Gluten Free Blondies with Nutella and Peanut Butter Chips

I've always loved to cook, but baking was always a little more of a challenge.  When you cook, you can create something from nothing without a lot of rules. When you bake, science takes the lead and you have to follow that lead in order to turn out an edible and appetizing creation.
Things like brownies and blondies give you a little more wiggle room and endless possibilities.
Now a days, I bake with gluten free flour and it can sometimes be challenging.  Brownies and such seem to be the easiest to make. I use Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour and always seem to have good results. This is a simple recipe and the blondies turn out really well.

Gluten Free Blondies with Nutella and Peanut Butter

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted
2 large eggs
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups  gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
13-ounce jar Nutella
1 cup peanut butter chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch non-stick baking pan with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a large, microwave-safe bowl add the butter and heat to melt, about 1 minute on high power.

3. Add the  brown sugar and vanilla, whisk until smooth. Then slowly add eggs, whisking.

4. Add the flour, salt, and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.

5. Turn half the batter out into prepared pan; set remaining batter aside.

6. Microwave the jar of Nutella, careful to peel away the foil seal, for about 15 seconds.

7. Turn Nutella out into the pan and spread into an even, smooth layer.

8. Turn remaining batter out over the Nutella. Add heaping rounded tablespoon-sized blobs using  a spatula to smooth them together.

9. Evenly top with peanut butter chips.

10. Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is set and golden; don’t overbake as they taste best when they’re slightly underbaked. A toothpick test is unreliable because you will hit melted Nutella. It will firm up as it cools. Place pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 90 minutes. Turn out onto a baking sheet, peel off parchment and flip over to slice.

Gluten Free Apple Cake

This is a fairly easy recipe that comes together pretty fast once you have the apples peeled and cored. Preparing the apples is a kind of therapy for me, kind of like any other mundane food prep. Turn on your favorite music, sing a little and sneak a couple of dance moves in while no one is watching. Life doesn't get much better than that, until you see the finished product, give it a taste and share it with others. This cake turns out beautifully, with a nice crunchy top and not overly sweet flavor. Like most gluten free baked goods, it's best eaten in the first couple of days and I recommend placing the uneaten portion in the refrigerator.

Gluten Free Apple Cake

1½ pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges, and sliced ⅛ inch thick crosswise
1 tablespoon Orange liqueur
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¾ cup, plus 2 tablespoons 1 to 1 gluten-free baking flour
¼ cup almond flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg plus 2 large yolks
1 cup canola oil
1 cup  buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar

Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven and set the temperature to 325 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with gluten-free cooking spray and place on a foil lined, rimmed baking sheet. (If you don't, you'll end up with a bit of a mess on the oven bottom)

Place apple slices on a microwave safe plate or pie dish, cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes, or until apples are slightly tender and pliable. Drizzle with orange liqueur and lemon juice and let cool for 15 minutes.

Place ¾ cup of gluten-free flour blend, almond flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add one egg, oil, milk and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Scoop out one cup of the batter and place in another medium bowl.

Add egg yolks to the larger portion of the batter and whisk to combine. Fold in the cooled apple slices and pour mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.

Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons of gluten-free flour blend into the remaining batter and smooth batter as evenly over the apple mixture in the pan as possible, taking care to spread it all the way to the edges.

Sprinkle the top with the 2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar and bake until the center of the cake is set, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Transfer pan to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Run a  plastic knife around the edge of the cake along the sides of the pan and let cool completely, about 2 hours more. Cut into wedges and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Gluten-Free Ricotta Cake

I came across this recipe in the May 2017 edition of ITALIA! magazine. It's simple to make and and tastes great too. I prefer to eat it at room temperature, but it can be served cold. I ended up beating my egg whites by hand because I used my Kitchenaid stand mixer for the cheese mixture, so keep that in mind if you do not want to bring egg whites to stiff peaks by hand. The cake had

a nice spongy texture that is not overly sweet with a light citrus taste. It also converted to gluten-free by substituting All Purpose Gluten Free Flour. #italia #italy #baking

