Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pecan Bread

 

It was a cold, rainy morning-- a great baking day and pumpkin was on the menu.  There are so many pumpkin bread recipes out there.  I chose this one because of the addition of cream cheese.  I thought the result would be like a rich, decadent bread with a dense, moist crumb.  It wasn't to be.  Part of that might have been my fault with the addition of whole wheat flour, but really I think it was just a waste of cream cheese.  

In addition to the whole wheat flour, I reduced the sugar slightly and made an adjustment to the salt to account for salted butter.  I also added a touch of coffee, which gives a little more depth to the flavor.  Here's what I used:

1¼ 1 cup granulated sugar 

4 ounces cream cheese, softened 

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 eggs

1/2 of a 15-oz. can pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1¾ 1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/16 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom and 1/2-inch up the sides of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat sugar, cream cheese, and butter until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. On low speed, beat in pumpkin and instant coffee. Sift together 1/2 cup flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices; add to pumpkin mixture and beat until just combined. Beat in remaining flour in two additions, just until moistened. Stir in nuts. Spoon batter into the prepared pan and bake 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Using a narrow metal spatula, loosen sides of bread from pans; remove and cool completely on wire rack.

I was pretty disappointed in this when it first came out.  It was dry, not particularly flavorful, and extremely delicate.  Not the moist pumpkin richness I was hoping for.  It's a good thing I waited to write the post until I'd had it for several days, because it definitely improved.  While it never got any body to it, it did become a lot more moist.  Warmed and slathered with salted butter, it was okay.

Conclusion:  As I mentioned, there are a lot of pumpkin bread recipes out there.  No need to try this one again.

Recipe:  Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pecan Bread via America's Favorite Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I don't know why these little cakes are called whoopie pies.  Maybe for the same reason cow patt---   Never mind.  Anyway, whatever they're called, I love them.  Perfect little individual cakes for when you want a treat.

I made these for a Halloween party and they were a big hit.  The only real change I made was to substitute a little whole wheat flour in for the white and an adjustment for salted butter.  For 12 cakes, here's what I used:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 1/4 teaspoon salt

1⅔ 1⅓ cups flour

⅓ cup white whole wheat flour

 

Filling

4 ounces cream cheese, chilled

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 cup powdered sugar

A few pinches salt

Heat oven to 350.° Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a standing mixer with whisk attachment, mix together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add eggs, pumpkin puree, spices, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a spatula, fold in the flour. Using an ice cream-style batter scoop, drop batter by heaping tablespoons, 12 to a sheet and evenly spaced. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. 

 

For the filling, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add syrup, sugar, salt, and vanilla (see discussion below); mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

  

I was irritated to find there were some errors in the recipe.  For one, the ingredients called for maple syrup in the filling, but the directions mention vanilla.  So then you have to wonder whether they'd swapped maple syrup in place of vanilla in a standard recipe and forgot to remove it from the directions, or if they'd simply forgotten to include the vanilla in the ingredient list.  It's really up to you whether you want to include it or not; I did not.  

The bigger irritation was that the directions called for using an ice cream scoop with "generous" scoops-- that would give you about four giant cakes.  I initially followed their directions, but of course ran out of batter immediately and then had to start redistributing the batter to get the right number of cakes.  But because the batter contains baking soda, it had started to rise immediately and I deflated some of those air bubbles while I was redistributing the batter.  I don't know what they were thinking. I modified the directions to use the appropriate amount of batter per placement.

Conclusion:  These were delicious!  Very rich and perhaps a bit sweet.  I would be inclined to slightly reduce the sugar in the cake part.  They don't keep too well as the filling soaks into the cake, but that also made them easier to eat-- the cake doesn't squish the filling out with each bite.  And they probably freeze okay. 

Recipe:  Pumpkin Whoopie Pies via PBS Food

Cream cheese walnut scones

 Comfort food for a lazy morning.  But to keep things sensible, I halved the original recipe.

