Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

I love pumpkin. (See links below.) I love that in the fall you can find a pumpkin version of almost everything (especially at Trader Joe's). This Food Network recipe is a fun and easy twist on a classic. It's only subtly pumpkin-y. The original recipe calls for cheese tortellini, but I think a butternut squash or other type would be great as well.

Related recipes:
Milnot Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with White Chocolate Mascarpone Filling
Molasses Cookie and Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches
(GF) Pumpkin Cheesecake

Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

~Print Recipe~

•  Kosher salt
• 2 9-oz packages of cheese (or other flavor) tortellini
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup pure pumpkin
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
• Freshly ground pepper
• Chopped fresh parsley, for topping (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta.
2. In the meantime, heat the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until slightly soft (about 2 minutes). Add the pumpkin and nutmeg and cook, stirring 1 minute. Stir in the cream and bring to a low boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium low; simmer, stirring, until slightly thickened (about 5 minutes). Stir in the cheese and cook until thick, about 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (I found myself adding quite a bit.)
4. Add the tortellini to the skillet and toss with the sauce, adding some of the reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed. Divide among bowls and top with more cheese and  parsley. 

Serves 4

(GF) Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin. It makes just about everything better, don't you think? This is a Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe that I tweaked ever so slightly to be gluten free. I didn't do the caramel topping, but I bet it's delicious. The cheesecake is very rich on it's own, so I don't think it's really necessary. But, then again, sometimes you might just need a little caramel...

(GF) Pumpkin Cheese Cake

~Print Recipe~

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, divided
• 38 or 1 1/2 cups (gluten free, optional) ginger snaps, finely crushed
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 4 pkg (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 25 caramels (optional)
• 1/4 cup milk

1.  Heat oven to 325 degrees. Chop 1/4 cup nuts finely; place in medium bowl. Add ginger snap crumbs and butter; mix well. Press onto bottom of 13x9 inch pan.

   

   Crush cookies in a food processor, or just smash with a rolling pin.

2. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with mixer until blended. Add pumpkin, spice, and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.
3. Bake 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours.
4. Optional topping: microwave caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on high for 1 1/2 minutes or until caramels are completely melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Spoon over individual servings of cheesecake. Sprinkle with remaining nuts.
5. Serve with whipped cream. 

Makes 12 Servings

Milnot Pumpkin Pie

 What do you do if you have 5 cans of Milnot in your cupboard? First you make a Milnot cheesecake. Then, to spice things up, you should try this under-the-label recipe for "Classic Pumpkin Pie with Maple Whipped Cream and Walnuts."

This is pie is not dense or too sweet, and the Milnot and eggs help the pie set up like a custard. The mixture is liquid at first, but just be patient. In my oven, it took 10-15 minutes longer than the recipe called for, but it came together nicely.

The recipe calls for a whipped cream layer on top of the pie, but we just added the whip in dallops. Next time I'll try it layered on.

My mom liked it better than any other pumpkin pie she's had!

Milnot Pumpkin Pie with Maple Whipped Cream

~Print Recipe~

• 1 unbaked deep-dish pie crust shell (Trader Joe's brand was really good.)
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 16 oz. can pumpkin
• 1 12 oz can Milnot (evaporated filled milk)
• 1/2 pint whipped cream
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Combine sugar, spices, and salt in a medium bowl. 
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs lightly and blend in pumpkin, spice mixture and Milnot.
3. Pour into pie shell and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 25-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool.
4. Beat cream and syrup in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Spread cream over pie and sprinkle with nuts.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

After three iterations, I finally feel like I can post this recipe! It is based on the famous Cooks Illustrated browned butter chocolate chip recipe. These cookies are a great way to use up any leftover pumpkin you may have from baking a pie for Thanksgiving. They also happen to be fantastically tasty!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 14 tablespoons butter, separated
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda and spices together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in a light colored sauce pan (you need to see the color of the butter as you brown it) over medium high heat until melted. Continue cooking, stirring or swirling the pan constantly until the butter is a dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma--another 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and pour into a large heatproof bowl. Stir in remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into hot browned butter until it has melted.
4. Add both sugars, salt and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Whisk in egg and egg yolk. Whisk in pumpkin until smooth.
5. Let the mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times (this let's the sugars dissolve), until the mixture is thick, smooth and shiny.
   
6. Using a rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just combined--about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, making sure no flour pockets remain.
7. Spoon dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies one tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy; the edges will have begun to set, but the centers will be still soft after 10-14 minutes. Rotate the sheet halfway through baking.
8. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and cool cookies completely before serving.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with White Chocolate Mascarpone Filling

As I first flipped through my copy of Martha Stewart's Cookies and came across a recipe for whoopie pies, my first thought was, "huh?" I'd never heard of such a thing. Apparently they are more of an East Coast cookie. (Rumor has it they started when left over cake batter was baked into cookie size snacks and filled with the extra frosting.) They sure looked good, but I figured that sandwich cookies took too long to make. Amber, on the other hand, gave them a try early on. She seemed to be easily converted to the whoopie pie camp, and she soon posted her experience here.
Ok, I knew I should try them, but it still took me almost a year to bake some myself. I stumbled upon a pumpkin whoopie pie recipe on allrecipes.com that had me at "pumpkin*." I added nutmeg to the spice combination, because freshly grated nutmeg is my new favorite thing. I happened to have some mascarpone cheese on hand and decided to pair it with white chocolate for the filling. The filling ended up being very rich and delicious, but it was a little too subtle for my taste when compared to the spices in the pumpkin cookies. Next time I will try these cookies with a cream cheese filling--I think would stand up to the cookies better. (And because, well, you know how I feel about cream cheese frosting.)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

~Print Recipe~

• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
• White chocolate mascarpone filling (recipe below) or cream cheese frosting
• Cinnamon powdered sugar (powdered sugar with a little cinnamon stirred in)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment (or lightly grease them).
2. Combine the oil, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Mix in the pumpkin puree and eggs, beating until combined. 
3. Sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until just combined.
4. Pour batter into a large Ziplock bag. Cut off one corner, so you have a small tip. Swirl batter into desired size onto prepared baking sheets. (Cookies will puff up, but do not spread much at all.) OR, you can drop cookies by heaping tablespoons if you prefer that. 
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set and golden. Do not under-bake or the final sandwiches will be too sticky. Cool completely on wire racks before filling cookies.
6. Frost the flat side of a cookie and set another cookie on top. Dust serving plate and tops of cookies with cinnamon powdered sugar. (This looks cool and tastes delicious, but it also helps the cookies not stick to each other or the serving plate.)

White Chocolate Mascarpone Filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz. finely chopped white chocolate (or more to taste)
• 8 oz. mascarpone 

1. In a small pan, warm the cream over medium heat. Stir occasionally until cream is hot, but not simmering. 
2. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Pour heated cream over the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate melts. 
3. Place in an ice bath until chilled, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours, or up to overnight. 
4. With an electric mixer, combine the mascarpone with half of the white chocolate mixture and whip for 2 minutes. Add remaining chocolate mixture and mix on high until frosting holds a peak.

*In my world, pumpkin never goes out of style or out of season. Don't let pumpkin get relegated to just October and November!

Pumpkin Spice Layer cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Is it so wrong to eat birthday cake for breakfast? Yeah, I didn't think so, either.

I relish the opportunity to make fancy cakes, since I so rarely get the chance. I guess that's not exactly fair---I could make a fancy cake anytime, really, but that would be a dangerous, dangerous idea. I reserve my fancy cake baking to birthdays. Usually my own.

This year I was agonizing over two really amazing-sounding recipes, but an informal poll on the Recipes For Laughter facebook page proved the pumpkin spice cake the most popular. I'm glad it was. It's hard to say which aspect of this cake was my favorite. The cake itself has the perfect dense-but-fluffy crumb---maybe even the platonic ideal of a birthday cake crumb. The combination of spices in this cake was truly spot on. The spices made this cake seem more pumpkin-y than any other pumpkin dessert in my recent memory, yet the flavor was not at all overwhelming (as some heavily

spiced cakes tend to be). This cake had a perfect balance of warm spices and pumpkin flavor. It easily could have been my favorite part of this cake...if it weren't for the frosting.

