Caramel Apple Cake

This cake is definitely a new-found favorite! Everyone loved it so much it was requested in place of apple pie for Thanksgiving. I halve this recipe when using my Demarle Bundt mold.

-Taste of Home

1-1/2 cups canola oil

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3-1/2 cups diced peeled apples

1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

CARAMEL ICING:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup half-and-half cream

1/4 cup butter, cubed

Dash salt

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Chopped walnuts, optional

In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugars and eggs until well blended. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture until blended. Fold in the apples, walnuts and vanilla.

Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 325° for 1-1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, cook and stir the brown sugar, cream, butter and salt until sugar is dissolved. Transfer to a small bowl; cool to room temperature. Beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth; drizzle over cake. Sprinkle with walnuts if desired. 

Pumpkin Roll

One of my all-time favorites for the fall season! Using the Demarle at Home products make this so much easier!

-Libby's, slightly modified to fit my spice tastes

¾ cup all purpose flour

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. allspice

¼ tsp. salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup pure pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

Additional powdered sugar, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place oven rack in center position. Place Deep Flexiflat on Perforated Baking Sheet and set aside.

2. In Mixing Bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and salt and set aside. Beat eggs and sugar in separate Mixing Bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture and spread evenly onto Flexiflat. Sprinkle with nuts if desired.

3. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when touched. Let cool 3 minutes – no more. Unmold cake onto Silpat and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Begin rolling both the cake and Silpat and lay it so that the end is on the bottom, so it doesn't unroll. Place on cooling rack and let cool completely.

4. For the filling, beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Carefully, unroll the cake. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cake, but not all the way to the ends as it will be squeezed out when you roll it. Re-roll the cake. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Raisin/ Gum-Drop Cake

I can't believe I don't have this one on the blog. This is my dad's favorite cake and my Mom makes it every Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

-Grandma Pulsipher

Boil the following ingredients together for 10 minutes:

            2 cups sugar

            1 cup shortening

            2 cups raisins

            2 ½ cups water

            2 tsp. cinnamon

            ½ tsp. allspice

            ½ tsp. cloves

            ½ tsp. salt

Sift together and add to first mixture:

4 cups flour

2 level teaspoons baking soda

Add :

1 ½ c. cut up fruit-flavored gumdrops

1 ½ cup broken walnuts

Bake in greased tube pan at 350° for 60-75 minutes or until toothpick comes clean.

Moist & Tender Turkey Breast

Delicious & easy! This would be a perfect turkey for Thanksgiving if you have a small family. :) We'll be making this one again for sure!

-Taste of Home

1 bone-in turkey breast (6-7 lbs)
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
1/4 tsp. salt

Place turkey in a 6-qt. slow cooker. Place rosemary and garlic around turkey. Combine the brown sugar, pepper and salt; sprinkle over turkey.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until turkey is tender.

Oreo Turkeys

I found this great idea on Our Best Bites. I didn't have time to make them for Thanksgiving Day, but they made a great Sunday activity and treat! The kids had a lot of fun helping me make these. Make sure you follow the directions and put the head on in the right place! :)

Double-stuffed Oreos
1 square Semi-Sweet Bakers chocolate, melted (for 10 turkeys)
Candy corn
Mini Reese's Cups
Whoppers
Yellow and Red frosting
Nonpareils for eyes

Fruit Turkeys

It's a little late to use this idea for Thanksgiving, but these turkeys still provide a fun way to get some healthy fruit into little bodies!

-Family Fun?

Pears

Oranges

Apples

Cashews

Raisins

Mini Marshmallows

Chocolate Chips

Honey Butter

-Anna Hampton

½ pound Unsalted Butter
¼ c. honey
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. vanilla extract

Place softened butter in an electric mixer and whip for a minute. Add remaining ingredients and whip until combined.

Stuffing

-Suzie Irwin

12 cups ½ inch cubes white bread (1 lb. French loaf)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
6 Tbsp butter
1 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground pepper
1-½ cups chicken broth

In a preheated 400° oven, toast bread cubes 5 to 7 minutes or until barely golden. In a large skillet, melt butter and cook onion and celery over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until softened. Transfer to a large bowl and add bread cubes, herbs, salt and pepper and chicken broth. Toss well. Transfer to baking dish and bake at 325° for 20 minutes until heated through and crust forms on top.

Green Beans Almondine

-Suzie Irwin

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup sliced almonds
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper

Trim and rinse beans. Place beans in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 – 10 minutes until tender crisp. Drain beans and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan with olive oil. Add garlic and almonds and sauté on medium heat until almonds begin to brown. Add beans, lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss gently to coat.

Yam and Apple Casserole

-Mom Pulsipher

6 medium yams or 2 large cans yams
3 or 4 green apples, cored and sliced or canned, sliced apples
1/2 cup margarine
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. orange zest

Parboil yams about 20 minutes. Cool, peel, and slice in layers in a buttered casserole dish, alternating yam slices with apple slices. Melt butter in small saucepan. Add cornstarch, sugars and salt and blend well. Add water. Cook and stir until sauce thickens. Add orange juice and zest, then pour sauce over yams and apples. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. If using canned yams and apple, you can warm in the microwave until bubbly. Makes 8 servings.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts

-Thomalee Abraham from Nestle Classic Recipes

2/3 cup (about 15) crushed ginger snaps
2 T. butter, melted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 t. vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Garnish:
2 T. sour cream (optional)
2 T. semi-sweet morsels (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Paper line 12 muffin cups. Combine cookie crumbs and butter in a small bowl. Press scant tablespoon onto bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Bake for 5 minutes. Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until blended. Add eggs; beat well. Pour into muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove tarts from pan; refrigerate. Garnish with sour cream. Place morsels in heavy-duty resealable bag. Microwave on high power for 20 seconds; knead. Microwave at additional 10 second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over tarts. Makes 12 tarts.