For four scones, here's what I used:

    1½ 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
    3/4 cup (minus 1 heaping tablespoon) white whole wheat flour
    1 heaping tablespoon coffee flour
    3/4 teaspoon baking powder
    1/4 teaspoon baking soda
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    2 tablespoons granulated sugar
    4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
    2½ ounces cream cheese, chilled and cut into small pieces
    1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk, chilled
    1/2 large egg, cold
    1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting
    1½ ounces cream cheese, softened
    1/2 cup powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
    1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    1/2 to 1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet.  (Tip:  Chill the bowl and any utensils you will be using in the refrigerator before making the scones.)  In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and sugar; whisk together to mix.  With a pastry blender or two knives, cut chilled butter and chilled cream cheese into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  In a small bowl, stir the chilled buttermilk and cold egg together.  Add the liquid mixture and walnuts to the flour mixture; stir just until mixed.  The dough will be stiff and slightly sticky.  If necessary, turn the mixture onto a lightly floured board and knead gently until the flour is combined.  Do not over-knead as this will make a tougher scone.  On a lightly floured surface, shape and pat the dough into a circle or rectangle about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut into wedges, squares or circles with a floured knife and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.  (Tip:  dip the edges of the cutter in flour to prevent the dough from sticking.  Do not pat the edges of the scone down; instead leave the cuts as sharp as possible to allow the scones to rise in layers.)  Bake 12 to 20 minutes or until the scones are lightly browned (depending on the size of your scones).  A good check is to use an instant digital thermometer to test your scones.  The temperature of the scones should be at 200 degrees F. when done.  Remove scones from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.

I used half whole wheat flour and some coffee flour, which should have sucked up more moisture, and yet the dough was pretty wet.  They weren’t going to be “flaky”.  Then I baked them 10 minutes too long, but surprisingly they were fine.  I guess because they were too wet.

I was undecided on the cinnamon, whether to add it or not.  There's something to be said for not flavoring everything and just letting the basic ingredients shine.  They were fine with it, and I'm sure they'd be fine without, perhaps with a more prominent walnut flavor.

Conclusion:  These were delicious, but they were more like muffins. They were almost like little iced cakes, but not that sweet.

Recipe:   Frosted Cream Cheese Walnut Scones via What's Cooking America

Buttermilk almond muffins

I disliked almond flavoring as a child, finding it bitter and odd tasting.  Somewhere down the road, though, I came to love it.  I think my detection for bitter has decreased with age, and now I associate almond flavoring with rich pastries, often filled with sweetened cream cheese.  Delicious!

Almond muffins used to be quite prevalent, usually paired with lemon, occasionally poppy seed (I prefer the latter), but they seem to have fallen out of fashion, as things go.  I came across this recipe in my collection while searching for a way to use up leftover buttermilk.  The original recipe included lemon zest and curd, but I left them out and instead increased the almond flavoring.  I meant to add poppy seeds, but forgot.  It was supposed to make a dozen muffins; I cut the recipe in half, but got only 5 muffins out of it.

Here's what I used:

1/2+1/6* cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/6* cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3/8 cup sliced, toasted almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a muffin tin or line with cupcake liners.  Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl lightly beat the eggs, buttermilk, butter, zest and almond extract; pour over the flour mixture and stir until just blended.  Divide the batter into the muffin pan cups. Top each cup with about 1 tablespoon each of the lemon curd and the almonds. Bake 15 – 20 minutes, or until tops are just turning golden and are firm to the touch.  Cool the muffins for 10 minutes before turning out and serving.

*1/6 cup = 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons

I like a high, domed top on a muffin, preferably cracked.  When I was filling the muffin cups, I quickly realized that the batter was going to yield 6 small, short muffins, so I filled the cups all the way and made 5.  Despite that, and what I think was excess baking soda, I did not get the nice tall tops as shown on the recipe source.

I questioned the use of 2 whole eggs in a dozen muffins; I found these too eggy.  I felt they also suffered from too much liquid, at least I think that was the problem.  (And I even think I slightly shorted the buttermilk amount.)  They were light, but a bit spongy-- I didn't care for the texture, and it didn't improve over time.  They did, however, have a very nice crispy exterior, although it lasted only while they were fresh.  There was a tad too much salt-- try unsalted butter-- and I could taste the baking soda. 

