Tag: pumpkin

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Sadie2 Comments

First I want to wish best of luck to those in New Jersey and New York.  I hope everyone will have power and get back to their normal lives as soon as possible!

This is a simple post.  Pumpkin bread is delicious.  This is a recipe I have had years of success with.  If you are having house guests or need a hostess gift for something in the next month, made this bread.  If you are not having house guests, or do not need a hostess gift, make this bread.  Enjoy the pumpkin season!

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Makes 2 9 x 5 loaves, recipe from Epicurious

Ingredients

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare two 9 x 5 loaf pans with parchment and nonstick spray.
  2. Combine flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (you can substitute the multiple spices for pumpkin pie spice if you have it.)
  3. Wisk together oil and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, then the pumpkin.
  4. Add dry ingredients in slowly.  Add in chopped walnuts if you want.
  5. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the tester comes out clean.

The Best Pumpkin Bars Going

Sadie3 Comments

A few years ago, when I was just taking a real interest in baking, I decided to bake several different cookies and bars to have on hand around Thanksgiving.  My family always hosts Thanksgiving at our house, and we typically have several house guests for the entire long weekend.  This means that we not only have to cook for the main event, but we have plan meals and snacks for four days straight.  This is when stashes of cookies comes in handy.

That year I found this recipe for pumkin bars on the Martha Stewart website and it seemed easy enough for a beginner.  Let me tell you, these did not dissapoint.  While some of the other cookies I made lingered for most of the weekend, these bars were gone within one day.  I have since made them for various groups of friends and family and they get raves every time.

Do yourself a favor, when you get in a pumpin mood, give these a try!  They are great warm from the oven, or even cold from the freezer.  And by the way, they only use one cup of pumpkin from the can, so I love to use the leftover canned pumpkin to mix into my morning oatmeal!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Make one 9 x 13 pan, about 20 bars depending on size, from Martha

Ingredients

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1 Tbs pumpkin-pie spice
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a 9 x 13 brownie pan with parchment (it will make it much easier to get them out).
  2. Combine the flour, spice, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
  3. Cream butter, then add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla.
  4. Alternate adding batches of the pumkin and dry ingredients.  Mix to combine, but try not to overmix the dough.
  5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  6. Pour batter into parchment lined pan.  Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes.  Allow to cool completely, then cut and serve!

Time for Pumpkin!

Sadie4 Comments

I’m sad to put aside the berries of summer, but what could be better than pumpkin in the fall!  Apples and pumpkin are definitely my two favorite fall flavor profiles.  Since my mom tends to own the apple pie concept in my family, so I’m more likely to go the pumpkin direction when I bake in the fall.

I was recently invited to a dinner party and I, of course, offered to bring dessert.  Initially I actually wanted to make a berry crumble, but I thought to myself: get over it Sadie the berry season is over this year (*tear*).  Then I reconsidered and thought I might as well get on the pumpkin train so I could start practicing potential recipes for Thanksgiving.  It was a good choice.

I decided to try out a pumpkin spice cheesecake, and I have these awesome Temptations individual ramekins, so it turned into individual pumpkin cheesecakes. Sometimes cheesecake is really dense but this one was nicely and fluffy, it’s a really good version.

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

Yields one 9 inch cake (even though I made individual portions)

Cake recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats but I used Paula’s crust

Ingredients- Filling

  • 1 1/3 cups (10 1/3 oz.) sugar
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp. ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp. ground allspice
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
  • 3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 5 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Crust

  • 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 stick melted salted butter

Garnish

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • splash vanilla extract
  • sugar to taste
  • pecan halves

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Combine crust ingredients so they are well mixed.  Pat crust into bottom on 9 inch spring form pan that has been greased.  Bake crust for 15 minutes and set aside to cool.
  3. Combine dry ingredients: sugar, spices, and salt.  Set aside.  Heat some water up in a tea kettle for later.
  4. Using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until fluffy.  Add in pumpkin puree and vanilla, mix.  Add in 3 eggs, mix, then 2 eggs, mix.  Finally add heavy cream and mix.  Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl between additions, so it is well mixed.
  5. Add one third of the dry ingredients add at a time, mixing between additions.
  6. Place the spring form pan with the crust in the middle of a cookie sheet.  Pour the batter into the pan and place in the oven.  Pour the hot water from the tea kettle into the cookie sheet (not in the cake).  The water bath will help the baking process.
  7. Bake at 325 for 90 minutes (adjust baking time if you use a different size pan).
  8. Allow to cool for a couple hours before refrigerating.
  9. For garnish I whipped up some heavy cream with my electric mixer, and I added in some vanilla and sugar.  Then I used the pecan halves to decorate.