We had most of a can of pumpkin puree in the fridge, left over from eggless muffins. Because I was lazy and running late that morning, I had simply tossed the open can into the fridge. A year living in the co-op put the fear of botulism in me, so it was clear that I needed to use up that pumpkin puree right quick. What an excellent excuse to create more baked goods.

These little cookies are very, very good. They’re light and a little spongy, more like a cake or quickbread than a cookie. They’re sweet enough to satisfy a craving, but not so sweet that you’ll go into a diabetic coma.

I was almost hoping for something sweeter, so I said to Barb: “I think they’d be better with a little cream cheese frosting.”

She replied: “I think they’d be better in me.”

… and then half of the cookies were gone.

If you keep your butter in the freezer like I do, you can grate the frozen butter on a box grater, and shorten the time for the butter to come to room temperature. It’ll still take a while, though, so be patient. (I was not patient, and a few cookies came out with little lumps of butter. Not the worst fate in the world, but these aren’t really supposed to be shortbread or pie crust.)

Pumpkin-Maple Cookies

Adapted from Moosewood New Classics

Makes roughly 2 1/2 dozen 2″ diameter cookies.

1 c. butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the maple syrup, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, and mix until well blended. Stir together the remaining ingredients, and add to the bowl. Stir well to form a soft batter.

Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto a large baking sheet covered in parchment paper, allowing plenty of space for the cookies to spread. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cookies are very slightly brown on the bottom. Cook briefly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack.

But general-purpose uses aren’t why I brought the skillet. I brought it because I have a love affair with this upside-down cake, and I wanted to bake it fresh for Christmas. It’s rustic, hearty, not too sweet, and great for breakfast after a big roasted turkey dinner the night before.

I used a combination of pears, lemon juice, and fresh ginger for the produce part, but you could use just about any fruit you like. Apples and cranberries would work well. An all-berry cake would roughly resemble a New England style buckle or cobbler. Whatever you do, arrange the fruit in layers, with an eye towards presentation.

Sorry, no pictures this time. Too much going on, too much to eat. Trust me, though, it’s gorgeous.

Pear-Ginger Upside-Down Skillet Cake
Original recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

3 medium cornice pears (the firm, crisp kind)
Juice of 1 lemon
3/4″ knuckle of ginger, chopped finely

1/2 c. butter, divided (one stick)
1 c. brown sugar, packed, divided
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. cornmeal
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first three ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Heat up your skillet on the stovetop, and melt 1/4 c. butter together with 1/2 c. brown sugar. Arrange fruit in skillet, and set aside.

Process rolled oats in a food processor or mini-prep until you have effectively made oat flour. In a small bowl, combine oat flour, cornmeal, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, spices, and salt.

Cream together remaining butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Alternate adding dry ingredients to bowl with milk, to form a uniform batter. Spread over fruit in skillet.

Bake 40-45 minutes, until a knife in the center comes out clean. Cool 5-10 minutes in the skillet, then invert onto a plate for serving.

Chocolate Mousse with Olive Oil
Adapted from delicious:days

(Note: Somehow, when reading the original recipe, “3 egg yolks plus 3 egg whites” got translated into 6 eggs, separated. No wonder it made 11 servings instead of 4-6. Do as I say, not as I do.)

6 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
1 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
3 eggs, separated
1/2 c. sugar, divided
1/2 pint heavy cream

1. Melt chocolates in a double boiler while stirring occasionally. Stir in olive oil, and set aside to cool.
2. Put cream into the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk. Beat on high until stiff. Scrape into a bowl, and refrigerate.
3. Put egg yolks and half of the sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until very pale and thick, about five minutes. Scrape into another bowl, and set aside. Clean your stand mixer bowl and whisk.
4. Put egg whites into the stand mixer bowl. Beat until foamy, then add remaining sugar, and continue to beat until stiff, glossy peaks form.
5. Put chocolate mixture in a large bowl, and fold in the remaining ingredients in this order: egg yolks, egg whites, and cream.
6. Dish out into individual ramekins, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

We topped these with pomegranate seeds. Beautiful, and delicious.

I saw a recipe over on Cast Sugar for Eggnog Cheesecake with Caramel Rum Sauce. Immediately, I knew it had to happen.

A problem, though: All of the cheesecake recipes I’ve seen call for a food processor, and I don’t have one! I just have a little mini-prep. It’s great for salsa, sauces, and small batches of things, but an entire cheesecake? No way.

Enter the KitchenAid. (Cue ominous music.)

Yes — with the paddle attachment and my favorite kitchen workhorse, I beat that cheesecake into submission.

Also, the recipe calls for rum extract. I looked for it at the grocery store, but the only thing I could find was imitation rum extract, made from glycerin and corn syrup and nasty artificial flavors. I prefer real ingredients, so I substituted.

Oh, and speaking of real ingredients: buy real eggnog please, the kind that comes from your local dairy and doesn’t contain thickeners or artificial stuff. You know, the kind that actually contains eggs.

Eggnog Cheesecake
Slightly altered, from Cast Sugar

1 c. ground gingersnaps
3 Tbsp. melted butter

3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 c. white sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. eggnog
2 eggs
1/4 c. rum
Freshly ground nutmeg

Sauce:
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. water
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. rum

Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine ground gingersnaps and butter, and press into the bottom of a 9-in. springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Preheat oven to 425 F. In a stand mixer bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and eggnog. Beat with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes or more, until silky smooth. Beat in eggs, rum, and nutmeg. Pour mixture into cooled crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 250 F and bake for 45 minutes, or until center of cake is barely firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and immediately loosen cake from rim. Let cake cool completely before removing the rim.

For the sauce:
In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in water. In a medium saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp. butter. Stir in brown sugar and the cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in rum. Allow to cool.

Rum sauce with cornstarch? This was… just fine, I suppose. Next time, though, I’ll make an actual caramel sauce by cooking sugar, and add rum. This still tasted a little bit like tortillas to me, even after cooking the sauce for ten minutes.

The cheesecake, though, was superb.

I love the taste of cardamom with blueberries. I’m not quite sure how it works out that the two tastes compliment each other so well, but somehow just a little smidge of cardamom brings the blueberries to life.

Coconut-Blueberry Ice Cream

• Half can of coconut milk
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten well
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups of wild blueberries (the small, low-bush kind are preferable)
• Ground cardamom, a little bit (maybe 1/4 tsp)
• Ground ginger, a little bit (maybe 1/2 tsp)
• Vanilla extract, a little bit (maybe 1/2 tsp)

Combine everything and freeze in an ice cream maker for about 15-20 minutes. Feed immediately to your wife, who insists that the blueberries make up for not having any vegetables with dinner.