pumpkin cookies with maple buttercream frosting

yields approximately 24 cookies

ingredients

cookies
2 1/2 cups all purpose or cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup fresh* or canned pumpkin 
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon bourbon

frosting
8 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup pure maple syrup, preferably grade b
5 cups powdered sugar

directions

Preheat oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit

cookies
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.  Set aside.

Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add pumpkin, egg, vanilla and bourbon, beating until creamy.  Mix in dry ingredients until fully incorporated.  Do not over mix.  Dough will be very sticky. 

Place rounded teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.  Flatten slightly.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Cookie tops should spring back when touched.  Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

frosting
In a medium bowl, cream softened butter and syrup.  Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time until smooth and creamy. 

assembly
Once the cookies have cooled, ice generously with maple buttercream, leaving a 1/4 inch border.  Frosting will set in about one hour.  Do not wait to ice the cookies as they will begin to dry out.  The frosting keeps them moist.

Cookies keep in an airtight container for several days, that is, if you don’t eat them first.

*A medium-sized sugar pumpkin, around 4 pounds, yields approximately 1-1/2 cups of mashed pumpkin.  Cut the pumpkin in half, discarding the stem section and stringy insides. In a shallow dish, place the pumpkin halves face down, cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1-1/2 hours or until a fork pierces the skin with no resistance. Once cooled, scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor or mash with a potato masher. Use this puree in any recipe which calls for canned pumpkin.

figgy piggy chicken

 

ingredients

1/2 pound sliced bacon
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise
one 5 pound free-range whole fryer chicken
10 fresh thyme sprigs
12 fresh black or green figs, quartered
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
coarse sea salt
freshly ground pepper

directions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit

In Donna Hay’s cookbook, ‘The Instant Cook’, she outlines a method to speed up the cooking time for whole chickens.  I have implemented her technique in this recipe with stellar results.

First rinse the chicken, remove any gizzards and pat dry with paper towels.  Place the bird, breast side down, on a large plate or plastic cutting board.  With sharp kitchen shears, cut through the spine, from tail to neck.  It requires a good measure of elbow grease to cut through the bone and cartilage but can be done.

The result is a flatter bird with more surface area which means faster cooking.  Because the skin and bones remain intact, the meat does not dry out during cooking.  Rub meat with 1-2 teaspoons sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper.  Set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottom, high-sided skillet or dutch oven, cook bacon over medium, until lightly crisped.  Transfer to paper towels to drain.  Reserve bacon drippings in skillet.  Add garlic, stirring until golden, about 1 minute.  Transfer to paper towels with bacon. 

Turn heat to medium-high.  Once the bacon fat begins to smoke, add the chicken, breast side down.  Brown for 6 –8 minutes.  Using tongs, turn chicken on its wing side, resting against the wall of the skillet, and brown for 3 –4 minutes.  Repeat on other side.

Place the chicken breast side up in the skillet.  Scatter thyme and figs over the chicken.  Place pan in the oven and roast for about 25 – 30 minutes or until internal temperature registers 165 degrees. 

Transfer chicken and figs to a serving platter.  Deglaze pan with lemon juice by simmering on the stovetop over medium-high heat.  Stir, scraping up crispy brown bits for a minute or so.  Pour over chicken.

To revive bacon, place in oven on low broil for 1 – 2 minutes, watching closely so as not to burn.  Scatter bacon and garlic over the chicken. 

Serve with: roasted cauliflower with kalamata vinaigrette

Drink with a slightly sweet white, preferably with notes of honey and dried honey.  Muscatel or Gewurztraminer are good bets.

recipe adapted from Gourmet magazine, September 2009

bourbon apple pie

yields 8 servings

ingredients

crust
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup very cold water
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
10 tablespoons butter

milk
sugar

filling
2 –3 pounds tart apples such as granny smith, peeled and cut in 1/2” pieces
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons bourbon (I prefer Maker’s Mark)
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold butter, cut in small pieces

directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

crust
In a small bowl, combine water and salt, to dissolve.  Place bowl in refrigerator until needed. 
Place flour in mixing bowl.  Cut butter into 1 inch pieces and scatter over the flour.  Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pea-sized pieces.  Drizzle in chilled salt water, gently tossing with a fork until a shaggy dough begins to form.  Mix gently until dough comes together but is not entirely smooth.  Bits of butter should be visible throughout the dough.
On a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a 1 inch disk.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
Divide chilled dough in two and place half the dough on a floured surface.  Rewrap the other half and return to refrigerator until ready to use.  Roll dough to 1/8 inch thick, occasionally lifting as you go to prevent sticking.  Use additional flour, as needed.  Carefully transfer the round to a 9-inch pie dish.  Using kitchen shears, remove excess dough leaving a 2 inch overhang.  Cover in plastic wrap and chill while readying the filling.

