Pear Crisp with Vanilla Brown Butter

Do you love pears? Do you love vanilla? Do you love brown butter? If you answered yes to these questions then head on over to All Through the Year Cheer to check out the full recipe. Enjoy!

Skillet Cinnamon Apples

Looking for a quick dessert? Look no further! It has been found! I was wandering around my kitchen the other day and wanted something sweet but didn’t want to put a lot of time into the preparation. I saw my cast iron skillet and then a bowl full of apples. Wah Lah! An idea. How about making a quick apple dessert in my pan. I put some butter in my pan and popped it into the oven to melt. While that was working I started peeling and cutting my apples. I would recommend cutting your slices thick instead of thin. I found the thinner slices to shrink a lot. Arrange the apples on top of the butter, sprinkle with oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Throw in the oven and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. You’re looking for your apples to be soft but not mushy. Pull the apples out of the oven, let cool for a few minutes and then serve. Or you can do what I did….eat it right out of the pan The apples are soft, sweet and full of cinnamon flavor. The brown sugar creates a delicious syrup and in some places creates an almost caramel like texture. The next night I warmed up the apples in the microwave and put a few scoops of brown sugar ice cream on top…..heaven Enjoy!!!

Apples waiting to get topped.

Skillet Cinnamon Apples:

3 T. butter
2 – 3 apples – peeled and quartered
1/4 C. quick cooking oats
1/2 C. light or dark brown sugar
Sprinkle of cinnamon on top
Light zest of fresh nutmeg on top

Preheat oven 350 degrees
Melt butter in cast iron skillet and lay apple slices in one layer on bottom of pan. Sprinkle oats, brown sugar and spices on top of apples. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes until apples are soft.

Maple Sugar Ragamuffins & Giveaway Winner!

I’m going to be honest with you. I always knew a Ragamuffin was a cat breed. I also knew when I was in high school and showed up with what some would describe as “pajama like” clothing my friends would tell me I look like a ragamuffin BUT never did I expect to see this word in the name of a recipe. So when I did I knew I had to make them. How could I miss an opportunity to make something that not only sounded great but had such a fun name!

The texture of the ragamuffins is more of a biscuit than a traditional cinnamon bun. It is VERY sweet so while I was going to make a maple glaze for the top it did not need it at all! It is sweet and mapley (is that even a word?) enough with out it I found maple sugar at my grocery store but found it to be quite expensive. It was anywhere from $6.99 to $9.99 for 6 ounces of the stuff. So I did what any normal human being does. I looked on Amazon and lo and behold they had some! Free shipping and all:) Now I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all this maple sugar but I did find a lot of great recipes on epicurious that included this sweet maple treat so I will be sure to give them a try!

What was it like to make them? Easy.  I’m a big fan of easy.  We have been friends for a LONG time.  My favorite part about our friendship is that we never get mad at each other   The most complicated part of this recipe is the tight rolling of the dough.  I obviously did not get it tight enough, because as you will notice in the pictures, the ends started to fall flat against the pan. Oh well.   It still tasted great so in the end I guess that is all that matter

Now does everyone want to know who won????? I used random.org to pick a winner and the lucky winner was number 6….that means girlichef won! Just send me an email with your address and I will pass it along to the great people at My Blog Spark. Congratulations!!!

Maple Sugar Ragamuffins:

For dough
2 C. all-purpose flour
1 T. granulated maple sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter – cut into small pieces
3/4 C. whole milk

For filling
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter – well softened
1 cup granulated maple sugar (6 ounces)

Make dough:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large (17- by 14-inch) baking sheet with parchment.

Whisk together flour, maple sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Add milk and stir with a fork until a shaggy dough forms. Gently knead dough 8 to 10 times with floured hands on a lightly floured surface.

Roll out and fill dough:
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 13- by 11-inch rectangle. Spread softened butter evenly over dough and sprinkle all over with maple sugar, pressing firmly to help adhere. Beginning with one long side, roll up dough snugly, jelly-roll style. Cut roll crosswise into 12 slices with a sharp knife. Arrange slices, cut sides down, 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Gather any maple sugar from work surface and sprinkle on top of rolls. Bake until rolls are puffed and golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool until warm, about 15 minutes.

Source: Gourmet from Epicurious

In case you were wondering this is not a Maple Sugar Ragamuffin. Also take note of my fine photoshop skills

 

 

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POM Iced Coffee Review and a GIVEAWAY!!!