Gluten- Free Ricotta Cake

24 oz Ricotta Cheese
6 large Eggs, separated
1/3 cup Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour
1 cup Super-Fine Sugar
Grated zest of  2 Oranges
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Pinch of Salt
Powdered Sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place ricotta in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, blend until smooth. Add egg yolks, flour, 6 Tbsp. sugar, orange and lime zest and salt. Whisk to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites on low speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add remaining sugar, whisking until stiff, glossy peaks form: this may take up to 3-4 minutes.
Gently fold one-third of the whites into the ricotta mixture using a spatula until just combined. Gently fold in the remaining whites until just combined.
Pour the mixture into a springform cake pan greased with butter and sprinkled with sugar, bake 45-50 minutes, or until the center is firm and the top is golden brown. The mixture will rise and then drop slightly during cooking.
Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to release from the pan, then turn out and allow to cool completely before serving dusted with plenty of powdered sugar.

Matt's Sherry Cake

 

This incredibly easy and tasty cake comes from Delicious Magazine's November 2013 edition. Of course, I do not have any of the proper tools in this flat for baking, but I have been trying. This one was done by hand since there is no mixer. If I can do it by hand as easily as I did with such great results, anyone can do it. The flavor is so rich and the sherry gives it an incredible taste. I could not find any proper vanilla extract so I used vanilla paste instead. It's a lovely little goo filled with hundreds of vanilla seeds, no more extract for me. My favorite ingredient was the bicarbonate of soda for bubbly batters. Enjoy this recipe, it's a good company cake!

Matt's Sherry Cake

125g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing cake tin
225g self-rising flour, plus extra for dusting cake tin
125g caster sugar
2 medium free-range eggs
1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp. vanilla paste
200ml sweet sherry

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius. Grease 23cm cake tin with butter, then dust with flour.
Beat together butter and sugar in a stand mixer or by hand until fluffy and pale. Beat in the eggs, one by one, then, using a metal spoon, gently fold in half of flour, the bicarbonate and vanilla. Add the sherry and fold in along with remaining flour.
Pour into cake tin and bake 35-45 minutes until risen and cooked through. Allow cake to cool in tin, then turn out onto wire rack to cool fully.

Lemon Brownies

I cannot remember where I got this recipe, but I made them last night and they are really good. I'm a fan of lemon cakes and such, and this recipe is very easy so it will get a lot of use. Serve them up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you have a simple dessert that will please everyone.

Lemon Brownies

Batter:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
34 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp lemon zest

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking dish and set aside.
Zest and juice 2 large lemons.
In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat flour, sugar salt and butter until combined.
In separate bowl, whisk eggs, lemon juice and zest until combined. Pour into flour mixture and beat at medium until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Pour into baking dish and bake 20-25 minutes, until starting to turn golden around edges and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before adding glaze.
To make glaze whisk together powdered sugar, juice and zest. Spread half over the cooled brownies and allow to set. Then spread with remaining glaze. Cut into squares and serve.

Girl Scout Cookie Brownies

One of the ladies I work with brought these wonderful brownies to work one day and I have to say they are incredible. They are so rich and fudge-like and the possibilities of variants are endless. These are made using a triple chocolate cake mix, Caramel DeLites Girl Scout cookies ( Samoas in certain markets) and a mix of butterscotch and white chocolate chips. I think they would be really good with Thin Mints and chocolate chips or peanut butter cookies and peanut butter chips. You will be tempted to eat them warm, but they have to cool completely to set up. The recipe I am posting is the original.

Girl Scout Cookie Brownies

1 box Caramel DeLites, crushed
1 chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup caramel sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 x 11.5 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Combine cake mix, melted butter and evaporated milk. Spread half of mixture into pan. Bake for six minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with half of crushed cookies and half of the chips. Drizzle with half of the caramel sauce. Drop spoonfuls of remaining batter evenly over the top and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining cookies, chips and caramel.
Cool completely before cutting.

Apple Tart with Orange-Marsala Glaze

This recipe came from the Oct/Nov 2009 Cooking Pleasures magazine. The recipe was supposed to be baked in an 11 inch tart pan, but I did not want to make a crust and forgot to buy one of the refrigerated ones. So I grabbed a frozen puff pastry sheet from the freezer and adapted the recipe to fit. It turned out great and tasted wonderful. Easy company worthy dessert.