Thanksgiving Turkey

We used a 16-lb fresh turkey and it was delicious - moist and flavorful!

Brine
-Allrecipes.com

2 gallons water
1-1/2 cups canning salt (sea salt)
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar

In a large bucket or container large enough to hold your turkey (5 gallon bucket), mix together the water, salt, garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Store in a refrigerator, and soak turkey for 2 days (1 was fine) before smoking or roasting.

Good Eats Roast Turkey
-Alton Brown

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, quartered
1/2 onion, quartered
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 leaves sage (or 1 tsp. ground)
(I added 1 celery stalk)
Canola oil

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.
(Our 16 lb. took 2 hours)

Cranberry Sauce & Relish

Cranberry Sauce

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
12 oz. fresh cranberries

Wash and pick over cranberries. In a saucepan bring to a boil water and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst. Take 1/2 mixture and reserve for traditional cranberry sauce. Chill before serving.

Cranberry Relish
-Thomalee Abraham

Take remaining 1/2 sauce and add:
1 small tomato, finely diced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1-2 Tablespoons snipped cilantro
Minced Jalapeno, if desired

Pumpkin Bread with Cheesecake Ribbon

-Joy of Baking

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Pumpkin Bread:
1 cup pecans or walnuts
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 - 15 ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup water or milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter and lightly flour two - 9 by 5 x 3 inch loaf pans. Set aside.

To toast nuts: Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Cool completely and then chop coarsely. Set aside.

Cream Cheese Filling: In your food processor, process the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and process just until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing just until incorporated. Do not over process. Stir in the flour. Set aside.

Pumpkin Bread: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the sugar and melted butter and whisk until blended. Whisk or stir in the pumpkin, water, vanilla extract, and nuts.

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined. (A few streaks of flour is fine.) Do not over mix as it will make the bread tough.

Divide the batter in half. Take one half and divide it evenly between the two prepared pans. Divide the cream cheese filling in half and place each half of filling on top the two pans of batter, smoothing the tops. Top with the remaining half of batter. Bake the breads for about 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Place pans on a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes before removing breads from pans.

Can serve warm, cold, or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator or else freeze for later use.

Makes 2 loaves.

Pecan Tarts

My mom got this recipe for Pecan Tassies from her good friend Helen Henegar. She has made them for every Thanksgiving and Christmas since and has even sold them at craft fairs. 

-Mom Pulsipher

Tart Pastry:
2 (3 oz) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
2-1/2 c. flour
1/2 lb. butter or margarine, softened

Beat cream cheese and butter until blended. Add flour all at once. Knead in flour util evenly distributed. Roll into small balls and form into tart shells with a teaspoon or tamper. Set aside.

Filling:
1-1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. light corn syrup
1/4 c. melted butter
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat eggs slightly, add melted butter, corn syrup and sugar. Blend well. Stir in vanilla. Mix in chopped pecans. pour into uncooked tarts. Bake until tart crust is lightly browned at 375 or until pecan filling is set-about 15-20 minutes.

Grandpa MacKay's Thanksgiving Jell-O

Although Brandon's Grandpa MacKay passed away before he got to know him, Brandon remembers "Grandpa's Jell-O" always being a part of their Thanksgiving dinner, and we have continued the tradition in our own family.

- Mom Roberts/ Grandpa MacKay

1 large pkg. Strawberry/banana Jell-O
2 c. boiling water
Mix above until dissoved
Add:
2 bananas, mashed
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
1 small pkg. frozen strawberries sweetened in juice

Pour 1/2 mixture into 9x13-glass dish, leaving remaining mixture in bowl. Place both in refrigerator until mixture in the dish is firm. Spread sour cream on top and then pour remaining mixture on top. Top with cool whip once Jell-O has set.

Holiday Salad

-Dry Creek Ward YW Cookbook, 32, Thomalee Abraham

2 heads Romaine lettuce, chilled and torn
1/2 to 1 pomegranate, seeded
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
4 oz. slivered almonds, sugared

To sugar almonds, place in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons sugar over medium heat. Stir frequently until almonds are coated and sugar disappears. Cool on wax paper.

Dressing:
2/3 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1/3 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. salad oil
1/3 c. sugar
3/4 Tbsp. grated onion
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp. dry mustard

Mix ingredients in blender. Pour over salad just before serving.

Honey Crunch Pecan Pie

We enjoyed this pie at Thanksgiving Dinner 2006 with the Hartung Family, whose tradition it is to eat pie first!

-Phil & Melissa Hartung/ Allrecipes.com, Sarah Spaugh

Crust:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup shortening
6 T. cold water
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Gradually add water and vinegar and cut together until mixture will hold together. Press dough into a ball and flour each side lightly. Wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes. Roll out between wax paper into a circle 1/8 inch thick and press into 9-inch pie pan fluting edges.

Filling:
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup light corn syrup
2 T. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 T. bourbon (optional)

Combine all ingredients for the filling and mix well. Spoon mixture into unbaked pie shell. in the preheated oven, bake for 15 minutes. Remove and cover edges of pastry with aluminum foil and return to oven and bake 20-35 min. more.

Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 T. butter
3 T. honey
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Combine brown sugar, butter and honey in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves - about 2 minutes. Add pecans. Stir just until coated. Spoon topping evenly over pie. Return pie to oven and bake for an other 10 min. or until topping is bubbly and golden brown. Cool to room temperature before serving.