Pumpkin Fest 2011- Spiced Pumpkin Fudge

Pumpkin Fudge

Yield: 3 pounds of fudge

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 12 min-15min


Ingredients
3 cups granulated white sugar
3/4 cup melted salted butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk
½ cup canned pure (unsweetened) pumpkin
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice *I generally just throw in a bunch of cinnamon, cloves, and a few pinches of ginger, nutmeg and allspice*
One 12-ounce package white chocolate morsels (chips)
One (7-ounce) jar marshmallow crème
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil. Spray with nonstick spray.

2. Stir together first 6 ingredients in a 3 1/2- quart saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234° (soft ball stage) or for about 12 minutes.

3. Once mixture reaches 234°, remove from heat and quickly stir in the white chocolate, marshmallow creme, pecans (if using) and vanilla until well blended.

4. Pour into the prepared pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Scones with a Spiced Glaze

Pumpkin Scones.

Pumpkin...

Scones.

I just wanted to give you a minute to take in all the glory that is the recipe I'm about to share for Pumpkin Scones.  It's a winner every time.  Starbucks pretends they have good pumpkin scones.  Puh-lease.  These are much better.  Delicious...Nutritious (maybe not)...and wonderfully heartwarming enough to remind you of all the good things in this life.   What more could you ask for in a recipe?

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze Frosting

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger*
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes **
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (You should know by now the trick is pumpkin that you puree yourself and NEVER from a can)
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half (or substitute about a 1/6th cup of milk plus 1/3 tsp melted butter if you realize at 10 pm after you've started the recipe that you have no half and half)
• 1 large egg

Scones Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.

4. With a fork, pastry knife, or your hands, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter remain. Set aside.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk pumpkin, half and half, and egg.

6. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.  Get your hands dirty child.  It's worth it.

7. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide).

8. Use a large knife to slice the dough into three equal portions. Cut diagonally to produce 6 triangular slices of dough.

Alternative Option- Use an ice cream scoop to get equal portions and don't bother with the triangles

9. Place on prepared baking sheet from step 2.

10. Bake for 14–16 minutes until scones turn light brown.

11. Place on wire rack to cool.

*  I ALWAYS add more of the spices than what pumpkin recipes call for

** Cold butter is important for scone making endeavors

Spiced Glaze Ingredients: and a quick side note - The original recipe calls for a plain glaze to be spread over the scones BEFORE putting on the drizzled spiced glaze...I personally don't think you need it, but if you have a super sweet tooth, don't add the spices to the powdered sugar/milk combo quite yet, you can go back after you spread the plain base glaze on and add those spices in" 

1 cup powdered sugar  **This is too much if you only do the spiced glaze, cut it in half (but not the spices)

2 Tablespoons whole milk

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pinch ginger

1 pinch ground cloves

Use a whisk to mix all the glaze ingredients;  Drizzle over cooled scones 

English Skillz

At the urging of my dear friend Julie  I am going to post tonight.

I am a little scattered though so bear with me.  First of all, don't worry!  Pumpkin fest 2011 is not over yet.   There is always a little hiatus between Halloween and Thanksgiving.  There is certainly more to come.  Especially because I just got 3 giant pumpkins for free today.  If you wait until after halloween, people (especially roadside pumpkin vendors) begin to despise the pumpkins that haven't been sold yet (fools), and they choose to give them away.  So of course I nabbed 3 of the orphan pumpkins and a Merry Thanksgiving/Christmas/Rest of Pumpkin Fest 2011 will be had by all.

Secondly, I've actually been kind of busy lately, in a good refreshing way.  So that sort of not at all explains why I haven't posted that much.  But don't you worry my 2 faithful readers.  I'm here to post now, and when you see what I'm about to post, you're going to say "Really?  That's what she chose to talk about after 3 weeks of silence?"

So I'm not sure exactly why, when, or how this started, but I'm pretty sure learning Spanish had something to do with it.  Once I got back to the States, I knew that I was going to need to brush up on my English skillz (with a "z" makes me more Gangsta...so does spelling gangster incorrectly).  What I didn't realize was that I had developed a strange form of dyslexia along the way...but not really dyslexia. I'm not really sure what to call it as a matter of fact, but I noticed that I'm having trouble spelling out the word that I'm actually trying to say when I type and write.

What usually happens is that it comes out as its homophone or even a word that is close but no cigar to the word I'm trying to say.   It often comes out the way you would spell the English word if you were saying it in Spanish and vice versa or just a word that is almost the same, but definitely isn't

For example- In my mind, I want to say the sentence I'm going to see a movie today.   However, as I'm typing or writing that, it may come out "I'm going to si a movie today"  

Another example-   I was trying to text a friend the phrase "At some point"  It actually came out "At some paint".

I don't know what's wrong with me.  Has this happened to anybody else?  Should I get checked out for a brain tumor?

Cartoon by Dan Piraro

And yes...this is what I chose to talk about after 3 weeks of silence.

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins 

1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled 

3/4 cup pumpkin puree 

1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream 

2 large eggs 

1 tsp vanilla 

2 cups all purpose flour 

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tsp ground ginger 

1/4 tsp allspice 

1/4 tsp cloves 

pinch freshly grated nutmeg 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup white sugar

Streusel Topping 

1/2 cup butter, softened 

1/2 cup sugar 

3/4 cup flour 

pinch salt 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line twelve muffin cups with paper liners or lightly grease the tin. 

Make the streusel: 

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and rub the butter in until the mixture is 

crumbly. This will be a bit of a sticky operation because the butter is soft, but take your time. Once it is crumbly, gently squeeze bits of the mixture together to form larger 

pieces of crumble/streusel. Set aside. 

