Ingredients

for the crust:

• 2 cups ground pecans
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter

for the filling:

• 14 oz. Kraft caramels
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 pkg. (8 squares) Baker’s Bittersweet chocolate
• 1/3 cup milk [it may need a lot more]
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preparation

Combine the crust ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Melt caramels in milk. Pour over crust, sprinkle with pecans. Heat chocolate, 1/3 cup milk, powdered sugar and vanilla, stirring, just until melted. Pour over pecans and refrigerate. Serves 10-12.

Ingredients

For dough:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 stick unsalted butter, frozen
• Ice water

For filling:

• 1 pound butternut squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 pound kabocha squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 red onion, cut through the core into 1/2-inch wedges
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded Manchego, plus more for serving

Preparation

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with 3/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Working over the bowl, grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater. Gently toss the grated butter in the flour. Stir in 1/3 cup of ice water until the dough is evenly moistened. Scrape out onto a work surface, gather up any crumbs and knead gently just until the dough comes together. Pat into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the butternut and kabocha squash and the onion with the olive oil and curry powder. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the squash is tender but not falling apart. Let cool.

Increase the oven temperature to 450°. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 14-inch round. Carefully transfer to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Spread the sour cream over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese on top. Arrange the squash and onion over the sour cream and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese on top. Fold the pastry edge up and over the vegetables to create a 1 1/2-inch border.

Bake the squash galette for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is browned; let cool slightly. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, cut into wedges and serve warm.

Food & Wine

Ingredients

• 4 pints (~3lb) fresh strawberries
• 3/4 c.sugar
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Sure-Jell low-sugar pectin (pink box)
• pinch salt
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 pie shell, baked

Preparation

Select 6 oz. of less pretty berries. Blend to smooth puree. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, Sure-Jell, and salt in medium saucepan. Stir in berry puree. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil, scraping bottom and sides of pan to prevent scorching, for 2 minutes to ensure that cornstarch is fully cooked. Transfer to large bowl and stir in lemon juice. Let cool to room temperature.

Measure 2 lb. of pretty beries; halve only extra-large berries. Add berries to bowl with glaze and fold gently until berries are evenly coated. Scoop berries into pie shell, piling into mound. Refrigerate pie until chilled, about 2 hours. Serve within 5 hours of chilling.

CI

Ingredients

• 16 ounces peeled, roughly diced sweet potatoes (3 1/3 cups; 455g), from 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, seeds reserved for whipped cream topping
• 2 or 3 cinnamon sticks (about 6 inches total)
• 1 whole nutmeg
• 26 ounces milk (3 1/4 cups; 740g), any percentage will do
• 6 ounces heavy cream (3/4 cup; 170g)
• 7 ounces white or lightly toasted sugar (1 cup; 195g)
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; use half as much if iodized
• 1/2 ounce vanilla extract (1 tablespoon; 14g)
• 3 large eggs

Preparation

In a 3-quart stainless steel saucier, combine sweet potatoes, empty vanilla pod, cinnamon sticks, whole nutmeg, milk, cream, and sugar. If you have a scale, write down the weight of the saucier and combined ingredients so you can precisely measure the reduction.

Bring to a boil over high heat, then adjust to medium-low and maintain a gentle simmer (higher heat may cause the milk to curdle). Scrape frequently with a flexible spatula to prevent milk solids from building up around the side, and simmer until sweet potatoes are fall-apart tender and dairy has condensed into a thick sauce, about 55 minutes. The saucier should weigh 19 ounces (535g) less than when you started. (Alternatively, total volume, including cooked sweet potato, should be 3 2/3 cups when finished.)

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F (177°C). Remove vanilla bean and spices from saucier and purée sweet potato and dairy mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. (If needed, transfer to a smaller container to avoid splashing.) Whisk in ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, salt, and vanilla, followed by eggs. If you like, strain through a fine-mesh strainer before pouring into prepared pie crust.

Bake pie until gently set in the middle (with an internal temperature of 195°F or 91°C), about 40 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing with a chef’s knife, pausing to wipe the blade clean as needed. If desired, serve with dollops of whipped cream. Wrapped in plastic, sweet potato pie will keep up to 3 days at cool room temperature.

Serious Eats

Ingredients

• 3 cups vanilla cookie crumbs
• ¾ cup melted butter
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 rounded tsp powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 9 extra large egg yolks
• ⅓ cup sugar
• Two 10 ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup lemon juice
• zest of 2 lemons finely minced

Preparation

Grease a 10 inch deep dish pie plate or line the bottom of a 10 inch spring-form pan and lightly grease the sides. Mix together the cookie crumbs and butter. Press into the bottom and sides of the pie plate or to about ¾ of the height of a spring form pan if you are using one. Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees F. Set aside to cool. Whip the cream, icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment in place, add the egg yolks and ⅓ cup sugar. Whisk at high speed until light, foamy and pale yellow in color, about 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the sweetened condensed milk lemon zest and lemon juice. Gently fold in the previously whipped cream. Pour into the prepared pie crust. Freeze overnight. Garnish with whipped cream, additional Nilla cookies and lemon zest before serving.

