Layered pumpkin cheesecake

Pumpkin pie is one of those things I feel I have to serve at holiday meals, but a little goes a long way.  If I have one piece between November 15th and New Years, I am set for the season, and whenever I make it, it never gets finished. Having had my seasonal piece at my school's Thanksgiving lunch last week, I decided to try something different this year.

Crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons melted butter

Combine sugar and crumbs, gradually mix in butter.  Press into bottom and up sides of springform pan; bake at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Cool.

Cake:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 packets cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla.
• 2 eggs

Mix pumpkin, brown sugar and spices, set aside. Soften cream cheese in microwave, then beat in sugar, sour cream, sugar, vanilla and flour until smooth. Add eggs and beat just until well-blended. Divide batter in half, pour one half into cooled crust. Mix pumpkin mixture into remaining batter, pour over first layer.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until mostly set but still a bit jiggly in center. Cool, then refrigerate overnight.

Cookie dough cream pie

I had a delicious chocolate chip cookie dough cream pie at a restaurant years ago and have been looking for a recipe since. I may have found it. Raw cookie dough inside a brown sugar pudding that tastes somewhat like cookie dough itself. Ignore your diet, folks.

Notes: This makes a deep dish pie! I doubled the recipe to make 2 pies for a church event. I used pre-made Oreo crusts for a shortcut. There was enough filling for 3.
Baking the egg-less cookie dough makes a pretty little garnish, but the cookies themselves were overly crisp and buttery for me. Next time I think I'll skip that step and use regular cookies or Famous Amos.

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (7 oz)
• 6 tablespoons butter

Press into pie pan, bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool completely.

Dough:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 stick butter
• 3/8 cup brown sugar
• 3/8 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars, ass milk and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and mix into soft dough. Make 8 small balls (about 1/2 teaspoon) and bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes. Press rest of raw dough into pie crust.

Pudding:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar, flour and salt, whisk in 1 cup milk. Heat to boiling on medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue for two minutes, until custard is thick. Remove from heat. In separate bowl, whisk remaining milk into egg yolks. Whisk a dollop of the hot custard into the egg/milk mixture, then whisk into warm custard. Heat to boiling again for one minute, whisking constantly. Remove from hear and whisk in butter and vanilla. Pour over cookie dough and chill several hours or overnight.

Cream:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat cream to soft peak stage, add rest of ingredients and beat to stiff peaks. Spread over pie. Reserve eight dollops to pipe around circumference; garnish with mini-cookie.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

My kids are crazy about chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, so when I heard of these cupcakes I had to try them. There are several versions around; I like this one because it uses a mix.

A few tips: It is essential that the dough centers be frozen thoroughly. I typically do mine overnight. Do not over bake these: 16 minutes is about right for me. If you over bake or do not freeze dough, you wind up with a dry crumply cookie in the middle instead of the soft dough. Toothpick test is not reliable for doneness if you stick it in the middle, because you'll be testing the dough; use the side.

I got the icing recipe from a different site. You can use any frosting you want, but this version has that "cookie dough" taste that makes it especially good. The original recipe made way more icing than I needed, (I don't put big swirls of icing on cupcakes) so the second time I halved it; which was barely enough. The version below is 2/3's of the original, which is about right.

Centers:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar, then beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and stir in until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Using about 1 tablespoon each, roll 24 balls of dough. Place on cookie sheet and freeze at least 2 hours or overnight.

Cake:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup oil

Beat eggs slightly, then add rest of ingredients. Mix with mixer on medium speed 2 minutes. Fill 24 paper-lined muffin tins 1/2 to 2/3's full with batter, then place one cookie dough ball on top. Cupcake will rise and cover ball as it bakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 16-20 minute. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely.

Cookie dough buttercream frosting:

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 1/3 teaspoons vanilla

Cream brown sugar and butter. Mix in powdered sugar until smooth. Mix in rest of ingredients to make a smooth frosting. Spread over cooled cupcakes. Top with mini-chocolate chips or a Famous Amos mini chocolate chip cookie, if desired.

These are best stored in refrigerator.

Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Coulis

I served this for a dinner party recently, in my grandmother's silver sherberts.

Mousse:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 oz. dark chocolate (60-70% cacao)

Melt chocolate in double boiler. Whisk sugar and egg yolks. Heat 3/4 cup cream until hot but not boiling. poour slowly into egg yolks, whisking throughout. Transfer to stove and heat over medium -low heat, stirring constantly, until custard coats spoon. Whisk into melted chocolate and cool. Whip cream, then fold a fourth of it into chocolate mixture. Then, fold chocolate mixture into remaining cream. Spoon into serving dish and chill.

Raspberry coulis

• 1/2 pound raspberries
• 1/4 pound sugar

Combine in saucepan over medium heat; cook until sugar is dissolved. Chill sauce.

Whipped cream

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip, gradually added sugar, chill 1-3 hours.

Top each mousse cup with a spoonful of coulis, then a dollop of whipped cream. Makes 12 small or 6 larger servings.

