Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies

One thing I learned from my UK adventure last spring was that I love shortbread. I also get such a joy cooking and baking with home-grown ingredients, so when I saw this recipe for a shortbread cookie, and I had a bunch of pecans sitting at home, I knew I had to make them.


(me eating an elephant shaped shortbread cookie in Scotland)

What you'll need:

2 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans (toasted and finely chopped)
1 cup unsalted butter (@room temp)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 large egg yolk and 1 large egg white (lightly beaten)
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup raw turbinado sugar

First, mix the flour, salt, and chopped pecans. Cream the butter and sugar in a separate bowl until light and fluffy.
Beat in maple syrup followed by the egg yolk. Mix in flour until a dough forms.
Form dough into 1 and 1/2 inch thick log, wrap in plastic and let chill 2 hours to overnight. (I left mine in the fridge for a couple days.)
Slice log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on baking sheet, brush with egg white and top with pecan halves and raw sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown on edges: about 10-12 minutes, turning baking sheet around half way through.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I happen to be a person who is really into the idea or notion of family tradition, but come from a family that lacks a lot of tradition for various reasons, and so I am trying to build my own. Last year for Thanksgiving I made a pumpkin cheesecake. I love cheesecake in any form and thought the cheesecake came out great. I also recall my dad and grandfather enjoying it as well. I thought I would carry on my "tradition" and so this year I made it for Thanksgiving again.
Thankfully, pun intended, I did not have to work this holiday like I did last year. And so I rose at 7am yesterday morning and got started on my cheesecake. I had initially intended on making it the night before, but I had exhausted myself on the pumpkin cinnamon rolls (see previous entry) and therefore pushed it to the morning of.
The recipe I followed was for two 4-inch mini cheesecakes with a baking time of 40-60 minutes. Because I was making one larger 8-inch cheesecake, I had to triple the recipe and I always seem to forget just how long it takes to bake all the way through. (The very first time I attempted this recipe I pulled it out of the oven a tad early and found myself eating undercooked cheesecake.) I managed to go for a run and shower and get dressed with time to spare, all while this cheesecake was baking. At 11am I headed to my parents' house and put the cheesecake in the freezer for a few hours until everyone was ready for desserts.

Here's what you need:

For the crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or gingersnap cookie crumbs if you have them)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup (the original recipe called for 3 tablespoons, but the first time I tried this crust I had difficulty getting the crust out of the pan because the maple syrup had caramelized, so I decided to play it safe this time)
3-4 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/8 teaspoon nutmeg


For the filling

3 8oz packages of cream cheese (softened)
1 1/2 cups pumpkin--i used a smidgen more
3 eggs (slightly beaten)
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons maple syrup--oh, and another note on the maple syrup...be sure to use real maple syrup and not pancake syrup full of high fructose corn syrup. it's just not the same.
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/8 teaspoon nutmeg
3/8 teaspoon ginger

Mix the crust ingredients and press into a lightly greased 8 inch spring form pan.


Mix remaining ingredients until smooth and pour over the crust.


Bake at 325 degrees until set. Like I said earlier, it took mine over an hour to cook. Just keep checking on it. You can see how it begins to set around the edges first and slowly creeps to the center. You don't want to take it out before the center sets also. Then remove cheesecake from oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate or freeze until you're ready to eat it!