Before I tell you about this pie, I first want to thank you all for your support and kind words. The comments on yesterday’s post made me feel warm-and-fuzzy-special which is a nice change from the short-bus-special I normally feel.

I never rode a short bus but I did ride a special bus in high school that took me out of district to the nerd school. Maybe that explains a lot.

Well, anyway… let’s not delve too deeply into my high school world right now. We have pumpkin pie to talk about.

I was obsessed with finding the perfect flaky crust last year. And I found it: use a little lard with your butter to get the bestest crust imaginable. Although, it is a little difficult to find leaf lard so I would understand if you wanted to skip it. I often do. I think if you make a homemade crust with just about any recipe, most people will love you for it.

But this year I decided to try something different. And easier. A cookie crust. A ginger snap cookie crust to be exact. I mean, hello? Ginger snaps and pumpkin… why haven’t I tried this sooner?

By the way, have you tried the triple ginger snaps from Trader Joe’s? They are too good. You cannot eat just one. I dare you to try.

Cookie crusts are almost too easy. Sure, you can buy them ready made, but why would you? I mean, imagine the possibilities. Any crisp cookie would do. You could even add in chopped nuts. (I secretly wonder if I could use Oreos. I mean the cream filling would just melt away, right? Or would it? Inquiring minds want to know. Well, I want to know anyway).

And another thing, while we are talking pumpkin pie… you make your own whipped cream, right? I mean, I don’t want to get all bossy about it, but if you don’t, you really should. And if you do, try giving it a kick with your favorite liquor. I added a splash of bourbon to use with this pie and it was insanely fantastically delicious.

I wonder if a splash of Grand Marnier would give whipped cream a creamsicle flavor?

Pumpkin Pie

adapted from Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything

Using a cookie crust gives this pie less depth than a regular flaky crust (since you can build up the edge of the flaky crust above the pie pan), so I found that the following recipe actually makes enough filling for 2 pies if you are using cookie crusts. My guess is that you might have leftover filling anyway with a flaky crust but just a little… unless of course you are using a deep dish pie pan.

* I reduced the sugar in the recipe by about 1/4 cup. If you prefer your pie sweeter, add an additional 1/4 cup of granulated sugar.

1 9-inch cookie crust (recipe follows)
2 cups pumpkin purée, fresh or canned
3 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 teaspoons pumpkin spice* (I used 2 teaspoons but think I would increase it next time because I like a little more spice)
2 cups half-n-half or whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Beat eggs and sugar. Add spices and salt.
3. Stir in the pumpkin and then the milk.
4. Pour this into your prepared crust(s)
5. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the custard is mostly set (the center may still be a little jiggly but the rest should be set).

* If you don’t have pumpkin spice, use:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Ginger snap cookie crust

adapted from Everyday Food, November 2010

I omitted the sugar in the crust as well because I thought the cookies had enough sugar already. We didn’t miss the extra sugar.

1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs (6 ounces or about 30-40 cookies)
optional – 3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Crush the cookies into crumbs: Either in a food processor or place cookies in a zip top bag and mash them with a rolling pin or frying pan.
3. In a bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and salt. Add the melted butter, stirring until well-distributed throughout the cookie crumbs.
4. Press the crumb-butter mixture into your pie pan. (I found pressing around the rim first and then into the center worked best for me)
5. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the crust is dry and set.
6. Fill and enjoy

That’s right, chocolate chip cookie dough on a stick. No baking required. Freeze it, dip it in chocolate, and then… Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!… Wow, are these things good.

It all started last week when I asked Dan’s oldest son (let’s call him L-Train) what sort of treat he’d like for his birthday. Initially, he really wanted a cheese calzone and since I’ve made calzones a few times before, I said “No problem.” But then he said: “I want a cheese calzone just like the school cafeteria makes them.”

Whatchu talkin’ ’bout Willis?

I apologetically informed L-Train that I do not possess the Lunch Lady’s recipe so could not guarantee that the cheese calzone would be exactly the same as he has at school (by the way, this was all a week before school began so I guess he was feeling withdrawals after a long summer without his cheese calzone hot lunch).

Visibly disappointed, he considered the calzone issue. Then changed his mind and announced: “I want chocolate chip cookie dough” (his emphasis, not mine).

Me: Not cookies?
L-Train: “No… dough. I want to eat the dough.

Side note: L-Train has also asked me to not bake a pizza so he could eat the raw dough. I honestly don’t understand this obsession with raw dough. But sometimes it’s best not to ask why. For example, when a kid decides he has to microwave his ice cream until it is soupy because it tastes better, you just don’t ask why. If you do, your head may explode.

Anyway, I had to explain why eating raw eggs generally isn’t recommended (especially in light of recent headlines), but then told him that I would see what I could do. I mean, they make cookie dough ice cream, there had to be a recipe on the internet somewhere, right?