By now you may have picked up on the fact that I am an unrepentant cream cheese frosting enthusiast. Give me any excuse to top something with cream cheese frosting, and I will. But, this cream cheese frosting was a revelation. You make a quick and easy caramel from powdered sugar and heavy cream, then mix it into your typical cream cheese frosting. I love caramel nearly as much as I love cream cheese frosting, so this was a match made in frosting heaven. It was bordering on cloyingly sweet, so if you are not really into that, I would recommend adding less powdered sugar or adding more cream cheese to mellow out the sweetness a little.

I think this cake would have been even more perfect with some candied pecans on top, but I ran out of time before my guests arrived. I guess I should stop throwing myself birthday parties...

Ok, that's not going to happen. There's no way I'm giving up an excuse to make myself fancy cakes. Even if that means I have to eat cake for breakfast for days afterward.

Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

~Print Recipe~

For the Frosting:

• 1 pound of powdered sugar, divided (from a 1 pound box, or approx. 3 1/2 to 4 cups)
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temp.
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

For the cake:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

  

  T's cake-slicing ability is unmatched.

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg*
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 15-ounce can of pure pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans, tapping out any excess flour.
2. Sprinkle 1/2 cup powdered sugar over the bottom of a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook without stirring until the sugar melts. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is a deep amber color, about 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup cream, vanilla and salt--be careful, as the mixture will bubble up. Stir until any caramel bits have dissolved. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon of cream. Strain caramel sauce into a small bowl and cool to room temperature.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices (through cardamom) in a large bowl.
4. In another large bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar and oil with an electric or stand mixer. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to incorporate between each addition. Mix in orange peel. Add flour mixture, beating on low just enough to blend.
5. Divide batter between prepared pans and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean--about 33 minutes. Cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes. Carefully invert cakes onto rack and then turn them top-side up to cool completely.
6. While the cakes are baking, sift the remaining powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in the cooled caramel. Cover and chill frosting until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours.
7. When cakes are cool, use a long serrated knife to cut the rounded top of off of one of them, leaving a flat surface. Place that cake on a cake plate cut-side up and cover with 3/4 cup of frosting. Place second cake on top. Cover top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.

Serves 12-16

Note: Cake can be made up to 2 days ahead. Just cover and chill. Let stand at room temp. 2 hours before serving.
*Buy whole nutmeg wherever bulk spices are sold. Whole nutmeg looks expensive, but if you just buy one (which is more than enough for this recipe) it will probably cost you less than a dollar. Grate the nutmeg with a microplane or the finest holes on your grater just before using.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Now that I know how to make the filling for sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie from scratch (and hopefully you do, too!), it's time to step it up and make the crust from scratch as well. Putting that homemade filling in a generic pie tin crust just feels like a cop-out. Plus, you run the risk of people thinking you bought the whole thing from a bakery. The great benefit of the graham cracker crust is it is a breeze to make, and no rolling pin is needed!

What's in it:

1 plastic sealed package graham crackers (about 10 crackers)

6 Tbl butter, melted

1/4 C sugar

tsp cinnamon (optional)

How it's made:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Smash up the crackers before you open the package (it's pretty fun) and then dump the crumbs in a food processor. Pulse until the consistency is a fine crumb. Add in sugar and cinnamon and pulse to mix. Add in melted butter and pulse until thoroughly distributed, and you have a nice even consistency. Press the cracker crumbs into a 9" pie pan, evenly distributing the layer. If you do not have a food processor, you can do all this by hand in a bowl with any pounding and mixing utensil you would like to use (such as a muddler or rolling pin, etc).

Bake in oven 7-10 minutes, and cool. If recipe calls for an uncooked pie crust, chill in the fridge an hour before filling.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie

This pumpkin pie recipe is for the Reids in the family who are allergic to milk. It's super easy and tasty, if you like pies. A great last minute recipe for Thanksgiving.

What's in it
1 homemade graham cracker pie crust (or store bought)
2 C cooked pumpkin
2 eggs
1/3 C real maple syrup or honey or brown sugar
salt
pumpkin pie spice (cinnamond, allspice, ground clove)
1 package Silken firm tofu

How it's made
If using real pumpkin, bake sugar pumpkin at 400 degrees for an hour until soft, and scoop out the inside (but not the seeds). Otherwise start with canned pumpkin. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a blender combine all ingredients except for the crust, and blend till smooth. Pour into pie crust, and bake 15 minutes at 425 and 45 more minutes at 350 until firm in the middle.

