Spiced Pumpkin Scones
We made these scones in class last night and everyone loved them. These scones are easy to make and are not only great for breakfast and snacks- they make a fun base for shortcakes. The spice mixture gives them a rich, warm flavor.
The dough is slightly sticky and you form the scones by dropping balls of dough onto the baking sheet using an ice cream scoop. You could just use a couple of large spoons, too. Because the dough is not rolled out and cut, it makes for a more tender scone. They are a little rustic looking, with some lumps and bumps, but they taste wonderful and their texture is soft and tender on the inside with a nice crispness on the outside.
Once baked, they are drizzled with a vanilla glaze and then a cinnamon glaze.
Spiced Pumpkin Scones
4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. each salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger
1/2 t. cloves
1 1/2 sticks cold butter
1 c. cooked pumpkin or winter squash
3 oz. milk
2 eggs
Vanilla glaze
2 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
4-6 T. milk
Cinnamon Glaze
2 c. powdered sugar
2 t. cinnamon
4 T. milk
Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. Set aside. Combine flour with sugar, baking powder and spices and stir to blend. Cut in butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Combine pumpkin or squash with the milk and eggs and stir into the flour mixture. Stir until well mixed. Dough should be just a little sticky. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop dough onto the prepared baking sheets- leaving a couple of inches between them. Hint: If you spray a little non-stick spray on the cookie scoop first the dough will pop out easier. Bake for 15 minutes or until scones are browned on the bottom and just getting golden on the top. If you want to put both baking sheets in the oven at the same time- switch them half way through the baking time and allow a few extra minutes. Remove scones to cooling rack. Meanwhile make both glazes by combining ingredients and stirring until smooth. Drizzle with the vanilla glaze while still warm and allow scones to cool and glaze to harden before drizzling with the cinnamon glaze. Makes about 20-30 depending on the size of the scoop you use.
Honey Orange Glazed Sweet Potatoes
I will admit it – I am not a fan of really sweet, sweet potato dishes. Not unless it is a dessert. My Mom never served sweet potatoes with marshmallows, but they were still served “candied”. Sweet potatoes, sometimes canned, cooked in a glaze of brown sugar and butter. It was just what we did.
Then, one year, I grew my own sweet potatoes. Everything changed after that. I can still remember the joy of digging that first plant up. There they were, a cluster of beautiful sweet potatoes. I grew a lot of them that first year. I steamed them, baked them, made soup with them. Even had them for breakfast a few times.
My Mom was so pleased when I told her I was supplying them for her Thanksgiving dinner that year. I suggested we just cook them with a little butter, salt and pepper. They were so naturally sweet, that they surely, did not need to be candied.
Not everyone was so pleased with that choice. Clearly, how to prepare sweet potatoes evokes some of the same passion as how to cook the turkey. So for awhile, there were two competing dishes of sweet potatoes on the Thanksgiving table. As if there weren’t enough dishes to worry about- we now had to have 2 types of sweet potatoes.
I hope this dish might just bridge the gap between the two camps. A little sweet, but not overly sweet. The orange juice and honey enhance the sweet potatoes nicely. The sugared nuts are a fun addition, too.
Honey Orange Glazed Sweet Potatoes
4 T. butter
4-5 c. peeled and sliced sweet potatoes
1 c. fresh orange juice
Zest of 2 oranges
¼ c. honey
2 t. hot sauce, or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh grated nutmeg
Sugared nuts- optional* recipe follows
Melt butter in large skillet. Add sweet potatoes and cook over medium heat, for 5- 8 minutes. Potatoes should start to turn a little golden. Add orange juice, honey and seasonings and turn heat down to low. Cook, uncovered, until potatoes are tender and liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes. If you want more color on the sweet potatoes, turn the heat up a little once they are tender, and liquid is mostly gone. Serve with sugared nuts sprinkled on top, if you like. These can be made a day ahead and reheated.
