Chocolate Pie with a Ginger Cookie Crust

Just another great Fall and Winter recipe to add to your Thanksgiving or Christmas menu.
I love the combination of Chocolate and Gingerbread.
See OPTION below before preparing the recipe.

Gingerbread Crust

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the Oven to 350 degrees
1 - 9" Pie Pan

1 3/4 C Gingersnap Cookie Crumbs (your choice). I use a Scandinavian Ginger Cookie.
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1 TBS Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
4 TBS Butter, melted.

In a large mixing bowl:
Ginger Cookie Crumbs
Brown Sugar
Flour
Salt
Whisk well.

Add:
Butter
Mix well with a Blending Fork.
Press into the Pie Pan.
Freeze for 10 minutes.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove to a rack to cool completely.

Filling:

12 ounces of Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 C Heavy Cream, divided
1/4 C sifted Confectioner's Sugar
1 TBS Vanilla

In a large glass microwave safe bowl:
Chocolate Chips
3/4 C of the Heavy Cream
Microwave for 1 - 2 minutes, stirring often until creamy smooth. (or heat in a saucepan on low heat)
Set aside and cool to room temperature.
Stir in:
Sugar
Vanilla
Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer:
Remaining Cream.
Beat to soft peak for 3 - 5 minutes.
Fold into the Chocolate mixture, by hand.
Gently spoon the filling into the crust.
Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

OPTION:
Top the pie with Cool Whip and sprinkle the top with additional  Ginger Cookie Crumbs.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Apple Pie Cookies

The Holidays will be here before you know it and here's a great Fall recipe to add to your menu.
The world is very small.
This recipe came to me from a German friend living in Sweden.
Thank you Yvonne for sharing this with me.
We met on a shuttle bus in Paris, taking us to the airport. The drive was about 30 minutes. We talked, exchanged information and have been friends for 5 years. We keep in touch through Face Book. That's one of the advantages of Social Media.
We hope to see each other again someday.
Our families exchange Christmas gifts. Yvonne knows how much I love Christmas and Holiday recipes.

I believe the recipe originally came from Pillsbury.

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sheet Pans lined with Parchment Paper

Apple Pie Cookies:

1 package of Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust, 2 Crusts, room temperature.
5 oz. Jar of Smucker's Caramel Topping
10 oz. canned Apple Pie Filling, chop the Apples into smaller pieces.
1 Egg, beaten
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 C Granulated Sugar

Lighly flour a flat surface and roll our one of the Crusts. (the other one will be latticed)
Spread a thin layer of Caramel on the Crust.
Spread the Caramel with a layer of the Apple Pie Filling.

Cut the other Crust into 1/2" Lattice Strips.
Lay the strips in a Lattice pattern over the Pie Filling.

Cut out 2" - 3" Circles with a Biscuit cutter.
Transfer the cookies to a Sheet Pan.

In a small bowl:
Sugar
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Whisk well.

Trish the Lattice Strips with the Beaten Egg.
Sprinkle the Cookies with the Sugar/Spice mixture.

Bake 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Pumpkin Cranberry Breadsticks

Anytime you pair Cranberries and Pumpkin you end up with a delicious recipe. I was researching recipes and found this one on a blog that I follow called Recipe Girl. I'll add this to our Thanksgiving and Christmas menus.

3/4 C Warm Water
1 - 25oz. package of instant dry or active dry yeast.
1 C canned Pure Pumpkin Purée.
1 TBS Honey
4 C FLour
1/2 C Dried Cranberries
8 TBS Butter, melted

In a small bowl:
Dissolve Yeast in Warm Water, set aside for at least 5 minutes.

In a Stand Mixer with a Paddle Attachment:
Dissolved Yeast
Pumpkin
Honey
Mix well.
Change to a dough hook in the Mixer.
Add:
3 C Flour
Mix to incorporate.
Add:
Cranberries
Mix to incorporate
Add:
Remaining Flour.
Knead the dough, with the dough hook, for 4 - 5 minutes.

Remove the dough to a floured surface..

Line 2 Sheet Pans with Parchment Paper.
Break off pieces of dough to roll into 6" - 8" logs, breadstick shapes as seen in the photograph above.
Cover the pans with dish towels and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 - 60 minutes.
Brush each breadstick with butter.
Bake 15 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove the pan to a rack to cool 5 minutes.
Serve warm with additional butter.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Fresh Pumpkin Soup served with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I've posted several recipes using fresh Sugar Pumpkins. Here's a simple Fall Pumpkin Soup recipe.

Fresh Sugar Pumpkins for cooking.

My Enameled Cast Iron Pumpkin Pot

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1 - (2 lb.) Fresh Sugar Pumpkin
3/4 C Heavy Cream
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 TBS Brown Sugar
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.

