The Thanksgiving version of a Peanut Butter Cup

I’ve been wanting to make truffles for a while now… specifically these because I love pumpkin so much.  I’m not really sure why, but melting/tempering white chocolate sucks… I think it has something to do with the higher milk and sugar content, which means it burns more easily… who knows, maybe it’s just me, but every time I’ve done it in the past it always melts nicely and then starts to clump up right away.  Hence, I did not want my truffles looking less like those perfect little spheres you find in Godiva boxes and more like crumbled bits of the Parthenon.  I had also seen a recipe for white chocolate peanut butter cups somewhere, so I figured it would be easier to do the pumpkin pie truffle recipe in PB cup form.  Nope, I was wrong… it was just as much of a pain in the ass as dipping truffles would have been, especially the part where you have to “paint” the white chocolate inside the lining of the mini muffin foils (art project?).  And I still had trouble melting the chocolate and had to run out and grab another bag of chips, which, opting for a better quality brand this time (using Trader Joe’s as opposed to the crap Nestle “Toll House” puts out) made a HUGE difference.  I definitely suggest using good quality white chocolate if you’re making these, not only cause it melts better, but because it tastes better too (cause let’s face it, white chocolate is never THAT great… not compared to dark anyway).

Anyway, I digress… despite the hassle, my pumpkin pie white chocolate cups turned out super yummy and were definitely worth all the anger I displaced on the white chocolate.  I’ll probably never make them again though, haha.  Thanksgiving is a special occasion, so it calls for such things.  Next special occasion I make them for will have to be a paid one

 

White Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Cups (adapted from the truffle recipe I linked to above)

 

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
• 3/4 cup finely ground gingersnap cookie crumbs
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. each of ground nutmeg, cloves, and ginger
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened

• Optional garnish: chopped pecans, cinnamon sugar, pumpkin pie spice, remaining cookie crumbs, etc.

As for the white chocolate you will need for the outside coating, I honestly have no idea how much is appropriate because I messed up so many times.  I’m gonna guess-timate and say… 20 oz??  It depends on how many cups you wanna make I suppose… my batch yielded 16.  And make sure it’s uniformly chopped or in chip form. Oh and of course you’re gonna need a bunch of those 2-inch aluminum foil mini muffin liners!

 

Directions:

(1) To melt the chocolate, put it in a heat-proof bowl placed over a medium saucepan filled with about an inch or two of simmering water (make sure you bring it to a boil first, then reduce the heat).  Keep stirring the chocolate until it’s completely melted, then turn off the heat and remove the bowl to a heat-proof surface.

(2) Using a small spoon, “paint” the inside of the muffin liners with the melted white chocolate.  The layer of chocolate should be thick enough that you can’t see through it, but thin enough so that the liners still hold upright and intact.  You will not use all of the white chocolate, so set it aside for topping the cups later.  Place the cups on a tray and stow away in the fridge for about 30 minutes so that they can cool and harden completely.

(3) To make the truffle filling, melt the 1/2 cup white chocolate chips the same way as done in the first step.  Once melted completely, turn off the heat, set aside to cool a bit, then add the pumpkin, cookie crumbs, confectioner’s sugar, spices, and cream cheese.  Mix well until completely blended and smooth.  You might want to keep it in the fridge for a bit while waiting for the chocolate in the liners to set, especially if it’s super runny.

(4) Once the chocolate cups have hardened, take them out of the fridge and spoon the pumpkin mixture into each one evenly, smoothing out the tops to create an even surface.  If the remaining chocolate has hardened too much, just repeat the first step to remelt it.  Evenly divide this remaining chocolate amongst the filled cups, smoothing the tops to make sure the chocolate reached all the way over to the edges in order to “seal” the cups.  Top with any kind of garnish you’d like, or just leave ‘em plain.

(5) Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 1-2 hours. Unwrap them bad boys and enjoy!  If you don’t share them or eat them all, store them in an air-tight container in the fridge.

 

a close-up of that pumpkin pie goodness…

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Experimenting with the flavor potency of the vanilla bean.

There’s been a vacuum sealed pack of vanilla beans that I brought home from Madagascar this summer that I’ve been dying to rip open and use since then, wanting to save it for “something special” I guess.  Well, I was bored and avoiding my studies yet again this past weekend, so naturally I finally gave into temptation (and since there was really not much else I could play with in my cupboard minus a few cobwebs).  With the bottle of vodka (yech!) that’s been hangin’ out with my scant wine collection on the counter, I finally got to making my own vanilla extract.  Super easy.  3 beans per cup of vodka and that’s all you need to get some going… plus the whole time factor of course, which is something like 2 months for the flavors to develop.  I had 10 beans, so I did one small bottle and one big bottle of extract (doubling the ratio to 6 beans for 2 cups), leaving me with one lone vanilla bean left that I could experiment with… hehe.  What sort of kitchen tests was I gonna subject this little guy to?

