Pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving tradition – problem is, I am not a fan. I enjoy the flavor of pumpkin but I find pumpkin pie to be too dense in pure pumpkin. I am a heavy carb kind of a girl – a real white flour and butter kind of a gal, if you catch my drift. So I need to share this recipe for Pumpkin Crisp that is pure heaven.
As a child my mom being the traditionalist that she was always served pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner so growing up I just passed on turkey day dessert. All this changed several years ago when a dear neighbor told me about this Pumpkin Crisp that she makes. A buttery crust houses a delicious pumpkin filling and a buttery, sugary crust tops that. The crumb crust gets crisp, yummy and melts deliciously into the decadent pumpkin filling. I love the dish and so does everyone that tries it.
I should also add, that it is simple. No crust to roll out and nothing fancy. I hope you try it and like it as much as my family does.
Pumpkin Crisp
Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
Ice Cream or Fresh Whipped Cream (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Set aside 1 cup cake mix for the topping. Combine remaining cake mix, 1 egg, and melted butter or margarine. Pat into a 9×13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, 2 eggs, spices, 1/2 cup sugar, and milk. Pour pumpkin mixture over the cake mix crust.
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup cake mix and 3/4 cup sugar. Cut in 1/2 cup softened butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle mixture on top of pumpkin mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 minutes.
I like to cut this into 12 servings, but you could make the squares smaller or larger depening on how “stuffed” you are after Thanksgiving dinner. 🙂
Recently I took a trip to Chelan, Washington where there was an abundance of fresh blueberries. I purchased ten pounds of berries for $5 – what a deal! Well, yes, it was a deal, but now I am faced with what on earth to do with a gizillion blueberries. There is only so much blueberry muffins, smoothies and syrup a family can take after all…enter my heavenly Blueberry Crisp Marshmallows.
I decided to get creative and make my favorite recipe for homemade marshmallows, but with a twist. Rather than dust them with confectioner’s sugar, I decided to dust them with a topping of graham cracker crumbs and swirl some fresh blueberry sauce in the marshmallows once completed.
The final result was fabulous and a great way to use up a bit of those blueberries. I fused several recipes together – Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for homemade marshmallows along with a Blueberry Sauce from All Recipes.
Blueberry Crisp Marshmallows
Ingredients
1 package unflavored Knox gelatin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (crushed from about 7 squares)
2 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 T. sugar
3 T. blueberry sauce (recipe below)
Directions
Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes.
While the marshmallow is being whipped, add the crushed graham crackers, sugar and butter together. Set aside. Grease a 8×8 inch square pan with cooking spray or butter and dust the bottom with the graham cracker crumbs. Reserve the remaining crumbs. Like this:
Once the fifteen minutes has passed, your marshmallows will be light and fluffy. They will look like this:
Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly. Carefully fold in the blueberry sauce just until you see a ribbon of blueberry and a light marbling effect. Pour into the baking pan and sprinkle with some of the remaining graham cracker crumb mixture. Let the marshmallows set overnight or for approximately 6-8 hours.
Cut the marshmallows up once they are set and dust the remaining sides with the graham cracker crumb mixture. Enjoy!
Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup water
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/4 cup of water, orange juice, and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.
In a cup or small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries so as not to mash the berries. Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract and cinnamon. Thin sauce with water if it is too thick for your liking.
I have been cooking a ton lately, but everything has been so healthy I was craving something that was decadent and blog worthy. Even though I have been trying to cook healthier I can not and will not ever give up sugary, decadent delights such as this Orange Scented White Chocolate Toffee.
The base is the same that I use for my original toffee which is butter, sugar, almonds and vanilla, however in this case I use orange extract in place of the vanilla extract. The orange extract I use is Nielsen-Massey’s Orange Extract, which you can find on Amazon here. I find this extract lends the toffee a mild orange flavor without tasting artificial.
There are still many delicious healthy recipes to be posted, but as with everything in life there needs to be some balance and this Orange Scented White Chocolate Toffee brings balance into my life – well this and Proseco. 🙂
The 4th of July is coming up and I am trying to be especially festive so I came up with this version for a red, white and blue dessert with these Triple Decker Rice Krispy Treats.
The recipe is simple. Butter, marshmallows, rice krispy cereal and food coloring. Just make a batch for each color and voila – you will have a yummy and festive treat!
I hope you try these and have a fun, happy and safe 4th of July!
Triple Decker Rice Krispy Treat Recipe
Ingredients
60 large marshmallows (this was about 1 1/2 packages for me)
9 cups Rice Krispy cereal
4 1/2 T. butter
red food coloring
blue food coloring
Directions
1. Line an 8×8 square with parchment paper and spray lightly with non-stick spray.
2. In a medium saucepan melt 1 1/2 T. butter over low heat. Add 20 marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and add red food coloring until you get the desired red.
3. Add cereal and stir until well coated.
4. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into the pan. Cool.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 once without food coloring for the white layer and then again with blue food coloring.
I have read about the many, many benefits of Maca Powder and wanted to come up with some tasty and delicious ways to work this magical ingredient into my day.
I was perusing Pinterest one day and wanted to know how to incorporate this item into my daily life and came across this article from the Paleo Mama highlighting 14 Benefits of Maca Powder. They are numerous so before I share a couple of my favorite ways to incorporate Maca, here are the reasons why you should pick up some Maca for yourself.
- Increases Energy – Maca has a reputation for boosting energy levels without stressing the adrenals (like coffee can)
- Increases Libido and Sexual Function – Maca is a known aphrodisiac among native Peruvian culture. It has been known to increase the libido among men and women!
- Improves Fertility – Black Maca has been known to increase sperm count and volume in men and Red Maca has been known to balance female hormones and ovulation cycles.
- Regulates Hormone Balance – Maca has a vast variety of amino acids, which are known as the building blocks of hormones.
- Reduces Depression – When you take Maca regularly, Maca can work to increase positive emotional moods. Maca has a very unique nutrient called macamides, which aid in decreasing depression and anxiety.
- Reduces Anxiety – Maca has a positive effect on your individual mood and can help to reduce any self-perceived anxiety.
- Helps with Menopause – Many Maca uses report a significant decrease in hot flashes after using Maca powder.
- Enhances Mental Clarity – Black Maca has been shown to have a beneficial effect on learning and memory. Maca is safe for both children and adults!
- Improves Blood Circulation – a very interesting property of Maca, is that it has been seen to improve blood circulation.
- Improves Acne – When acne is related to hormone imbalance, taking Maca can be very productive for improving hormonal acne.
- Improves Muscle Gain – More and more athletes and bodybuilders are using Maca powder to increase their athletic performance.
- Improves Thyroid Function – Due to the hormone balancing properties in Maca, it has been known to stimulate thyroid function.
- Improves Strong Teeth and Bones – Black Maca is great for increasing bone density and strength.
- Improves Skin Tone – Maca has a strong nutrient content and hormone balancing effect on our skin.
- Improves Hair Growth – Maca has been traditionally used to stimulate hair growth, as well as prevent hair loss.
I don’t know about you, but ever since reading this I have been trying to incorporate Maca into my everyday life. Here are a couple of my favorite recipes using Maca. The first is for a Maca Iced Coffee. This drink is super simple to make and a very refreshing way to enjoy some iced coffee. The second recipe is for Maca Oatmeal Cookies. These are a yummy snack and I often enjoy these as a delicious breakfast cookie. Feel free to add dried fruits or nuts, anything that suits you!
I hope you enjoy try these recipes and incorporate this healthy powder into your everyday life.
