Candied Walnuts

This candied walnuts recipe is lightly sweetened, so easy to make, and so delicious. You can change up the spices to make it more savory, the options are endless!

What you will need:

¼ cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 egg white

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups (12 ounces) raw walnut halves

Directions:

Heat oven to 300°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, sea salt, and cinnamon until combined.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg white and vanilla until combined. Add the walnuts and toss until they are evenly coated with the egg white mixture. Add the brown sugar mixture and toss until the walnuts are evenly coated.

Spread the walnuts out in an even layer on the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and give the walnuts a quick stir. Return to the oven and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.

Serve immediately, or store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks. 

Great as a snack or as a salad topper!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pasta

We love east weeknight meals in our house, and my son loves his Mac and cheese, or anything with cheese and pasta in it. This is the perfect elevated ‘Mac and cheese’ type dinner, and what’s even better there some pumpkin in it!

What you will need:

1 pound fusilli pasta

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp sage

2 tsp rosemary 10 tbsp (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 tsp ground ginger

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

15 oz pumpkin puree {recipe here} or 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree

2 tsp dark brown sugar

¾ cup finely grated Parmesan

Salt & black pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add a generous amount of salt. Add the pasta to the pot and stir so it doesn’t stick to the bottom as it cooks. Cook the pasta according to package instructions, 8 to 10 minutes. Reserve some of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta in a colander and hold it there until the sauce is finished.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of butter until it starts to turn light brown. Add the ginger and garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. add in the sage and rosemary. Add the pumpkin, sugar and some of the reserved pasta water. Stir in about ½ cup of Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and warm gently, tossing to coat the pasta with the sauce.

Top with the remaining Parmesan. 

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Pie

I really like how sweet and creamy butternut squash are, and am always looking for new ways to use them (and other squashes.)

I made this pie for my family get together for Chanukah and they really liked it! Can be a side, or with whipped cream for a slightly healthier dessert. 

What you will need:

1 crust, store bought or homemade (recipe here)

For the Filling:

2 large eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup dark brown sugar

¼ tsp sea salt

1 ½ tsp ground ginger

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cardamom

1 ½ cups roasted squash purée

¾ cup heavy cream

Whipped cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Roasted Squash Purée: heat oven to 400°. Slice into 1” sections (or buy pre cut squash to save time), coat with 1 tbsp oil, and place in a single layer on a sheet pan. Bake until tender and beginning to caramelize, about 40 minutes.

Cool slightly, blend with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth.

For Filling:

Preheat the oven to 300°.

Combine eggs, vanilla, sugars, salt and spices in a bowl with an immersion blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Add squash purée, and blend until smooth. Pour in heavy cream, and blend to combine.

Pour filling into a hot prebaked shell, and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the oven up to 325° and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes until filling is set ⅔ of the way in from the perimeter and the center still jiggles, about 40-45 minutes total (custard will continue to cook after pie is removed from the oven). Tent Pie crust edges loosely with foil if browning too quickly.

Remove pie from oven, and cool to room temperature on rack. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired. 

Enjoy!

Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo is the ultimate comfort meal, especially in the winter! This recipe is so easy to make and can be used multiple ways throughout the week for easy meals!

What you will need: 

1 stick butter

1 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper

2 cups freshly grated Parmesan

Pasta cooking water, as needed 

Directions:

In a saucepan or skillet, warm the butter and cream. (This week I did not have heavy cream in the fridge, so substituted for whole milk and 1 tbsp flour and worked out perfectly!)

Season with salt and pepper. Add the Parmesan and stir until melted. 

Toss to combine, thinning with pasta water if necessary.

This sauce can be used for fettuccine Alfredo, or farfalle pasta and peas! I tossed frozen peas into the pasta with sauce and just heated through for a few minutes.

I also used this sauce as a base for a white mushroom pizza. Either make pizza dough recipe here (or store bought) roll out, schmear a generous amount of Alfredo sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and sautéed mushrooms!

Enjoy!

Cranberry Pumpkin Loaf

I love everything pumpkin and any excuse to use pumpkin! And my new favorite combination is pumpkin and cranberry. The earthy, deep flavor of pumpkin combined with the fresh, tart pop of the cranberries in this pumpkin loaf is so unexpected. Festive enough for New Years dessert! 

What you will need:

½ cup canola oil (or 1 stick unsalted butter)

1 cup pumpkin puree (recipe for homemade here)

1 cup loosely packed light brown sugar

¼ cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)

2 large eggs

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

¾ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup frozen cranberries

2 tbsp turbinado sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease, or grease a loaf pan and dust with flour.

Combine the oil, pumpkin, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth.

Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl. When I don’t have whole wheat flour on hand, I use all-purpose flour and it works well too.

Add the dry to the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth (but don't overmix).

Scrape into the loaf pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Press cranberries into the top and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the top is browned and crusty, and a toothpick inserted in comes out clean. Let cool.

Enjoy!

Gelt Together Cookies

Chanukah is one of my favorite holidays! I usually make some ugly Chanukah sweater iced sugar cookies, but this year I’m all about easy recipes! 

I purchased a bunch of bags of gelt from Trader Joe’s, and figured I can ‘decorate’ thick sugar cookies rolled in blue sugar with a gelt. I’ve seen similar ideas with Hershey kisses or nuts, so why not gelt? The combo works perfectly together. Make them for your Chanukah gelt together and they will be a showstopper! {see what I did there with geLt?!}

What you will need:

Sugar cookie dough (my easy recipe here)

I swapped butter for oil 1:1 here and worked perfectly

Sanding sugar or sprinkles

Gelt

Directions:

Follow directions here through chilling the dough. 

Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350°. 

Form 1” balls of dough using a small cookie scoop or eyeballing. The dough should yield approximately 24 cookies. 

Flatten the balls slightly to form a disc.

Roll the edges in blue sanding sugar, or sprinkles, or whatever your heart desires!

Bake for 10 minutes. While the cookies are baking, unwrap your gelt. 

When the 10 minutes are up, quickly press a gelt in the center of each cookie before it sets. Then return to the oven for another 2 minutes. 

My son helped me with this stage, just had to remind him the tray was hot and left the oven mitt on it so he didn’t get burned. 

Allow the cookies and chocolate to cool completely before handling. 

Enjoy!

Make-Ahead Cranberry Sauce

The combination of orange juice, fresh cranberries, cinnamon and sugars create delicious flavors, and your house will smell amazing! Who needs a fall candle when you can make homemade cranberry sauce?!

It is so easy to make and it looks just beautiful. It can be made days in advance and stores well. There is such a difference between homemade cranberry sauce and the canned stuff, and once you make this you will never go back.

What you will need:

Juice and zest of 2 oranges (or ½ cup orange juice)

1 cup water

2 cups granulated sugar

1 ½ lbs fresh cranberries

2 cinnamon sticks

3 medium apples cut into chunks

2 inch piece of fresh ginger (optional)

Directions
Combine orange juice and zest, water, and sugar in a slow cooker and stir to combine. Add in cranberries and apple chunks, and stir. Add in cinnamon sticks and optional ginger and stir.

Cook on low heat for 3-4 hours, stirring once each hour. Alternatively, cook on high for 2 hours. Continue to cook until the sauce has thickened and most cranberries have popped.

Serve warm or cold!

Enjoy!