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Pumpkin Spice Custard

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This is my take on a recipe from Mark’s Daily Apple, which apparently is their take on a recipe from Bon Appetit.  If anyone’s else’s New Years resolutions include eating fewer carbohydrates and cutting out refined sugar, this is a great, slightly sweet dessert.  Jason likes to put whipped cream on his to give it some more sweetness.

Pumpkin Spice Custard

4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 cups unsweetened almond milk (last night I used 1 cup almond milk and 1 cup regular milk to make it a little creamier)
1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a saucepan, combine the milk and maple syrup and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla until yolks are very smooth, about 3 minutes.  Add pumpkin and spices and whisk together.  Add the warm milk and syrup to the eggs, whisk together until well combined.

Using a sieve, pour egg mixture so it evenly settles in 4-6 ramekins.  Place ramekins in a baking dish big enough so the ramekins don’t touch one another.  Create a warm water bath by pouring hot water into the baking dish so that it comes up to the level of the custard on the outside of each individual ramekin. This water is to prevent the custard from burning.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake until custards are set around the edges, about 40 minutes. Allow custards to further set by refrigerating for at least 2 hours. Or serve them right away, warm.

Pumpkin Spice Swirl Sweet Rolls

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This recipe comes from Beth Hensperger’s Bread for All Seasons. I remembered it in November, when I was using a

So fall.

lot of pumpkin, and really loved the results. It has the softness that sweet rolls made with potato have, but the spice filling is remarkable. I topped these rolls with a drizzle of icing, mostly for appearance. Alternately, you can make this dough into a loaf of swirl bread, which I haven’t done, but I’m sure it would be fantastic.

Pumpkin Spice Swirl

1 T. active dry yeast
pinch of sugar
1/4 c. warm water
1 c. warm buttermilk
1 c. pumpkin puree
3 T. granulated sugar
3 T. corn oil
1 egg
grated zest of 2 oranges
1 T. salt
6 1/4-6 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

Sweet Spice Streusel
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
grated zest of one orange
1 t. cinnamon
pinch each of ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
1/3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
4 T. unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Spiced Cinnamon Sugar
1 1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. ground ginger
1 1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. cloves
2 T. unsalted butter, melted, for brushing

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and the pinch of sugar over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about ten minutes.

2. In a large bowl with a whisk or in the work bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the warm buttermilk, pumpkin puree, the 3 T. sugar, oil, egg, orange zest, salt and 2 c. of the flour. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the yeast mixture and 1 c. more of the flour. Beat 1 minute longer. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 c. flour at a time, until a soft dough is formed that just clears the sides of the bowl, switching to a wooden spoon as necessary if making by hand.

3. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and springy, about 3 minutes, adding only 1 T. flour at a time as necessary to prevent sticking. Place in a greased deep container, turn once to coat the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 -1 1/2 hours.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the sweet spice streusel. In a small bowl, combine the sugars, orange zest, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and flour. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in the butter pieces until coarse crumbs are formed. Alternatively, use a food processor to combine the ingredients. Set aside.

5. Turn out the dough onto the work surface and divide into two pieces, then pat each piece into a long rectangle, about 8 x 12 inches. To make the spiced cinnamon sugar, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and spices. Brush the surface of each rectangle lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar leaving a 1 inch border around the edges. Starting from the narrow end, roll up jelly-roll fashion to form a fat-loaf shaped. Pinch seam together to seal completely. Slice each log into 6-8 rolls (depending on how big you want them). Place rolls on two greased cookie sheets, and let rise app 45 minutes. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

6. Sprinkle the top of each roll heavily with a portion of the sweet spice streusel. Bake in the center of the preheated oven until the rolls are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove to rack to cool.

Happy Thanksgiving Muffins (Gluten-Free/Low-Sugar)

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Don’t let that stuff up there in the parentheses fool you.  These are yummy!  I just ate a couple while watching the Macy’s Parade.

I finished all my Thanksgiving prep last night (which I highly recommend.  2 casseroles, a pie and some appetizers tucked neatly in the fridge), but still woke up early this morning.  So I poked around online looking for something tasty to make for us for breakfast and found this low-carb muffin recipe.  I made a couple modifications and wound up with our breakfast:

Happy Thanksgiving Muffins

1/2 cup flax meal
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 and 1/4 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup water

Topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar (The original recipe called for a granulated artificial sweetener, but I thought a little brown sugar wouldn’t hurt anyone and was better for us than something artificial anyway)
2 T melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; butter muffin pans.  Mix dry ingredients well (exclude those used for topping).  Add beaten eggs, melted butter, water, and sweetener to the dry mixture. Mix well.  Fill muffin cups a bit more than half way with the mixture.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Allow muffins to cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove.

When the muffins are cool enough to handle, dip the tops in the melted butter you allocated for the topping, followed by the brown sugar.

Makes 12 muffins.

Sausage and Apple Handpies

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Can I just say again how frustrating Martha’s search engine is on her website? Why doesn’t it work? Aaargh.

So, I tried this recipe last year from Martha’s Halloween Issue, and I love it. I already made it this year for Halloween, but I’m posting it now because I can see it as a terrific appetizer for Thanksgiving (jeff!). It’s a bit of work, so if you have many Thanksgiving assignments besides this one, I wouldn’t recommend tackling it (especially not on Thursday), but they do freeze well if you have time in advance. And they are extremely nice–a great, delicate buttery crust, and a bit of a thick, savory filling. Together. Yum.

Sausage and Apple Handpies

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large onion, diced (1 1/2 c.)
1 t. minced fresh thyme leaves
1/4 t. fresh ground pepper
1 T. vegetable oil
1 T. + 1 t. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 c. chicken stock
1 medium granny apple, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
Pate Brisee (recipe follows)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a plat. Reduce heat to medium, add onion, thyme, and pepper (if pan is dry, add th oil). Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add flour to pan; cook stirring, until thick, about 1 minutes. Stir in apples and reserved sausage. remove from heat, let mixture cool. (Filling can be refrigerated up to overnight in an airtight container.)

3. Preheat oven to 375. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough into a 14″x16″ rectangle slightly less tan 1/8″ thick. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper,; top with a second piece of parchment. Repeat with remaining dough disks, covering with parchment and stacking rolled dough. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

4. Using 3 3/4″ circle cutter (or bottom of a cup), cut rounds from sheets of dough. Place 2 T. filling in center of half of the round. Brush edges lightly with beaten egg. Top with remaining rounds, pressing edges with a fork to seal. With a small leaf-shaped cutter, cut shapes from scraps and adhere to pies with some of the beaten egg (alternatively, cut leaf shapes out of tops and add cutout slightly off-center to cover the open portion–this is a really nice presentation). Combine scraps and reroll. Cut rounds and repeat to fill and form more handpies. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush with egg. Refrigerate 15 minutes (this step is important if you want to see the fork tines. Alternately, you can pitch the edges with two fingers on one hand and your knuckle on the other–as you would a pie crust. I think this looks nicer).

5. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. [You can also freeze the pies for 3 days–you don’t need to thaw, and they bake for the same amount of time.]

Pate Brisee
[This recipe is really remarkable. The dough turns out bakery=quality, but you need to be sure not to overknead or work it, so the flour doesn’t develop gluten and become tough. Last year, I used frozen butter and mixed the dough with my fingers, and the result was fantastic. This year, I used the cold butter, still mixing it with my fingers instead of a food processor, and it still worked fine–but the food processor is more fool=proof, I think].

5 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. salt
2 t. sugar
1 lb. (4 cubes) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons (you can let out a small gasp–but remember, you yourself are not eating 1 lb. of butter! It’s divided up!)
3/4c.-1 c. ice water

Combine flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Add butter and pulse just until pea-size chunks remain. With machine running, add water through the feed tube, and process just until dough starts to come together. Transfer mixture t a work surface and bring together to form a dough. Divide dough in thirds. Flatten each piece into a disk, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to overnight).

Tomato Basil Bisque

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I have been searching unsuccessfully for over a year for a really good tomato soup recipe. Today I finally found it on one of the food blogs I frequent (melskitchencafe.com). This soup was divine.  Creamy.  Well seasoned.  Beautiful color. And, it made enough for me to have more tomorrow.  Perfect.

Don’t be fooled by the title though.  Shellfish do not make an appearance in this “bisque.”  I didn’t know until today that a bisque could also mean a creamy soup made from roasted vegetables. In this case, the roasted vegetable is butternut squash (one of my fall favorites but, alas, not my kiddies – their loss).

Enjoy!

Tomato Basil Bisque

1 medium butternut squash (for about 1 1/2 cups cooked squash)

1 T butter or olive oil

1/4 cup finely diced onion

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 can (14.5 0z) Italian-style stewed tomatoes (I used a can of regular diced plus 1 tsp Italian seasoning)

1 cup chicken stock

1 tsp salt

1 T sugar

1 tsp dried basil

1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the butternut squash by cutting it in half, lengthwise, so you have two long pieces. Scoop out the seeds and pulp.  Place both sides cut-side down in a 9×13 pan. Add enough water to come about 1/4″ up the sides of the squash.  Cover with foil and bake for about an hour.  Test with a fork to make sure the squash is very tender in several places.  If the flesh doesn’t easily give to the pressure of the fork, continue baking in ten minute increments until tender. Remove the squash from the pan and let cool for about 15 minutes.  Scoop out the flesh.  If preparing the day before, scoop out the flesh and place it in a tupperware.  Let cool completely before refrigerating.  If using the squash immediately, scoop the squash into a blender.

While the squash is cooking, melt the butter and saute the onion until soft and translucent.  Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (30 seconds).  Scoop the onion/garlic mixture into the blender with the squash.

Add the canned tomatoes (undrained) to the blender.  Process until smooth.  I had to add about 1/2 of the chicken stock to the blender to thin it out enough to process. Pour the blended mixture into a saucepan and add the remaining chicken stock, salt, sugar, basil and cream.  Stir to combine well.  Heat over medium low until the soup is warm. Don’t boil or simmer – the cream will curdle.  Serve immediately.

Pumpkin knots

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Hurrah for fall and pumpkin recipes!  This one is a new recipe for me but it turned out very well and was fairly easy to pull together.  The rolls are soft and fluffy with just a hint of pumpkin flavor.  Give them a try and let me know what you think.

2 T instant dry yeast

1 cup warm milk (between 110-115)

1/3 cup butter, softened (I used extra virgin olive oil)

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

5 1/2 to 6 cups flour ( I used 1/2 whole wheat with success)

1 T cold water

1 egg white

In a bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, sugar, pumpkin, 2 eggs, salt, and 3 cups flour.  Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8 minutes (I did this in my Bosch).  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.  Shape each portion into 12 balls.  Roll each ball into a 10 inch rope; tie into a knot and tuck ends under.  PLace 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat water and egg white.  Brush over rolls.  Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired.  Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes or until golden brow.  Remove from pans and cool on wore racks. Yield: 2 dozen

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes (or Muffins)

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For anyone else who might be searching for new ways of using zucchini, I really, really like this recipe, and my kids have no idea that zucchini is in it–a definite plus. This recipe was originally published in Everyday Food as “Ian’s Sweet Zucchini Cupcakes” (May 2007), but I’ve changed it a bit (added the chocolate and the milk), because of a memory I had of a chocolate zucchini bread that I loved. If you want to go without the chocolate, just omit the milk as well, and you’ll have the original. Note: I used dutched cocoa, but if you only have baking cocoa like Hershey’s, I would love to hear if the recipe would still work as well–I imagine it would. Also, you can leave these cupcakes unfrosted to be more like a muffin, or you can insert the cream cheese frosting into the middle of the cupcake for a really fun surprise, or spread on top, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Also, as far as I can tell, muffins usually have one less egg than cupcakes, and sometimes a little less sugar. I think these could count as muffins as they are, but if you want them to be denser, omit one egg.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes (or Muffins)

I thought these to be pretty little things, even without frosting

1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/3 c. dutched cocoa
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans
1 zucchini (10 oz.), grated (1 1/2 c.)
1/3 c. vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 T. milk
1/2 t. pure vanilla
Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line cups of a standard muffin tin with a paper or foil liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cocoa, and salt. Mix in nuts.

