Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is in less than 2 weeks!  I think it is coming on me fast because for the first time I'm having a pretty big group over here for the big day.  I'm looking forward to celebrating with friends and family and eating lots of holiday favorites.

My menu is in the works already of course.  I am doing my best to follow the cooking rule I almost never follow:  "Thou shall not try out a new recipe on a crowd".  With that in mind I decided to try this Pumpkin Cheesecake last week to make sure it was T-Day worthy.  And believe me, it is.

I really love pumpkin and pumpkin pie is great but I had my heart set on making a "different" pumpkin dessert for Thanksgiving.  I realize cheesecake isn't all that radical but it is a nice twist on the classic pumpkin pie.  The cheesecake has plenty of pumpkin flavor and it is fairly light and fluffy.  It is a cheesecake you can actually eat more than a bite of....definitely more than a few bites! :)  The crust is made from gingersnap cookies and it was so good Mr Pears suggested I make it a bit thicker next time, so I've altered the recipe to reflect that.

image from Food Network.com 

Pumpkin Cheesecake, adapted from Gina Neely

Crust
45 gingersnap cookies (I used Mi-Del gingersnaps from Whole Foods, they are about 1.5 inches, round)
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling
4 (8oz ) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree
5 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350F.  To make the crust, finely grind the cookies in your food processor.  In a small bowl mix them with the melted butter.   Pour the crumbs into a 9 inch springform pan (3 inches deep) and then press them evenly into the bottom.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool while you make the filling.

First put a pot or tea kettle of water on the stove to boil.  Next put the beat the cream cheese and sugar together in your mixer until it is fluffy, at least 2 minutes.  Add the pumpkin and mix until fully incorporated, then add the eggs one by one mixing after each addition.  Add in the spices and vanilla and mix.  Lastly add the flour and mix a final time until everything is evenly combined.

Wrap aluminum foil around the bottom and sides of the cooled springform pan.  I would suggest using two layers because you don't want the water to seep in.  Pour the filling into the pan.  Place the pan into a roasting pan and pour the hot water in around the cake.  You want enough water so that water reaches about half way up the sides of the cake pan.

Transfer the roasting pan carefully into the oven and bake for 1 hour 20-30 minutes.   Mine took the whole hour and a half.  The cake should be set on top but a little jiggly when you shake it lightly.

Remove the cake from the water bath and set it on a wire rack to cool.  When cooled, use a knife to loosen the sides and remove the springform pan.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  (This is a great to make the day before!)

Serve with homemade whipped cream.  I love my plain sweetened whipped cream but this time I'm going to add a dash of bourbon a la Emeril, yum!

Starbucks' Pumpkin Scones

Happy September!  And Happy Labor Day, too. It may be 100+ degrees here but my Mother-In-Law and I decided it was close enough to fall to try a recipe for Pumpkin Scones....like the ones from Starbucks.  Even the lack of canned pumpkin puree at Whole Foods wasn't enough to deter us, we went all out and pureed our first sugar pumpkin of the year.

I've never had a pumpkin scone from Starbucks and, in fact, I can't remember the last time I had any kind of scone but my these were delicious.  They have a glazed crust on the outside and the cakes are nice and soft on the inside. They are not overly sweet and slightly spicy in that fall kind of way.  Nutmeg and cloves, yum.

Starbucks' Pumpkin Scones, adapted from the recipe found at MomsWhoThink
makes 6 large scones

Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick), cubed
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 large egg

Sugar glaze:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

Spice glaze:
1 cup + 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger


Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Grease a sheet pan or line it with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the scones.  Pour that into the food processor and then add cubed cold butter.  Pulse the machine until the butter is cut in and crumbly.  Transfer the contents of the processor back to the bowl.

In a smaller bowl whisk the wet ingredients for the scones together.  Add them to the dry and then mix to combine.