I was recently contacted by the kind people at POM to try some of their new iced coffee. Before you start thinking it’s pomegranate flavored it’s not…that would be a bit gross. It actually contains 100% natural blend of polyphenol antioxidants which is equivalent to drinking an 8oz. glass of pomegranate juice. How awesome is that! I guess that is why they call it a “healthy buzz.” Yum yum!

Wanna know something else that is great about POM iced coffee? It works in collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance. What does this mean? It means that POM Wonderful makes sure their coffee meets rigorous standards that conserve biodiversity and provide sustainable livelihoods. Rainforest Alliance Certified farms benefit from improved efficiency, reduced costs and better management practices while workers benefit from a cleaner, safer, more dignified workplace where their rights are respected. Another great thing about POM Iced Coffee. They only used shade grown beans, hormone free milk and organic cane sugar.

My thoughts about the coffee…it’s good. My favorite flavor was coffee au lait, then vanilla and last chocolate. I found them to be delicious coffee treat that I could easily grab on my way out of the door. Both the vanilla and chocolate flavor are fat free and the coffee au lait has only 3 grams of fat. Not to bad. Much better than the fat count in the iced coffee from those other coffee places…… I say if you see it in the store grab one! It really is tasty and if you are going to be drinking coffee that day anyway…why not try it?

Now onto my GIVEAWAY!!! Hooray for free stuff I was asked by the kind people at MyBlogSpark and Fiber One to try some of their Fiber One Toaster Pastries in Brown Sugar Cinnamon Flavor. My opinion? Delicious! My favorite part is that it’s full of fiber which is always a good thing. Twenty percent of your daily value of fiber (5 grams) to be exact. I was also given a great little “morning on the go” pack that consisted of a lunch bag, travel coffee/beverage mug and planner. The fun doesn’t stop there either….I get to give one of these awesome packs away to one of my lovely readers! How much fun is that The giveaway starts as soon as you read this, ends Monday November 9th 2009 5pm EST and a winner will be announced after 5pm EST Monday night. There are up to six ways to enter this giveaway.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry (Please leave an email address so I contact you if you win )

- Comment on my blog answering the question: What is your favorite Fiber One product? or What is your favorite way to get more fiber in your diet?

- Stumble this giveaway

- Tweet this giveaway and leave me a comment with your twitter name

- Friend Nutmeg Nanny on Facebook or if you are already my friend leave a comment letting me know

- Follow Nutmeg Nanny on Twitter or if you are already following me leave a comment letting me know

- Talk about this giveaway on your blog

This giveaway is only for U.S. residents – sorry international readers.

Good luck to all who enter

Source: POM Wonderful

Honeycrisp Apple Sangria

I have often associated sangria with summer. There is just something about that fruity sweet wine mixed with delicious liquor soaked fruit and screams outside summer party.  As I stared at a bowl full of honeycrisp apples I knew I had to do something with them before they went to waste.   I searched online and found a lovely Fall inspired sangria.  It mixes deep fragrant flavors of cinnamon, ginger and cloves with light crisp citrus flavors.  It would be perfect for a party or even to enjoy alone   My favorite part of the sangria was munching on the apples that were left over. Amazing!  The great thing about using honeycrisp apples is that they are crisp (the name really does fit the product), hold up great to soaking and still keep some of their natural sweetness.  If you are planning a party I seriously recommend making this.  I used one of my favorite unoaked chardonnays, Wishing Tree, but use whatever unoaked you prefer.  In all honesty I cannot stand chardonnay unless it’s unoaked…there is just something about the buttery flavor of oaked chardonnay that I do not appreciate.  I also find unoaked a bit more refreshing and crisp on the tongue.  Enjoy!

Honeycrisp Apple Sangria:

2 Honeycrisp apples
One 750-milliliter bottle unoaked Chardonnay
1/3 C. peach Schnapps
1/4 C. pisco (I could not find this so I used a bit more peach schnapps)
1/4 C. honey (I used orange blossom)
2 oranges- 1 quartered
1 lemon – quartered
1 lime – quartered
2 cinnamon sticks
2 quarter-size slices of fresh ginger
3 whole cloves
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
Ice
Club soda
Mint sprigs – for garnish (did not use)

Peel, core and chop one of the apples. In a bowl, combine the Chardonnay, Schnapps, pisco and honey. Add the quartered orange, the lemon, lime, cinnamon sticks, the chopped apple, ginger and cloves and refrigerate at least 4 hours. (I let mine sit overnight)

Strain the sangria into a pitcher. Peel, core and finely chop the remaining apple. Peel, section and chop the remaining orange. Mix the apple and orange in a bowl.