Make the muffins: 

In a large bowl, combine melted butter, pumpkin, yogurt/sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and 

whisk until smooth. 

In another large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt, then stir in 

the sugar. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and sir until just combined. Divide batter 

evenly between the prepared muffin cups and top with streusel. **Note- these rose a lot for me, so don't fill your cups too full**

Bake for 16-19 minutes at 400F, until a tester inserted into the center of the muffins 

comes out clean. 

Cool muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes to allow the topping to set up, then turn out 

onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Makes 12 muffins. 

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Cheesecake

1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 

5 tablespoons butter -- melted 

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 

24 ounces cream cheese -- softened 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup pumpkin puree 

3 eggs 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon allspice 

whipped cream 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the crust by combining the graham  

cracker crumbs with the melted butter and 1 tablespoon sugar in a medium bowl.  

Stir well enough to coat all of the crumbs with the butter, but not so much as  

to turn the mixture into paste. Keep it crumbly. Press the crumbs onto the  

bottom and about two-thirds of the way up the sides of a springform pan. You  

don't want the crust to form all of the way up the back of each slice of  

cheesecake. Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set it aside until you are ready  

to fill it. In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and  

vanilla. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the pumpkin, eggs,  

cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.  

Pour the filling into the pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes. The top will turn a  

bit darker at this point. Remove from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool. 

When the cheesecake has come to room temperature, put it into the refrigerator.  

When the cheesecake has chilled, remove the pan sides and cut the cake into 8  

equal pieces. Use dental floss to make a clean cut. Serve with a generous  

portion of whipped cream on top.  

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Recipe from Country Living
24 Jumbo Pasta shells
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
22 oz. Fat-Free Ricotta 
15 oz. Pumpkin Puree
2 1/2 oz. Pecorino Romano, grated (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
1 Large Egg White
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 cup Fresh Basil, chopped
1 tablespoon Finely chopped Fresh sage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 jar (26 oz) tomato sauce

---

Directions

1. Cook pasta shells according to package instructions; drain. Transfer to a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Set aside and let cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, pumpkin, 3/4 cup pecorino Romano, and remaining ingredients, except tomato sauce.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread sauce in bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Fill each pasta shell with about 3 tablespoons ricotta-pumpkin mixture and arrange in pan. Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Remove foil, sprinkle shells with remaining pecorino, and bake for 15 minutes more. (If desired, stuff shells the night before and refrigerate overnight in an airtight container, in between layers of plastic wrap; arrange shells on sauce right before baking.)

Pumpkin Fest 2011- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

That glorious time of the year is back! Pumpkins are for sale and my heart is content to purchase them.   If you and I haven't met, you might not know about Pumpkin Fest.

Pumpkin Fest began in a little apartment kitchen in Peru in 2007 (click here for my first post about it) and has just continued growing every year since.  See, my family has always boiled down our own pumpkins to get the pumpkin puree- canned pumpkin be damned!   And what does one do when you suddenly have an entire pumpkin's worth of pumpkin puree?   You start making pumpkin things of course!

And make pumpkin things I have.   I've got my collection of pumpkin recipes and generally I just go into high-octane pumpkin mode to bake and cook all things pumpkin related.  So this year, I will start posting my recipes to this blog.  And I appreciate your pumpkin recipes as well.  

I will go ahead and post my first recipe which is what I'm currently waiting on to rise.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

    * 1 cup pumpkin puree 

    * 2 large eggs 

    * 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lukewarm water* 

    * 1/4 cup soft butter 

    * 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 

    * 1 3/4 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour 

    * 1/4 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk 

    * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

    * 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 

    * 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, optional 

    * 3 tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark 

    * 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 

    * 2 teaspoons instant yeast 

    * *Adjust the amount of water by the time of year or your climate. For summer, or in a 

humid enivronment, use the lesser amount of water. In winter, or in a dry climate, use the 

greater amount. It's always best to start with the lesser amount; you can  

Filling 

    * 3/4 cup Baker's Cinnamon Filling* 

    * 3 tablespoons water 

    * 1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger, raisins, or dried cranberries, optional 

    * *Substitute 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon for the 

Baker's Cinnamon Filling and water, if desired. If you use sugar and cinnamon, DO NOT 

ADD THE WATER. 

Glaze 

    * 1 cup glazing or confectioners' sugar 

    * 1 tablespoon butter 

    * 1 1/2 tablespoons milk, or enough to make a "drizzlable" glaze 

Directions 

1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients together — by hand, mixer, or bread machine 

— until you've made a soft, fairly smooth dough. 

2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for 

1 1/2 hours, until it's almost doubled in bulk. 

3) Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface. Roll it into a 14" x 22" rectangle; the 

dough will be thin. 

4) Mix the cinnamon filling and water. Spread a thin layer over the dough, leaving one short 

edge free of filling. 

5) Sprinkle with crystallized ginger or dried fruit (or both), if desired. 

6) Starting with the short end that's covered with filling, roll the dough into a log. 

7) Cut the log into nine 1 

8) Place the rolls into a lightly greased 9" x 9" pan that's at least 2" deep. Set aside, 

covered, to rise for 1 hour, or until the rolls look puffy. 

9) Bake the rolls in a preheated 375°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're lightly 

browned and feel set. Remove them from the oven, and set them on a rack. Turn them out 

of the pan, and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes. Towards the end of the cooling 

time, make the glaze. 

10) To make the glaze: Heat the butter and milk together till the butter melts. Whisk into 

the sugar. 

11) Drizzle the warm rolls with the warm glaze. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired.