PUMPKIN SPICE & CHOCOLATES FRENCH SILK PIE

Crust:

1 (16 oz.) package gingersnap cookies put through a food processor

½ cup butter, melted

Or

A pillsbury packaged crust baked as directed.

Dark Chocolate Filling:

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut into pieces

¾ cup butter, softened (do not use margarine)

1 cup baker’s extra fine sugar (if available)

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup refrigerated fat free egg product

White Chocolate Filling:

3 oz. white chocolate cut in pieces

¾ cup baker’s extra fine sugar (if available)

¾ cup butter (do not use margarine)

1/3 cup egg product

Pumpkin Spice Filling:

½ of the white chocolate mixture

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

Directions:

Put the gingersnap cookies through a food processor to make crumbles.  Melt butter.  Pour the cookie crumbs into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.  Add the butter and stir well.  Press the moist crumbs into a crust in the pan.  Use your hands if necessary.

Dark Chocolate Filling: Melt chocolate in small saucepan over low heat; COOL TO ROOM TEMPERATURE.  In small bowl, beat ¾ cup butter until fluffy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy..  Add cooled chocolate and vanilla; blend well.  Add egg product to the dark chocolate mixture, ¼ cup of egg product at a time, beating at high speed 2 minutes after each addition.  Beat until mixture is smooth and fluffy.  Pour into the crust (if using a pastry shell, make sure it has cooled.)

White Chocolate Filling:  Melt  white chocolate in small saucepan over low heat; COOL TO ROOM TEMPERATURE.  In small bowl, beat ¾ cup butter until fluffy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add cooled white chocolate and blend well.  Add egg product to the white chocolate mixture, a little at a time, beating at high speed 2 minutes after each addition.  Beat until mixture is smooth and fluffy.  Separate into two even parts.

Pumpkin Spice Filling:  Take one part of the white chocolate filling and add the pumpkin and the pumpkin pie spice.  Mix well.

With a teaspoon, drop dollops of white chocolate mixture and the pumpkin spice mixture in a circular pattern on top of the chocolate filling.  Using a knife, spiral the white chocolate and pumpkin mixture through the chocolate filling.  Then, using a flat spatula, smooth the top over.  Then, drop a few more smaller dollops and drizzles of the pumpkin spice and the vanilla mixtures and using the spatula, make shallow swirls with the white chocolate and pumpkin mixtues in the chocolate.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.  Top with whipped cream and sprinkles.  Store in refrigerator.  Pie may also be frozen for an extra firm filling.  Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving.

PUMPKIN APPLE CRISP

Baked

Slow Cooker

Ingredients:	Doubling Quantities:
Apple Filling	Apple Filling
4 medium large apples (I used Honey Crisp), peeled, cored, chopped	8 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped
½ (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree	1 (15 oz.)can pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons lemon juice	4 Tablespoons lemon juice
A splash of vanilla	1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ½  tablespoons tapioca flour	7 tablespoons tapioca flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon	1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice	1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice
1/8 – ¼  cup white sugar	¼ cup white sugar
3 teaspoons caramel	6 teaspoons caramel
Streusel/Crisp Topping	Streusel/Crisp Topping
¼  cup flour	½  cup flour
½  cup spice cake mix or caramel apple cake mix	1 cup spice cake mix or caramel apple cake mix
½  cup quick oats	1 cup quick oats
¼ - 1/3 cup white sugar	1/3 cup white sugar
¼ - 1/3 cup brown sugar	1/3 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon	1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg	1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch salt	2 pinches salt
Approx. ½ cup butter, cut into little cubes	14 tablespoons butter (2 tablespoons less than 2 full cubes)
½  cup chopped pecans	1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. * or line a slow cooker with Reynold’s slow cooker liners.

Pour the lemon juice into a large bowl.  Peel, core and chop each apple individually, stirring them into the lemon juice (to keep them from browning).  Add the pumpkin, tapioca flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and sugar.  Stir into the apples.  Place pumpkin apple mixture in a 9X9 baking dish (or a 13X9 if you are making a double batch)  Meanwhile, prepare the streusel topping.

Combine the flour, cake mix, quick oats, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Stir.  Add the butter a little at a time and use a pastry blender or a fork to cut into coarse crumbs.  Stir in the chopped pecans.  Pour over the apple pumpkin mixture.  Put a large baking sheet under your baking pan.  The filling will bubble up and spill over.  Place in the preheated oven bake for 60-70 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla or butter pecan ice cream.

*if using a slow cooker, cook on high for 2 hours.  For the last hour of cooking, remove the lid part of the way to help It crisp.  (It does not crisp as well in the slow cooker)

Ingredients

Apples

Pumpkin and Apples

Apples, Pumpkin and filling ingredients

Apple/Pumpkin Mixture

Apple Pumpkin Mixture in Crock Pot

Crumb Topping

Ready to Cook in Crock Pot

Letting it Crisp

Double Batch Ready to Bake

Apple Pumpkin Mixture Double Batch

Just Out of the Oven

Baked

WHITE CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN SPICE CHEESECAKE

Crust: 
12 oz. crushed gingersnap cookies (using a food processor ) (or just crush them by putting them in a ziplock bag and using a rolling pin to crush them.)
½ cup butter, melted
Filling:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/8 cup cold water

¼ cup boiling water

½ cup sugar, I use extra fine baker’s sugar
1 (8 oz package) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
9 oz. white chocolate baking bar, melted (divided)
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
½  teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder, or vanilla paste

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin Pie Swirl:

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/8 cup Extra Fine Baker’s Sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder, or vanilla paste

3 oz. white chocolate (take 3 oz. of the melted white chocolate from the filling white chocolate)

4 Tablespoons Filling Mixture

Whipping cream, pumpkin pie spice for garnish (optional Mexican Cinnamon Chocolate Shavings and Pumpkin Spice M&Ms)

Directions:

In small bowl, combine crust ingredients; mix well.  Press in bottom of 8-inch springform pan.  Set aside

In small saucepan, pour gelatin over cold water; let stand 1 minute.  Add boiling water and sugar; stir over medium heat until mixture is hot and gelatin and sugar are dissolved.

In a small bowl Combine pumpkin puree, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Set aside.

In a heavy saucepan or double boiler, melt white chocolate on low heat, stirring constantly until it is almost completely melted.  Remove from heat and continue stirring.  It will finish melting as you stir it.

Add 3 oz. of the melted white chocolate to the pumpkin mixture.  Mix well and set aside.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream until creamy.  Gradually add  the remaining 6 oz. of the melted baking bar, gelatin mixture , whipping cream, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Remove 4 Tablespoons of the filling mixture and add to the pumpkin mixture.  Pour into crust lined pan. 

Mix the filling mixture into the pumpkin mixture.  Mix well.

Spoon about 7 - 8 teaspoons full of the pumpkin mixture onto the top of the cheesecake in a circular pattern.  Using a knife in a circular motion, gently swirl the pumpkin mixture into the cheesecake.

Cover; refrigerate 8 hours or until firm. 

Just before serving, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake.  Carefully remove sides of pan. Garnish with whipping cream and shake some pumpkin pie spice on the whipping cream.   If desired add some Mexican Cinnamon Chocolate shavings and some pumpkin Spice M&Ms for garnish. Store in refrigerator.  

Ingredients

Gingersnap Cookie Crumbs

Cookie Crumbs in Springform Pan

Adding Melted Butter to Crumbs

Crust

Pumpkin and Spice

Melting White Chocolate

Melted White Chocolate

Gelatin Mixture

Adding White Chocolate, Gelatin Mixture and Vanilla to Cream Cheese Mixture

Adding Whipping Cream

Adding White Chocolate and Filling Mixture to Pumpkin Spice Mixture

Filling Mixture

Filling

Dollops of Pumpkin Spice Mixture

Swirling Pumpkin Spice Mixture in circular motions

Continuing to Swirl

Ready to Chill and Set

Set

Whipping Cream Garnish

Whipping Cream and Mexican Cinnamon Chocolate Garnish

Pumpkin Spice M&M's added

Slice Out

SLOW COOKER CARAMEL APPLE CRISP

Add caption

Loosely adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/slow-cooker-apple-crisp/detail.aspx

Ingredients:

Apple Filling

4 medium large apples (I used Pink Lady), peeled, cored, chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

A splash of vanilla

1 tablespoon corn starch

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/8 – ¼  cup white sugar

3 teaspoons caramel

Streusel/Crisp Topping

½ cup flour (I used white whole wheat)

½ cup quick oats

¼ - 1/3 cup white sugar

¼ - 1/3 cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pinch salt

½ cup butter, cut into little cubes

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Line a slow cooker with a slow cooker liner (it is like a plastic bag).

Pour the lemon juice into a large bowl.  Peel, core and chop each apple individually, stirring them into the lemon juice (to keep them from browning).  Add the cornstarch, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, sugar and caramel.  Stir into the apples.  Place in the lined crock pot and turn on high.  Place the lid on the slow cooker  Meanwhile, prepare the streusel topping.

Combine the flour, quick oats, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Stir.  Add the butter a little at a time and use a pastry blender or a fork to cut into coarse crumbs.  Stir in the chopped pecans.  Pour into the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 hours or on LOW for 4 hours.  Partially uncover for an hour just before serving to let the top get crisp.  Serve with vanilla or butter pecan ice cream.

Ingredients, minus apples

Pink Lady Apples

Chopped Apples

Apples with Spices

Streusel  Topping, before pastry blender

Streusel without nuts

Streusel with nuts

Ready to Cook

Ready to Eat

Just Sreusel

Streusel and Ice Cream

With Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce