Gingerbread Man Cookies

In addition to my Thanksgiving desserts, I also made some gingerbread cookies to send to my family for the holidays. It was hard to ice them so I decided to just use melted white chocolate and add a few dots here and there; also dipped them in crystallized sugar. They were delicious and who says it all needs to be perfect!
I hope the chocolate doesn't melt too much, I dropped them off at the post office this morning; hopefully they will make their journey overseas. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right!

Red Velvet Cake & Pumpkin Pie - My Thanksgiving Desserts

For Thanksgiving, I was in a mood to make a Red Velvet cake; that is because I have made two pumpkin pies in the last two weeks and I haven't baked a cake in almost a month. I actually planned on making only red velvet cupcakes but there is always batter left over, so I used my heart shaped pan for the cake. The picture above is a slice of the red velvet cake with cream cheese icing and raspberries on top - so pretty! and really good.

The picture at the top is a slice of the red velvet cake and my mascarpone pumpkin pie cheesecake. The slice doesn't really show the mascarpone layer on the bottom, but it's there.

So, I ended up with 24 cupcakes and a cake. It was my first time making the red velvet recipe and I must say I love the color. I guess the thing with this cake is mostly about the color; so red and rich looking. Even though the cake is good it doesn't really has a distinct flavor. I used a recipe that called for 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa and I thought I would get more of the chocolate taste, but not really. There were other two recipes I found in my books that called for only 2 tsps of cocoa. I am glad I went with the 1/2 cup, recipe I don't think I would like the other one.

The red velvet cake batter -beautiful rich red

Red Velvet Cupcakes just out of the oven

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing and Raspberries

Here is a good tip when you are making a homemade pie crust with gingerbread cookies, as I did.
Pie Crust Tip - use a measuring cup wrapped in plastic wrap to press the crust on the pie dish. You will get an even crust and no messy hands.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

For this pumpkin cheesecake I combined a couple of recipes. Instead of using regular cream cheese I used mascarpone cheese with the pumpkin pie mix. It still turned out delicious, specially topped with a homemade cream cheese -- so yummy!

Ingredients used for this Pumpkin Cheesecake:

• 1 cup of mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup of pumpkin pie mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 store bought 9" unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven at 425 F - Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, pour into pie shell Bake pie for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 F and bake for another 50 minutes. Cool on rack for 2 hours- then you can serve or refrigerate. One of the recipes suggest not freezing the pie because the crust will separate from the filling.

You can find more yummy pumpkin recipes at http://www.verybestbaking.com

Shortbread Cookies

I made delicious shortbread cookies from the Barefoot Contessa recipe. But, I didn't just dipped them in chocolate, I also dipped them in peanuts, cookie crumbs, sliced almonds, and chocolate sprinkles.

They look sop pretty and are delicious with coffee or just by itself.

Key Lime Pie with Meringue Top

I haven't made key lime pie in a while and it's such an easy recipe. So, yesterday I doubled up on a key lime recipe and made two pies. One with a meringue top and another topped with melted chocolate and homemade whipped cream; just like my Key West Key Lime Pie.

For the key lime pie ingredients all you need is:

• 1 gram cracker crust (store bought works just fine)
• 1/2 lime juice
• 1 can of condensed milk
• 2 tsp water
• 3 egg yolks
• green food coloring or icing optional
  

Mix the eggs and condensed milk then add the water and lime juice slowly; add food coloring. Pour it into the pie shell. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool for about 30 min. then place it into refrigerator for another hour.

Since I added meringue, I removed the key lime pie from the oven about 10 minutes before and added the meringue on top. Then, it goes back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

I love how the meringue gets a little burned, looks great and it's delicious!