Gâteau Basque with Brandied Cherries

Gâteau Basque with Brandied Cherries from Food and Wine Magazine.  I'm not going to copy the recipe over, because I followed it exactly.  I became interested in Basque cooking after visiting Epi's Basque Restaurant in Boise, Idaho. This is a very mildly flavored gâteau filled with nuts and butter. It was popular with some people who tried it at my home, but not so much with others. Just to clarify, this recipe is not from Epi's.

The Food and People at Epi's are Wonderful!

Sandkuchen

 This recipe is a German pound cake recipe that a coworker of mine (Annie) gave to me after bringing the cake to a work party.  I'm printing the recipe below exactly as she gave it, which was wonderful.  When I made it I had to make due with what I had in the fridge.  I replaced the margarine with butter and used real rum and lemon extract. I baked it in a bundt pan instead of springform pan or bread pans.  The result was delicious.


SANDKUCHEN:
1/2 lb margarine, softened

1/4 lb butter, softened

1 lb powdered sugar

6 eggs

1 1/3 C flour (measure before sifting)

1 1/3 C corn starch (measure before sifting)

1/2 tsp salt

1 T rum extract
juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together margarine, butter, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Add eggs alternately with flour/corn starch mixture. Beat well. Add salt, rum extract, and lemon juice. Beat well. Pour into greased and floured 9" springform pan or 2 bread pans. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Dust top with powdered sugar, if desired.

Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars

Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars

Source: Culinary in the Desert

For the bars

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour


1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda


1/2 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


1/4 teaspoon ground ginger


1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg


1/8 teaspoon ground cloves


16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened


1 1/2 cups granulated sugar


1/4 cup molasses


1/3 cup rolled quick oats

For the filling

6 ounces cream cheese, softened


1 3/4 cups mashed pumpkin


1/2 cup granulated sugar


1 teaspoon vanilla


1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


1/4 teaspoon ground ginger


1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg


1/8 teaspoon ground cloves


2 large eggs

For the drizzle

1 cup confectioners’ sugar


1 tablespoon butter, softened


1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1

 to 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350

To make the bars

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and molasses until creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture and place in a small bowl. Scoop the remaining mixture into a 10″ x 15″ baking pan lightly coated with nonstick spray.

Add the oats to the reserved mixture and mix until combined – set aside.

To make the filling

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves – mix until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined. Scoop the mixture over the uncooked base and use an off-set spatula to evenly spread the mixture over the top. Crumble reserved oat mixture over filling.

Bake until the topping is a golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the drizzle

In a small bowl, mix together confectioners’ sugar, butter and vanilla. Mix in just enough milk until the mixture will easily flow from a spoon – drizzle over cooled bars.

Whole Grain Pumpkin-Banana Bread

 

Whole Grain Pumpkin-Banana Bread

Recipe found here

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) soft butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup puréed pumpkin
• 1 cup mashed banana, the riper the better
• 2 tablespoons orange juice or water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup diced pecans, toasted

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.

2) In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, honey, eggs, pumpkin, banana, orange juice or water. and vanilla.

3) Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, stirring to combine.

4) Mix in the nuts, if you're using them.

5) Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with Praline Pumpkin Seed Crunch or coarse white sparkling sugar, if desired. Allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes, uncovered.

6) Bake the bread for 55 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean; and that same tester inserted about 1/2" into the top of the loaf doesn't encounter any totally unbaked batter.

7) Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. When it's completely cool, wrap it well in plastic wrap, and store it overnight before serving.

Yield: 1 loaf.

Pumpkin Rice Pudding

 Pumpkin Rice Pudding
Adapted from this recipe

2 cups water
1 cup arborio rice
3 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Bring the water to a boil in an ovenproof 4-quart saucepan. Stir in the rice and cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is nearly cooked, about 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

While the rice is still hot, add the pumpkin mixture to the saucepan and stir well to combine. Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake until the liquid has reduced by about a third and the mixture is foamy and bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir well to combine all the ingredients. Transfer to a large bowl, then cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight. The pudding will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Triple Nut-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mmmm.  Just the right texture.  I love these cookies!  They are adapted from an old recipe in a handwritten file of recipe cards from various people who gave me recipes 25 years ago on my wedding day.  I don't know where this recipe originated, but this is the first time I've used it in many years. Delicious.

Triple Nut-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups flour 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar 
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 
1 cup butter, softened 
3 large eggs 
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup natural cashew butter
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix dry ingredients and set aside. On medium speed, in large bowl, blend sugars. Add butter, mix till grainy consistency. Add eggs, nut butters and vanilla extract. Beat till fluffy. On low speed, add flour mixture until barely mixed into butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonsful, 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Use a wet or flour coated fork to gently press a crisscross pattern on top of each cookie. Bake until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned, approximately 10-12 minutes or until done. Don't overcook. Remove to cool on a flat surface.

Praline Bundt Cake

This cake is a wonderful texture with sour cream and cream cheese in the batter.  It's so delicious that I think I might make it again for a party I'm going to next week. You want to pour the icing on while it's still hot so that it isn't too thick. The sugared nuts add a lot of whimsy to the cake and the leftover nuts make an awesome snack.

The recipe can be found here with links to the icing and sugared nut recipes. Alterations: I used cake flour and cake enhancer and unsalted butter. I also used a cup less nuts in the sugared nut recipe and cooked the nuts at a lower temperature for longer. I cooked the cake at a higher temperature for shorter and made some adjustments for high elevation.