Conclusion:  Not the worst muffin I've ever made, but I'm not a fan.  Did I make an error in measuring?  Everything about these seemed a bit off, but I was extra careful while making them (because MORNING), so I find it unlikely.  (Although looking back, I think I used only 1/2 cup buttermilk, without the extra 2 tablespoons.)  Maybe my baking powder too old.  Anyway, I didn't like the texture, and the taste wasn't well balanced.  I guess the recipe was dependent on a strong lemon appearance and when I removed that, I lost the star.  (I see the recipe has since been removed from their web site, so perhaps it wasn't very good to start with.)

Recipe:  "Buttermilk Almond Muffins" via Go Bold with Butter

Mixed pepper tart with gougère crust

I really didn't know what I was in for with this recipe.  A cheesy choux pastry turned into a tart crust and topped with vegetables?  It's a bit intimidating going into a recipe with no idea what the outcome should be, not even a photo.  On the other hand, it's liberating not having any expectations-- it eliminates disappointment.  So did I make the recipe correctly?  I have no idea.  But did I like the outcome?  You bet.

I made the recipe without any significant changes.  The only issue I had was with the pan-- I didn't have an 11" tart pan, so I used an 11" cake pan, which was considerably deeper than a tart pan and might have affected how it baked up.  Also, it was black.  Fearing it would over brown the tart, I covered it in aluminum foil.

Here's what I used:

3 medium red, yellow, and/or green sweet peppers, sliced

1/2 of a red onion, sliced 

1 clove garlic, minced 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 cup milk 

5 tablespoons butter, cut up (unsalted)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour 

4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled 

4 eggs 

1 oz. blue cheese, crumbled (1/4 cup) 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom; set aside. In a large skillet cook peppers, onion, and garlic in hot oil over medium heat until tender. Stir in basil and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.

In a small saucepan combine milk, butter, salt, and pepper.  Bring to boiling, then remove from heat and, using a wooden spoon, vigorously beat in flour.  Reduce heat and return saucepan to heat.  Stir for 2 minutes.  Transfer dough mixture to a large bowl and add the 4 ounces of blue cheese.  (The large bowl is necessary because bits of dough go flying, and also so the batter isn't too deep, otherwise it climbs up the beaters.)  Using a hand mixer, beat on high speed for 2 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed after each addition, until each egg is fully incorporated.

Spread dough evenly in the prepared pan.  Bake 10 minutes.  Spread vegetable mixture over dough.  Bake 40 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.  Sprinkle remaining blue cheese over tart before serving.

I didn't have fresh rosemary, so I used dried (1 teaspoon), but that wasn't very nice.  I should have added it early into the peppers so it could absorb some moisture and soften, but I added it at the end, as directed.  It ended up as sharp little sticks and probably didn't add much flavor.  

With all the cheese, I was concerned about its being too salty, so I used unsalted butter, but then added 1/4 teaspoon of salt.  This was a little too salty for a sizable serving, but adequate for a side serving.  Ultimately, you can add salt as desired, or use salted butter.  Generally, I like something salty with something bland, so either a salty crust and bland topping, or salty topping and bland crust.

The dough didn't rise much, which actually didn't surprised me.  I'm not sure why it's baked first for 10 minutes, but I suspect it's to firm the surface a bit.  After 10 minutes, my batter was still wet in the middle.  (This might have been due to using a deeper pan.)  I contemplated leaving it in long enough to dry the surface, but plodded ahead as directed and dumped the peppers on the raw batter.  In the end, I baked it about 15 - 20 minutes longer than called for; it didn't even show the slightest hope of rising until after 45 minutes.  I don't know that the batter would have risen much anyway under the weight of the peppers.  The end result was a moist and soft but firm crust, sort of like cold polenta.  It cut easily with a fork and held up to a stab, but not a slice you could pick up with your hands.

Conclusion:  This was a happy surprise, much like a cheesy vegetable pizza with a soft, supple crust.  It wasn't too rich, which I'd been concerned about.  With a green salad, it would make a nice light lunch.  Other soft vegetables, such as mushrooms, would be a good addition.

Recipe:  "Mixed Peppers in a Gougère Crust" via Better Homes and Gardens magazine, September 2010
(Also see this recipe for a gougère tart.) 