In a small mixing bowl:
Cleaned Pumpkin Seeds
A bit of Olive Oil
Toss to coat well
Roast on a Sheet Pan in a single layer for 10 minutes, just until crunchy.
Remove to a rack and cool completely.

In a covered Soup Pot or Dutch Oven:
Pumpkin
A small amount of Water.
Cover and cook on Medium high heat until tender, checking often.

Purée with a hand held Immersion Blender.

Stir in:
Cream
Nutmeg
Ginger
Sugar
Mix well to combine.

Reduce heat to medium and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Serve Garnished with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Basic French Cheese Soufflé

I happen to like a basic soufflé and this one is classic.

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

1 - Cold mixing bowl, refrigerate until needed.

1 - 2 quart Soufflé mold, greased well with butter.

Basic French Cheese Soufflé:

6 Eggs, separated

2 TBS Butter, divided

1/4 C Flour

1 1/4 C grated Compté Cheese.

7 oz. Whole Milk

1/3 C Heavy Cream

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a saucepan:

1 1/2 TBS Butter

Heat well to melt.

Add:

Flour

Whisk 2 minutes.

Add:

Milk

Cream

Stir until it thickens.

Remove from heat.

Add:

Cheese

Stir well until melted and well combined.

Add:

Egg Yolks

Nutmeg

Stir well.

Season to taste with Salt and Pepper.

Pour into the cold mixing bowl.

In another mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer.

Egg Whites

Beat until firm with shiny peaks.

Gently fold into the Egg mixture.

Fill the Soufflé Mold.

Bake 20 minutes.

Serve Hot!

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!

Fresh Pumpkin Gratin

Several years ago I made my first Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie from scratch. That means it's made from Sugar Pumpkins. They're not the Pumpkins you buy for Halloween to carve and put on the porch with a candle in it. They're Pumpkins specifically for cooking and they are delicious. If you have never made a recipe with fresh Pumpkin then you don't know what you've been missing all these years by buying canned Pumpkin for your Pies, Cakes, Cookies and.......... this Gratin.

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1 - 2qt. Gratin Casserole Dish. Typically these are either Oval or Round. Try not to use a deep one for this recipe. Grease it with Butter or use a Non Stick Vegetable Cooking Spray.

Sugar Pumpkins for cooking.

Fresh Pumpkin Gratin

3 small Sugar Pumpkins
4 Large Eggs
2 TBS Brown Sugar
3/4 Heavy Cream
1 tsp Cinnamon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the pumpkins into 8 pieces.
Scrape the inside and remove the seeds.

In a large Soup Pot with a small amount of water:
Cook the Pumpkin on medium heat just until tender.
Drain
Purée with a hand held Immersion Blender.

Stir in:
Cream
Sugar
Cinnamon
Mix well.

Whisk in:
Eggs
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pour into the Gratin Casserole Dish.
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Pumpkin Pie Croissants

I realize that we're in the hottest part of the summer in Texas, but I always start planning holiday decor and holiday recipes early. I recently discovered these Croissants and I'll make them for breakfast during the entire holiday season, Thanksgiving and Christmas. These would be nice on Christmas morning with a good cup of coffee.  I love Pumpkin Pie and I have a recipe that I make every Thanksgiving, made with fresh pumpkin. After I made it the first time, it's the only Pumpkin Pie recipe I make. This recipe will probably end up another Best of the Best Recipe in my collection. I researched several versions of these and I think the original one from Pillsbury is the best.

Pumpkin Pie Croissants

1 - 8oz. package of Cream Cheese, softened
1 - 15oz. can of Pumpkin, about 2 cups.
1 - 14oz. can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 TBS Flour
2 TBS Cinnamon
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 C finely chopped Pecans
4 - 8oz. packages of Pillsbury refrigerated Crescent Rolls
Granulated Sugar

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
1 - Sheet Pan lined with Parchment Paper.

Unroll the Crescent Rolls and separate them.

In a medium mixing bowl:
Cream Cheese
Pumpkin
Milk
Flour
Cinnamon
Pumpkin Pie Spice

Mix well with a Blending Fork. ( This step is important, I've made them by mixing it with an electric mixer and the batter is too this. The mix needs to be thick and spreadable.) That's why the Cream Cheese has to be at room temperature and spreadable before adding the other ingredients.

Spread 1 1/2 TBS of the filling evenly over each triangle of dough.
Evenly sprinkle some chopped Pecans over the filling.
Roll each piece of dough beginning at the widest end to form the Croissant.

Sprinkle the top of each roll with a bit of granulated Sugar.
Bake for 11 - 13 minutes until golden brown.


NOTE:
Another option is 1 TBS of Nutella topped with Chopped Pecans.
(I refrigerate the Nutella before making these)
Dust with Confectioner's Sugar to serve.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!