I Heart Pumpkin (Cheesecake)

My early Thanksgiving adventure came and left. Now we are stuck with the best part of it all...the Thanksgiving leftovers! Since Friday, I've had so much turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. I love it! Well, I was able to top last Thanksgiving (in my opinion, at least) but was not able to make the pumpkin pie I intended. Unfortunately, the grocery store I went to did not have half the ingredients I needed and I didn't feel like improvising. So instead of pumpkin pie, I made a very delectable bourbon pumpkin cheesecake. As I've stated before, pumpkin is one of the things I very rarely eat in any form. However, this pumpkin cheesecake was wonderful and since I made two (completely by accident) I have been having slice after slice. I followed the recipe below (for the most part) and ended up with two cheesecakes because the pie crusts I bought were very shallow. If you make your own crust, just be sure you make it deep enough. Also, instead of sugar, I substituted Splenda.

Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake

*from http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/

Filling:

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened (I used one package light, one package of honey nut)
1 1/4 cups sugar (or Splenda)
1 15-oz. can pure pumpkin puree, (if you use pumpkin-pie mix, don’t add dry spices below)
3/4 cup light sour cream
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs

Crust:

I used a package of Pillsbury ready pie crust in the freezer section of the grocery store to save time. A homemade graham cracker crust would be wonderful with this!

In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese until smooth. Then slowly beat in sugar until blended, about 1 minute, scraping bowl often with rubber spatula. With mixer at low speed, beat in pumpkin, sour cream, bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Pour pumpkin mixture into pie crust and place in large roasting pan. Place pan on oven rack. Carefully pour enough boiling water into pan to come 1 inch up side of spring form pan. Bake cheesecake 1 hour 10 minutes or until center barely jiggles.

Remove cheesecake from water bath to wire rack; discard foil. With small knife, loosen cheesecake from side of pan to help prevent cracking during cooling. Cool cheesecake completely. Cover and refrigerate cheesecake at least 6 hours or overnight, until well chilled. Remove side of pan to serve. Garnish with whipped cream and roasted pecans.

Apples...Good...Muffins...Good

I finally had a day off yesterday and I must say I really did need it. I feel I've been running on empty for a few day now, so having two days off from Sbux is giving me time to refuel for the weekend. Having said that, I now have time to post a few recipes and cook a bit more.

There is just a hint of Fall here in Orlando. When I walked outside this morning to my car, the air was little cooler than usual. I am so glad! It has been too hot here for too long! So, as promised the other day, here is my recipe for apple spice muffins. Since I used whole wheat flour and one cup of sugar less than most recipes, the muffins were not only healthy but substantial. It is great with a swipe of honey butter!

Apple Spice Muffins

3 cups whole wheat flour (or 1 cups unbleached flour and 2 cups whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 apples (your favorite apples of the sweeter variety) chopped and diced
1 handful of chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line your muffin tin with liners

Whisk or sift together all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add in dry ingredients and mix well with a wood spoon or spatula. Stir in chopped apples and walnuts. Batter will be very thick and sticky!

Divide muffins in muffin tin. They will not rise very much, so you can fill them about 2/3-3/4 high. Bake for 25 minutes and test with a toothpick (or chopstick for me) to make sure centers come out clean .

A Snack Break

I always crave a slightly sweet snack in the early afternoon. These almond scones are perfect with peach preserves and a hot cup of tea.

Almond Scones
adapted from Tyler Florence's blueberry scone recipe on Food Network

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
1/2 cup non-fat milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp almond extract
handful of almonds for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift all dry ingredients together- the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using a fork cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look crumbly. In a separate bowl mix all liquid ingredients together- heavy cream, milk, both extracts. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an non-greased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Then press in almond pieces to top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit then enjoy with some butter or preserves.

Fig-alicious

Figs...I'm starting to create a new relationship with figs. I love dried figs topped on pizza, fig jam on toast, even the fig newton. I've used dried figs when cooking, but I've never even tasted a fresh fig. I recently bought some fresh figs to challenge myself to actually do something with them. I did my research and learned that figs are a touchy fruit. They ripen quickly and if you don't use it at the exact moment they spoil. Also, I noticed compared to the wonderful fresh figs I saw online, my figs were not nearly as pink or juicy looking. They didn't taste the way they were described either. Mine were a bit too dry and bland. Oh well! I just think I got a not-so-good batch. However, I wasn't about to let that defeat me, and in the end decided to do a wonderful version of a fig tart. I knew roasting it would bring out more syrupy sweetness, and the honey, fig jam, and goat cheese would help to enhance its flavor. I guess mine isn't really a "tart," but since I'm not sure what to really call it "tart" will have to do.

Fig "Tarts" with Goat Cheese

6 ripened fresh figs (you can use dried ones too)- sliced thinly

goat cheese
honey

fig jam

ready-made pie crust (if your a good baker, you can make your own!)

Unroll the ready-made pie crust. Using a knife or cookie cutter, cut out little tart bases (about 3x3 in. squares). Swipe a layer of fig jam on the bottom then layer on the figs in a circular formation. Drizzle honey on the figs and top with goat cheese. Place in a 375 degree oven for about 20 min (the pie crust and goat cheese will be slightly browned). Let it cool and then enjoy!

*You can also substitute fresh pears for the figs and use a ginger spread with the pears instead of fig jam.