*Sugared Nuts
4-5 c. nuts, I like walnuts or pecans
2 c. sugar
1 c. water
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. orange peel
1 t. salt, optional
Place all ingredients in heavy skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until all the water disappears. Whatever liquid in the pan will be clinging to the nuts and syrupy. Dump nuts onto a large cookie sheet and break apart with a wooden spoon to prevent clumping. As nuts cool, stir once or twice to remove any remaining clumps, and to cool faster. Nuts will lose their glossy appearance and attain a sugary crust. If it looks like nut soup, you didn’t cook them long enough, and you must return all to the skillet and cook longer. As the nuts start to get drier during cooking, you can turn down the heat a little to prevent burning. Once you’ve made a few batches, though, you will get good at judging when to stop cooking. You can also make a spicy version by adding a teaspoon of cayenne pepper along with the other ingredients. Store in cool, dry place to keep nuts fresh longer.
Candy Turkeys
Every year, I spend the day before Thanksgiving making some special treat or craft with my niece, Elia. One year we made these cookie “turkeys”. She liked making them so much we are making them again this year. They are really easy to make, and since there is no baking involved, you don’t tie up the oven if you need it for other things, like maybe a real turkey. Here are the ingredients you will need. We did them sort of assembly line fashion, because Elia wanted one for each person’s place at the table.
Candy Turkeys
chocolate sandwich cookies
candy corn
mini peanut butter cup
malted milk balls
candy pumpkins
melted chocolate
To start, place a cookie on your work surface. Affix a peanut butter cup, for the body. with a little melted chocolate. Place a malted milk ball on top of the peanut butter cup, using a little more melted chocolate to make the head. Once the chocolate hardens a little break off the tip of a candy corn and affix with chocolate to make the beak. Stick a few candy corn between the cookies- into the frosting layer- for the tail. Open up a cookie and use a little more chocolate to stand up your turkey on the frosting surface- Elia wanted them to be standing on snow. Or you can use a whole cookie, if you prefer. Place it off center, so you have room for your pumpkin. Let it harden for a minute, then add a candy pumpkin, using another drop of melted chocolate.
Elia hard at work
She made quite a few
My place at the table
Mom’s Pumpkin Chiffon
I fondly remember when my Mom used to make this dessert. I think of her whenever I make it. From a technical cooking standpoint, it’s not really a chiffon, but that is what my Mom called it, so I will leave it as Pumpkin Chiffon.
It’s more like a pumpkin pie, without the crust. Super easy to make and quite tasty. I bake it in a casserole dish but you could also make it in individual ramekins. This recipe is always a big hit when I make it for friends.
You could use canned or fresh cooked pumpkin or winter squash, like butternut or Hubbard. I always cook up and freeze pumpkin and squash for later use, so frozen would work, too. Because there is no crust, it is also gluten-free. I sometimes serve it with gingersnaps and whipped cream. It is a lovely Fall dessert. Perfect for Thanksgiving, too.
Mom’s Pumpkin Chiffon
½ c. applesauce
1 c. cooked or canned pumpkin or squash puree
¾ c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. salt
½ t. nutmeg
1/8 t. cloves
4 eggs, well beaten
1 c. half and half or evaporated milk
Stir together first seven ingredients. Beat in eggs and stir in milk. Place mixture in 1 ½ quart casserole and bake in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serve alone or with cookies. Serves 6-8.
Pumpkin Pancakes
These pancakes make a wonderful breakfast for Thanksgiving morning- or any morning for that matter.
I want to be honest with you from the start. I made these pancakes with cooked butternut squash and not pumpkin. They were terrific. Many winter squash can be used just like pumpkin in cooking. The problem is that when I post a recipe as “squash” instead of pumpkin, people get confused. Perhaps they are thinking summer squash, like zucchini. Maybe the word pumpkin just conjures up a clearer image.
The pancakes were really good, and isn’t that what matters?
I make my own baking mix, and that is what I used as the base for the pancakes. You can just buy a mix, like Jiffy or Bisquick, if you prefer. The pancakes are light and fluffy, with a nice “pumpkin” flavor. I had them with warmed maple syrup, but they would also be nice served with powdered sugar or perhaps a fresh berry syrup.
Pumpkin Pancakes
2 c. baking mix – like Bisquick or Jiffy Mix – I make my own*
3 T. brown sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 c. pureed pumpkin or winter squash
2 eggs, beaten
2 t. vanilla
Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl and set aside. Whisk together wet ingredients and stir into dry ingredients. Lightly grease a skillet and cook over moderate heat. Use about 1/3 c. of batter per pancake. Turn when edges appear dry. Makes 16.