Personally, I prefer my cookies baked. I just love a good caramelized edge on a chewy cookie. Then again I do take my liberties tasting the cookie dough when baking cookies so maybe I can see L-Train’s point.

So yeah, I did it. I found a recipe and made frozen cookie dough in balls. Everyone loved them including the newly-minted 11 year old (I really hope 11 years old is a different experience for boys than how I remember it being. But then, I was an awkward kid).

Eventually, everyone went away to work and school and left me alone with a dozen or so cookie dough balls and… well… maybe no one will notice that they’re missing.

What you’ll need to make this cookie dough:

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter.

1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup white sugar

Here’s the magic: instead of eggs, the cookie dough is bound together with Greek yogurt (1/3 cup)

And of course, chocolate chips. The real magic.

Also: 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

Let’s make some cookie dough!

Melt the butter and mix the sugars together in a bowl.

Whisk the melted butter into the sugar. It doesn’t look too pretty at this stage, but it all gets better very very soon.

Mix in the yogurt and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Then add the flour mix to the butter-yogurt-goodness. Yes. Goodness.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Have a little taste, you know, just to be sure it tastes okay.

Then using your favorite cookie scooping method (this is my favorite cookie scoop) scoop out the dough onto a lined baking sheet. Stick the sheet in the freezer for at least an hour.

Before you stick the baking sheet into the freezer, you could stick each dough ball with a lollipop stick or toothpick. I did that, but some of the sticks didn’t stick. But it could work for you… try it. It does make a cute presentation.

After an hour or so, you could dip each of the dough balls in melted chocolate. You don’t have to, but you know you want to.

Let the chocolate dry and then eat them. After that, hide them or better yet, have someone else hide them so you won’t know where they are otherwise you may end up eating them when no one is looking. Not that I’d do something like that.

By the way, I put all of the extras into a zip-top freezer bag (I removed the sticks first since a lot weren’t staying put… they fit better in the bag that way anyway).

You know you want a bite…

Have you made yesterday’s macaroons yet? They are seriously good. I almost made more today because the idea of sharing made me uncomfortable… The recipe made 12 and I ate 6 of them between last night (in the name of quality control) and this morning (for breakfast, of course). Even so, the idea of sharing the other 6… well… they weren’t even gone yet and I was already having withdrawals.

Still on my coconut high, I thought, what could possibly be the next cookie?… what can follow perfection? And so today I am pulling out the big guns: peanut butter + chocolate. A match so perfect it was made in hell, because frankly, it’s a little too good to be from heaven, if you know what I mean.

So for Day 7, I used this peanut butter cookie recipe which I saw on Smitten Kitchen. And now I have to add the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook (which is where the recipe is from originally) to my wishlist. If the rest of the recipes are anything like this one, I am seriously going to need to invest in elastic waist pants.

Now…. this may surprise you, since I am so easily swayed by sweets calling out to me and cravings taking on their own personalities and other crazy stuff like that, but I don’t normally eat cookie dough; maybe a tiny nibble here and there as I clean off the beater or spatula, but beyond that I usually don’t find cookie dough all that enticing. But this cookie dough… I ate more of this cookie dough than ought to be legal. I seriously have a problem.

Tomorrow I am going to strap on my running shoes and haul my peanut butter belly up and down some hills. Then I am going to deliver the rest of these cookies to someone in order to save myself.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

(adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who originally adapted it from Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)

If you make these, be prepared to hide them from yourself. Better yet, be generous and send them away with someone else… otherwise, you may eat each and every one of them. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Makes about 3 dozen.

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Beat the butter and peanut butter until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Gradually mix in the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips.
4. Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop dough by rounded teaspoon into sugar and roll around, then put onto ungreased cookie sheet, leaving several inches between them for expansion.
5. Using a fork lightly indent the top of each cookie (or use a small offset spatula if you want a smooth top), but don’t over-flatten.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake (cookies will look underdone, but they are not).
7. Cool the cookies on the sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

A few of you mentioned the cranberry bliss bars from Starbucks when I asked about your favorite holiday treat. And while I’m not sure it is technically a cookie, I’ve decided to include it in the 12 days of cookies… I was going to make them anyway, so why not?

[Note: this recipe is in no way affiliated with Starbucks and any resemblance to a Starbucks' product is purely, blissfully coincidental].

I ran across this recipe a couple of years ago on My Little Mochi. Have you seen her site? I love all of the cute things she makes. So talented. And the bunny bowls she used to eat her cranberry bliss bars from are adorable.

Anyway, back to the recipe. It is goood. I make one pan of these each holiday season. I. Must. They are rich enough that a little really goes a long way, but I love to have one with an afternoon cup of tea. The ginger, white chocolate, cranberry, and cream cheese-lemon frosting all come together to create… bliss.

