pumpkin | Adventures in Thyme

Hard Cider Brittle

November 22, 2016 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Pistachio Brittle

I love Fall. The changing colors of the leaves, the crisp mornings, and the fellowship of holiday season. Our gifts to friends and family are usually small tins of baked yumminess, or a cookie variety plate. This year in our quest to add to the gifting repertoire I considered brittle. Hot sugar however requires a little extra minding than a mere oven timer. Please be careful if you have little ones in the house, or are attending to chores elsewhere – a boiling pot of sugar needs to be watched! You’ll also need a candy thermometer for this one. Let’s get cooking!

Ingredients

1 cup hard cider (I used a pumpkin flavored)
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp butter (room temperature) + extra for baking pan
~1 cup roasted/salted pistachios (shelled of course)

Warm an oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a baking pan lined with tin foil (and lightly butter). Place in oven.

Into a pot add the hard cider down to cinnamon. Stir to combine and heat until 300 degrees Fahrenheit, which is Hard Crack stage. You will be tempted to stir this as it boils, DON’T. The sugar up the side of the pot crystallizes and can alter the consistency of your brittle. It probably took my pot about 30 mins to hit hard crack so be patient.

As you get ready for Hard Crack to be reached on your candy thermometer, have the butter and baking soda standing by. Once the magic number is reached, swiftly remove the pan from the oven and set close by. Remove your pot from the burner and add the butter and baking soda to your pot. Stir quickly and thoroughly to incorporate. Add pistachios and stir – your mixture will be solidifying which is going to make spreading it in the pan difficult – hence the warm pan and your expeditious stirring skills!

Pour the mixture onto the pan and quickly spread out as best as you can. This sugar will be VERY hot, please be careful. Sprinkle more pistachios on the top as you like. Set aside to cool.

The pot and any utensils you used should be soaked in hot water to help you clean up.

Once the brittle is cooled, break into bite sized or gift bag sizes. I angled sheet of cooked brittle and gently knocked it from the underside with a lemon squeezer so as not to damage the pretty face of the brittle. 🙂

Enjoy!

Christmas Dessert for Two

December 20, 2015 by Dan Leave a Comment

Pumpkin Spice Custard

We couldn’t stop with just Christmas dinner for two – there had to be a dessert! This is a milk free pumpkin spice custard, and a few candied pecans just for good measure.

Custard:

1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup White Sugar
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
2 large Eggs
1 1/2 cups unsweetened, vanilla Almond Milk
1/2 of a 15 oz. can of Pumpkin (about 2/3 of a cup)
3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Ginger
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Whipped topping, thawed (This can be real whipped cream or one of the alternatives that is either low in milk content or dairy free)

In a medium sauce pot, combine the sugar and cornstarch.

In a mixing bowl, beat the 2 eggs until they are uniformly yellow, but not to the point of being frothy. Whisk in the almond milk. Add the spices and whisk to combine. Add the pumpkin and whisk until it is also well combined with the other ingredients. Gently pour the wet mixture into the sauce pan with the sugar and cornstarch, stirring constantly. Heat over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil. Turn down to low and continue to stir for 3 or 4 minutes. The mixture should be thickened.

Remove from the heat and place the sauce pan in a large pan of ice water. Stir until the mixture is cool (10 to 15 minutes.) Spoon the mixture into a nice wine glass or parfait glass. Fill about 1/3 full. Add a layer of whipped topping to get the glass about half full. Spoon more custard on top of the whipped topping until the glass is about 2/3 full. Repeat for the second glass. (Depending on the size of your glass, this may make 2 or 3 servings.) Cover the top of the custard with plastic food wrap, right on top of the custard. (This will prevent the custard from forming a skin on top.) Chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator.

While the custard cools, make your candied pecans.

Candied Pecans:

1 tablespoon Water
1 Egg White
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Pecan Halves

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.

Combine the egg white and water in a medium bowl and whisk until frothy. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt, whisk until well combined and the sugar is dissolved. Add the pecans and stir until they are well coated. (If you’re careful, this recipe will actually do 1 1/2 to 2 cups of Pecans.)

Line a baking sheet with cooking parchment. Spread the nuts in a single layer, evenly on the parchment. Bake for 60 minutes, stirring them every 10 to 15 minutes (try to keep the nuts separated). Remove from the oven and let cool. Break up the nuts if they are stuck together. For the topping for this dessert, coarsely chop a few of the candied pecans.

To serve your dessert, remove the custard from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans, add a dollop of your whipped topping and sprinkle with a little cinnamon.

Enjoy.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Roll

December 1, 2015 by Dan Leave a Comment

Pumpkin Cake Roll

This week we have a tasty, and visually attractive holiday dessert. It isn’t as difficult as you might think!

Cake:

3/4 cup Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground Cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground All Spice
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 large Eggs
1 cup granulated Sugar
2/3 cup canned Pumpkin (about 1/2 off a small can)
1 cup chopped Pecans

For the Filling/Frosting:

20 to 22 oz soft white Goat Cheese, warmed to room temperature (The cheese logs from Costco are great)
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 stick Butter, softened
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Powdered sugar to coat a towel (used for rolling).

For the Cake:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Grease a 12 x 16 inch sheet pan. Line it with waxed paper then grease and flour the pan and waxed paper.

