Shortbread Pumpkin Squares

No more pumpkin pies for me.  I'm hooked on the squares! And the best part is that it's easier than pies. I guess you could say that these are simply delicious :)

I like to place the squares into cupcake liners to dress them up.  It also make them easier to pick up and eat when it's in its own little wrapper. These delicious squares are best when they are cold. 

Layered Pumpkin Custard Pie 2012

Putting these two pies together in layers is genius.  It's hard to explain what goes on in your mouth when you bite into this pie.  It's completely different than taking a bite of a pumpkin pie and then a bite of custard pie at the same time.  Layering changes things, the custard gives the pie a light mouth feel and the pumpkin is where the flavor is.

Oreo Turkeys

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

I had to share this with you!

Pumpkin Squares or Cupcakes

Pumpkin squares are a special fall treat that I only bake once or twice a year.

My Mini Pie's

A snap shot of my holiday pies cooling.

Layered P & C, Roasted Apple, Custard and Pumpkin Mini Pies

I decided to make mini pies this year thinking at the time that I would make 6 different pies.  That was a bit ambitious considering each type of pie had a different baking time and temperature which made it a lot more time consuming than I had thought it would be.  The next time I do this I may have to start the day before or at least consider a couple of cream pies that wouldn't need the oven.  I did manage to get 4 different pies done before throwing in the towel and handing the oven over to the turkey.  Live and learn.

To make 6 - 5' mini pies I needed;

1 double crust recipe (divided into 7)
1 pumpkin pie recipe
1 custard pie recipe
and a couple of granny smith apples for the lone roasted apple pie

Mini Layered Pumpkin Custard Pie

My friend Debbie passed this recipe on to me last year and I messed it up because I wasn't careful when adding the custard layer over the pumpkin and it ended up as a light colored pumpkin pie.  It was still tasty but visually it wasn't what I was shooting for.

Since I was making mini pies and had leftover pumpkin and custard.  I decided to give it another try.

Custard Pie

In Hawaii you can find custard pie at almost any bakery or restaurant that serves pie, but no one seems to make it here.  This was an unfortunate realization because after peach pie, this is my husband’s favorite.

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie

PRINT RECIPE

If it ain’t broke…  why fix it.

This was the first pie I ever made and have made it this way ever since.

Mini Roasted Apple Pie

I got this idea from Laura’s Best Recipes.

I made just one mini 5” apple pie (one of my six mini pies) and it sure did turn out good.  Roasting the apples in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes released enough of the moisture from the apples so they stacked nicely in the pie shell and the middle didn’t sink or bubble over.

Yam & Mandarin Orange Bake

PRINT RECIPE

Every year I try something new with my yams from plain to over dressed.  This year I decided to find the middle and it worked out well.

Sausage Stuffing

PRINT RECIPE

Sausage stuffing is my family’s favorite which is great because it is so easy to make.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

I grew up only experiencing canned cranberry sauce and hated it.  Thinking, how could anyone like, let alone love, that gelatinous mess.

Turkey Gravy

PRINT RECIPE

I hate messing with the roasting pan over the stove just before you are supposed to be getting all the Thanksgiving goodies to the table.  Scraping and whisking with no choice but to leave that mess of a pan in your sink to be dealt with later.

So I skip that step

Brined & Butterflied Turkey

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches it’s time to prep the bird.  My bird is not a display piece and will need to be carved in the kitchen.  But if you want a turkey that will cook up evenly in about an hour and a half with juice dripping out of the breast meat as you cut into it, this is the recipe for you.  On the other hand if you are looking for a display turkey to carve at the table, move on to another recipe, this one’s not for you.

Custard Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

This is a basic bread pudding recipe that has a moist custardy texture that melts in your mouth. The custard mixture has a clean sweetness that could easily be fancied up by tossing in raisins, chopped green apples, blueberries or any combination of fruits or nuts.

Feather Rolls for Dave

Today I received a disheartened email from my friend Dave who had a disaster story about his attempt with my feather roll recipe. The first thing that came to my mind was that I wished I lived closer to him so I could pop in and give him a quick personal tutoring on baking these rolls.

That wasn’t possible. So I pulled up my blog on feather rolls to reference and to make sure the measurements were correct. Then I armed my husband with the camera thinking that a picture is worth a thousand words and started mixing and measuring.

Feather Rolls

PRINT RECIPE

I’m not sure where this recipe originated.  I got it years ago from my friend Karen.  Maybe this little note on it will refresh someone’s memory, “A Sunday dinner standby during the ‘30’s, these no-knead pan rolls made with mashed potatoes are as light as feathers.  If you know the original source please share it with me.

Mashed Potatoes

PRINT RECIPE

Do you really need a recipe for mashed potatoes?  The Barefoot Contessa has a deliciously rich mashed potato recipe in her Family Style cookbook that got wonderful reviews.  But as I said earlier...is a recipe truly necessary?