Take that Day 5.

Mock Cranberry Bliss Bars

(adapted from My Little Mochi)

cake:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) white chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate)

frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped

drizzling icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1-2 tablespoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt. Mix well.
3. Gradually add flour. Mix until smooth. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate.
4. Pour the batter into a well-greased 9×13-inch pan. Use a spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan.
5. Bake 30-40 minutes, until edges are light brown. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
6. Make the frosting: Mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice until completely smooth. Set aside the cranberries.
7. Make the drizzling icing: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk and vegetable shortening. Use enough milk to make a thick but drizzly consistency. I used closer to 2 tablespoons. [at first it will seem like the vegetable shortening is just going to clump things up, but if you mix the milk in first it will all whisk together smoothly].
8. When the cake (er, cookie?) is fully cooled, frost. Sprinkle the top with cranberries.
9. Put the drizzling icing into a ziploc bag and snip off a tiny bit of the corner (or use pastry bag fitted with small tip). Drizzle the icing on top in zig-zags or whatever pattern you like.
10. Cut into squares or triangles. And enjoy it with a good cup of coffee…

I made a batch of dulce de leche brownies last week for my humor writing class (it was my turn to bring snacks), but the recipe only calls for about half of the can. Which meant there was some leftover. Which meant I was left vulnerable. So I put the leftovers in a jar and locked it away into the refrigerator, hoping to forget about it for a while. But… Why would I want to forget about dulce de leche? How could I lock it away instead of celebrate it’s existence?… it’s rich, creamy, caramel-y existence?

Because I am weak. And because the last time I had leftover dulce de leche it never made it into the refrigerator, it only made it as far as a spoon which led it to my mouth. And I enjoyed every minute of it. However, when the moment was over I realized I had just eaten almost a cup of dulce de leche with a spoon. Surely that can’t be right. Where did it all go? I have more self-control than that.

Well, maybe not. So this time I wanted to resist… to be a little more disciplined. We’re entering the Holiday Season in which there will be more butter-laden treats than any one person should be allowed to sample but I will probably sample them all. However, I’d like to give myself a fighting chance to fit into my jeans come New Year which means not eating some beautifully rich and silky things with a spoon and utter abandon. And so, I locked the dulce de leche away in the fridge and tried to forget about it.

A couple of days later I woke to a desperate cry for help. The dulce de leche wanted to be free. Why was I being so cruel? How could I lock it away like that when we would both be happier if it were free to consort with spoons and the like? Well. Hrm. I could see this was going to be a tougher than I thought. Not only was the dulce de leche taunting me, but it was burdening me with a guilt trip. I immediately began to look for a mitigation plan. I saw a can of pumpkin and was hit with inspiration: pumpkin pound cake with dulce de leche swirls. The dulce de leche would be used up and I could give most of the cake away leaving me free from temptation. A brilliant plan.

In the end, I did not use up all of the leftover dulce de leche. I didn’t want to over-swirl the pound cake. Or maybe, subconsciously, I wanted to have some left to eat with a spoon…

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Dulce de Leche Swirls

(adapted from the Brown butter pound cake in Gourmet, October 2009)

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
about 1/2 – 3/4 cup dulce de leche

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and lightly flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch (or 9 by 5-inch) loaf pan.
2. Heat the butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until the milk solids on the bottom are a dark chocolate brown (Note: I found it easier to see this by removing the butter from the pan because my skillet is dark). Transfer to a shallow bowl and put it in the freezer just until it congealed, about 15 minutes (My butter got hard on top in the freezer but had some liquid still underneath that shell. If this happens to you, mix it for a minute so that it becomes one soft mass instead of some hard and some liquid).
3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice.
4. Cream the brown butter with the sugars with mixer until it is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and pumpkin.
5. On a low speed, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
6. Transfer about half of the batter to the loaf pan and smooth it around so that it covers the bottom of the pan and forms an even layer. Place small grape-sized dollops of dulce de leche on the surface. Swirl by running the tip of a knife through one or two times to create a swirly pattern.
7. Cover with the rest of the batter, smooth the surface. Use the rest of the dulce de leche on top, also in small grape-sized dollops and swirled with the tip of a knife.
8. Bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours (75 to 90 minutes).
9. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert onto a rack (right side up) to cool completely, about one hour.

Want more dulce de leche?

• Dulce de leche cheesecake squares from Smitten Kitchen
• Dulce de leche apple bars with browned butter icing from Recipe Girl
• Dulce de leche cake with vanilla bean from The Purple Foodie

Make your own dulce de leche:

• Chez Pim shows you how to make dulce de leche from whole milk
• How to make dulce de leche from boiling cans sweetened condensed milk Not Without Salt
• David Lebovitz makes dulce de leche in the oven from sweetened condensed milk (there’s less chance of a can exploding with this method)