Cooking with Christy – Pumpkin Edition – Recipes

Christy and her helper Eleanor have been busy making some delicious things out the pumpkins that are everywhere at Halloween time.  These recipes are awesome!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

For the Roasted Squash:
1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 2’ chunks
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp Tuscan Herb infused olive oil from Olive the Best in Port Moody
Light sprinkling of Salt and Pepper
Toss the squash and onion in the olive oil, salt and pepper and spread on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes – the squash should be soft but still firm and the onions should be starting to brown.

For the Soup:
Roasted squash and onions
1 granny smith apple, peeled and cubed
1 finger width of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
4-5 cups chicken, turkey or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup whipping cream

Put all ingredients except the cream in a giant pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and cook until all veggies are mush. Allow to cool for a while then stick a hand blender in the pot and blend until smooth. Stir in cream and serve!

 

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup salted butter
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
4tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
2 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs and pumpkin. Sift dry ingredients together and fold into batter. Mix with beaters until well combined. Drop spoonfuls (we used tablespoons) of batter onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. They should be light and cakey . Frost with buttercream or cream cheese icing.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

For the Crust:
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Mix all ingredients and press into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
For the filling:
20oz (1 ½ packages) cream cheese, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 ¾ cups pumpkin puree
3 tbsp sour cream, room temperature
4 eggs, room temperature

Mix the sugars and spices together in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth, and then mix in the sugar mixture. Beat in the sour cream and pumpkin puree. Add the eggs 1 at a time. Tightly wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan with at least 2 layers of aluminum foil and place in a large roasting pan. Pour the batter into the pan.

Fill the roasting pan wth about 1 inch of boiling water and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes – the top should look set but wobble a bit in the middle if you bump it. Allow it to cool in the water bath until the water is lukewarm, then remove and cool completely. Once the cake has cooled, refrigerate for at least 4 hours and then enjoy!!!