*Chef Pastry Mix/ Biscuit Mix
8 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
1 c. powdered milk
1 c. powdered buttermilk
¼ c. baking powder
1 T. salt
2 c. shortening, butter or coconut oil*
Sift dry ingredients together 3 times. Cut in shortening, butter or coconut oil to resemble cornmeal. Keep in an airtight container. Store in a cool dry place and use within six months.
* I use coconut oil and store in the fridge. If you use butter or coconut oil- you have to keep in the fridge.
Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake
This pear-studded cake is perfect to have with that morning cup of coffee- or for dessert. The tender cake is topped with chopped pears, cubes of cream cheese, cinnamon sugar and a vanilla glaze. The taste is amazing. I used Bartlett pears, but any ripe pear would work.
I will say up front, that this is not the prettiest cake out there. It comes out of the oven kind of lumpy, from all those pears and the tiny cubes of cream cheese. Once you top it with the cinnamon sugar, and later the glaze, it looks a lot better. It is one of the tastiest cakes, though, and isn’t that what’s important?
So if you want to enjoy one of my favorite Autumn fruits in a new way- try making this simple, tasty pear coffeecake. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Cinnamon Pear Coffeecake
1 stick (½ cup) butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. half and half
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
½ t. salt
2 lbs. pears, about 4 large, cored, peeled and sliced *
8 oz. cream cheese, cut in small pieces
Topping
3 T. cinnamon sugar
Glaze:
½ c. powdered sugar
1-2 T. milk
½ t. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and pour into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, half and half, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Pour directly over the butter in the baking dish, but do not stir. Drain pears well. Add the pears, arranging in a single layer as much as possible. Sprinkle cream cheese pieces over fruit. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling. When you remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Set cake aside to cool. Make glaze by combining glaze ingredients. Add just enough milk for a nice consistency for drizzling. Drizzle over cooled cake. Store leftovers in fridge. Serves 12.
* To keep pears from discoloring place in a bowl with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Malted Pumpkin Custard
This custard came about because my friend Joe brought me some malted ice cream one day. We started talking about malt. We wondered what malt was exactly and why did we like it so much.
Malt is a sprouted grain, usually barley, that is dried after it has sprouted. It had a unique flavor that is used in baking, beer making and desserts to name a few. For this recipe I used malted milk powder, which also contains some sugar and dairy.
You can also buy diastatic malt, which I use in bread baking and malt syrup. Let’s not forget how good malt vinegar is on fries.
So back to this recipe. I decided to make a custard base, using whole eggs. I like the texture of the final product. Plus, since I was using a fair amount of pumpkin, I liked the eggs for a little added fat in the recipe. The first time I made it, a couple of friends were over. I put it in the ice cream maker while we were having dinner. Both of them loved it. I knew I had to make it again.
I might have used more than a cup of pumpkin with the latest batch. I know it was at least a cup. It doesn’t matter a whole lot in the scheme of things, but the pumpkin flavor was more pronounced in the batch I made last night. I was fine with that.
I used pumpkin this time, but you can just as easily use other winter squash like butternut or Hubbard.
So here is the recipe. I think you’ll like it as much as we did.
Malted Pumpkin Custard
4 eggs
1 c. half and half
¾ c. sugar
1 c. cooked pumpkin puree – you can use other winter squash
½ c. malted milk powder
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. salt
In medium saucepan combine eggs, half and half and sugar. Whisk ingredients together. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Be careful not to scramble the eggs. If the mixture does get lumpy, you can press it through a fine strainer to remove lumps. Let the mixture cool down a little then stir in the remaining ingredients. You can add more or less seasonings according to your taste. When you freeze it, the flavors will be less pronounced. It will taste less sweet, too. Chill mixture several hours or overnight. Freeze using an ice cream maker for best results. Makes about 1 quart.
Apple Galette
If you like apple pie, you will like apple galette. A galette is made by rolling out your crust, adding filling and folding up the edges. No pie pan involved.
I actually find a galette easier to make than pie. You don’t have to try to roll out your dough to fit into the pie pan. Nor does your dough have to be rolled into a perfect circle.
That takes a lot of pressure off, if rolling a perfect circle of dough is not your best talent. I must confess to liking its rustic charm. I make my own crust, but you can used purchased crusts, if you prefer.