Chocolate and Pumpkin Cheesecake

Back in my grad school days, pre-internet, I copied a wonderful recipe for a layered pumpkin and chocolate cheesecake with chocolate ganache. I'm not sure if this is the same recipe but it's close. It makes a wonderful holiday dessert.

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crusts
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix crumbs, sugar and cocoa. Pour butter over all, stir to coat. Press onto bottom and sides of 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chocolate layer:

• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coffee
• 12 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt chocolate in double boiler. Mix in coffee, set aside. Beat cream cheese, sugar and salt together. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then mix in vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and blend. Pour over chocolate crumb crust.

Pumpkin layer:

• 16 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/3 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat pumpkin, cream cheese, flour, and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix in spices and vanilla. Pour into 9 inch cake pan lined with buttered parchment paper.

Bake both cheesecakes at 350 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes. Turn off oven and let sit for 20 minutes. Refrigerate chocolate layer, cool pumpkin layer to room temperature.

Ganache:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 12 oz chocolate chips

Boil cream, butter and sugar, add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour one cup of ganache onto chocolate layer. Unmold pumpkin layer and place on top of chocolate layer. Freeze for 1 hour. Frost top and sides of cheesecake with remaining ganache. Keep refrigerated until time to serve.

Murderous Strawberry Shortcake

With my fondness for both books and dessert recipes, it was only a matter of time before I got hooked on this series. It's about a young woman from fictional Lake Eden, MN* who owns a bakery and spends her spare time solving murders, the victims of which always manage to expire while consuming one of her confections.

In any case, strawberries have been cheap and plentiful here lately, so when I had to fix a church supper recently, I quadrupled the title recipe from the second book of the series "The Strawberry Shortcake Murder" and fed about 80 with it. It was wonderful.

Cake:

• 3 sticks butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups cake flour

Topping:

• 3 pints sliced strawberries (or other fruit)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup sour cream

Butter and flour 2 9 inch pans. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and beat until fluffy. Mix in sour cream, baking powder and vanilla. Add flour, one cup at a time. Spoon into pans and bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes

Cool, wrap in plastic and foil and store in refrigerator for 48 hours. Remove an hour before serving. Beat cream with sugar, then fold in sour cream Serve with sliced berries, a dollop of cream mixture and garnish with whole berries. Hannah says this makes 12 pieces; for me it's rich enough to serve more like 20.

*where, judging from the amount of time the characters spend eating scrumptious-sounding desserts, the average weight must be around 500 lbs.

Sugar Cookies

Easy and fun!

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter. Beat in sugars and eggs, then stir in milk and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients, then blend in to make a soft dough. Chill. Roll to 1/8 inch on floured surface, cut with assorted colors. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired and bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Applesauce Spice cookies

I was looking for a cinnamon apple cookie recipe I could use with my new apple-shaped cookie cutter, for my school's upcoming Apple Day carnival. This one fit the bill. I used red and green sprinkles to decorate.

• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 egg
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves

Cream sugar, butter, applesauce and egg. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices, mix until soft dough forms. Chill at least 1 hour. Roll out on floured cloth to 1/8 inch thickness; cut into desired shapes. Bake on greased cookie sheets at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes.

World's Easiest fudge recipe

My Girl Scouts did this recipe at our last meeting:  It's a breeze.

• 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
  
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
• dash salt
  

Line 8" by 8" pan with foil.  Melt all ingredients together over low heat. Spread in pan.  Chill 2 hours until firm.

Lemon Poppyseed Slice and Bake Cookies

Slice and bake cookies are the way to go for cookie exchanges, when you want a lot, quickly. These are great.

• 1 cup white sugar
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 cup butter
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 teaspoon lemon rind
  
• juice of one lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
  
• 2 teaspoon poppy seeds
  
• 3 1/2 cups flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

Cream butter and sugar.  Mix in eggs, lemon juice, lemon rind and poppy seeds. Mix flour, soda and salt, add and mix until dough forms. Divide into three parts and roll into 15 inch logs on wax paper. Wrap and chill overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice logs into 1/2 inch slices, place on cookie sheet at bake 10-12 minutes.

Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies

These can be made as chocolate-and-vanilla or chocolate-and-mint, your choice!

• 1/2 cup butter
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 3 tablespoons milk
  
• 1 egg yolk
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 1 1/2 cup flour
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 square unsweetened chocolate
  
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)
  
• Green food coloring (optional)
  

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in milk, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and stir into dough. Divide in half. Add melted chocolate to half; if desired, add peppermint extract and green food coloring to other half. Roll on waxed paper into two large rectangles, stack chocolate dough on the other half. Roll up jellyroll style, wrap and chill several hours. Slice into 1/4 inch slices and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

A favorite for Christmas cookie exchanges.

• 1 cup butter
  
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  
• 2 1/2 cups flour
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• Red food coloring
  

Cream butter and sugar.  Beat in egg and peppermint extract. Combine dry ingredients and mix in until blended.  Divide dough in half and tint half red.

