Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Hope everyone is having a nice Thanksgiving. Mine could've been better - my dad is sick, my mom is incompetent in the kitchen, and the chicken is taking longer than expected. Oh and I have to be at work 4:30 tomorrow morning for you early birds, so you all better be nice and drop the attitude. It's not our fault if we are sold out of your stupid zhu zhu pets. And please don't trash the store either because the closing crew usually stays an hour after closing just to clean up after you. Trust me, they don't pay us THAT much.

Moving on, I made this cheesecake last week since my dad insisted on making pies for Thanksgiving dinner. In case you haven't heard, Libby's is having a pumpkin shortage. Once all the cans are gone on the shelves, that's it. No more pumpkin until next year. Good thing we have three large cans in the cupboard. Plan ahead when making this cheesecake because like most cheesecakes, this needs a long chilling time.

I cut this recipe in half because I have three small heart pans. Regular springform pan is on my wish list. That is partly why the piece in my picture is so small. That and it was almost gone.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake



Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (either in food processor or crushed by rolling pin)
4 Tbsp powdered sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:
16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla or maple extract
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. For crust: Mix together crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press evenly over bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Chill until needed.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs and extract. Add pumpkin and spices, and continue mixing until combined. Any lumps in the batter will not disappear during baking. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour filling into chilled crust.

3. Bake 30-40 minutes. No covering or water bath needed. The center should feel somewhat firm to the touch. Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature. Then cover and place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Makes one 9-inch cheesecake

Source: Bake Space

Tuesdays Thanksgiving With Dorie

This week's recipe was perfect for Thanksgiving. If you can't decide between pumpkin or pecan pie, this pie allows you to have both. I've had my fair share of pumpkin pie, but I don't think I can recall ever having pecan pie. With this recipe, I think I expected more of a sugary topping. Although the pie was good, I didn't think it was THAT great.

Mine fell apart when cutting it, but it was fine after being refrigerated. It might have been the crust. My dad decided to buy premade pie crusts, so I used one of those.

Thanksgiving Twofer Pie




Thanks to Vibi of La Casserole Carree for choosing this pie so close to Thanksgiving. You can find the recipe here.

My Favorite Cookies...Ever!!

Ok so I made these cookies back in October. I would have lied, but I think the Jack-o-Lantern mug gives it away haha

I remember growing up, the grocery store would have pumpkin raisin cookies with orange icing. These were my favorite, even more than chocolate chip cookies. They were always expensive, so when they were on reduced-sale for being a few days old, my dad would buy a couple dozen. They've stopped going on sale, so we stopped buying them. I tried making a similar recipe a few years ago, but it wasn't as good. This year, I was browsing Tastespotting (who I hate because they are way too picky), and I found a marvelous cookie picture from Dishing Up Delights. The ones I had growing up were Pumpkin Raisin Cookies, but I decided to use this recipe as a base and make one half chocolate chip, the other half raisin.


Left - chocolate chip. Right - raisin

I skipped the orange icing because one - they didn't need them and two - cut out extra calories and sugar. Every little bit counts, no? Also, don't forget the baking soda mixture! Normally, you would mix the baking soda in with the dry ingredients. However, it says to dissolve it in milk and set aside. I was halfway scooping the dough onto the cookie sheets when I saw the milk on the counter. Oops! I hurried up and stirred it in. Did it make a difference? No clue.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip (or Raisin) Cookies




1 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 cup chocolate chips (or 1/2 cup chips, 1/2 cup raisins)
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease cookie sheets.

2. Dissolve baking soda in milk and set aside. In large bowl whisk together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and egg.

3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and then. Stir in the baking soda mixture. Now is the time to split the dough in half if using both chocolate chips and raisins. Stir in chocolate chips and/or raisins. Spoon onto cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until done.

Source: Dishing Up Delights

Tuesdays With Dorie - Pumpkin Muffins

I'm so glad I did this week's recipe when I was home for fall break a few weeks ago. I have been running around last week studying for my communication law midterm, writing comm. law essays, taping Homecoming events, and preparing for my presentation at a conference this past weekend. That's just the life of a student, no? So this week's recipe was Dorie's Pumpkin Muffins. Last week I mentioned buying fresh whole wheat flour. I decided to sub half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat. You don't want to sub all of the flour because the muffins would become too dense unless you adjusted the liquid ingredients as well. I thought they turned out ok. I didn't top them with sunflower seeds because I didn't have any, so I just threw raisins in the batter.

Pumpkin Muffins




Thanks Kelly from Sounding My Barbaric Gulp for picking this week's recipe! They make a great breakfast snack. You can find the recipe on page 13 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Kelly's blog.

Is it Friday yet??

One week from today, I'll be in my nice, warm bed cuddled with a nice, warm furball. Actually, he sleeps in odd places, so he'll probably be on the floor while I'm on my bed. That's right - the end of fall semester is near. Every year it's the same - I have a crapload of work due BEFORE finals week, and finals week is relaxation (except for my chem final). Why comm. majors do it backwards? Beats me. All I know is my ten-page research paper on minority representation in prime time programming is done. I'll get my grade back Thursday *cough* I'm hoping for a B+. And that's pretty damn good, considering what we are doing in one class is what grad students do throughout grad school. Thank goodness I have no plans for grad school.