Flour the counter-top and then turn out the dough and shape it into a rectangle about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide.  (It should be about 1 inch high)  Cut the dough into three equal portions and then cut each portion diagonally to make six triangular scones.  (Use a floured knife or pastry cutter)

Put the scones on the prepared sheet pan and then bake them for 14-16 minutes or until they are a light golden brown.  Transfer the baked scones to a wire rack and cool completely.

Whisk up the ingredients for the sugar glaze and then brush it on to the tops of the cooled scones.  Let the glaze dry and harden.  Meanwhile mix up the spice glaze.  When the sugar glaze is set, drizzle the spice glaze over and serve.

**Note, I did not use nearly the amount of the sugar glaze this recipe made so instead of making the spice glaze from scratch I just added some more powdered sugar to the remaining sugar glaze to thicken it and then added the spices called for.  I thought that was plenty of glaze. :)

Like I said, I've never had a pumpkin scone from Starbucks but my Mother-In-Law says these definitely measure up.  I just think they are a delicious first taste of fall.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes

You may be asking yourself, more pancakes?  Yes!  More Pancakes!  Pancakes are still our go-to breakfast food for the twins.  Some days we have whole wheat waffles spread with applesauce, but most days we have pancakes. The kids are still loving the Oatmeal Pancakes and the Sweet Potato Pancakes, but since it is fall and since I do love pumpkin, we had to try some pumpkin pancakes.  Plus?  How awesome is it to be able to stir in canned 100% pumpkin puree and add a serving of veggies to their diet so quickly and easily?  Very awesome.

These pancakes are hearty with a nice pumpkin taste, very similar to a pumpkin bread.  I hope you enjoy them!

Pumpkin Pancakes, adapted from Ruth on All Recipes
2 cups white whole wheat flour (you can use all-purpose too)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups pumpkin puree

In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients.  Pour the milk into a large measuring cup and then add the vinegar, egg and oil.  Mix together then stir it into the dry ingredients.  Lastly, stir in the pumpkin puree.

Fry on a hot, lightly oiled, griddle.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

I have a very large place in my heart for pumpkins.  I loooove them. :)  I could eat an entire pumpkin pie, can't wait each year for Starbucks to bring in the pumpkin spice lattes, and I love pumpkin soup.

Usually I buy all fresh ingredients for my recipes.  Little sugar pumpkins are easy to bake, but the canned stuff is pretty awesome too.  100% Pumpkin, pureed and ready to go.  Now, you may not have noticed but sometimes Mr Pears and I like to make things kind of complicated (see Tuesday's 6-hour French Onion Soup for evidence).  But yesterday I decided that I wanted pumpkin soup and I was going to do it easy.  It was easy, and it was delicious.

This recipe is really simple and really easy but it is a little spicy and a little sweet and it's just a great fall soup. To make it even easier on myself I made up the soup during nap time, all the way up to blending it. Then I poured the soup into two containers, one to put in the freezer for another time and one to put in the refrigerator for dinner. Then, when we were ready to eat it, I warmed it up and added the milk, etc. to finish it up.  It only took a few minutes to complete. Awesome.  I hope you try it out!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup, adapted from Simply Recipes
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 dashes of cayenne pepper (this is to taste!  feel free to leave this out for a less spicy soup)
5 cups chicken broth
3 (15 oz) cans of 100% pumpkin puree (6 cups if you are making it yourself!)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt your butter in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Put in the onions and garlic and cook them for about 5 minutes or until soft.  Next add in all the spices and cook them, stirring, for about a minute longer.  Add your pumpkin puree and chicken broth to the pot and stir well to combine.  Bring the soup to a boil and then allow it to simmer for 15 minutes.

After simmering, let the soup cool down a bit before transfering it into the blender (you will need to do this in a few batches, probably 3).  Puree the soup until smooth.  At this point, if you don't want to eat this soup right away (or even today) you can refrigerate it or freeze it until you need it.

If eating now, put the soup back into the pot on low heat.  Stir in the brown  sugar, then the milk and the cream. Taste it and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Enjoy!