filling
Place filling ingredients, excluding butter, in a bowl and stir to combine.  Taste and adjust lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon as needed.  Set aside.

assembly
Roll out the second half of dough on a lightly floured surface, to 1/8” thickness.  Pour filling into the crust.  Dot with butter.  Make a hole or ‘x’ in the center of the top crust and carefully place dough over the apples.  Using kitchen shears, remove excess dough, leaving a 2 inch overhang.  Crimp or flute edges according to preference.  Use dough scraps to decorate the crust or keep it rustic, as I did.

Place pie on a rimmed, foil-lined baking sheet.  Brush crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake for about one hour, until golden brown.  Tent with foil if crust browns too quickly.
Let pie set for approximately 1 hour.  Serve warm with good quality vanilla ice cream.


Crust adapted from the recipe for ‘flaky tart dough’ in the ‘Tartine’ cookbook by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson.

homemade applesauce

yields approximately three cups

ingredients

3 lbs apples, peeled, cored and cut in 3/4” chunks
1 cup water
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon crystallized ginger, finely chopped

directions

In a heavy bottomed pot, on medium heat, combine all ingredients.  Stir occasionally until the mixture begins to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes, or until the apples are quite tender.  Mash to preferred consistency with a potato masher or fork.  Continue simmering until most of the liquid evaporates.  Remove from heat and cool for 30 minutes.  Serve cool or at room temperature.

Keeps for up to three days, refrigerated.  Freezes well.

oven dried apples

 

yields approximately 2 cups

ingredients

4-5 lbs apples
2 lemons or 1/2 cup lemon juice

directions

Preheat oven to 140 - 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wash apples, making sure to remove any stickers.  Remove bruised spots from apples.  Peel skin or leave it on, according to preference.  Core the apples and slice them about 1/4 inch thick.  Try to keep the slices similar in thickness to insure even drying time. 

To diminish browning, soak apples for 10 minutes in bowl of cold water and lemon juice. 

Place two cooling racks in two large rimmed cookie sheets.  Arrange apple slices on racks.  It is possible to dry apples without the racks but it will be necessary to occasionally turn the apples to expose the other side. Transfer apples to oven, on two shelves.  Leave oven door slightly ajar to prevent condensation which slows the drying time. 

Apples should dry in approximately 10 hours, possibly longer.  They will be flexible, not brittle, with the consistency of a raisin.  If they feel sticky or if the center is still watery, they need more time.  For crispier apples, leave them in a little longer.

Cool apples to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before storing.  When stored properly, dried apples will keep for six to nine months.

For more information, visit www.pickyourown.org/apples_dried.htm

whole grain scones with oats and apples

 

yields 12 scones

ingredients

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup oat flour (substitute whole wheat pastry flour, if needed)
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
3/4 cup chilled, unsalted butter, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup dried apples, cut in 1/4 inch pieces 
3/4 cup chilled buttermilk plus additional for glaze
1 large egg

directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
Place the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl, whisking to blend.  With a pastry blender or the back of a fork, cut cold butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Gently stir in the dried apples.

Whisk buttermilk and egg in small bowl.  Add buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients in a slow, steady stream, tossing with a fork until the wet and dry ingredients are fully incorporated and a dough has formed.  Do not over mix.
   
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.  Knead the dough gently, two or three times.  Divide the dough in half.  With floured hands, pat each half into a 6-inch round, about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut the rounds into 6 wedges.

Place the scones 1 inch apart on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment.  Brush each wedge with buttermilk*.  Bake the scones for 20 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. 

Serve warm.

*These scones freeze exceptionally well.  After glazing, place unbaked scones in a pan or baking dish with sides and cover well with plastic wrap.  Once frozen, scones can be transferred to an airtight container and frozen for up to one month.  Increase baking time by 5 – 10 minutes.