Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 4 graham crackers)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg yolk

Filling

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups (1 pound) brown sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 15-ounce cans pumpkin puree*
• 2 tablespoons bourbon or other whiskey

Pan

• 1 9-inch diameter, 3-inch tall springform pan

* You can make your own pumpkin purée by cutting a sugar pumpkin in half, scooping out the seeds, placing the pumpkin halves cut-side down in a roasting pan with a 1/4 inch of water in it, and cooking it in a 350°F oven for an hour, until soft. Scoop out the flesh and purée it in a blender or food processor. Strain out excess water.

Method

1 Pulse pecans, flour, sugar, and crumbs in a food processor. Add butter and egg yolk. Pulse until mixture is homogenous. Press into bottom of 9” springform pan and bake for 10 minutes at 375°F. Remove from oven and let cool.

2 Drain or strain any liquid from pumpkin purée. Take pumpkin purée and place on several layers of paper towels. Cover with several layers of paper towels and use your hands to gently squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the purée. Not that you will probably go through a lot of paper towels (can use tea towels too). Two 15-ounce cans of puréed pumpkin should yield a little more than 2 cups of purée, with the excess moisture removed. You want exactly 2 cups of the purée.

3 Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, grated nutmeg, and allspice in a medium bowl. With a wooden spoon (no need for a mixer for this step), mix in the salt, pumpkin purée, vanilla, and bourbon. Beat in the eggs.

4 In a large bowl, (helps to use a mixer for this step) combine the cream cheese and the brown sugar until fully creamed and smooth (no lumps). Gradually add the pumpkin mixture until fully incorporated. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.

5 Place crust-baked springform pan in the middle of two layers of large sheets of aluminum foil (to help prevent water-bath moisture from leaking into the pan). Fold the aluminum foil up the sides of the pan and trim. Place the aluminum wrapped pan in a large roasting pan (large enough so that there is room on all sides). Pour the pumpkin cream cheese mixture into the springform pan.

6 Place the roasting pan containing the springform pan in a 325°F oven on the middle rack. Pour boiling water into the pan so that it comes halfway up the side of the springform pan. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven heat and prop the oven door open. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven, cooling for another hour. Then remove from oven and let come to room temperature. Once it has cooled down, chill for several hours in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.

7 When ready to serve, gently remove the cake from the springform pan. To do this well, I recommend a tip by Dorie Greenspan in her book Baking: From My Home to Yours. To help ensure that the cake doesn’t stick to the springform side as you unlock it, first run a blunt knife around the cake and then warm the sides of the pan with a hair dryer. Then carefully unlock the springform and lift off the sides.

Serve cheesecake with caramel sauce, candied pecans, and whipped cream.

Makes 16 servings.

This cake bakes for a long time at a moderate temperature, which helps keep the ripe fruit from bursting and releasing its juices. The easy-to-make pastry bakes up moist and crumbly, with a texture that’s like a cross between a biscuit and a cake.

A note from our cooks: We’ve received some letters from readers complaining about a burned crust when making the peach blueberry cake (August 2005 cover), so we ran through the recipe two more times. Baked in a standard light-colored metal pan, the cake was perfect; baked in a dark metal pan, however, it burned — be aware that the cake’s high sugar content makes it more susceptible to burning at high heat. As you’ll see in “Tips: A Guide to Using Gourmet‘s Recipes” (located on the recipe index page) we recommend always using light-colored metal pans for baking. Dark metal pans, including nonstick, will cause your baked goods to brown more quickly. Manufacturers suggest reducing the oven temperature by 25 degrees when using dark pans.

• Yield:  Makes 8 servings
• Active Time:  25 min
• Total Time:  3 1/2 hr (includes cooling to warm)

Ingredients

For pastry

• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For filling

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca
• 2 lb firm-ripe large peaches (about 4), halved lengthwise, pitted, and each half cut lengthwise into fourths
• 1 cup blueberries (1/2 pint)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Special equipment: a 9- to 91/2-inch (24-cm) springform pan; an electric coffee/spice grinder

Preparation

Make pastry:

Pulse together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Add egg and vanilla and pulse just until dough clumps and begins to form a ball, about 15 pulses.

Press dough onto bottom and evenly (about 1/4 inch thick) all the way up side of springform pan with floured fingertips. Chill pastry in pan until firm, about 10 minutes.

