Talkin' Turkey Part Three: Gimme Some Sugar

Happy Thanksgiving!  If you're not bursting at the seams of your stretchy pants yet, it's time to talk about the sweet treats that top off this big American meal.  Growing up, the traditional dessert of choice was pie.  Apple, pumpkin, mincemeat...you name it we had it, and everyone had a favorite.  Pumpkin pie was a staple in our house at Thanksgiving.  We bought the canned pumpkin and made the recipe off the back of the label.  In fact, I still do!  Hey, if ain't broker, don't fix it.  Grandma Alford still makes a killer apple pie with Granny Smith apples.  I owe my love for these über tart apples to this recipe. My dad loves mincemeat pie with the rum sauce on top, so once in a while, either grandma or I would make one.  I gave pecan pie a whirl one year and loved it!

Try these pie recipes:
Emeril's Pecan Pie recipe
Apple Pie recipe

 

Instead of pie this year, we decided to go a different route entirely and scratch the pie altogether.  There are only seven of us and it just made sense to do something simpler. 

Apple of My Eye
Kristina is making a delicious apple crisp recipe from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties!.  It's simple to assemble, can be baked while everyone's eating dinner and is heavenly served warm with vanilla bean ice cream.  If you hadn't noticed by now, I'm a visual learner, so I threw in a video of Ina preparing this recipe.

Recipe from cookbook as follows:

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Ingredients:
5 pounds McIntosh or Macoun apples
Grated zest of 1 orange
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the topping:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9x13 baking dish.  Peel, core, and cut the apples into large wedges. Combine the apples with the zests, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into the dish.

To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.

Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm with ice cream.

Pee-Kan or Peh-Kahn?
I never get this right.  It's a dead giveaway I'm not a native East Coaster when I say this one little word.  Where I'm from, this nut is called a peh-KAHN.  Here in New England, folks call it a PEE-kan.  Sigh.  I guess you can take the girl out of California, but you can't completely get the Californian out of the girl.

Several years ago, a colleague of mine gave me a recipe for homemade pecan pie that was to die for.  While I loved the result this pie, it required a lot of time in front of the stove top stirring the gooey center mixture until it was cooked completely and all the sugar was dissolved.  I decided to try something different this year.  For my lovely friends, I made some bars that were the right amount of nutty, chewiness without all the slaving over the stove.

Pecan Pie Bars from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup chopped pecan
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 tbs butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  To make crust, combine flour, powdered sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  Using a pastry cutter (or a fork, like me) cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture resembles course crumbs.  Pat crumb mixture into 11x7x1.5 baking pan.  Bake for 20 minutes or until light brown.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together eggs, pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup, the 2 tablespoons of melted butter, and the vanilla.  Spread evenly over the baked crust.

Bake for 20 minutes more or until filling is set.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.

To store: Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover and store in the refrigerator up to three days.

This Girl's Turning into a Pumpkin
I personally am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie (don't hate me).  I know, I know.  How un-American of me, right?  I like a variety of other dishes made with pumpkin, but pie just doesn't send me.  I always have a slice because, well, that's what you do!  I don't dislike it, I just prefer other options on the dessert table, that's all.  

A few years ago, a friend and I tried a pumpkin cookie recipe that actually was awesome.  She had found this recipe and wanted to bake them for a cookie swap. While it seems I won't have time to whip up a batch of these before posting out to you all, I have included the link here for you.

In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, whomever you share it with and wherever you may be. To my beloved family and dear friends scattered all over the country, I love and miss you all.  I wish I could break myself into pieces and be with each of you on Thursday.  I give thanks every day for your support, encouragement and love.  Without it, I would not be the fabulously sassy, independent, world-conquering, blog-writing, girl that I am today.

Blessings to you all.