Mieliepap (cornmeal) with eggs, turkey bacon, and cheese

Mieliepap is a South African breakfast dish of cooked cornmeal.  If I had a category for comfort food, this would definitely be in it.  It's warm and soft, a little sweet and a little savory.  And there's cheese and salty, smoked meat.  I served it drizzled with maple syrup.  Reading through the recipe, I thought it was going to be a rich, heavy, meal-in-a-bowl, and probably too greasy; it was nothing of the kind.  I hadn't anticipated the cornmeal would expand so much, turning the bacon and cheese into mild flavorings rather than substantial meal components.  In fact, I initially left the cheese out, but when I saw what a small proportion of cheese there was relative to cornmeal, I added it in.

The Joe Pastry web site has two entries for this recipe:  one with just the recipe (and some photos), and another that walks you through the steps, including photos along the way.  I followed just the recipe, since it seemed so simple, and was baffled why I didn't get the same results.  Then I found the step-by-step and could see the difference.  (I also think there might have been a little cheating with quantities to make the dish appear richer than it is-- more bacon, more cheese.)

I don't do pork, so I substituted smoked turkey leg.  I accidentally left out the baking soda.  I've modified the directions slightly to be more helpful and to simplify.  If you want this for breakfast, I recommend making the cornmeal mixture the night before, as it takes quite a while to cool if using a full cup.  Here's what I used:

1 cup cornmeal*
3/4 cup milk
2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 1 cup chopped slab bacon smoked turkey leg

2 eggs lightly beaten
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

maple syrup, for drizzling (optional) 

In a saucepan, combine the cornmeal, milk, buttermilk, butter, (sugar-- see below), honey, and salt, and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes until the mixture has thickened (like hot cereal); allow to cool enough so it won't cook the eggs. Meanwhile, slice the turkey meat thinly, then fry in some oil until lightly crisp; reserve half and fry the remainder to your liking.

 

Using the measuring cup used for the dairy, lightly beat the eggs, then add them to the cornmeal mixture along with the soda, the fully-crisped turkey, and half the cheese; stir to combine. Lightly butter an 8" cast iron skillet or an 8″ x 8″ pan. Spoon in the batter and bake at 375 for 20 minutes; remove from the oven and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and reserved turkey bits. Bake another 10-15 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Scoop into bowls and drizzle with maple syrup.

Lots of issues with this recipe.  The first is that sugar is called for in the directions, but there is none listed in the ingredients.  It's probably 1-2 tablespoons, depending on your taste.  It's very mildly sweet with just the honey and no added sugar, and since I added syrup when serving, I was happy with the results.

*Pan size and baking times are cautionary: I feel confident there is an error in the amount of cornmeal-- it should probably be more like 1/2 cup. It's not fatal, but it has an impact. I thought I was making a meal, and what I got was really a tasty but very starchy, high glycemic, low nutrient side dish. Where to start? Well, the first clue was that he has you heat your oven at the start, but the cornmeal took at least 30 minutes to cool (maybe more like 45) and there's no need to be running an empty oven that long. Less cornmeal would have cooled faster. The next clue was that my cornmeal cooked up to be very thick, and continued to thicken into a solid mass as it cooled. His photos show a hot slurry and a cooled porridge. (He even states that this dish is like a cooked porridge or custard-- mine certainly was not.) My mixture was so thick, I don't think baking soda was going to add any lift to it, so it's just as well I left it out. His photos show a substantially higher percentage of mix-ins; mine were fairly sparse.  But the biggest affect was on baking time. Had I used an 8" skillet, it would have been filled to the very top, but his photos show the mixture coming up only about half way. I used an 8" x 3" casserole dish and filled it to about an inch from the top (whereas my skillet is only 1.75" deep.) This affected heating and evaporation and lengthened the cooking time. Even after an extra 30 minutes in the oven, I still wasn't getting a clean knife, but the cheese and crust had become very brown. I really only needed the egg to be cooked and it was certainly hot enough for that, so I took it out. The result was soft and scoopable while hot, but became very firm once cool. What I essentially ended up with was scrapple, which is fine, just not what I was expecting.

