Toasted Pecan Spread (Pecan Butter)

I quite accidentally stumbled upon this tasty treat. A last minute attempt at a peanut candy recipe from Fany Gerson's fantastic My Sweet Mexico somehow led to this sweet pecan butter. I am still going to make the peanut mazapanes soon, but this discovery was worth the detour.

This spread consist of nothing more than toasted pecans and powdered sugar. Besides roasting the pecans, all you have to do is blend the two ingredients in a food processor until it is the desired consistency. This fortuitous discovery makes me want to try making my own almond butter, too. So easy! So delicious! This spread tastes just like sweet toasted pecans, just like pecan pie, just like pecan shortbread cookies! Just like some of my very favorite things.

This spread would be mind-blowingly good on anything you normally put peanut butter on or in: waffles, pancakes, toast, cookies, bananas, anything! (Mix it with melted chocolate to make a pecan/chocolate spread like a pecan version of Nutella?!) I even added some to my oatmeal this morning. Divine.

Sweet Pecan Butter

~Print Recipe~

• 2 cups pecans
• Powdered sugar to taste (somewhere between 1/2 cup and 1 1/2 cups)

1.  Toast pecans in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. This really brings out their flavor, but they'll easily burn, so keep an eye on them! Let pecans cool.
2. Blend pecans in a food processor for 1 minute. Add powdered sugar and continue blending until the pecans release their oil and the mixture becomes the consistency of peanut butter.

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!