Cookin' Pumpkin

At the request of L (quite a bit ago) here is the recipe I used for the pumpkin soup

1/2 cup onion
3 tbsp. butter
2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half or fat free half and half.

Chop the onions and gently brown in the butter in a pan. Put mashed pumpkin into onions in pan with the salt, sugar, nutmeg and pepper. Slowly add chicken broth and heat thoroughly, but do not boil. To serve, pour into a tureen and add the cream. Makes 4 to 6 small servings.
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I had chicken pieces in my broth so my soup was really nice and chunky - also I omited the sugar and nutmeg as I'm not a fan of sweetish soups. There are tons of recipes for pumpkin soup - this is just the one I tried (and liked a LOT). My soup came out really thick because I added more pumpkin than the recipe called for and it made a delightful pasta sauce the next day.

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The prize winner for Thanksgiving
Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed gingersnap cookies, pecans, and butter. Press into the bottom, and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool.
2 In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the remaining mixture.
3 Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.
4 Bake 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Allow to cool before removing pan rim. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
Makes 12 servings
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Things I did a little differently - I put a pan of boiling water in the oven with the cheese cake - something I had heard you are supposed to do. Also when the cake was done I turned off the oven and left the cake in there to cool.

Things I would do differently next time - I would not make the crust like the recipe - mine didn't turn out exactly like it was supposed to. I really didn't think the gingersnap crust added to the cheesecake either, so I'll use something else next time.

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One more recipe -

Pumpkin Cookies
2 cups shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons butter
8 tablespoons milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar


1 Cream shortening, white sugar and pumpkin. Add eggs and mix well. Sift together the baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2 Drop from spoon to cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3 To Make Frosting: Cook butter, milk, and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Spread over warm cookies.
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These were soooo darn good. I didn't use the carmel frosting, I just made a simple glaze for them. I think I needed to add a bit more flour to thes and they had to cook a bit longer, but they were really really good.