Recipes - Cookies, Pies, Cakes, and Other Sweets

[Sason]

Don't forget to send me some! 

[serious crayons]

My mother always cooked her own. I remember her cutting it in chunks, and at some point in the process mashing the pumpkin with a potato masher.

In maybe 1985 or so, I was invited by a coworker to her family's Thanksgiving dinner in Duluth, and she made a pie from fresh pumpkin.

I was very impressed. But that seemed like a lot of work. So after that is when I started making sweet-potato pies -- same principle but much easier to access. And my bourbon-sweet potato pie with fresh whipped cream is always the hit of the holiday desserts.

 

[CellarDweller]

Don't forget to send me some! 

[Sason]

I'm glad you agree that you won't forget to send me some! 

I'm sure you can find a very big tin to fill up! 

[Jeff Wrangler]

In maybe 1985 or so, I was invited by a coworker to her family's Thanksgiving dinner in Duluth, and she made a pie from fresh pumpkin.

I was very impressed. But that seemed like a lot of work. So after that is when I started making sweet-potato pies -- same principle but much easier to access. And my bourbon-sweet potato pie with fresh whipped cream is always the hit of the holiday desserts.

I'm not sure I'm following. You mean you use canned sweet potatoes?

No pumpkin pie at dinner today. Dessert was chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, or banana cream pie--or both. ...

Around here sweet potato pie isn't a thing, except maybe in some neighborhoods of Philadelphia.

And I still don't understand how macaroni and cheese became a Thanksgiving side dish. 

[CellarDweller]

Two weekends done, and four batches of cookies are baked and in the freezer as we speak.

The first two batches of cookies were the chocolate chip and Italian Christmas cookies.  No issues with them at all.

this weekend, however, the cookies decided to throw a monkey wrench into our plans.

   


Today we made our pumpkin spice and peppermint stars and candy canes.

The pumpkin spice cookies were supposed to be in the oven for 15 minutes, but we tested the first batch, and they were just starting to burn at the 10 minute mark.  Thankfully, we caught this and saved that batch, but that meant the rest of the cookies had to be baked at 10 minutes.  Then, for some reason, the last batch decided to burn at 10 minutes, so we had to toss out about 20 cookies.  Thankfully, we made a large batch of dough, so they won't be missed.

Then, the dough for the peppermint cookies decided to get sticky, despite being in the fridge overnight.  So we had to keep flouring the baking mat we were rolling the dough on, so we could get them off the mat and onto the baking sheets.

I'm thinking that the thermometer on mom's oven is off, so we lowered the temp of the oven, and monitored them closely, and thankfully we didn't lose any of those.

[Front-Ranger]

Wow, good rescue work. I am so lazy I just can't see myself spending four hours baking what my audience will dispatch in two bites.

Perhaps you should put a thermometer inside the oven that can be read through the oven window. Also, using the convection feature might help.

[serious crayons]

I am so lazy I just can't see myself spending four hours baking what my audience will dispatch in two bites.

I usually pick up one of those big cookie trays from the grocery store. They aren't nearly as good as homemade. On the bright side, I'm a tiny bit less inclined to eat 12 at a time.

I used to make these really delicious cheese straws. They were like thin slices of spicy, cheddar flavored shortbread. So not sweet obviously, but they were a change of pace. But I've gotten too lazy for those, too.

[CellarDweller]

Wow, good rescue work. I am so lazy I just can't see myself spending four hours baking what my audience will dispatch in two bites.

Perhaps you should put a thermometer inside the oven that can be read through the oven window. Also, using the convection feature might help.

actually, this experience lead me to what to get mom for Christmas.

She has old measuring cups and spoons, and I want to know if her oven's temp is off, so I ordered her new, large print measuring cups, spoons, a dough blender, and a large display oven thermometer.

[Front-Ranger]

Today, 3-14, is Pi Day! How will you celebrate?

I'm thinking about making a shepherd's pie. That brings Pi and Brokeback together!