Pumpkin-Pecan Cheesecake

This Thanksgiving dessert recipe comes from Southern Living. I made this cheesecake two years ago for Thanksgiving and it was a big success! It is worth the long, timely process! I have made a few tweaks to the original recipe...

Ginger Snap Crust:

1.5 c ginger snap crumbs (took about 25 ginger snaps)

1/2 c graham cracker crumbs

1/3 c finely chopped pecans

5 T butter, melted

3 T light brown sugar

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling:

4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 c granulated sugar

1 t vanilla extract

4 eggs

1.5 c canned pumpkin

Praline Topping:

1 c firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 c whipping cream

1/4 c butter

1 c powdered sugar, sifted

1 t vanilla extract

Glazed Pecan Garnish:

1/4 c dark corn syrup

2 T sugar

2 c pecans


Preparation Crust:

Preheat oven to 325°. Stir together ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Press mixture on bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.


Preparation Cheesecake Filling:

Beat cream cheese and next 2 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until blended and smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add pumpkin, beating until blended. Pour batter into prepared crust. (Pan will be very full.)

Bake at 325° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until almost set. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven, with door closed, 15 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. (Do not remove sides of pan.) Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours.

Remove the sides of the pan and transfer to a serving dish.

Preparation Praline Topping:

1. Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Boil, stirring occasionally, 1 minute; remove from heat. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Let stand 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Pour immediately on top of cheesecake.

Preparation Glazed Pecan Garnish:

Mix the corn syrup and sugar together, add in pecans. Mix until all the pecans are coated. Prepare cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Spread pecans evenly on cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for about 15 minutes or until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken. Remove from oven and allow pecans to cool completely. Place pecans around the edges of the cheesecake and on the sides for garnish. 

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Cinderella Cheesecake

Today's recipe comes from October's Southern Living. I didn't even have to read the ingredients in order to want to make this, the picture spoke for itself. I mean, what's better than the chocolate peanut butter combination??? This cheese cake has a brownie crust and a creamy peanut butter cheesecake filling, it's absolutely divine!

Ingredients:

• Brownie Crust
• 3 (1-oz.) unsweetened chocolate baking squares
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour 
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 1/2 (1-oz.) bittersweet chocolate baking square, finely chopped
• Cheesecake Filling and Topping
• 1 1/2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened 
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs 
• 1/2 cup sour cream 
• 1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter 
• 
  
• Sour Cream Topping
• 3/4 c sour cream
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 
  
• Chocolate curls for garnish

Preparation

1. 1. Prepare Brownie Crust: Preheat oven to 350°. Microwave first 2 ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM for 1 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring at 30-second intervals. 
2. 2. Stir together flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.
3. 3. Beat 2 eggs and 1 cup brown sugar at medium-high speed with an electric mixer 3 to 4 minutes or until batter forms thin ribbons when beaters are lifted. Add vanilla, bittersweet chocolate, and melted chocolate mixture, and beat just until blended. Stir in flour mixture just until combined.
4. 4. Spread 1 cup brownie mixture on bottom of a greased and floured 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350° on center oven rack 13 to 15 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes; freeze 15 minutes. Remove from freezer; spread remaining brownie batter up sides of pan to 1/4 inch from top, sealing batter to bottom crust.
5. 5. Prepare Filling: Beat cream cheese and 1 cup brown sugar at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until blended. Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in sour cream just until blended. Beat in peanut butter until blended.
6. 6. Pour filling into prepared crust. (Mixture will not completely fill crust.) Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until center is almost set.
7. 7. Remove from oven. Spread Sour Cream Topping over center of cheesecake, leaving a 2-inch border around edge. Bake at 350° for 1 more minute. Remove from oven; gently run a knife around edge of cheesecake to loosen. Cool completely on a wire rack.
8. 8. Cover and chill 8 to 12 hours. Remove sides of pan. Top with chocolate curls.

