Heather's Bytes

Growing up, I had always thought that making cheesecake was hard and time-consuming. So when I started doing my own cooking I’d use a box of the no-bake Jello crud and call it dessert. It wasn’t until I was married and decided to devote a little more time to figuring out the “hard” things (lasagna, stuffed shells, etc) that I realized cheesecake is a piece of cake.

My standard cheesecake recipe is really easy, but because I make it with sour cream and strawberries I consider it more of a summer recipe, so this weekend I decided to hunt down a fall cheesecake, and found a yummy pumpkin one from a magazine.

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
originally from spreadphilly.com

38 ginger snaps
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup melted butter

4 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs

Heat oven to 325°. In a food processor, pulse the pecans until finely chopped, and add ginger snaps. Process until fine and drizzle butter in. Pulse a few times until mixture is crumbly but not sticking together. Press onto the bottom and one inch up the side of a 9-inch springform pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in mixer until blended, be sure to scrap down the sides of the bowl. Add pumpkin, spice and vanilla, mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, until each is blended. Pour into crust.

Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until center is almost set (use a clean knife into the center to check). Remove from oven and let cool on a rack before removing pan rim. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

Serve with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

 Print this recipe!

I love fall baking more than just about anything in the world, and today was such a perfect day for it since our temperatures have finally dipped below 90°!

Appropriately, this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie is a Double Apple Bundt Cake, chosen by Lynne of Honey Muffin.

I had everything I needed for this one, and I chose to use Granny Smith apples. However, the one thing I did forget to pick up at the store was raisins so I used some Craisins I had in the pantry instead. They turned out very well and give the cake a little extra tartness.

I didn’t make the cake ahead of time and let it sit out as suggested, but I did sneak a few bites after I took the pictures above and even without a full “melding,” the flavors were yummy and fall-ish, and with a whole jar of apple butter still in the fridge I’m going to have to make it a few more times. When it’s ready to serve (probably tonight) I’ll make up a glaze to pour over it.

The folks that started the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group have started up another fun project to coincide with Dorie’s release of her newest cookbook, Around My French Table. The new group is called French Fridays with Dorie and of course, I joined up!

This week’s project was Gougeres, delicious little puffs of eggy, cheesy yumminess, and it was chosen by Dorie herself!

French cooking has always fascinated me because it’s always seemed a bit difficult and time consuming. These little biscuits were anything but. Though they needed some careful babysitting, there was really nothing to it, and you could easily whip up a batch to serve with breakfast or dinner.

I couldn’t find Gruyere cheese, unfortunately, so I used Swiss instead. This gave the biscuits a tangy bite, but I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for the Gruyere.

(Please forgive the bad lighting on the pictures – we have no natural lighting today (dark and cloudy), and I even managed to break one of my lamps.)

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Leslie of Lethally Delicious. This is really a forgiving recipe: As easy and delicious as this was, I managed to have nothing but issues with it!

I started off having to go to three different stores to find the puff pastry. My usual grocery store (Albertson’s) has had it in the past but they seem to be phasing a lot of stuff out lately, and no longer had it. The golden delicious apples that I did manage to find went rotten within three days of bringing them home, which, even for Albertson’s, is a new record. I think I need to start shopping at Smith’s.

Then, when I was prepping the apples, I managed to read the recipe on the opposite page of the one I was supposed to be using, and cut them a little thicker than they were supposed to be (not a big deal, they ended up getting cooked through anyway.) I put the tarte in the oven for the least recommended amount of time and still managed to get a little too much color along the edges. And, in my eagerness to try the tarte and get pictures, I completely forgot the apricot glaze. It’s a good thing I’m not a rocket scientist.

I did add a little bit of cinnamon to the sugar sprinkled over the top, and I think if I make this again I’ll go with Granny Smith apples, which I prefer for baking.

But as I said, it still turned out very yummy and the kids loved it, too.