38 - Pumpkin Patch

It's ALL about the pumpkin on Thanksgiving, isn't it?... just ask my cute niece... ...and because of that, I have fulfilled my traditional dessert making assignment for Thanksgiving dinner each year with pumpkin pies - traditional pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake.

Typically, the pumpkin cheesecakes have been the best and a favorite. Four or five years ago though, they were kind of yuck, and basically, I ruined Thanksgiving. I went over and over in my head what I could have left out, but never could figure out where I went wrong. Since then, I've made sure I have several options in case the old standby doesn't stand by...pistachio, butterscotch, banana cream, apple, etc.. Last year, I added a pumpkin cake to the mix and loved it.

This year, I am making pistachio, butterscotch, pumpkin, pumpkin cheesecake and the pumpkin cake. My two favorites are the pumpkin cake and the pumpkin cheesecake (if it doesn't fail me). So - in case someone besides Kurt and my dad are reading this and you are looking for a fun dessert to take to Thanksgiving dinner, here are the recipes for the two favorites:

Pumpkin Layer Cheesecake
Two 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C Pumpkin
1/2 C Honey
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Dash Cloves & nutmeg
Pie Crust (pastry, shortbread or graham cracker are all yum)

Mix cream cheese, honey & vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs. Mix. Stir pumpkin and spices into 1 cup of the batter. Pour remaining plain better into crust. Top with pumpkin batter and swirl lightly (if desired).

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes - until center is set. Cool.

Referigerate overnight (@ least 3 hrs). Top with whipped cream or a mixture of sour cream, a bit of whipped cream, honey and powdered sugar (I never measure this, so good luck.)

Pumpkin Cake
1 yellow cake mix, divided
1 cube & 3 TBS butter, divided
5 eggs, divided
1 large can of pumpkin
2 C sugar, divided
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
4 tsp pumpkin pie spide, divided
1 TBS vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

Crust
Set aside one cup of yellow cake mix for dessert topping. Pour rest of cake mix in bowl with 1 cube of softened butter and 1 egg. Mix well and spread on the bottom of greased 9x13 pan.

Filling
In a bowl, pour in can of pumpkin, 1 1/2 C sugar, 4 eggs, can of sweetened condensed milk, 3 tsp of pumpkin pie spice and 1 TBS of vanilla. Mix well and pour over crust in the pan.

Topping
Mix remaining cup of cake mix, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice and 3 TBS of melted butter. Mix until nice and crumbly. Spread crumble topping over entire filling mixture. (I like to double the topping, so I buy two cake mixes and save the rest of the 2nd cake mix for the next time I bake.)

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the whole cake is nicely browned and firm.

Eat and enjoy!

#38 on my list of Favorite Things is MAKING PUMPKIN DESSERT FOR THANKSGIVING.