***I am a JIF snob, so I used JIF creamy PB to make this recipe

Fall Gathering

Yesterday, we had our second annual "fall gathering". It's a time for friends and family to gather and make new memories. There was an assortment of soups which included, chili beans, south western black bean soup and chicken chili, cornbreads and desserts - pear cheesecake, apple dapple cake, pumpkin cake, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin dip. We had a great day hanging out around the fire place and watching the little ones play in the backyard.

Fall Table Setting: the table was decorated with mini white and orange pumpkins, a burlap table runner and the center piece was a hollowed-out pumpkin filled with a beautiful flower arrangement and it was made by a family friend, we used golden table cloths and mis-matching chairs

Behind the fire place we set up our "photo booth" - we used two old wicker chairs and decorated the table with pumpkins and a flower arrangement, we had all of the families get pictures here

Apple Dapple Cake

Fall-time calls for anything and everything apple. For my family's annual "fall gathering", I made an Apple Dapple Cake. This recipe comes from the kitchen of our dear family friend, Mrs. Charlotte who went home to Jesus this past summer. I will always think of her when I make this cake.

Ingredients:

Cake

3 c flour
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1.5 c oil
2 c sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1 c pecans, chopped
3 c apples, peeled & chopped

Icing

1 c brown sugar
1 stick butter (1/2 c)
1/4 c evaporated milk (5oz can)

Mix the first eight ingredients together. Add in pecans and apples. Pour the batter into a greased bunt pan. Bake at 350º for 35-45 minutes or until the cake has set. Let the cake cool completely.

For the icing, melt the three ingredients and boil for 2 1/2 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. When the icing has set, pour it over the cake and enjoy!

Pecan Ice Cream Pie

Last week, my brother-in-law got up at 3:45am to smoke some pork that we finally got to enjoy 15 hours later. It was well-worth the wait! He did a fabulous job and everyone left uncomfortably full. As any proper guest knows, it's always polite to bring a side dish or dessert when you're invited over for dinner. My sister suggested that I make a pecan ice cream pie that she found on pintrest. I am so glad that I took her advice because it was fabulous (if I do say so myself). Even though we were all stuffed on BBQ, we all had our fait share of dessert too!

the recipe can be found here:
Pecan Ice Cream Pie

Spinach, Tomato & Fontina Tarts

This recipe comes from Southern Lady and is a keeper! I have made this tart several times and I can't get enough! The first time that I made it was a little crazy with all of the prep work and the leaky tart dish, but it was good enough that I made it again. This time, I decided to make it into several mini-tarts rather than one big tart. I saved a few of them and took them with me to work. Even after a few days in the freezer they were delish!

Ingredients:
1 box pie crust - I made my own crust and I used a simple pie crust recipe
2 T butter
2 T EVOO
1 T minced garlic
1 large yellow onion
2 (6 oz) bags baby spinach
4 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1 3/4 t salt, divided
3/4 t pepper, divided
3/4 t dry mustard
2 cups shredded fontina cheese, divided
5 Campari tomatoes, sliced 3/4 inches thick

Preheat the over to 450

Fit the pie crust (box crust or homemade) into an 11-inch removable-bottom tart pan (or mini-tart pans). Prick the bottom with a fork and bake for 8 minutes, set aside.

Reduce the oven to 375

In a large skillet, heat the butter and EVOO over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly (attention: this will make your house smell!) Add the onion and cook for about 8-10 minutes stirring frequently until the onion is tender. Add the spinach in batches stirring constantly and until the spinach is wilted and all of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, 1 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, and mustard.

To assemble the tart, sprinkle 1 1/2 cups cheese over the bottom of the crust. Layer the spinach mixture on top of the cheese then pour the egg mixture over the spinach. Layer the tomatoes on top of the cheese and spinach layers. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the remaining 1/4 t salt and 1/4 t pepper and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the middle is set.

Let cool before serving.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Scones

Fall is in the air which means it's time to make pumpkin treats! I was in the mood to do some baking yesterday and I decided to try the Starbuck's Pumpkin Scone recipe via Pintrest. I followed the recipe to a tee and I wasn't disappointed. They were amazing! Of course they didn't look just like the picture but they tasted 10x better!!

Here is the link to the recipe:

Starbuck's Pumpkin Scones