You can serve your galette with ice cream, whipped cream or dusted with powdered sugar. You can make it with other fruits, as well. Any fruit pie can become a galette.
Apple Galette
Flaky Pie Crust
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
3/4 c. butter, chilled
1 T. cider vinegar
4-5 T. cold water
Combine flour and salt and cut in butter. Toss in vinegar and water 1 tablespoon at a time until dough holds together. Use a fork to toss the ingredients together and as soon as the mixture holds together stop adding water. Makes 2. Chill well before using.
Filling:
5-6 medium apples- I used Jonathan, Gala and Macintosh
2/3 c. sugar- plus extra for sprinkling
3 T. cornstarch
1 T. cinnamon
1 T. Lemon juice, plus extra for treating the apples
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
Prepare dough. Roll half the dough into a 10-inch circle- repeat with remaining dough. Keep covered with plastic wrap until ready to use. Peel and core apples and slice thin. Place apples in water with lemon juice added to prevent browning. Drain apple slices well and place in a bowl. Toss with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and seasonings. Place one of the crusts on a baking sheet. Pile half of the prepared apples on the center of the crust. You should have about a 2-inch circle of dough around the edges that is uncovered. Fold edges of the crust up over the apples pressing lightly to hold in place. Sprinkle with a little extra sugar. Repeat with the remaining crust and apples. You will have a little liquid in the bowl from the apple mixture- save that for now. Place the galettes in a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn down heat to 350 and bake for another 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. While galettes are baking take the liquid left from the apples and cook in a small saucepan until thickened- it will take a minute or two. This will be used to glaze the galettes. When galettes come out of the oven brush the apples with the thickened glaze. Cool on wire rack. Makes 2.
Pumpkin Fritters
These tasty fritters are a fun fall dessert. This is a great recipe when you have a little cooked pumpkin or winter squash to use up. The recipe only uses a cup of cooked pumpkin or winter squash.
It is a pretty simple recipe. I started with cooked butternut squash puree. I added eggs, flour, baking powder and a few other ingredients, then fried them up in oil, and ended up with a really good fritter. Crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. I drained them on paper towels and then rolled them in cinnamon sugar while still warm. You could also dip them in a powdered sugar glaze. I think I might make a maple glaze for the next batch.
Pumpkin Fritters
1 c. cooked, mashed pumpkin or winter squash
2 eggs
2 T. brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. flour
oil for frying
cinnamon sugar for rolling- powdered sugar would work, too
In mixing bowl combine all ingredients, except the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in flour. Batter will be thick. Heat oil to 350 degrees.* There should be enough oil in the pan top be at least 1 inch deep- or deeper. To save oil I used a smallish pan and cooked 3-4 fritters at a time. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into hot oil and cook, turning once until golden brown on both sides. This will take about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels then roll in cinnamon sugar while warm. Makes 24-30. Best served warm.
* Fun way to know when your oil has hit 350 degrees. Place an un-popped popcorn kernel in the oil. Popcorn pops at 350 degrees.
Spiced Blackberry Muffins
Sometimes, little things can just improve your day. For me, it was starting the day with a mug of tea and a warm blackberry muffin. I had some beautiful fresh blackberries, and decided to make muffins with some of them. So happy that I did.
I used a recipe I had made before, but decided to add cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter. I also dipped the tops of the warm muffins in melted butter and a spiced sugar mixture to finish them off. So good. So very, very good.
I used fresh blackberries, but frozen would work, too. Don’t thaw frozen berries before adding them to the batter- and give the muffins a few extra minutes in the oven.
Spiced Blackberry Muffins
1 c. milk
1 egg
¼ c. oil
2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 T. Baking powder
¾ t. salt
½ t. each cinnamon and nutmeg
1 c. blackberries, I used fresh but frozen would work, too.
Topping:
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. each cinnamon and nutmeg
4 T. butter, melted
Beat together milk, egg and oil. Combine dry ingredients and add to milk mixture, stirring to just moisten flour. Fold in blackberries. Fill 12 paper lined muffin cups to 3/4 full. Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Combine sugar and spices in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another bowl. When muffins are removed from the oven carefully dip the top of a muffin in the melted butter and then in the spiced sugar. If muffins are too hot to hold wait a few minutes before dipping. Repeat with remaining muffins. Serve warm. Makes 12.