Apple Tart with Orange-Marsala Glaze


1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch
1/4 cup sugar
Dash salt
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. orange marmalade, melted
1 Tbsp. sweet Marsala wine



Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cover bottom of baking sheet with parchment paper. Unfold pastry dough, crimp edges.
Arrange apple slices close together to cover bottom. Combine sugar and salt; sprinkle over apples. Dot with butter.
Bake until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. Cool on wire rack.
Combine marmalade and wine, brush over apples.

Olive Oil Cake

This recipe is simple and delicious, just the way I like them. I came across this recipe in the September 2009 Bon Appetit and thought it looked like a winner. The cake is better the next day, so once it has cooled completely, wrap in foil and store at room temperature.

Olive Oil Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

1/2 cup mild flavored olive oil

2 tsp. finely grated orange peel

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Oil and flour 9x5x3 inch metal loaf pan. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk eggs, milk, olive oil and orange peel in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk egg mixture into dry ingredients. Transfer to prepared pan.

Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Invert pan to remove cake. Cool completely, top side up.

Orange Pudding Cake

This recipe came from my December 2008 Gourmet magazine. It seemed like a simple recipe and it was. It also sounded like it would be really good, but not so. If you like orange flavored omelets, then this is the recipe for you. It has a nice orange pudding bottom layer with a souffle topping. So , it's pretty to look at and marvel at the science of, but kind of sucks to eat. This one is not a keeper.

Orange Pudding Cake

2 large naval oranges

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Rounded 1/4 tsp. salt

3 large eggs, separated

1 cup whole milk

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. with rack in the middle. Butter a 1 1/2-qt. gratin or other shallow baking dish.

Finely grate 2 tsp. zest from orange, then squeeze 1/2 cup juice from oranges.

Whisk together sugar, flour, and salt in large bowl.

Whisk together yolks, milk, butter, zest, orange and lemon juice in a small bowl and add to flour mixture, whisking until just combined.

Beat egg whites in another large bowl, with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Stir about 1/4 of whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently, but thoroughly( batter will be thin).

Pour into baking dish and bake in hot water bath until puffed and golden, 40 to 45 minutes. transfer to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

7UP Pound Cake

I am a huge lemon cake fan and am always looking for new recipes to try. I was intrigued with this one from Cook's Country June/July 2009 issue and decided to give it a try. Although not my favorite, a little on the dense side for me, it was good and had a mild lemon flavor to it.

7UP Pound Cake

Cake:

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup 7UP, room temperature

1 Tbsp. grated zest plus 2 Tbsp. juice from 1 lemon

1 Tbsp. grated zest and 2 Tbsp. juice from 2 limes

1/2 tsp. salt

20 Tbsp. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

3 1/4 cups cake flour

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. lime juice

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup non-stick tube pan. Process sugar, eggs, 7UP, zests, juices and salt in food processor until smooth. With machine running, slowly pour in butter and process until incorporated. Transfer to large bowl. Add flour in 3 batches, whisking with each addition.

Spread batter in prepared pan. Gently tap on counter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet to cool completely, about 2 hours.

Whisk confectioners sugar with juices in bowl until smooth. Pour over cooled cake. Let sit for ten minutes before serving.

Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings

My ex-wife Judy prepared these at my son's last birthday and I finally found the recipe. I know it sounds strange, but the recipe is really good. my ex mother-in-law used to make the best apple dumplings and these are actually quite close to hers and very easy to make.


Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings

2 large Granny Smith apples (Judy used gala)
2 (10 oz) refrigerated crescent roll dough tubes
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can Mountain Dew

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan. Core each apple and cut into eight wedges each. Separate dough into triangles. Roll apple wedge into dough, starting at small end; pinch to seal and place in baking dish. ( At this point, Judy sprinkled extra sugar and cinnamon onto the prepared dough in pan.)
Melt butter in saucepan and add sugar and cinnamon, pour over dumplings. Pour Mountain dew around sides and down the middle of the pan, but not over the dumplings. You do not use the whole can, probably half. Bake 35 to 45 minutes and let them sit 10 minutes before serving.

Chai Shortbread

This good cookie recipe comes from my friend, Alicia. She sent it to me a while ago and I finally got around to trying them out. The cookies are very good and are wonderful with coffee and vanilla ice cream. This is a simple recipe.

