur Flour.  I came across this recipe for Pumpkin Yeast Bread.  I knew it would be perfect for my turkey sandwiches.  Some reviews suggested adding more spices, but I left the spice in the recipe as is since my cranberry sauce already has plenty of spice in it.  I did increase the salt and I used butter instead of oil.

These loaves bake up beautifully and they are so tasty.  The pumpkin and spices come through subtly on their own, but when paired with leftover turkey, my whole berry cranberry sauce and some mayonnaise-- wow, so good!!


The recipe suggests making half the batch into a loaf and the other half into rolls and that is  what I do.  Perfect for those fall sandwiches, but also wonderful served warm in the holiday bread basket!

Pumpkin Pie Marshmallows

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The weather here has been just beautiful lately.  Crisp, cool and perfect!  So perfect, it was time to roll out the fire pit and make some s'mores.  Being so close to Thanksgiving, I thought I would put a spin on the traditional s'more.  I searched and quickly came across a pumpkin marshmallow recipe.  It was very similar to my vanilla one, but had the addition of pumpkin puree, spices, and orange food coloring.  I changed the spices according to my own taste and left out the food coloring because I wanted them to look natural-- not neon.  Paired with my homemade graham crackers and some white chocolate (and a little spread of caramel I had in the fridge)-- yum!  Move over pumpkin pie.  I think we have a new tradition after our Thanksgiving meal!

Do not be intimidated by making your own marshmallows.  They are fairly simple, but you do need a candy thermometer and a stand mixer.  In the pumpkin marshmallow recipe, I found that dusting them with cornstarch in addition to powdered sugar is essential due to the extra moisture from the pumpkin puree.  And once you make your own marshmallows you'll understand why it's worth it.  They are far superior in taste and texture than the ones at the store.

Spiced Pumpkin Bagels

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Well, I was going out on limb with this one, but I am so glad that I did.  These were fantastic!!  So good that we each had another half:P  My thinking behind this recipe was I wanted a bagel that tasted like my spiced pumpkin muffins.  So, I took my favorite plain bagel recipe added pumpkin puree, brown sugar, spices, and some orange juice to give it that nice little tang.  Mix, rise, roll, shape, boil, bake and breakfast was served.

If you have never made bagels before, don't be intimidated.  These really are simple to make.  The only thing I will do differently is let them rise a bit more after I shape them (I have included the extra time in the recipe).  

Seeing how Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I think these would be wonderful served to family and guests for breakfast Thanksgiving morning.  You can certainly make them the night before.  We enjoyed ours toasted on one side with some whipped cream cheese and some warm apple cider. Yum! Yum! 

I make my breads in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but you can certainly make this by hand or in a bread machine.  Just remove it from the bread machine after the first rise and continue to the recipe.

Pumpkin Dip

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Are you hosting any parties this fall or are you just looking for another yummy pumpkin recipe to serve to family and friends?  Try this delicious pumpkin spread.  It is super easy to make and it is enjoyed by kids and adults.  Just throw all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.  Serve it with gingersnaps, butter cookies, graham crackers, pretzels sticks, apples slices or even pear slices.  And if there are any leftovers, make yourself a delicious fall breakfast treat and spread it over a toasted bagel.  A whole wheat bagel with dried cranberries would be my choice.  Mmmm-- so good!

Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup

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One of my favorite things to eat for lunch is soup.  I eat soup all year long.   Steamy and warm bowls of it in the fall and winter, light and delicate broths in the spring and chilled gazpachos and velouté in the summer.  Soup is so satisfying.  One of the reasons I enjoy soup so much is getting to have a crusty piece of bread, a corn muffin, a hot biscuit, or some type of cracker to eat on the side to sop up the last bit of  goodness in the bowl-- yum! 


So, since I have a bit of that pumpkin puree leftover from the muffins, the only thing to make is a pot of Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup.  This soup screams Fall.  Looking at the ingredients you might think, "How can this taste good?"-- pumpkin, black beans, tomatoes, and cinnamon?  Let me say it just works.   The pumpkin adds a silkiness, the beans add body, the tomatoes add sweetness, the cinnamon adds the perfect spice, and the ground cumin just rounds it all together.  Finish it with a dollop of sour cream, some chipotle sauce, and sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for a bit of texture and you've got yourself a bowl full of goodness.  Oh, don't forget the cornbread.

Note: Can be eaten immediately, but this is also a "next day better" meal.

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

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After a string of 80º F days here, the weather has finally cooled off.  Not that I don't enjoy 80º F days, but it is just hard to cook and plan fall menus, like soups, stews, and fragrantly spiced baked goods when you are sweating and wearing flip flops.  This morning was particularly nice, overcast and 50º F.  Time to break out the house coat and slippers. couldn't think of better breakfast than a cup of hot apple cider and a basket full of fresh pumpkin muffins to start the day.  The smell of these muffins baking will get any sleepyheads out of bed.  It worked on mine!

This is a simple recipe and you can get all the ingredients out the night before that way they will be at room temperature in the morning.  Mix it up first thing in the a.m. and read the paper while they are baking.  Cool for just a few minutes and eat them while they are still warm with a good slathering of butter.  I have also made them in a mini muffin pan to pack for those school lunches.  Just freeze the rest for another day.

After reading the recipe you will note: 1 cup (about 1/2 can) of pumpkin puree...?  Yes, I am sure most of you have heard about the pumpkin can shortage.  But fear not, I have seen them on the shelves.  If all else fails it is simple to make your own, but we will leave that for another post.  Oh and what about the other half of the can because if you've been reading you know I don't like to waste food?  Stay tuned!