Lay out a kitchen towel larger than your sheet pan and cover liberally with powdered sugar. (It should take 1/4 to 1/3 cup of powdered sugar.)

Combine the dry ingredients, including the spices, in a small mixing bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the three eggs. When light, add the granulated sugar and beat until it thickens. Add the pumpkin and beat until well combined. Add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time, mixing well each time.

Spread the batter evenly in your sheet pan. Sprinkle with the pecans. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. The cake should spring back when you touch it.

Remove the cake from the oven, loosen the edges with a knife and immediately turn out onto your sugar covered towel. Roll up in the towel, starting on a narrow end. Place on a wire rack and let cool completely.

While the cake cools, make your frosting (which is also your filling.) In a large mixing bowl, beat together the goat cheese, butter and powdered sugar. When well combined, beat in the vanilla. This should give an easily spreadable frosting. If it’s too stiff, you can add a little bit of milk, 1 teaspoon at a time (it won’t take much.)

Once cool, unroll your cake. Spread 1/2 of the frosting evenly over the cake. Roll the cake back up. If necessary, trim the ends so they are even. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour. Remove from the refrigerator, place on your serving dish and frost with the remaining frosting.

Slice to serve.

Pumpkin Spiced Marshmallows

November 9, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Pumpkin Marshmallows

I had to jump onto the pumpkin spice bandwagon again – if only for a brief flirtation with it’s seductive seasonal charms. Marshmallow Madness by Shauna Sever is a great book that takes you step by step thru the marshmallow making world. My instructions won’t give her detail justice – so be warned, and buy the book! I’ve also adjusted her pumpkin recipe slightly to make for a more personally appealing mallow. I enjoy spices, so I cater to that. I’ve used these marshmallows in my coffee AND layered between pancakes hot off the griddle – oh yes indeed-ie!

My secret to success was preparation. The mallows come together really quickly so having everything prepped and ready to add was key. Let’s get cooking!

What you’ll need:

First and foremost an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. We’ve killed a hand-held mixer making Divinity, so be kind to your kitchen tools and just go for the larger mixer.

5 tsps. unflavored gelatin + 1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
3/4 tsp cinnamon
scant 1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract

food coloring is optional

Dusting powder: 1/4 cup cornstarch + 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

1.) Prep an 8×8 baking pan with your oil of choice. I used coconut butter, but whatever your tummy can tolerate to keep the mallows from sticking will work.

2.) In a microwave safe bowl mix the gelatin & 1/2 cup cold water well and set aside.

3.) Into a medium sauce pan mix the sugar, 1/4 cup of corn syrup water and salt. You’ll want to heat this to a boil and 250 degrees F. Keep an eye on this and stir occasionally. While this is heating, into an electric mixer bowl pour the remaining 1/4 cup corn syrup.

4.) Take the gelatin bowl from Step 2 and heat in the microwave about 20-30 seconds depending on your appliance. You’ll want this melted. Pour into the electric mixer’s bowl and mix with the corn syrup on low.

5.) Last bit of prep – while the sauce pan is still heating to 250 degrees F, and your mixer is keeping the gelatin from solidifying, mix the last of your ingredients together in another bowl (pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla) and set aside.

6.) Once the heating corn syrup reaches 250 degrees F carefully add this to the mixer. Syrup flung onto the sides of the bowl will not make for good marshmallows. Once added to the bowl increase the speed to medium for 5 minutes, then increase to medium-high for 5 more minutes, then to high for 1 minute. Add the pumpkin mixture, return to high speed for 1 minute of mixing. You can add coloring at this point if you have a preference.

7.) Carefully pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan, spreading it into the corners and flattening it as best as you can. Now take your dusting powder and sprinkle all over the top. Set aside. Overnight is good.

In the morning sprinkle the dusting powder onto your cutting board and layout the marshallows cutting to your preferred size. Roll in more powder to keep them from sticking together. We made a template of pumpkin faces and used cinnamon sugar to make the face.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Chip Cookies

September 25, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Pumpkin Pumpkin Spice MnM Cookies

Fall seems synonymous with pumpkin, and more specifically pumpkin spice flavored items. In a recent trip to my local market I see Pumpkin Spice Latte M&Ms. So of course I needed to try it in a cookie. I’ve reworked a previous pumpkin cookie we’ve had on the blog, it went well with these seasonal yummy candies. Enjoy!

1. Begin by setting your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In an electric mixer whip the following until it’s “light and airy”:

1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
1 cup softened unsalted Butter

3. To the mixture combine well:
3/4 cup canned Pumpkin
1 beaten Egg
1 tsp Vanilla

4. The dry ingredients are next, combine these together and then add the dry mixture to your bowl and mix well:
2 cups all purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Salt

5. Fold in one package of Pumpkin Spice Latte M&Ms (it’s roughly 10 ozs).

Spoon generous tablespoons onto a baking sheet (I use nonstick baking mats in mine) and bake for 10 mins. These cookies don’t really spread out, but remain pretty much in the “footprint” you put them in. You’ll know they are done when the cookie gets a golden brown appearance on it’s edges.

These cookies are best eaten after a few hours as the cake-y cookie crumbles easily if it’s even remotely warn.

6. Pour yourself a glass of milk and let the nibbling begin.