 

Because of how long it took for the pan of cornmeal to cool (yes, I could have spread it out on a sheet pan, but then that's more to wash, and there are already too many pans for this simple recipe) and then the extended baking time, this wasn't out of the oven until at least 2 hours after I'd started. That's too long to wait for breakfast! Especially when you're holding off drinking your coffee so you can have it with your meal. By the time I ate, I was so hungry I ate too much of it, and then felt guilty, and thus was forced to eat cabbage salad as the only other meal of the day, with a protein shake for dessert. "Yum", she says sarcastically.

If you want a warm dish of comfort, this is it. If you want a dish with more substance, reduce the cornmeal (or increase the mix-ins.) If you don't care what it looks like, you could probably cook the whole thing in one pan on the stove on low heat, stirring occasionally. Cooked grains are pretty forgiving-- you can mess with them to make them however you like. Use more liquid if you want it softer. Like scrapple, I've sliced my leftovers and am going to fry them up in a pan to heat and crisp.

Conclusion:  This had a surprising tartness, I guess from the buttermilk, that I didn't care for, although sourdough fans might love it.  (Perhaps the baking soda was included to temper that tartness.)  It was still good, but not something I'm likely to make again as is. I'm not diabetic, but I don't want to be either. Cornmeal has a very high glycemic index and it throws off my blood sugar, not really filling me up and leaving me hungry a short time later despite being high in calories. This would be great at brunch served on the side with a good protein and a salad.  Alternatively, if it truly were more like a baked cornmeal custard, that sounds delicious and a little more balanced.

Recipe:   Mieliepap (recipe) and Making Mieliepap (guidance) via Joe Pastry (MIA)

Spiced Rye Ginger Cookies

I'm not sure why I keep trying different ginger cookies-- it's not like I'm a huge fan of ginger, or even spice desserts for that matter.  I think I'm looking for a hearty breakfast cookie-- something not too sweet, that I can sink my teeth into, dip into my coffee, and not feel guilty about.  (This Breakfast Cookie didn't work out so well.)  To me, the basis for that is in whole grains for nutrition and character, and spices for flavor.  (My imaginary recipe would also keep well for days, long enough for me to work my way through them.)  So I was intrigued by the use of rye flour here.  I thought it would give the cookies some substance.  I'm sure it did, but I don't know if you'd be able to identify the rye without being told it was there, even though I used dark rye rather than medium.  The only other change I made was to roll them in Sucanat, which is unrefined, natural cane sugar.  It has a dry, dark brown grain with a soft crunch rather than hard crystals.  It's producing the grainy texture you see in the photo.

Here is the original recipe:

    2 cups (212g) medium rye flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon table salt
    2 teaspoons ginger
    3/4 teaspoon black pepper
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/2 teaspoon cardamom
    3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
    1/2 cup (99g) vegetable oil
    1 large egg
    1/4 cup (85g) molasses
    1/3 cup (76g) coarse sparkling sugar or 1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
    chopped crystalized ginger for topping (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using either a hand whisk, an electric mixer, or a stand mixer, whisk the sugar and oil until combined. Add the egg and whisk until smooth. Stir in the molasses. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and stir until well combined. Use a spoon (or a tablespoon cookie scoop) to portion 1 1/4" balls of dough. Roll the dough balls in granulated or sparkling sugar to coat before placing onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave 2" between them on all sides; they'll spread as they bake. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until they're puffed and their edges are set. Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool completely right on the pan.

A keen eye will detect that I had a little trouble with these.  It looks like my oven might have been a bit too hot, causing them to rise and firm rather than melt into flat puddles like the King Arthur examples, with "bendy centers" as they called them.  The bigger issue was that I didn't know what they meant by the edges being "set".  When I first tested them, the edges were no longer shiny, but still quite soft.  By the time they were what I consider "set" (slightly resistant to a poke), they were overdone, and even slightly burnt on the bottom.  (I didn't bake them that much longer!)  I probably should have taken them out about 30 seconds after my first test.  Oh well.  That's how the cookie crumbles.

Conclusion:  These tasted a lot like ginger snaps, but with a mild burnt sugar flavor because of being over baked, which wasn't necessarily unpleasant. They were quite hard and crunchy, which is not how they were supposed to turn out. I enjoyed them well enough dipped in hot coffee, but they weren't anything special 

Recipe:  Spiced Rye Ginger Cookies via King Arthur Baking