Pumpkin Pasties

If you're not a Harry Potter fan, I'm sorry to say that the majority of this post won't make sense to you. However, I still encourage you to make this recipe, because pumpkin pasties are like pumpkin pie bites with an amazingly satisfying crust-to-filling ratio. So good.

Anyhoo, this Halloween, I spent my evening at Hogwarts:

I dressed up in my S.P.E.W. hat, donned my clunky 3-D glasses frames with the punched out lenses, and drew a lightning bolt on my forehead.

I greeted trick-or-treaters with a faux British accent.

I played the Harry Potter soundtrack loudly.

But the best part? Making butterbeer and pumpkin pasties.

My roommate (who is also a huge Harry Potter fan) and I assembled the pasties, which are an incredibly stress-free dessert to make, and then sat down to watch the first movie while we ate our treats. I literally felt like I was transported into the story, because I could just imagine that I was sitting next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione while they ate their pumpkin pasties at the Halloween feast. It was the best Halloween I can remember having in quite some time!

(PS... If you'd like the recipe for butterbeer, which is quite delicious -and non-alcoholic- , let me know and I'll hunt down the recipe!)


Recipe for Pumpkin Pasties:
Adapted from here

Print Me!

2 9 inch pie crusts (the store-bought rolled out ones work best)
1 can cooked pumpkin
One egg
2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (or a combination of ginger, ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg)
One cup of sugar
One beaten egg mixed with 2 tablespoons of milk for eggwash
Extra sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together the pumpkin , egg, spice mix, and sugar in a medium bowl.
2. Using the edge of a glass or a round cookie cutter, cut 3-4 inch circles from the unbaked pie crust. Place a tablespoon of the pumpkin mixture on half of each circle. Fold dough over to form a semicircle and press envelope closed with the tines of a fork.
3. Brush tops of the pasties with eggwash mixture. Sprinkle with sugar.
4. Place in oven and cook for 12 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Have you ever wanted to try something so badly that it almost pains you when you can't get your way? Well, that's how I felt when decided I wanted to try to make these cookies. My  interest in making Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies started a few months ago, but I couldn't find the perfect recipe. I searched and searched, but nothing seemed to be doing it for me. Yesterday, while browsing Martha Stewart's website for the first time in my life (sorry to all the Martha haters out there), I finally found it.

This recipe is sort of like a chocolate snickerdoodle - it requires the balls of dough to be rolled in a cinnamon-sugar mixture before baking, but there's a twist: add chile powder. I tried half of my cookies without the powder and half with it, because I was worried it would be too spicy for my mom (she's a super spice weenie). My conclusion? The chile powder is totally, TOTALLY worth it. It doesn't add any noticeable spiciness, but it does add a little, almost undefinable, flavor (unless you know the ingredient) that takes this cookie to the next level.

My mother, who is a pretty tough critic, has proclaimed this her new favorite cookie, which should prove to you just how awesome this recipe is.

Recipe:
Adapted from MarthaStewart.com

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chile powder (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and beat to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.
2. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, and chile powder (if using). Using heaping tablespoons, form balls of dough and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place, about 3 inches apart, on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set in center and begin to crack, about 10 minutes.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread (aka A Way to Make the Whole House Smell Wonderful)

To me, one of the best smells in the entire world is cinnamon. No matter what time of year it is, what kind of mood you're in, or what type of sweet you feel like eating, cinnamon is the superhero of the spice world. So when I combined the magical aroma of cinnamon with they heavenly smell of rising yeast to make this cinnamon raisin-swirl bread, the entire house smelled amazing for the whole afternoon.

This bread definitely took quite a bit of time to make: an 1 1/2 to rise, another 1 1/2 rising in the pan after the loaf was formed, and then 45 minute in the oven, but it was worth it. It turned out looking beeeautiful, and it tasted light and sweet, too. 

The dough takes a bit of work, but aim to have your dough springy (when you lightly poke it, it will make an indent, but then retake its original form), and not too sticky.  I found that I had to use almost the entire amount of recommended flour to make my dough not be sticky.

In order to get the beautiful swirl shape when you cut into the loaf, you treat the dough sort of like a jellyroll: put the cinnamon/sugar mix and raisins on the rolled out dough, and then start at a long end and roll it all up! Make sure you pinch the seam closed, so that it won't fall apart later.

When you have made your jellyroll-ed dough, put it in your bread pan and let it rise again (so much rising!). Once it has risen, brush the top with egg and sprinkle with the leftover cinnamon/sugar mix. The egg on the crust made it a little crunchy, but I thought it gave the crust a nice, varied texture.

Then you put it in the oven and bake it until it looks wonderful and your whole house smells like cinnamon - yum!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe

Adapted from Joy of Cooking

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 

3 tablespoons warm (105 F to 115 F) water 

1 cup warm (105 F to 115 F) milk

5 tablespoons melted butter

3 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 to 2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup raisins

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons melted butter

1 egg

Directions:

1. Combine yeast and warm water in a large mixing bowl and let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

2. Add milk, 5 tablespoons melted butter, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix by hand or on low speed for 1 minute.

3. Gradually stir in bread flour. Gradually add all-purpose flour until the dough is moist but not sticky. Knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

4. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat with oil. Cover loosely with a damp towl and let rise in a warm place (75 F to 80 F) until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/5 hours.

5. While dough finishes rising, place raisins in a small saucepan with enough water to cover by 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil, drain well, and let cool. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon.

6. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch (6 cup) loaf pan. Punch the dough down. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into an 8-inch-wide rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. Brush the surface of the dough with 1 1/2 teaspoons melted butter.

7. Sprinkle all but 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon mixture over the dough, then spread the raisins evenly over the surface. Starting from one 8-inch side, roll up the dough as you would a jelly roll. Pinch the seam closed. Place seam side down in the pan. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/12 hours.

8. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Whisk 1 egg and brush over the top of the loaf. Sprinkle the top of the dough with the remaining cinnamon mixture.

9. Bake 40-45 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove the loaf from the pan to a rack. Let cool completely before slicing.