by Kathy Douglas | Nov 3, 2020 | Desserts
Pumpkin Cheesecake and rich Chocolate Brownie make a delicious combination. Baking these together in a brownie bite pan allows everyone to have that favorite crunchy-edge end piece.
For the brownie
2 eggs
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks or chips
¾ cup all-purpose flour
For the pumpkin layer
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Orange Food Coloring*
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 12 square brownie bite pans.
To make the brownie – In a large bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla. Beat for about 4 minutes.
Melt the butter with the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves and becomes shiny. Add the sugar/butter mixture to the cocoa mixture and mix well. Fold in the flour and semisweet chocolate and mix until evenly combined. Add the batter evenly into the prepared brownie bite pans.
To make the pumpkin – mix all the ingredients together and whisk until thoroughly combined. *If desired, add a drop or two of orange food coloring and mix to an orange color.
Spoon the pumpkin mixture over the brownie layer. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center has a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a cooling rack.
by Kathy Douglas | Oct 26, 2020 | Desserts, Holiday
A delicious combination of sweet, salty, nutty, and crunchy in one easy to make treat. These seasonal popcorn balls are a perfect snack for celebrating Halloween.
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering hands
1 package miniature marshmallows (10 ounces)
¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
12 cups popped popcorn, we use Skinny Pop Popcorn
½ cup candy corn
½ cup salted roasted cashews
½ cup Halloween caviar sprinkles, spread out on a plate
Melt the butter in a large heavy pot over low heat. Add marshmallows and brown sugar and stir until completely melted and combined. Add the popcorn, candy corn, and cashews into a large bowl, mix well. Remove the marshmallow mixture from the heat and pour over the popcorn mixture and toss well to combine. With buttered hands, shape into 2 ½ inch balls and then immediately roll in Halloween caviar sprinkles. Set on parchment lined baking sheet to dry slightly, then serve.
by Kathy Douglas | Oct 19, 2020 | Entrees
You can’t beat the flavor of seasonal fall produce. Delicious Sweet Dumpling Squash baked and stuffed with a sausage and bread stuffing filled with cream and apple cider.
Two Sweet Dumpling squash
Kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons olive oil, plus more for drizzle
¼ pound bulk sweet or spicy Italian pork or chicken sausage
2 cups cubed bread
½ medium onion, finely chopped
½ celery stalk, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons finely chopped sage
Freshly ground pepper
1 large egg
¼ cup boiled cider
½ cup cream
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the squash in half, clean out the seeds and strings and lightly salt the inside. Add a ¼ inch of water to a roasting pan and place the squash cut side down. Bake for 30 minutes.
While the squash cooks, heat 1 ½ teaspoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 7–10 minutes. Add the bread cubes to a large bowl. Scrape the sausage into the bowl with the bread and toss.
Add the onions, celery, sage, and remaining olive oil in same sauté pan; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onions are golden brown and soft, 10–12 minutes. Scrape into bowl with bread and sausage.
In a bowl, whisk the egg, boiled cider, and cream until smooth and well combined, then pour over bread mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
After 30 minutes, remove the squash from the oven, turn over, cut side up. Drain out any excess water from the roasting pan. Fill the squash shells with the stuffing. Cover with nonstick foil, nonstick side down. Bake until a paring knife inserted into the center comes out hot, 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes longer. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
by Kathy Douglas | Oct 5, 2020 | Breakfast
We love getting figgy with this perfect fall coffee cake – fresh Fig and Almond. Perfect with a cup of coffee on a cool morning to get your day going.
For the figs
1 ½ cups ripe figs
2 tablespoons sugar
For the cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ stick unsalted butter, melted
½ cup buttermilk
1 large egg
For crumb topping
¾ stick unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup almond slices
To make the figs:
Chop the figs and place in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons sugar and ¼ cup water. Simmer until the figs are completely broken down to a jammy consistency, adding additional tablespoons of water as needed. Keep warm.
Make cake:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a spring form pan with parchment on the bottom. Generously butter the sides of the pan and the parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, milk, and egg. Then whisk in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into springform pan. Dollop figs all over surface, then swirl into batter with spoon.
Make crumb topping:
Whisk together butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Stir in flour, then combine with your fingertips until they form large clumps. Sprinkle the clumps over top of cake. Sprinkle the almonds over the top.
Place in the oven and bake the cake until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean and sides begin to pull away from pan, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 15 minutes. Release the side of the spring form pan and remove. Cool completely and then remove from the bottom of the pan and the parchment. Slice and serve.
by Kathy Douglas | Sep 28, 2020 | Appetizers
An easy fall appetizer made with spicy sausage, fresh sage, and pumpkin. These pinwheels are perfect for snacking or dipping in our creamy Crème Fraîche sauce.
Crème Fraîche Sauce
INGREDIENTS
1 (8-ounce) container creme fraîche
Zest of one lemon and juice
2 teaspoons ground toasted cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Stir all the ingredients together until well blended. Season with salt and a few grinds of pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate.
Spicy Pumpkin Pinwheels
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces bulk spicy Italian sausage
One box Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry 2 sheets, thawed
6 tablespoons canned pumpkin purée, divided
1-1/2 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese, divided
4 tablespoons chopped green onion, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, divided
For Serving: Crème Fraîche sauce, below
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a sauté pan, cook the sausage over medium heat, stirring until browned and crumbly; drain on paper towels.
On a lightly floured surface, unroll pastry sheets. Spread each sheet with 3 tablespoons pumpkin. Sprinkle each sheet with half of each: sausage, cheese, green onion, and sage; gently press down into the pastry. Roll each sheet into a log, pinching seams to seal. Cut each log into 12 slices. Place 2 inches apart on prepared pans.
Bake until lightly browned on bottom, approximately 10 minutes. Turn pinwheels over and bake 7 minutes more. Let cool on the sheet trays before serving.
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