Chai Shortbread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup powdered sugar
10 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. ice water

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients, stirring well with whisk. Place sugar and butter in a medium bowl; beat with mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until just combined (dough will be crumbly). Sprinkle with ice water, toss with fork. Divide dough in half; shape into 2 (6 inch long) logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or until very firm.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Unwrap dough. Carefully cut each log into 18 slices with a serrated knife. Place circles 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosted Devil's Food Cookies

I came across this cookie recipe in the Sunday paper coupon section and thought I would give it a go. I felt the cookies were just okay, but Dan took them to work and everyone there loved them. They seemed a little on the gummy side to me. The ones that I made sandwiches with tasted the best. I probably would not make them again unless I was in a pinch for time. The recipe calls for Reduced Sugar Chocolate Fudge Frosting, but I opted for vanilla.

Frosted Devil's Food Cookies

1 (18.25 oz.) box Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Devil's Food Cake Mix

1/3 cup Crisco shortening

1/3 cup cold water

1 large egg

1 (15 oz.) container Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine cake mix and shortening in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until a coarse meal forms. Add water and egg mixing on low, until a smooth dough forms. Shape into 5 dozen 1-inch balls. Spray bottom of a cup with non-stick spray and flatten each cookie into 2-inch round.

Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until center is firm. Cool 1 minute and remove to cooling racks. Spread with frosting. If desired, sprinkle with decorative candy bits.

Torta Cioccolata con Crema y Fragole

As you know, baking is not one of my strong suits, but I am trying to be better. I found this nice cook book called Cakes From Scratch in Half the Time by Linda West Eckhardt and I just had to buy it. The pictures are great, but the recipes are what won me over. This chocolate torte is incredible and easy. The picture does not do it justice, it's very dark, almost black, but I had to use a flash on the camera, it was just too dark. The cake is dense, but not heavy and not overly sweet. I think that it would be just as good sprinkled with powdered sugar as opposed to using the whipped cream. Either way, the cake is delicious.

Torta Cioccolata con Crema y Fragole

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. Dutch process cocoa powder, divided
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup brewed espresso
5 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Arrange the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Spritz a 9-inch shiny round aluminum cake pan with Baker's Joy, then dust with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.
Whisk the flour, the remaining 1/3 cup of cocoa powder, baking soda, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Stir together coffee, oil, vanilla, and vinegar in a 2- cup glass measuring cup. Whisk into the dry ingredients, blending until just lump free.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until top springs back at the touch and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool cake in the pan on a rack. Turn out onto a cake plate.

Perfect Whipped Cream

1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp, sour cream or creme fraiche
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine ingredients and whip until soft peaks form. Refrigerate, covered, until time to serve.

Snickerdoodles

When I was younger, my sister Beth and I made snickerdoodles all of the time. We both loved them for their flavor and the ease at which they could be made. They are still one of my favorite cookies, but I have not made them since those childhood days. I got out my Joy of Cooking and found a recipe that looked easy and promising. Once I had the batter made up though, I ran into a few problems. The dough was very light and impossible to roll into balls. I decided to refrigerate the dough in order to harden it up some. It took about 30 minutes to get to the correct consistency for rolling. Then as the cookies baked they flattened and spread into each other on the baking sheets. The flavor was good, but a little buttery for my taste

and the cookies were thin and crispy, not what I remembered from the past. I asked my mom about them and she said we used the Betty Crocker version, so next time that is what I will try. Here is the recipe that I used.

Snickerdoodles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets . Whisk until well blended:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
Beat in a large bowl:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
Add and beat until well combined:
2 large eggs
Stir in the flour mixture. Combine:
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Shape dough into 1 1/4" balls, roll in cinnamon and sugar and arrange 2 3/4" apart on baking sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are light golden brown at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Let stand briefly, then remove to wire racks.

Blackberry Wine Cake

This recipe comes from my friend Jan. She served this for dessert once and I thought it would be the perfect cake for Christmas dinner. The recipe calls for the cake to be made in a bundt pan, but my sister gave me this snowflake cake pan for Christmas and I thought it would look nice. As it was, the cake turned out very nice in the pan and the flavor is amazing. Since the cake uses Jell-o and wine, you can use any flavor combo, like peach Jell-O and peach wine if you so desire.

