October

October
Recipes

  Pumpkin Apple Muffins  
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup chopped peeled cored apples
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease eighteen 1/2-cup muffin cups or line with muffin papers. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Stir sugar, pumpkin, oil and eggs in large bowl until well mixed. Mix in dry ingredients, apples, raisins and walnuts. Place equal amounts of batter into prepared cups.
For Topping:
Combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in small bowl. Cut in butter with fingers or pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
Sprinkle topping over muffins. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into centers of muffins comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature.
Makes 18.

  Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Apple Jack Sour Cream  
For the crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For the filling:
1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, cut into bits and softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon Apple Jack liqueur if desired
For the topping:
2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Apple Jack liqueur or to taste


16 pecan halves for garnish
Make the crust:
In a bowl combine the cracker crumbs, the pecans, and the sugars, stir in the butter, and press the mixture into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a buttered 9-inch springform pan. Chill the crust for 1 hour.
Make the filling:
In a bowl whisk together the pumpkin, the egg, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the ginger, the salt, and the brown sugar. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese and the granulated sugar, beat in the cream, the cornstarch, the vanilla, the bourbon liqueur, and the pumpkin mixture, and beat the filling until it is smooth.
Pour the filling into the crust, bake the cheesecake in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the center is just set, and let it cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes.
Make the topping:
In a bowl whisk together the sour cream, the sugar, and the bourbon liqueur.
Spread the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake and bake the cheesecake for 5 minutes more. Let the cheesecake cool in the pan on a rack and chill it, covered, overnight. Remove the side of the pan and garnish the top of the cheesecake with the pecans.

  Pumpkin Maple Pie  
Ingredients:
2 Pie Shells
an egg wash made by beating 1 large egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup milk
2 large eggs
Directions:
  • On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out two thirds dough 1/8 inch thick (about a 14-inch round). Fit dough into a 10-inch (1 1/2-quart capacity) pie plate and trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Crimp edge decoratively and chill shell 30 minutes. Shell may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered loosely with plastic wrap.
  • Preheat oven to 375° F.
  • On lightly floured surface roll out remaining dough 1/8 inch thick (about a 10-inch round) and with a 2-inch leaf-shaped cutter cut out 16 leaves. Transfer pastry leaves to a baking sheet and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
  • Brush leaves with some egg wash (being careful not to drip onto edges) and bake in middle of oven until golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer leaves to a rack and cool. Leaves may be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
  • In a 3- to 3 1/2-quart heavy saucepan gently boil maple syrup until a small amount dropped into a bowl of cold water forms a soft ball, about 210° F. on a candy thermometer, and cool slightly. In a bowl whisk together pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cream, milk, and eggs and whisk in maple syrup.
  • Pour filling into shell and brush edge of shell with some egg wash. Bake pie in middle of oven 1 hour, or until filling is set but center still shakes slightly. (Filling will continue to set as pie cools.) Transfer pie to a rack to cool completely.
  • Garnish pie with pastry leaves just before serving.

  Candied Apples  
Ingredients:
6 red apples
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup grenadine syrup
2/3 cup light corn syrup
Directions:
  • Place a large cooling rack on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
  • Insert a fork into the top of each apple. Combine the sugar, grenadine, and light con syrup in a saucepanand bring to a simmer. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, brushing down any crystals on the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in warm water. When the sugar is dissolved, bring to a boil until the syrup reaches 285°F. on a candy thermometer, the soft-crack stage.
  • Set the pan over-not in-boiling water. Working quickly, use the forks to dip the apples, one at a time, coating them evenly with the glaze. Remove from glaze and twirl each apple so the extra syrup drips off. Set the apple on the cooling rack. When you have dipped all the apples once, repeat the process. Remove the forks.
  • Serve at room temperature. Best eaten within 24 hours
  • Serves 6.

  Caramel Apples  

Making the caramel requires the use of a clip-on candy thermometer, which should be tested for accuracy before starting. Attach it to the side of a medium saucepan of water, and boil the water for three minutes. The thermometer should register 212°F; if it doesn’t, take the difference into account when reading the temperature.

Ingredients:
1 1-pound box dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon robust-flavored (dark) molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 chopsticks
12 medium Granny Smith apples
Assorted decorations (such as chopped nuts, dried apricots and dried
cranberries, toffee bits, mini M&M’s and candy sprinkles)
Melted dark, milk and/or white chocolates
Whipping cream (if necessary)
Directions:
  • Combine first 8 ingredients in heavy 2 1/2-quart saucepan (about 3 inches deep). Stir with wooden spatula or spoon over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves (no crystals are felt when caramel is rubbed between fingers), occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 15 minutes.
  • Attach clip-on candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook caramel at rolling boil until thermometer registers 236°F, stirring constantly but slowly with clean wooden spatula and occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 12 minutes. Pour caramel into metal bowl (do not scrape pan). Submerge thermometer bulb in caramel; cool, without stirring, to 200°F, about 20 minutes.
  • While caramel cools, line 2 baking sheets with foil; butter foil. Push 1 chopstick into stem end of each apple. Set up decorations and melted chocolates. Holding chopstick, dip 1 apple into 200°F caramel, submerging all but very top of apple. Lift apple out, allowing excess caramel to drip back into bowl. Turn apple caramel side up and hold for several seconds to help set caramel around apple. Place coated apple on prepared foil. Repeat with remaining apples and caramel, spacing apples apart (cara-mel will pool on foil). If caramel becomes too thick to dip into, add 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream and briefly whisk caramel in bowl over low heat to thin.
  • Chill apples on sheets until caramel is partially set, about 15 minutes. Lift 1 apple from foil. Using hand, press pooled caramel around apple; return to foil. Repeat with remaining apples.
  • Firmly press decorations into caramel; return each apple to foil. Or dip caramel-coated apples into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off, then roll in nuts or candy. Or drizzle melted chocolate over caramel-coated apples and sprinkle with decorations. Chill until decorations are set, about 1 hour. Cover; chill up to 1 week.
  • Makes 12.