On a small plate, blend the sugar and cinnamon. Moisten the rims of wine glasses and dip in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Fill the glasses with ice. Pour in the sangria until three-quarters full. Top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a spoonful of the chopped apple and orange and a mint sprig.

Source: Adam Seger & Food and Wine Magazine

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Homemade Limoncello Part Two & All Through The Year Cheer is Moving!

Ok first up.  Faith and I have decided to start a separate website dedicated to our new event, All Through the Year Cheer.  It’s up and running so everyone go check it out We hope that everyone will continue to participate in our event and please feel free to spread the word.  We will be giving away a lot of great prizes this year too.  Also on the site you will learn about our upcoming Thanksgiving event and the time line for your recipe submissions. Ok, without further adieu here is the new site: All Through the Year Cheer.

Now onto the limoncello. Back in August I started making limoncello and now it’s finally time to complete step two. I know it seems to take a long time to make this luscious lemon concoction but as the saying goes “good things come to those who wait.” So while yes, you will wait, you will be rewarded with a delicious liquor before Christmas.

In step one of limoncello making we combined the skins of 15 lemons and one full bottle of 190 proof grain alcohol and 80 proof vodka. After letting that sit for over 40 days the oil in the lemon skins has infused with the alcohol and made a very fragrant (not tasty…just yet) lemon alcohol. You know you are ready to move to step two when scoop out a peel and can snap it in half like a potato chip. If the peel is still flexible and can bend with out breaking put the lid back on the jar and try again in another week.

Lemon peels sitting at the bottom of jar. Notice how yellow the liquor has become.

After you have decided it is time to move on to step two the first thing you will do is make a sugar syrup with 4 1/2 cups sugar and 3 cups distilled water or filtered water. Do not use mineral water. After is has boiled for 5 minutes let is sit and cool to room temperature.

Pouring the sugar into the distilled water. Time to make a sugar syrup!

As the sugar syrup is cooling it is time to start taking the lemon peels out of the alcohol. Try to be as careful as possibly not to break the peels into a lot of small pieces. This will make it easier and less messy when you filter your liquor.

Using a pasta server to extract the lemon peels.

All the extracted peels.

After all or most of the peels have been successfully removed it is time to start filtering the limoncello. To do this you will need another clean glass gallon jar, a large funnel and #4 coffee filters.

Second jar prepared to filter lemon infusion.

To strain slowly start pouring liquid from the first glass into the filtered funnel that is sitting on top of gallon glass jar two.  Do not fill to high because filters will clog quickly.  This process will take a little bit of time.  Fill funnel about half full, wait for it to be mostly empty and pour more liquid in.  When filters clog simply remove from funnel and replace with new filter.

Filtering the limoncello.

Slowly going through filter.

Watching the liquor filter. It got old very quickly...haha.

Halfway through the filtering process I took pictures  show how much clearer the infusion became.

Original infusion.

Filtered infusion.

After the infusion is filtered into the second glass jar it is time to clean and wash the original jar.  After the jar has been cleaned you have to filter the infusion back into the original jar. The process is the same. Use a large funnel and a #4 coffee filters.

Ready to filter the infusion back into the original glass.

After the infusion has been transferred back to the original glass it is time to incorporate the cooled sugar syrup.

Pouring the sugar syrup into the lemon infusion.

The sugar syrup has been fully added and just needs to be stirred. I love the bright yellow color!

After the sugar syrup has been added it is time to stir the infusion and tightly put on the lid.  Return to a cool dry place for another 40 days to start the mellowing out process that combines the alcohol infusion with the sugar syrup to create Limoncello.

Ok ladies and gentleman this is step two of the Limoncello process.  In 40 or so days I will share the final step. Bottling.  If you are interested in making your own limoncello please refer to my first post located here so you can get started correctly.  Although I will include the complete set of instructions for Part One and Part Two of Limoncello making. My first post was helpful because it gives great step by step (and pictures!) of the process.

