Merry Christmas to Me (Early)

I took advantage of the weekend sales to get a new stove. My old stove was 28 years old and had served me well. It still looked almost new as I had taken very good care of it, but the oven was starting to have holes in it and not being a reliable temperature. So now I have a new one to do my Christmas baking. Nothing fancy schmancy about it, it doesn't do any amazing tricks (that's my part with good recipes!).

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Cheesecake

We had a wonderful feast on Thanksgiving at my son and daughter-in-law's home. In addition to taking cornbread dressing and broccoli casserole, I made this pumpkin cheesecake. I saw Paula make this on her show and decided it was worth trying and as with all her recipes it is a keeper. There were no cracks in this cheesecake. It is very creamy.

PAULA DEEN'S PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:
1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick melted butter
(I also added about 1/4 cup of ground pecans)

In a medium bowl combine crumbs, sugar, cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press into a 9 inch springform pan that has been sprayed with Pam and press into bottom and up the sides. Set aside.

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin (not the pie filling)
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
(I just used 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice)
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar, and the spice. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined. Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Slide a knife around the edges and remove springform. Serve with whipped cream.

Treasure Cookies

I also made these cookies for the bake sale. As usual, my photographic skills are severely lacking. These cookies remind me of Magic Cookie Bars but rolled into a cookie.

CHOCOLATE CHIP TREASURE COOKIES

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 stick butter, softened
1-1/2 cups coconut
1 (12 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, flour & baking powder. In large mixer bowl, beat sweetened condensed milk & butter until smooth. Add graham cracker crumb mixture; mix well. Stir in coconut, chocolate chips & pecans. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes about 3 dozen.

Bake Sale

Our local Chamber of Commerce had a bake sale to support their scholarship program. I made a few things to donate. I made one of those pumpkin dump cakes in addition to some cookies and a pie. I didn't get a chance to take a picture, but here is the picture from Nestle's.

TOLL HOUSE PIE

1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell (I just used a frozen one)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup (6 oz.) Nestle's Toll House Semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell. Bake for 55-60 minutes. If you think the crust is getting to brown you can put foil on the edges.

Catching Up

It's been a while since I posted but I've made a few things over the past few weeks. I didn't get a picture of this, but I'm sure many have made this recipe.

My son's birthday was last weekend, on the 17th. This dessert is what he requests for his 'birthday cake'. It is a layered pudding dessert that I'm sure everyone has made in one form or another. It's a great pot luck dessert and is always very good. I have a friend who uses a brownie mix for the base instead of the pecan crust and that is also very good.

CHOCOLATE DELIGHT

For the crust:
1 cup flour
1 stick butter
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Melt butter, stir in flour and pecans. Pat into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees until very lightly browned. Watch closely as this can burn pretty quick. Cool crust completely.

Next layer:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8 oz. carton Cool Whip thawed

With a mixer blend softened cream cheese with powdered sugar, stir in Cool Whip. Spread onto cooled crust.

Next layer:
1 large package Jello instant pudding made according to package directions. You can use any flavor you like. I have made this with lemon, banana, chocolate, coconut, butterscotch. They are all good. Spread over cream cheese layer.

Next layer:
1 8 oz. Cool Whip thawed.

Spread this over pudding. If using chocolate you can sprinkle shaved chocolate or more pecans on top. If using banana you can add some dried banana chips. If using coconut, try sprinkling some toasted coconut on top. Just use your imagination.

Parking Lot Cookies

Our Customer Relations Committee at work is having a Cookie Fest/Bake Sale. I love having a reason to bake so I offered to make a recipe to donate. I decided to pick a recipe from the links below that are being circulated around via e-mail and being posted to blogs. Not sure why this cookie is called 'Parking Lot Cookie' though. It's a very crisp cookie, probably from the oatmeal and Rice Krispies.

PARKING LOT COOKIES

1 cup shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups Rice Krispies

1 cup pecans (I toasted mine)

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix shortening with sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix all the dry ingredients together and toss them into the wet mixture. Drop by scoops or tablespoon onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes until light brown. Makes 4 dozen cookies.