Well, I’ve been caked and cookied out, so those options were out of the question.  Also, I’ve wanted to try poaching fruit in forever, and I did happen to have two lovely Bartlett pears chillin’ out on the kitchen counter.  How perfect!  I decided on vanilla-poached pears, which is simple, easy, and not to mention hella elegant (can I even use “hella” with “elegant?”) when served.  Most recipes out there call for using 4 or more pears, so I just cut measurements in half, except for the vanilla bean part, since I wanted to really experience the intensity of flavor it would bring to the dish (and make the house smell quite wonderful afterwards).  Daaaaaaammn it was divine!  I even saved some of the vanilla bean syrup to use to flavor my coffee in the mornings.  Here’s the recipe for them yummy pears, along with a note on how to make your own vanilla extract!

 

Vanilla Poached Pears for Two

 

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe pears (I used Bartlett, but I think Bosc would work better)
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 (1 by 3 inch) strips of lemon zest
• 1 vanilla bean
• a dash of ground cloves for some spice (optional)

 

Directions:

(1) First, dismember your vanilla bean– take a paring knife to split it lengthwise, scraping out the seeds and reserving the pod.  In a small or medium saucepan, combine these fragrant reserves with the water, sugar, lemon zest, and the cloves if using them, bringing everything to a boil under high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar completely dissolves.

(2) In the meantime, prepare your pears.  Leaving the stem intact, peel them and slice the bottom 1/8 inch off to create a flat, stable bottom so that they can stand upright.

(3) Reduce the heat of the sugar-water mixture to a simmer, then add the pears, laying them on all sides so that they are almost entirely submerged.  Cook the pears, turning them around occasionally to saturate on all sides, until they are soft and tender when pierced with a fork… about 15 minutes should do the trick.

 

(4) Discard the vanilla bean pod and lemon strips, and allow the pears to cool a bit in their poaching liquid.  Next, remove them onto a dish and pour the vanilla liquid into a container to cool separately until they can both be stored in the fridge.  Or, if you are serving immediately, then just plate the pears separately, spooning some the syrup on top until it cascades into a little pool of vanilla goodness surrounding the pear underneath.  They are delicious on their own or with a scoop of ice cream on the side.  Enjoy!

 

**How to Make Vanilla Extract…

As for making your own extract, all you need to do is split three vanilla beans in half (no need to scrape anything out), throw them in a small glass jar, and pour 8oz. of vodka over them (3 beans per 8oz, so if you have a larger jar like the one below then double these).  Seal the jar completely and store in a dry, cool place, giving the jar an occasional shake from time to time.  The extract should be ready to use after about two months.  I’m still waiting for mine (and maybe drinking the rest of the liquor in the meantime)!

so many apples, so many cakes…

Ok so I went apple-picking a while back with my roommates, which has been all I’ve been eating this fall so far (which is also, maybe why I haven’t gotten sick yet? The whole “apple-a-day” maxim must be true…) AND, not to mention, all I’ve been baking with too. yum!  I have yet to do the classic stuff like apple pie, crisp, or cobbler, but I did make two cakes recently that I was pretty pleased with– an upside-down cake and a pumpkin-apple-pie hybrid of some sorts. I’m posting the latter because I liked it better, and also because I don’t remember the exact recipe for the upside-down cake, hehe.  I’ll post a pretty picture of it at least, though!

Apple + Pumpkin Pie Hybrid Cake

Ingredients:

Sautéed Apples:
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3-4 large granny smith apples (or fuji, honeycrisp, whatever ya like), peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar

Streusal Topping and Cake (made together, then divided)
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice (if you don’t have it, here’s how you can make it)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs

Directions:

(1) To make the apples, melt butter in skillet, and sauté the slices on medium heat, just until they start to soften.  Stir in the sugar and cinnamon, then remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit.

(2) Butter an 8-inch springform pan and preheat yo’ oven to 350 F.  While that’s firing up, get a big bowl and combine the flour, brown sugar, and salt.  Add the 1/2 cup butter and blend with a hand or stand mixer until incorporated.

(3) To make the streusal, measure out 2/3 cup of this mixture and put it into a separate, smaller bowl. Add the 3 tbsp sugar and 2 tsp. of the pumpkin pie spices, blend with your fingers, and set aside.

(4) Now, back to the cake batter… Add the baking soda, rest of the spices, sour cream, pumpkin purée, and eggs (one at a time) to the remaining flour mixture and blend until smooth, about two minutes.

(5) In the pan, layer the cake batter first, then the sautéed apples over it, and finally sprinkle the streusal over the top.  Bake, uncovered, for about 1 hour, or until you stick a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool a bit in the pan, then remove the springform and serve with some apple chips.  There’s a good recipe for those here.

Oh snap, I almost forgot include a picture of my yummy upside-down cake!  Here ya go, internet…