Pumpkin Bread

Do you have a favorite recipe book?

I love a good cookbook.  I've said it before and I will say it again.  One of my most favorite things is to curl up on the couch with a good cookbook.  I love everything about them.  I have more cookbooks than I should, but I could never have enough.   

The first Christmas after I was married (a million years ago), I asked my honey for a cookbook.  To this day, it is probably my favorite and most used.  It long ago lost its cover.  I couldn't bear parting with it, so I took it apart and put each page in a page protector and then put them all in a giant binder.  Now my binder is starting to fall apart.  I have written notes and marked the recipes that I love the most over the years. 

This recipe originated from that book.  I have altered it slightly to accomodate the fresh pumpkin puree. 

Pumpkin bread--it's so delicious.  It just screams fall.  I really like the texture and flavor that the whole wheat flour gives to this recipe.  Give it a try.  Let me know how it goes.

 (adapted from a recipe in The Complete Book of Baking by Pillsbury)

Pumpkin Business

We carved our Halloween jack-o-lanterns quite late this year--like on Halloween day!  I know.  Life was just moving a little bit fast around here and that was the soonest we could get to it.  Anyway, I sent the kids out to the porch to get their pumpkins and they got busy creating all kinds of adorable.  Later that afternoon, as we were setting the finished lanterns out to shine, I noticed one lone pumpkin that they neglected to bring in.  Poor sad pumpkin.

It has been sitting on my counter ever since.  I look at it everyday and wonder what I am going to do with it.  Well today was the day.  I had a date with a pumpkin.  I decided that I would try making my own puree.  This is not a pie pumpkin--it's just your run of the mill carving pumpkin.  But, I figured that I didn't have much to lose.  And I didn't want this little guy to go to waste.

I have tasted pumpkin pies in the past made with real pumpkin and I have NOT liked them.  I am a big fan of Libby's.  But, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Let's do this.

I cut the top off of my pumpkin and sliced it down the middle.  Then I proceeded to slice it into manageable wedges.  Next I scraped off all of the seeds and stringy parts.  I cut my wedges in half and put them in a big stock pot.  Then I added a couple of inches of water and let them simmer until they were fork-tender.  I drained off the liquid and let them cool.

Once the wedges were cooled  completely,  I removed the skins with a paring knife.  Then I put the pulp into a blender and blended away.  I really went to town on this part.  The fresh pumpkin pies that I have tried in the past have been lumpy and stringy.  I think that is what turned me off.  So, I probably went overboard on the blending.  But, much to my surprise...it turned out beautifully!

I would say that this pumpkin was just a medium sized little guy.  Not small, but definitely not big.  He yielded about twelve cups of puree.  Not too bad.  Much cheaper than buying Libby's.  (worth it if it tastes good).  I have read that puree made from carving pumpkins contains much more water than pie pumpkins.  So, I dumped my puree into a fine mesh sieve and let it drain for quite a while.  I probably got close to four cups of water off of it by the time I was done.

I think the whole process actually worked.  And it really wasn't that labor intensive.  The hardest part was definitely cutting it down to a workable size.  Those pumpkins are pretty tough dudes!

I guess the proof is in the pudding...or pie...or bread.
 

(The coloring on this picture is a little off. The bread is actually a bit oranger than it shows--delicious!)

Tune in tomorrow for the recipe!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

 One of my dear friends gave me a recipe and the ingredients for the most delicious chocolate bundt cake a couple of years ago for my birthday.  I think we have made that cake several times a month ever since.  Honestly it's that good.  I decided to try a spin-off pumpkin version today.  It's not chocolate.  But it is good.  Very very good.

I mixed things up a little further, because I needed some little treats to take to a couple of my neighbors.  When I moved out of my parents house (long long ago) and shipped off to college, my Mom gave me her specialty cast iron bundt cake pan (I'm not sure why-I think she just wanted it to go to a good home.).  It looks kind of like a cupcake pan, but instead of cupcakes, it houses six small bundt cakes.  They are bigger than the ones you see today.  This pan is heavy duty.  I'd kind of forgotton about it.  Until I cleaned out my cupboard last week.  So, instead of making one large bundt cake, I made six small bundt cakes.  I still had quite a bit of batter left, so I made 12 mini bundt cakes too.  After all that, I still had batter left, so I scooped the rest of the batter into a regular cupcake pan.  I got 11 more cupcakes.

I dusted the small bundt cakes with powdered sugar.  I decided to fill the mini versions with whipped cream.  Think Hostess cupcake-pumpkin version.  I think it would also be delicious with a drizzle of icing.


Apparently this is a very versatile batter.

Just before I headed out to visit my friends, I carefully lowered three mini cakes in a jar and tied it with a bow.  They are a little hard to see in this picture, but you get the idea.  I hope they liked them!

Pumpkin Filled Cannoli Cones

 Let's get our cannoli on!  This is not a traditional cannoli recipe, but man is it yummy!  I used my new waffle cone maker to make the shells.  I just followed the recipe in the pamphlet that came with the machine.

 You can also use store bought sugar cones.  I filled it with a traditional ricotta filling, first.  (Something similar to this)  Then I tried a pumpkin version.  Aren't they cute?

So, first mix up your recipe for waffle cones.  Instead of making a large cone, I just added about a teaspoon of dough to the middle of the waffle cone maker.  A small cookie scoop works really well for this.
 

Close the lid and time them for about 1 minute and twenty seconds.  The timing light on the machine didn't really work that well, because I didn't use the proper amount of dough.  So, count in your head or use a separate timer.  When the shell is a golden shade of brown, gently remove it from the iron.

Place it on a clean and dry kitchen towel.  I used the end of a large wooden spoon to wrap the shell around.  Then press down on the end for a few seconds until it hardens in place. One batch of dough made about 25 cannoli shells.  It takes about half an hour to make them all.  You can do these in advance, just store in an air-tight container until you are ready to use.

Next up, let's make our filling.  I got the inspiration for these from a recipe by Lauren's Latest on Tasty Kitchen.  I altered the filling a little, because I wanted it to be a bit more substantial.

Scoop the filling into a piping bag (or a ziploc bag with the end cut off).  I used a large star tip.  It just takes a little squeeze to fill them up.  Dip the ends in mini chocolate chips or chopped walnuts and dust with powdered sugar.

These really are delicious and easy!  And you get to use a piping bag--bonus!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Pumpkin cheesecakes bites make me happy.  Really really happy.  I developed this recipe for a little baking class that I was asked to teach.  They are the perfect size to eat two or three (or ten or twelve) and not feel the least bit guilty.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites--let's get to it!

You are going to need a box of mini vanilla wafers, canned pumpkin, and some cream cheese.  Other than that, you should have most of this stuff already in your pantry.

Preheat your oven and line your pan with cupcake papers.  Next, drop a mini wafer in the bottom of each cup.  Be sure to place them flat side down.  In a large mixing bowl, cream your cheese and sugar together.  Then add the eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, and spices.  That's all there is to it.  I like to use a small cookie scoop to fill the cups.  You want it to be just shy of full.  One scoop per cup.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven.  Then carefully transfer each cheesecake to a cooling rack.  Now you can fill your pan one more time.  This recipe makes about 48 bites.  Be sure to refrigerate your little cheesecakes until you are ready to serve.  I like to garnish mine with whipped cream.

I highly recommend that you make these--like right now!  You won't be sorry.