Make filling while pastry chills:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Grind 2 tablespoons sugar with flour and tapioca in grinder until tapioca is powdery, then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining 6 tablespoons sugar. Add peaches, blueberries, and lemon juice and gently toss to coat. Spoon filling into pastry and bake, loosely covered with a sheet of foil, until filling is bubbling in center and crust is golden, about 1 3/4 hours.

Transfer cake in pan to a rack and cool, uncovered, 20 minutes, then carefully remove side of pan.

Cool cake to barely warm or room temperature, then cut into thick wedges with a sharp knife before serving.

Cooks’ note:

Pastry can be made and pressed into pan 1 day ahead and chilled, wrapped well in plastic wrap. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before filling.

Ingredients

• 9 cups favorite cereal or small crackers
• 4 cups popped popcorn
• 1 1/2 cups dry roasted peanuts
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups candy-coated chocolates

Preparation

1. Lightly grease a large roasting pan; stir in cereal or crackers, popcorn and peanuts. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla and baking soda. Mix well and pour over mixture in roasting pan; toss to coat. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely; add candy, tossing to mix. Store in an airtight container.

Note:  To make the container: Tear pieces of white paper into strips and glue around a clear plastic cup, leaving some of the cup showing. Glue on googly eyes. Let dry.

Ingredients Nutrition

Servings 12 Yield 12 pies Units US

• Crust
• 2 cups flour
• ²⁄₃ cup butter (chilled)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons water
• Filling
• 5 medium apples (peeled and chopped up into small pieces)
• ³⁄₄ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter (chilled)

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Get muffin pan out. No need to grease it.
2. In food processor blend flour, salt and butter until it looks like little peas.
3. Add in water and blend just until it looks like it’s sticking.
4. Take out and combine it by hand until well blended.
5. Roll out on lightly floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Or use frozen dough, and follow directions to thaw, etc.
7. Cut 12, 4 inch circles with cup or bowl.(You will need to roll out twice).
8. Note: you can use the rest of the crust for anything you may want to do on top of the pies.
9. Press each circle in muffin tins until all the way up each side, to form little bowls.
10. Mix by hand all filling ingredients and spoon into muffin bowls.
11. Cut up butter into 12 little pieces and place one piece on each pie.
12. You can decorate them anyway you like with extra crust, or just leave plain.
13. Bake at 425 degrees for 16-18 minutes. (Until crust is light brown and apples are bubbling).
14. When cool, just loosen with a spoon and they’ll come right out!

 

Alternate Ideas

Use Pillsbury (or other) frozen pie crusts.  Muffin pan holds 24, so might want to get a total of 4 pie crusts.  Suggested apples to use are Granny Smith (most often chosen), Honeycrisp (second choice), Crispin, and Pink Lady.  One site suggested a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp.

INGREDIENTS:

• 48 HERSHEY’S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup REESE’S Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup additional granulated sugar for rolling(optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar, if desired; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 48 cookies.

These cinnamon apples taste like a cobbler or pie without the crust. I was looking for a recipe for Cinnamon apples and all I could find were recipes for baking the whole apple – not what I wanted. After much searching I finally came across this recipe – I unfortunately cannot remember the site. It can easily be reduced to 2 or 3 apples, just watch it as it cooks. We serve this over ice cream and it is delicious. It can also be used on pancakes, waffles, or all by itself.

 

Ingredients

Servings 8 Units US

• 10 apples, cored, peeled and sliced thinly
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)
• 1 dash salt
• 1 dash nutmeg
• whipped cream (optional) or ice cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place cut and peeled apples in a mixing bowl and gently mix all the ingredients together.
3. Put apples in a non-stick pan; cover and place in the oven.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring at least once every 15 minutes.
5. Once they are soft, cook for another few minutes to thicken the cinnamon sauce.
6. I like to put everything into my baking dish and then mix it since there is less to clean up.

• 16 oz. cream cheese
• 1 egg, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ C sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 pkg. crescent roll dough

 

Let the cream cheese and egg some to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350º.  In 13 x 9 pan, spread one package of crescent roll evenly over bottom.

Mix cream cheese, 1 C sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.  Spread over crescent roll dough.

Spread remaining roll of crescent roll dough over mixture.  Whisk egg white until frothy, and spread over top of dough.  Mix remaining ½ C sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle on top.

Bake for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool, then cut into small pieces.

 

You can also add chopped pecans to the sugar and cinnamon mixture to place on top before baking.