Limoncello:

Step One: (You can find the step by step write up here.)

Ingredients and tools for step one:

1 750ml. bottle of vodka 80 proof

1 750ml. bottle of grain alcohol 190 proof

15 large thick skinned bright yellow lemons

A very clean dry gallon glass jar with tight fitting lid

Day 1:
Pour the bottle of Everclear and the bottle of vodka into the gallon jar.

Try to use organic lemons or make sure that lemons are cleaned to remove all pesticides, dirt, and fertilizer chemicals. Dry the lemons.

Use a potato peeler to peel just the yellow part of the skin off the lemons. Make sure you have NO white pith on the back of the peels, because this causes bitterness in the finished liqueur. Try to make the peel pieces as large as possible, because this will make the straining process easier.

Put the lemon peels in the gallon jar and stir gently.

Cover tightly and put away in a cool (not cold) dark place for alcohol to extract oils from peels, creating an infusion.

Days 8, 22, & 36:
Gently stir lemon peels to refresh exposure to alcohol. Return to cool, dark place.

Day 43:
Gently stir lemon peels.

Scoop out one of the larger peels and test flexibility. If peel breaks like a potato chip, you will move on to the next step. If peel is still flexible enough to bend without breaking, return to cool dark place and try again in another week.

Step Two:

Ingredients and tools for step two:

A very clean and dry gallon glass jar or pitcher

Large supply of unbleached #4 cone coffee filter (I could only find white cone coffee filters, not sure if they were bleached or not)

Large funnel

Slotted spoon or pasta server

4 1/2 C. white sugar

3 C. Distilled or filtered water (I used distilled)

Day One:

Dissolve sugar in water and bring to boil over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes.

Set syrup aside to cool. It must be room temp before adding to infusion.

Use a slotted spoon or pasta server gently scoop lemon peels from the infusion and discard. Try to avoid creating small pieces that will make straining more difficult, try not to break peels as you remove them.

Using the larger funnel and #4 coffee filters, slowly strain infusion through filters into large pitcher. This is a messy process. The filters will clog quickly and you will use many of them.

Rinse and dry gallon jar.

Repeat straining process, transferring infusion from pitcher to original gallon jar by straining again through #4 coffee filters.

Return filtered infusion to jar and add COOLED syrup.

Return to cool dry place for 40 days to begin mellowing process that combines alcohol infusion with syrup to create Limoncello.

Source:Slow Travel Italy

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Coconut Spiced Kissed Pumpkin Pie – All Through The Year Cheer & Flavor of the Month

This is a very exciting day for me. Today is the first official round-up of All Through the Year Cheer! Faith will have a MckLinky up on her page today and all you need to do is submit ANY recipe that says Falls to you. It can be a baked good, savory dish, drink…whatever you want. This is very excting for Faith and I and we can’t wait to see what everyone submits. Also there is a great prize that will be awarded to one lucky person who submits their Fall recipe

Ok now onto my recipe for the event. Coconut and pumpkin = delicious. That is my opinion after making this pie. The pie has the “classic” pumpkin pie spices but is jazzed up with the addition of coconut milk and hazelnut paste. I decided to do a graham cracker crust because I was lazy thought it would be a good texture along side the creamy pumpkin filling. I also made my pies into little tarts instead of making one large pie. I find that in a household of two it’s easier to give neighbors small tarts instead of slices of pie. For the pumpkin filling I used some of my homemade puree but canned pumpkin could work here too. Instead of the classic whipped cream I opted for a little brown sugar ice cream to accompany my pie. It was amazing! The deep sugar taste of the ice cream paired nicely with deep spices from the pie. Enjoy!!!

Coconut Spiced Kissed Pumpkin Pie:

1 graham crust (recipe at bottom)

1 1/2 C. hazelnuts – toasted

1/2 C. brown sugar (I used dark brown)

1 T. pumpkin pie spice blend (I made my own recipe at bottom)

1 t. salt

1 T. arrowroot or cornstarch

1 1/2 C. roasted pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin

1 t. vanilla extract

3 extra large eggs – lightly beaten

1 C. coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the middle.

Puree 1 1/2 cups of the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor until they turn into a hazelnut paste, past the ‘crumble’ stage. Set aside. Chop the remaining 1/2 cup of hazelnuts and set aside seperately, these will be sprinkled on top after the pie is baked.