Barry Parsons

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 1/2 pounds Italian plums, pitted and sliced
• 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 refrigerated ready-to-bake pie crust dough (7.5 ounces)
• 1/4 cup marzipan, crumbled into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

Heat oven to 375°. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. In a bowl, toss plums with 1/3 cup sugar and cardamom. Dust flour on work surface; roll out dough to a 14-inch diameter and transfer to baking sheet. Leaving a 2-inch border, sprinkle marzipan on dough. Arrange plums in circular pattern over marzipan. Fold and pleat edges toward center. Brush dough with egg and sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake until crust is golden, 22 to 26 minutes. Cool; serve.

Epicurious

Ingredients

• 1 double-crust pie shell
• 1 1/2 c. frozen chopped spinach or 2 qts. fresh spinach (2 8-oz. bags works well)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-2 c. grated Swiss cheese
• 1 egg yolk for brushing top of pie

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350. If using frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze. If using fresh, cook, drain, dry, and chop. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender. In a bowl combine spinach, onion, nutmeg, salt, eggs, and cheese. Mix well. Pour into the pie shell. Arrange the top crust over the filling and crimp the edges. Brush the top with egg yolk if desired. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Penzey’s Spices

Ingredients

• 2 tubes canned cinnamon rolls with icing (one regular and one caramel)
• 2 small apples, gala or honey crisp
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove cinnamon rolls from the packaging and lightly flour your work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out each cinnamon roll until flat enough to roll up, about double the original size. Place each cinnamon roll, seam side down, into a pie dish and form a circle. Add two additional circles (depending on your pie pan size), ending with one single cinnamon roll in the middle.

Peel and slice 2 small apples and push slices in between the gaps of each cinnamon roll circle. Cover with tin foil and bake until the cinnamon rolls are nearly cooked through, possibly as long as 30 minutes. Uncover and brown. [CP: This is a tweak to the recipe, which didn’t begin to cook all the way through the first time we made it; we haven’t tried it this way yet. Edit me to add times when we cook it again.]

Meanwhile, spoon regular icing into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 10 seconds or until warm and slightly runny. Drizzle over the warm pie. Repeat with the caramel icing. If you can’t find cinnamon rolls that come with caramel icing, simply combine the regular icing with 1/4 cup caramel sauce and heat in a microwave-safe bowl for 10 seconds as well. Stir to combine and drizzle over the top.

Deliciously Yum

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup frozen white pearl onions, thawed
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 small bunch kale, center ribs and stems removed, leaves chopped
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken, meat torn into bite-size pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 large egg

Preparation

Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 425°. Heat oil in an 8-inch cast-iron or other heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic and sage to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic begins to brown, about 2 minutes.

Add kale and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing often, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle flour over. Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes.

Stir in broth, 1/2-cupful at a time, then add squash. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until squash is just softened and broth is thickened, 8-10 minutes. Add chicken to skillet, stir, and season with salt and pepper.

Unfold pastry and smooth any creases; place over skillet, allowing corners to hang over sides. Whisk egg and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Brush pastry with egg wash; cut four 1-inch slits in top to vent.

Bake pot pie until pastry is beginning to brown, 15-20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375° and bake until pastry is deep golden brown and crisp, 15-20 minutes longer. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Bon Appetit

Ingredients

for pastry:

• 260 gr flour
• 1 heaping tsp ground cardamom
• 1 Tbsp freshly ground Meyer lemon zest
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 7 Tbsp butter, cold and cut into pieces
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp water, cold

for chocolate ganache filling:

• 10 oz. heavy cream
• 1/4 cup dried lavender buds
• 12 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp butter
• coarse salt
• dried lavender buds

Preparation

Using a food processor or pastry cutter, mix the flour, cardamom, lemon zest, and sugar until combined. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the size of small peas. Add the egg yolk and gradually add the lemon juice and water just until a dough begins to form when you press it between two fingers. Do not overmix. Form the pastry into a ball and refrigerate for at least one hour. (or stick it in the freezer for a shorter amount of time.) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and press the dough into the tart pan. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork, cover with parchment paper, and weigh down using dry beans or pie weights. Return to freezer for a few minutes if the dough has softened. Bake for ~13-15 minutes until the edges just begin to turn golden. Remove the beans and parchment paper and continue to bake for 3-5 minutes more, until the crust has completely turned golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

In a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the cream and lavender buds until just barely a simmer. Cover and remove from heat. Let steep for at least ten minutes. Place the chocolate and honey in a heat-proof bowl, place a fine mesh strainer on top, and set aside. Add the butter to the cream and lavender bud mixture and return to a simmer. Once the cream simmers, remove from heat and pour the hot cream through the sieve onto the prepared chocolate, making sure to press all of the liquid from the lavender buds. Discard the lavender buds. Let the chocolate sit for 2-3 minutes. Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and evenly distributed. Immediately pour into the prepared tart crust. Using your fingers (or a mortar and pestle), rub together an equal but small amount of coarse salt and dried lavender buds. Sprinkle liberally over the top of the chocolate. Let the tart set at room temperature until completely cool, about 1-2 hours. Serve at room temperature.

Desserts for Breakfast