Pumpkin Waffles

Ok, I guess it's that time of year---I have pumpkin on the brain. I know that pumpkin scones are good and the pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World are amazing. So, when I saw this recipe for pumpkin waffles on Smitten Kitchen, I knew I had to try it. Waffles and pumpkin? Two things I love come together here in a very delicious way. These waffles are sweet and decadent---kind of like eating dessert for breakfast, which is just fine by me.

I suggest adding chocolate chips to individual waffles by dropping the chips onto the batter just after you put in the waffle iron, then covering them lightly with more batter. I also recommend adding chocolate chips as a topping like Amber does (one chip in each square). These waffles would be fantastic with whipped cream. I had peanut butter, pumpkin butter, Greek yogurt and maple syrup, but with these you can pretty much get away with plain, too. You can also save any extra waffles by wrapping them in twos in plastic wrap and then storing them in a freezer bag in your freezer for a few weeks.  The next time you want waffles, grab two and pop them in the toaster. Way better than Eggo.

Pumpkin Waffles
~Print Recipe~

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I want to try substituting some whole wheat flour next time, a la Patty)
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 of a stick) unsalted butter, melted
• Cooking spray for waffle iron

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, pumpkin and butter. Separate egg whites into a separate small bowl and set aside. Add egg yolks to the buttermilk mixture and whisk until smooth. 
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the buttermilk mixture and whisk until just combined.
   
4. With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Carefully fold egg whites into the batter, until just combined. 
5. Heat waffle iron(s) while batter rests.
   
6. When the irons are hot, spray waffle iron lightly with non-stick spray (and again before each new waffle). Using a measuring cup, quickly spread an even layer of batter over the iron (adding chocolate chips, if desired) and cook until crisp and golden brown.  Serve immediately, or allow to cool and then freeze.
   

Spiced Pumpkin, Lentil and Goat Cheese Salad

Reading food magazines, I have come across a ton of pumpkin recipes lately. Since pumpkins are bountiful and priced to sell these days, I decided to give this recipe from Gourmet a shot. For cooking, you want to use sugar pumpkins---they are smaller and tastier than your typical jack-o-lantern. I'd never actually eaten pumpkin outside of a pie, but I sure do love pumpkin in that form so I figured me and a pumpkin dish would get along nicely.

Well, yes and no. The roasted pumpkin in this salad was not quite what I was expecting. The spices I ended up using (I didn't have hot smoked paprika and substituted regular paprika with a dash of cayenne) seemed a little subtle and in the end were not the flavor direction I would have chosen for this dish. I liked the textural addition of the pumpkin and lentils to this salad, but the flavor of the pumpkin itself has a hard time standing up to the salty goat cheese and the shocks of mint. I liked this salad, but if I were to do it again, I would experiment with different roasting spices and/or a different dressing.

Spiced Pumpkin, Lentil and Goat Cheese Salad
~Print Recipe~

• 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (either from a package--TJ's!--or from 3/4 cups dried and cooked)
• 6 cups 1-inch pieces peeled, seeded sugar pumpkin or butternut squash (from one approximately 2 pound pumpkin)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 additional tablespoon (optional)
  
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 cups baby arugula (or other lettuce)
• 1 cup soft goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (optional)
• Toasted pumpkin seeds from your pumpkin (I used a great recipe from Simply Recipes)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pumpkin in a large bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, paprika and sea salt. Arrange pumpkin in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn pumpkin over. Continue roasting until tender (10-20 minutes. I took mine out after an additional 15 min. but wish I would have left it in a little longer.) Cool.
2. Combine lentils, pumpkin and oil from pan (my pan had no oil) with lettuce, half of goat cheese, mint, vinegar and 1 tablespoon of oil. (Or, if using a different dressing, leave out oil and vinegar at this point.) Season with salt and pepper. Divide among plates (add dressing, if you are using your own) and sprinkle with remaining goat cheese.