To make the pumpkin pie filling, whisk together the brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice blend, salt, and arrowroot. Stir in the pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Now stir in the eggs and coconut milk until just combined. Set aside.

Before filling the pie crust, crumble the hazelnut paste on top of the pie dough into the pie plate, quickly and gently press it into a thin layer across the bottom creating a layer of hazlenuts that will sit between the dough and the filling. Using the last egg gently brush the decorative edges of the pie dough. Use a fork to prick the pie dough a few times to prevent air bubbles. Fill the pie crust with the filling and bake for about 50 minutes – the center of the pie should just barely jiggle when you move the pie – the edges should be set.

Let the pie cool a bit, this makes slicing less messy. Serve straight or with a dollop of sweetenend whipped cream or ice cream.

Makes one 9 or 10-inch pie.

Graham Cracker Crust:

2 C. graham cracker crumbs

1/3 C. melted butter

2 T. honey

Mix all together in food procesor. Then press into a 9-inch pie pan (or tart pans) and proceed with filling.

Pumpkin Pie Spice:

1 T. freshly ground cassia cinnamon

3/4 t. freshly ground allspice

scant 1/2 t. freshly ground cloves

1 1/2 t. ground ginger (pre ground)

Use a coffee grinder to separately grind each of the following: cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Smash the cinnamon a bit before grinding it. The spices should be powder-fine, and sifted into a bowl together. Stir in the ground ginger, and use in any recipe calling for a pumpkin pie spice blend.

Source: 101 Cookbooks

Remember to Submit your Recipes to Faith!!!

I also submitted this recipe for Flavor of the Month.

October 2009 Daring Bakers’ Challenge – Macarons

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

How did I feel about making macarons? Intimidated was the first feeling I got. I thought to myself “I can’t do this! I always hear how much of a pain in the ass they are to make!”  Was I wrong? Yes! They were a lot of fun to make and not as hard as I originally thought they would be.  I worked on them one lazy morning and by the afternoon I was rewarded with cute little cookies with adorable little feet.  I decided to do a vanilla bean flavor because I just bought a half pound of beans and needed a good excuse to start using them To fill my macarons I used Nutella. I know I should have made a ganache but I was lazy and saw my jar of Nutella being neglected so I went with it

One of the best things about making these macarons is that Tartelette even said they looked great….hooray! If you don’t know who Tartelette is then you need to head on over to her site immediately! That women can make one mean macaron

Enjoy!!!!!

Also please remember that on the 28th Faith will be collecting submissions for our All Through the Year Holiday Cheer event.  There will be an awesome prize rewarded to the winner

Equipment required:
• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Rubber spatula
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper or nonstick liners
• Pastry bag (can be disposable)
• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip
• Sifter or sieve
• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off
• Oven
• Cooling rack
• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets
• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Squares – All Through The Year Holiday Cheer

To Pumpkins at Pumpkin Time by Grace Cornell Tall

Back into your garden-beds!
Here come the holidays!
And woe to the golden pumpkin-heads
Attracting too much praise.

Hide behind the hoe, the plow,
Cling fast to the vine!
Those who come to praise you now
Will soon sit down to dine.

Keep your lovely heads, my dears,
If you know what I mean…
Unless you want to be in pie,
Stay hidden or stay green!!

Pumpkin desserts are overflowing out of my kitchen.  I recently purchased an adorable cheese pumpkin and have been using up all it’s wonderful deliciousness.  If you have never roasted a pumpkin before I suggest giving it a try.  Although there are a few rules you should follow.

- NEVER use  carved pumpkins to cook with…you risk getting or giving someone food poisoning and in the words of Alton Brown, that is not good eats.

- Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are for decoration not for eating. If you have ever cleaned out a jack-o-lantern you will notice they are pretty hollow in the inside and this is because they are grown for size and a thin shell to carve into…not for flavor.

- Use sugar or cheese pumpkins. They are grown for their insides and have a thicker shell packed all the way through with pulp.

Also I just recently learned there is a canned pumpkin shortage!  So this means there is even a bigger reason to use fresh.  Who wants to be fighting someone in the grocery store for the last can of pumpkin? I know I don’t! Although I might like seeing someone else in an argument over canned pumpkin….as long as I was not involved!  So hit up your local farmers market and find some great sugar or cheese pumpkins for all your baking needs.  Oh one more thing I learned about canned pumpkin…….

