Pumpkin Cheesecake Puffy Cups

Here's something which I made very recently for a bake sale we were having at work, and the popularity of which took me completely by surprise. I originally made these in the form of galettes (round, flat pastries with a cheesecake center), but the super-puffiness of the galette with cheesecake at its heart was a little too flaky for my liking, so I decided to try an alternative presentation.  I liked it this way much better -- not only was it more compact, so the pastry dough didn't get as dry and overly-flaky, but the look is quite unique, which always appeals to me. ;) Since puff pastry can be found in the freezer section and does not necessarily have to be made from scratch (you can try to do it yourself, if you've got the time & patience...and I have neither), you'll have to set it out to thaw well in advance.  But believe me when I say that you will look like a genius or a culinary master if you've never used puff pastry before and use it for this recipe.  People will be so impressed with you!  ;)  The pre-made pastry makes this a super-easy recipe, and one that can be made in parts, the first part well ahead of time.  (Especially handy when dealing with lack of time during the day of a big event in your life!)  In my opinion, the hardest part of this whole process was removing the puffs from the muffin tins without completely destroying the pastry if it gets stuck to the sides of the muffin well.  Also, it is worth noting that you will need to use large/jumbo muffin tins, not small ones, containing 6 muffin wells.  The smaller muffin tins simply will not be big enough in this case.

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Ingredients:
1 8-oz brick softened cream cheese (can be reduced fat)
1 stick butter, softened to room temperature
½ C sugar
⅓ C brown sugar
½ can (about 7 oz) mashed pumpkin
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 puff pastry sheets
Decorative sugar and extra pumpkin pie spice for garnish
Powdered sugar

Directions:
Take puff pastry out of freezer and place on counter at least 1 hour ahead of any other preparation so it can thaw and soften up.  With a stand mixer, cream butter, sugars, salt, and vanilla together.  Add cream cheese and beat until well-incorporated.  Add mashed pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and flour.  Continue beating until well-blended, scraping down sides of bowl and beater as needed.  Pour mixture into an air-tight container and place in refrigerator to chill. (Can be made up to 3 days in advance.)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray the individual wells of two muffin trays with cooking spray.  Lay puff pastry sheets out on parchment paper laid out on a flat surface.

Take a pizza cutter or knife and divide sheet into 4 even squares.  

Take each square and place into muffin cups. Corners hanging out are OK.  

Liberally sprinkle pumpkin pie spice over puff pastry dough.  Take cheesecake mixture out of the fridge, and using a small scoop (½ oz), drop a generous scoopful into each well.  When finished, sprinkle decorative sugar over the edges of each pastry.

Stick muffin trays into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are puffed up and are golden brown. Remove from oven. (Cheese centers will puff up during baking, but then completely collapse once removed from the heat, just FYI.)

When completely cooled, remove puffs from muffin tins and generously sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve.  Can be stored overnight without refrigeration for one night.

Makes 1 dozen cups.

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GBAdams
12/12/2012

Roasted Butternut Squash & Bacon Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash & Bacon Soup

This is a soup that took me 2 tries to get it right.  My first attempt was below pathetic--the soup was watery and thin, and it was definitely not pureed enough.  I also was highly dissatisfied with the flavor.  When I posted about this on Facebook, many of my friends offered their suggestions, one of which was adding cream cheese to the soup, something I admit I hadn't even considered.  I shelved that suggestion to the back of my mind for the next time I would try to make this soup.  After catching a cooking show where they roasted an acorn squash with shallots and garlic inside, I was inspired to try again. So here is a record of that second attempt.  It turned out way BEYOND my expectations.  Let's just say the way my house smelled while the squash was roasting was nothing compared to how well this soup turned out.  I loved how the roasting brought out the sweetness of the butternut squash without adding any sugar whatsoever to the mix.  And, need I say it, the bacon improved the recipe on the whole to a level I could not have imagined.  Bacon really does make everything better! LOL. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as me & my family did...

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Ingredients:
1 whole butternut squash
8 slices of thick-cut bacon
8-10 whole, peeled cloves of garlic (do not chop)
4-5 peeled shallots
2-3 Tbsp olive oil (I prefer the light-tasting variety to extra-virgin)
4 C Chicken broth
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese (can use reduced-fat)
1-2 Tbsp kosher salt, depending on taste
1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1/2 C shredded cheese for garnish, such as swiss or gruyere
Chopped parsley, also for garnish (can be dried)

Squash, bacon, shallots and garlic, ready for the oven

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Roughly dice bacon slices; set aside.  Slice shallots and set those aside.  Peel & chop de-seeded butternut squash into small, roughly 1-in cubes. Make sure cubes are somewhat equal in size so they roast evenly.  In a large bowl, combine squash, bacon, garlic and shallots. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. When entire mixture is seasoned, pour and evenly distribute onto large, flat, shallow pan, such as a 1/2 jelly roll sheet.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the squash has started to brown on the edges and the bacon has mostly crisped up. Remove from oven.  Set aside a few browned shallots rings and bacon bits to reserve as garnish for serving and let the rest cool.

In a large saucepot, bring chicken broth up to a simmer on medium-high to high heat. While broth is heating up, place entire contents of roasting pan into a food processor and purée until all the pieces have been puréed relatively well.  (There might still be little bacon bits visibly floating throughout purée; this is ok.)

Roasted squash mixture, puréed in a food processor.

Add purée to chicken broth and stir well; a whisk is recommended.  Lower heat to medium and add cream cheese.  Whisk further until cream cheese is well incorporated. Remove from heat.

Ladel soup into bowls.  Garnish with crisped shallots & bacon; can add shredded cheese as well.

Makes 4-6 servings

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GBAdams
12/09/2012