Makin' Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

It's another pie! Today the weather here in by-God Southwest Georgia has turned a bit nippy. By that, I mean the mercury dipped under 80 degrees for a good portion of the morning. The air just felt a little crisper, and to me that always means cooking with pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup and of course, my favorite little treats, pumpkin whoopie pies. You've probably seen these cream-filled concoctions in chocolate and vanilla, but the pumpkin spice and cream cheese in this variation just calls for a nice fall day. I will put up a picture as soon as I whip myself up a batch...likely tomorrow!

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, ½ stick softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling)

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt

1 2/3 cups flour

4 ounces cream cheese, chilled

1 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper

In large bowl, whisk together melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and ¾ teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Make sure you drop equal amounts of batter, or else your pie halves won't match up. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners’ sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt an ½ teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

Shepard's Pie

I seem to be on a roll with the pies, so why not? While on the surface it doesn't seem elegant, a forkful always seems to wrap you in warmth and comfort...and is bound to be a dish that your children remember eating at mom's table as an adult. It's also great for getting rid of leftovers, as I often find myself in a position to do. Yesterday's pot roast and mashed potatoes can easily be reinvented into this yummy dish. It is also a recipe that is extremely flexible...substitute mashed potatoes for sweet potatoes, peas for corn, ground beef for whatever you have on hand that can be chopped into small pieces. I usually use half turkey half beef for all my hamburger recipes; just stick the halves you aren't using in the same Ziploc bag and throw them in the freezer for the next meal.


SHEPARD'S PIE

8 quartered red potatoes, skin on
1 T olive oil
1/2 lb hamburger meat
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 T minced garlic
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 14 oz can tomatoes, drained
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
4 oz cream cheese
2T butter
2 T minced garlic
1 cup Bisquick (optional)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil the potatoes in heavily salted water. While waiting for the potatoes, heat olive oil on medium high heat until fragrant then saute garlic and onion in the oil until translucent. Add ground meat, salt and pepper and cook until done. Drain any fat then add the can of tomatoes. Put meat mixture into the bottom of a 2 quart (or 3 quart) casserole dish. Top with frozen veggies.

When the potatoes are fully cooked (soft when poked with a fork), drain and return to pot. You can make traditional whipped mashed potatoes with a blender if you want, or take the lazy way and do it like this: add cream cheese, butter and garlic, mash with a potato masher until all ingredients are combined. Makes one pot to clean instead of two. Spread potatoes over top of vegetables.

To top the casserole, you can do a biscuit topping by combining 1 cup water with the bisquick and pouring over the top (in which case, the cook time will be around 45 minutes), or you can simply add shredded cheese over the potatoes. Both are great.

Cook in oven uncovered for 25 minutes.

Perfect Chocolate Pecan Pie (Me-Oh-My!)

I had never been a fan of pecan pie until I tried this one. The recipe originally called for hazelnuts, but it works equally well with pecans. It is firm enough to cut into squares and serve as cookies if you so desire.




Chocolate Pecan Pie

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped, and toasted hazelnuts
8 ounces chocolate chips (bittersweet or semi-sweet is best!)
1 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 frozen pie crust, defrosted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and the flour. Add the eggs, hazelnuts, chocolate chips, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir well. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 1 hour.

Spicy Blueberry Pie

I have been a baking fool this week...likely a result of some pent up creative energy. This blueberry pie comes from my sister-in-law, Holly, and it is a summertime favorite in our house. Really, my husband practically begs for it when blueberries are in season.

Couple of tips:

• This calls for allspice. On occasion, my allspice has played hide and seek with me being the loser and we've gone without. The pie loses its edge and uniqueness a bit, but still tastes fantastic.
• I usually use 4 cups of blueberries in this recipe, although it calls for 5. Why? Because the store sells them in 2 cup boxes.
• The pie crusts: for this particular pie, make sure you get the rolled crusts in the box. It's near impossible to make a pretty lattice top with pre-formed crusts. Trust me, I've tried!

Aunt Holly's Spicy Blueberry Pie

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

5 cups blueberries (I always use fresh berries...)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

1 (15 ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon sugar

-Combine first 8 ingredients, tossing gently

-Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pieplate according to package directions. Spoon blueberry mixture into pastry shell.

-Cut remaining piecrust into 6 (2 1/2-inch wide) strips. Arrange strips in lattice design over filling; fold edges under, and crimp. Brush pastry with milk; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar

-Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden, shielding edges with strips of aluminum foil during last 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning.

Cool as a Cucumber. Sandwich.

I hate to say it, but I think I enjoy tea parties more than my daughter. Maybe I am just having too much fun reliving my childhood vicariously? After searching through many a website and book about throwing the perfect tea party, I discovered the quintessential ingredients to make it proper: tiny desserts, dress-up fun, tea and tiny little cucumber sandwiches.

At today's tea party, the cucumber sandwiches were a huge hit; so much so they got me off my duff to write down the recipe and FINALLY start this blog I've been talking about for ages. I am a notorious dash of this, pinch of that chef and use recipes more a guideline than de facto rule. Given that, adjust all my approximations at will.


CUMBER TEA SANDWICHES

Marinade:
1 cucumber (large), peeled and thinly sliced*
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. chopped minced garlic
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper

Spread:
1/4 c. room temperature butter
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 T. snipped chives

8 slices white bread

For marinade: Toss all in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for at least an hour, preferably overnight.

For spread: Combine all in a bowl and use while soft. It keeps well in the refrigerator, but won't tear the bread when it's a little more pliant. This spread is also good with chopped fresh basil, if you have it available.

To assemble: Spread cream cheese mixture on bread (both sandwich pieces). Top with marinated cucumbers. Make sure to cut the crusts for a proper tea sandwich!

*English cucumbers without seeds would probably be best here, but I regularly make them with the regular kind with no problem.