Anyway, I've been too busy writing my paper to do anything in the kitchen. However, I do have another recipe to post from Thanksgiving break. Enjoy!!


Pumpkin Raisin Bread




1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp ginger)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, spices, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and water in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in raisins. Spoon batter into pan.

Bake 60-65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Source: Very Best Baking

Back From Thanksgiving Break

Hope all you U.S. cooks had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. Mine had a disasterous start when I realized I left my box of baking stuff at the apartment. Fortunately most of it was "what if I bake this?" ingredients, so I only had to buy baking soda, powder, and powdered sugar. My family doesn't bake; therefore, I have the baking supplies at my apartment. Besides that, it felt good to be home for a bit. I took advantage of being home and made some recipes I wouldn't make while at school. The first thing I made was the infamous pumpkin roll. Who hasn't made this pumpkin roll yet? The cream cheese filling is good enough to eat out of the bowl. I was surprised this cake was flexible enough to roll. Obviously I knew that because it is a rolled cake, but you expect it to break at any second. Next time I will try to make the roll a little tighter haha


Pumpkin Roll Cake



Cake
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin

Filling
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar (for dusting)

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Line 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with wax paper. Grease paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmgeg and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

4. Filling: Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Source: Very Best Baking

A Giant Can of Pumpkin Goes a Long Way

When I was home for fall break, I found a 29 oz. can of pumpkin on sale for $1.50. That's a pretty good bargain for so much pumpkin. For the past two weeks I have been trying all those wonderful pumpkin recipes out there.

Before I get to the recipes, I want to thank Megan for doing the cookbook exchange with me.


Pumpkin Nut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting




As a good friend of made said when eating this cupcake, "I'm going to marry this!" She requested a dozen of these as her Christmas present. Glad to know she's easy to shop for. I got lots of compliments on how I decorated, but the idea wasn't mine. But I guess if they don't see the original post and picture, then they'll never know. All I did was cut the recipe in half and added walnuts. I suggest if you cut the cupcake recipe in half, also cut the frosting recipe in half. I didn't and there is leftover frosting in the freezer.

Cupcakes
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.

2. In a second bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy; beat in eggs. Mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk until the batter is smooth. Add in nuts.

3. Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined muffin pan cups. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes.

4. In a bowl, beat on medium speed the cream cheese and butter until creamy. With mixer on low speed, make 1/2 cup additions of sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Increase the speed of your mixer between each addition.

Source: Cupcakes: Bake Bake Bake; Frosting: Bake and Destroy


Pumpkin Oatmeal




Another oatmeal recipe, yay! This one is a healthier alternative when you crave pumpkin pie. The first time I made it, I had too much milk. The second time I made, I didn't have enough milk LOL Try to find a happy medium between 3/4 cup and 1/2 cup (for one bowl's worth).

1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup milk
1/8 cup canned pumpkin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
1/16 teaspoon ginger
1/8 cup brown sugar

Microwave oats and milk for 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and sugar until blended.

Source: Recipe Zaar


Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce



Another "what the hell are you making?!" recipe. That's what my one roommate said with disgust when I was in the kitchen. I was being daring and decided to eat pumpkin for dinner. Don't let the pumpkin fool you because this sauce was great! I used cream cheese instead of heavy cream and left out the red bell pepper because I didn't have any.

1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup water
2 oz. cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup uncooked pasta

1. In a skillet, saute onion and garlic in butter until softened. Stir in pumpkin, broth, water, cream cheese, and nutmeg. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

2. While the sauce is simmering, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until done.

3. Add pasta to sauce and cook over moderate heat, stirring and thinning with reserved water if needed, until pasta is well coated.

Source: Recipe Zaar


Pumpkin Pudding



It tastes better than it looks, I swear!! It tastes just like pumpkin pie without the pie crust. I really wished I had Cool Whip when I was eating it. I didn't make as much as the recipe called for because I had a small box of pudding and 5 oz. evaporated milk, so I used 1 cup pumpkin. If my picture doesn't make you crave it, check out the picture on Nestle's website.

1 pkg (5 1/10 oz) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 can (12 fl. oz) evaporated milk
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Whipped topping (optional)

Beat pudding mix and milk according to package directions in large bowl. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; mix well. Spoon into dessert dishes. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until ready to serve. Top with whipped topping, if desired.

Source: Nestle's Very Best Baking.


Pumpkin Raisin Muffins




Since I didn't have much pumpkin left, my choices were pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread. Muffins are easier to share, plus I had Halloween paper liners I needed to use. I was debating on using white chocolate chips and raisins, and since I don't eat as healthy as I should, I went with raisins. I cut the recipe in half and used all-purpose flour entirely.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper cups.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in medium bowl. Combine eggs and sugar in large bowl. Add pumpkin and oil; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until moistened. Stir in morsels. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.

Source: Nestle's Very Best Baking