Blackberry Wine Cake

1 box white cake mix

1 3 oz. box blackberry Jell-O

4 eggs

1/2 cup cooking oil

1 cup blackberry wine

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Grease bundt pan and sprinkle nuts on the bottom. Mix the rest of the ingredients, beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Pour batter over nuts. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup blackberry wine

Combine in a small saucepan and bring to a hard boil. When cake is done, remove from oven and pour 2/3 of glaze over the bottom of warm cake while still in the pan. Let it cool for 30 minutes and turn out of pan. Add more powdered sugar to thicken glaze (approx. 1/4 cup) and drizzle over cake.

Classic Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee is one of my favorite desserts. If I order dessert at a restaurant , it's usually creme brulee. This is a very easy recipe that I have been using for years. I served it Sunday night for some friends and they thought it was wonderful. The recipe comes a little book called Elegantly Easy Creme Brulee by Debbie Puente. Along with this recipe comes some very nice variations and other custard type desserts.



Classic Creme Brulee


8 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated white sugar (for the caramelized tops)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Add cream and vanilla and continue to whisk until well blended. Strain into a large bowl, skimming off any foam or bubbles.

Divide among 6 ramekins. Place in a baking dish and pour warm water 1/2 the way up the sides of the ramekins, making sure not to get any on the mixture. Bake until set around the edges, but still loose in the center, about 40 to 50 minutes. Larger, deeper ramekins may require more time. Remove from oven and leave in water bath until cooled. remove cups and chill at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

When ready to serve, sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of sugar over each. Melt sugar with small, hand held torch. If you do not have a torch, place under broiler to melt sugar. Rechill for a few minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Marshamallow-Sour Cream Topping & Gingersnap Crust

Forget the pumpkin pie this year, here is the dessert you need to serve for the holidays this year! This recipe comes from the November 2008 Bon Appetit and it's a keeper. The cheesecake rises out of the springform pan to make a spectacular dessert. The only issue I had with this recipe was the crust. You use a combination of gingersnaps and pecans, but the end result tastes too much like pecans. I would use only a 1/2 of a cup next time or leave them out all together. Pecans are one of my favorite nuts, but it seems like a perfectly good waste of the cookies, since you don't really taste them.

Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Marshmallow-Sour Cream Topping & Gingersnap Crust

Crust:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs ( about 9 oz.)

1 cup pecans

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp. chopped crystallized ginger

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin

5 large eggs

3 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Topping:

2 cups mini marshmallows

1/4 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

Crust/ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray. Grind crumbs, pecans, brown sugar and ginger in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter; pulsing, to blend. Transfer to pan and press into bottom and 2 inches up sides. Bake until set ad lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling/ Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low to incorporate each addition. Add flour, spices and salt; beat just to blend. Beat in vanilla. Transfer to crust. Bake until filling is just set in center and edges begin to crack ( filling will move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool 1 hour. Run knife around sides of pan to release crust. Chill uncovered in pan overnight.

Topping/ Stir marshmallows and milk in medium saucepan over low heat until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Add sour cream; fold gently just to blend. Pour over cheesecake and spread evenly, leaving 1/2 inch uncovered around edges. Chill to set at least 1 hour.

Can be made a day ahead, keep chilled.

White Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

This is the frosting recipe for the Pumpkin Spice Cake . It's so simple and so sinfully sweet and good. The sweetness works well with the spice in the cake and would also work well on a carrot cake. How can you go wrong with 3 simple ingredients like cream cheese, marshmallow cream and white chocolate chips?


White Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 container of marshmallow cream
1 bag white chocolate chips, melted

Using a hand mixer, mix ingredients until well blended. Frost.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

I came across this recipe in the Northland Sun Tribune last week and was intrigued with the frosting. It's a simple recipe and perfect for the upcoming holidays. The cake tastes like pumpkin pie, so it would be a great alternative for a Thanksgiving dessert. It would make a great layer cake that could be decorated with those little candy pumpkins.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

1 box spice cake mix

1 can pumpkin

Mix cake following box directions with the addition of the pumpkin. Box according to directions.

Can't get any easier than that!