Roll out on wax paper in two large rectangles, stack white dough on top of red. Roll up jellyroll style, wrap in waxed paper and chill overnight. Cut log into 1/4 inch slices, place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with red sugar or crushed candy cane pieces, if desired. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Bitter Chocolate Cookies

I love to bake cookies, especially around the holidays, but plain sugar cookies get old quick. These chocolate ones are great.

• 3/4 cup softened butter
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 egg
  
• 4 squares unsweetened chocolate
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 1 3/4 cups flour
  

Cream butter and sugar, beat in salt, egg and vanilla. Melt chocolate and blend in.  Stir in flour. Chill dough, then roll on floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness thencut with cookie cutters.  Bake at 425 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

Popcorn brittle

I recently enjoyed this in a Seattle restaurant and decided to try it myself.  After a little experimenting with a couple of recipes, here's what I have.

• 1/3 cup popcorn
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 6 tablespoons light corn syrup
  
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1/4 cup hot water
  
• 3 tablespoons molasses
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  

Pop corn in olive oil. Process in food processer until coarse but not finely ground. set aside.  Mix water, sugar and corn syrup in saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils.  Leave undisturbed on burner until candy thermometer registers 270 degrees.  Mix in butter and molasses, cook to 290 degrees. Mix salt, soda and vanilla, stir carefully into carmel mixture.  Remove from heat and quickly spread on cookie sheet lined with greased foil. Cool thoroughly and break into chunks

Buttermilk pound cake

My 12-year old recently had to prepare a family meal for a school assignment.  She chose this for dessert and it was wonderful!

• 1 stick butter
  
• 1/2 cup shortening
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 cup buttermilk
  
• 3 cups flour
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract
  
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat butter and shortening until creamy and soft, then gradually beat in sugar.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Mix soda into buttermilk, add to batter alternating with flour and salt.  Bake in greased and floured tube pan at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Creamy Key Lime Pie

It's turning out to be Pie Month in the Kitchen. I made this for a dinner we're hosting tomorrow night.

• Graham cracker crust (homemade or purchased)
  
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  
• 3 eggs yolks (save white for meringue, if desired)
  
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  
• 1/3 cup key lime juice
  
• 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
  

Meringue: (optional)

3 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon corn starch

1/3 cup sugar

Beat cream cheese with electric mixture until fluffy. Over double boiler, cook egg yolks, milk and lime juice for 10-12 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and gradually beat into cream cheese, until smooth. No need for further cooking if you are skipping meringue; just chill overnight. If you want meringue, beat egg whites until foamy, add starch and cream of tartar, then gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. Top pie, swirl, then bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until browned. Chill pie several hours or overnight.

Peach Pie

My daughter came home with a bag full of fresh peaches from a day camp field trip to Chiles Peach Orchard. Way too many for the family to eat, so naturally, I made a pie.

• 6 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced.
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons butter
• double recipe pie crust

Line pie pan with crust. Mix peaches, sugar, flour and nutmeg and let sit for 30 minutes or so, until it gets syrupy. Cook to boiling over medium heat, then lower to low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in vanilla and butter. Pour peaches into crust. Slice second crust into strips and top lattice style. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 350 and bake another 20-30 minutes, until crust browns.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake with Kahlua Sauce

Baking a lot of key lime pies left me with a lot of egg whites leftover, so I made this. Low calorie but wonderfully flavorful. (133 calories with less than a gram of fat per serving!)

Cake:
9 egg whites
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/8 cup sugar
4.5 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Sauce:
3/8 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
1.5 cups skim milk
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons Kahlua (or other liqueur of your choice)

Sift together flour, cocoa, 3/8 cup sugar and cinnamon, set aside. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until foamy, add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, beating continuously until stiff peaks form. Fold in dry ingredients and mix completely. Pour into ungreased tube pan. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Invert and cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from pan.

For sauce, dissolve 3/8 cup sugar and cornstarch in cold milk; whisk in egg. Cook to boiling over low heat, stirring continuously. Boil one minute ,then remove from heat and whisk in Kahlua. Serve cake slices with a tablespoon of sauce and sliced berries, if desired. Makes 15 1 inch pieces. Serves 15.

Key Lime Pie

• 1 ready-made graham cracker crust
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate eggs, save 3 whites for meringue. Beat egg yolks into sweetened condensed milk, add lime juice and mix thoroughly. Beat one egg white until stiff, fold into milk mixture. Pour into pie crust. Beat remaining egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy; add corn starch. Gradually add sugar to egg whites while beating, until stiff peaks form. Top pie with meringue; bake for 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.

Cream cheese spritz cookies

I'm not a huge fan of pressed cookies in general, but these are good.  Not overly sweet, very nice for a tea or other elegant occasion.

• 1 cup softened butter or margarine
  
• 8 oz softened cream cheese
  
• 2/3 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• dash of salt
  
• 2 cups flour
  
• decorating sugar or sprinkles
  

Cream butter and cream cheese; add sugar and beat until fluffy. Stir in vanilla, then add salt and flour and mix until soft dough forms.  Chill.  Pack into cookie press and make cookies in desired shaped.  Sprinkle with colored sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes; watch carefully to prevent over-browning.