3. In another bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla,; add to flour mixture, and mix just until combined.

4. Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.

5. Cool in tin on a wire rack for 10 minute; turn cupcakes out, right side up, and cool completely. Meanwhile, make Cream Cheese Frosting (if using–see below). Using an offset spatula or butter knife, spread frosting on cupcakes. The frosted cupcakes are best eaten within 1 day.

Cream Cheese Frosting
In a medium, with an electric mixer, beat 4 T. room-temperature butter with 4 oz. cream cheese until smooth. Add 2 c. powdered sugar and 1/2 t. vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Homemade Pretzels

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With a month-old baby, I’m starting to be back in the kitchen a little, and this week’s greatest success (by far) were these homemade pretzels from Everyday Food. I

I thought they turned out beautifully!

thought these were unbelievable, and I loved that I could use half the dough for pretzels, and the other half for pizza (dinner). I made the chocolate variation, and right out of the oven, I thought these pretzels tasted a lot like pain au chocolat–with no butter, I might add. Definitely a fun treat!

Homemade Pretzels

Ingredients

Serves 8

  • 1/2 recipe Basic Pizza Dough, or 1 pound store-bought pizza dough, thawed if frozen (Martha’s recipe is below, but probably any recipe would work, especially if it has a little sugar in it)
  • All-purpose flour, for work surface
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped nuts or 1/2 cup chopped chocolate or 2 tablespoons fennel seed
  • olive oil, for bowl and baking sheet
  • 3 tablespoons baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons coarse sugar (like Demerara or Turbinado, but don’t stress if you don’t have this)

Directions

  1. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface; sprinkle with nuts, chocolate, or fennel seed. Gently knead to incorporate. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest 1 hour.
  2. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece into an 18-inch-long rope. To shape dough into pretzels, form each dough rope into a U-shape and twist ends twice. Fold twisted end down and pinch to secure (see below). Transfer pretzels to an oiled baking sheet and let rest 20 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add baking soda. In batches, boil pretzels until puffed and slightly shiny, about 1 minute. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a wire rack to drain. Return pretzels to baking sheet; sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Serve warm or at room temperature. (To store, keep at room temperature, up to 2 days.)

Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients

Makes 2 pounds

  • 2 packets (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for bowl and brushing
  • 2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface

Directions

  1. Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
  2. Whisk sugar, oil, and salt into yeast mixture. Add flour and stir until a sticky dough forms. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and brush top with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until dough has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead 1 or 2 times before using.

Maple & Oatmeal Bread (Bread Machine)

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Last Christmas I got a bread machine and I love it.  I also love that a couple weeks ago I found a bread cookbook with recipes for breads from all over the world, including a bunch of bread machine recipes for $5.

If you have a bread machine, I highly recommend this bread, which I made on Sunday – or as we call it in our house, Bread Day.

(The recipe calls for 1 t. yeast, but I used 2 t. because my bread machine seems to like more yeast)

Maple & Oatmeal Bread (Medium Loaf)

1 1/3 C. water
2 T. maple syrup
13 oz/3 1/4 C. unbleached white bread flour
3 oz/3/4 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. rolled oats
2 T. oat bran (I didn’t have any oat bran so I used 2/3 C. oats)
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
3 T. butter
1 t. yeast

Put all of the ingredients into the bread pan in the order listed.  If you have a yeast dispenser on your machine, put the yeast in there.  Otherwise, make a small indent in the center of the flour (bot not down to the liquid) and add the yeast,

Set the bread machine to basic/normal setting, medium crust.