IT IS NOT PUMPKIN!!!

It’s actually a squash variety called Dickinson.  Personally I was not that upset when I learned this but I found it interesting.  To be completely honest a cheese pumpkin is a moschata squash so I can see how the lines get blurred.  In fact the difference between pumpkin and squash in many cases is very small.  You can read about this here and to learn more about cheese pumpkins click here.

Ok now onto food! These cheesecake bars cooked up easy and the flavor is amazing. I was a little leery of the sour cream mixture on top, thinking it would be too tangy, but boy was I wrong. I brought the whole dish together. I love the crunchy bottom mixed with the light whipped pumpkin cheesecake filling…delicious! Another great thing about this recipe is that it is not as time consuming as a normal cheesecake.  The next time I think I might try putting the bars in a 9×13 pan and double the filling.  So delicious…I suggest you try it immediately…if not sooner Enjoy!

Also don’t forget to submit your recipes to Faith by October 28th to enter our event! There is an awesome prize for the winner

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Squares:

Crust:
1 C. all purpose flour
3/4 C. golden brown sugar – packed
1/2 t. salt
1 stick chilled unsalted butter – diced
1 C. pecan halves
3/4 C. old-fashioned oats (I used quick cooking because I was out of old fashioned)

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese – room temperature
3/4 C. fresh or canned pumpkin puree
1/2 C. sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger

Topping:
1 C. sour cream
2 T. sugar
1/4 t. vanilla extract

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 9×9x2-inch metal baking pan. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Using on/off turns, blend first 4 ingredients in processor until coarse meal forms. Add pecans; using on/off turns, process until nuts are chopped. Add oats; process using on/off turns until mixture is moistened but not clumping. Press 3 1/2 cups crumbs onto bottom of prepared square pan (do not clean processor). Transfer remaining crumbs to lined baking sheet. Bake crumbs on sheet until golden, stirring once, about 12 minutes. Cool crumbs. Bake crust until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling:
Blend all ingredients in same processor until smooth. Spread filling over warm crust; bake until set, dry in center, and beginning to rise at edges, about 20 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

For topping:
Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Spread evenly over hot filling. Bake until topping sets and bubbles at edges, about 5 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. Sprinkle crumbs over topping; gently press into topping. Cover; chill until cold, about 2 hours. Do ahead Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Cut into squares.

Roasted Pumpkin Puree:

1 3lb. sugar or cheese pumpkin

2 T. olive oil

Kosher Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully cut the pumpkin into four big wedges – get rid of the stem. Scoop out the seeds and pulp (you can toast the seeds if you like), drizzle then rub the pumpkin wedges with olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt, and then bake on a baking sheet (middle rack) until tender throughout – about an hour. Scoop flesh out of the skins and puree with a hand blender, food processor or mash well by hand.

Source: Epicurious, 101 Cookbooks and Von Thun’s Country Farm Market

I Have Nothing Prepared but It’s ok I have a Communications Degree So You Are All in Luck…

Ladies and gentleman that was an actual excerpt from my Maid of Honor speech at my best friends wedding.  That is what happens when you get up  and decide to give a speech “off the cuff”…what a great idea…haha. I told my best friend I was just trying to make my speech quote worthy.  This was true since the next day we would follow everything we said with “it’s ok I have a communications degree”

Now back to the wedding. She got married this weekend and it was awesome.  She looked beautiful and everyone had a blast.  I traveled back to Ohio for the big day. It was cold but luckily the rain stopped and the sun came out and brightened the day.  Here are a few pictures from the big trip

P.S. Congratulations to my best friend! You and Buddy will have such a great life together

P.S.S. My boyfriend said my hair looked like I should be signing “Love Shack” I agree but I’m sticking to the fact that I loved the bump!

P.S.S.S. We so danced to Chris Brown’s “Forever” and totally rocked the dance moves from the You Tube JK Wedding video….haha

The Brides Family

The Bride and I

Bridesmaid Lauren, Bride Jessica and Me

I love how my adorable boyfriend, Mr. Nutmeg Nanny, sneaked into this picture.

Whoever said olives, lunch meat sandwiches and champagne do not go together are wrong!

Jessica and I at the end of the night…I had already started taking my hair out…52 bobby pins in that mess!

Make sure to enter the All Through the Year Cheer event! Faith will be taking recipes on October 28th!!!