Posts made in October, 2024

• In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet. This will be a lot of dough; if an electric mixer was being used, it may be necessary to switch to stirring by hand.
• Use a food scale to divide the dough in half. Place one half back in the bowl. Remove a small handful, transferring that to the other portion. Add the mini chocolate chips to the bowl and stir to combine.
• Wrap each portion of dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Freeze if it needs to be baked beyond that time frame.
• Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Use a cookie scoop or spoon to portion out the dough. The chocolate chip kind will need to be compressed slightly to make it cohesive.
• Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until cookies are set and tinted golden. Set on a rack to cool, and then place in sealed containers at room temperature.

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Make the crust

• In a food processor, pulse together the flour, espresso powder, sugar, vinegar, and salt. Add the butter and pulse until everything forms pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons water and pulse the dough. If it comes together, great, but if not, add another tablespoon, pulse, then add another tablespoon if necessary. The dough should look crumbly but become cohesive when squeezed.
• Put dough on a strip of plastic wrap and pat into a disc shape. Encase in wrap and chill at least an hour, or a day or two.
• Sprinkle flour on a work surface then roll dough into a 12-inch round. Use the rolling pin to lift it onto a pie plate. Press into place, folding over extra at edges to crimp. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork. Cover with plastic wrap (such as the one just used to chill dough) and freeze for at least an hour, or overnight.
• Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line the crust with foil. Fill pie with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights–such as lifting them onto a rimmed baking pan to cool–and continue baking crust for 10 to 15 minutes, until it is golden all over. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Make the filling

• Whisk together heavy cream and espresso powder in a large bowl until the powder has dissolved. Add the pumpkin puree, white sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla paste and salt. Scrape the bottom a few times to incorporate everything.
• Pour filling into the cooled crust and smooth out the top. Bake until filling is set at edges but still slightly jiggly in center, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 3 hours.
• Store at room temperature, covered by foil. Slice and top with whipped topping. Pie is best eaten within 3 days.

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• Place cranberries and dates in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring often, until the berries pop. Remove pan from heat to stir in vanilla. Set aside.
• Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a mixing bowl, place flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour in butter and stir until it forms a crumbly mixture. Press about half into the prepared pan, compressing to form an even layer.
• Bake for 8 minutes. Pull pan from oven. Dollop cranberry-date mixture over top, gently spreading out to create a layer. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top. Put back in oven to bake for 20 to 25 minutes; the top should be golden brown with the crumbs set in the middle.
• Cool to room temperature, speeding the process in the fridge, if desired. Use foil to lift contents from pan onto a cutting board to slice into bars. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.

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• Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line 13×9 pan with wide aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, both sugars, and vanilla to create a smooth batter. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the flour mixture. Place about 2/3 of the batter in the pan and carefully spread into a base later using an uneven spatula. Spread cranberry sauce on top. Dollop remaining dough on top. Use a knife to swirl layers together.
• Bake until evenly golden brown and set in the middle, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely at room temperature or chill before cutting. Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board for easy slicing.
• Blondies keep for up to 3 days in a room temperature sealed container and can also be frozen.

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• Place all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir frequently as the contents warm through so that nothing sticks and burns. After 10-15 minutes, the cranberries will start to burst and the mixture will turn jammy. Cook another couple minutes as more berries break down. Remove from heat and cool before serving.
• Sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Serve with meats such as turkey and ham, or with ice cream or within a baked dessert.

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