Thanksgiving Sweets!

I am making quite a few desserts today, partially because I want to and partially because I have quite a few fruits/veggies from our co-op basket this week that need to get used.

Two pumpkin pies. YUM. ALWAYS use the Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe. ALWAYS.

LIBBY'S® Famous Pumpkin Pie

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

•    3/4 cup granulated sugar
•    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
•    1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
•    2 large eggs
•    1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
•    1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
•    1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
•    Whipped cream

Directions

• MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
• POUR into pie shell.
• BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Then I tried a sweet potato pie. I have never made, nor do I recall having ever eaten, a sweet potato pie. I used this recipe from allrecipes.com. It was good and tasted like pumpkin pie but WAY sweeter.

Sweet Potato Pie

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 (1 pound) sweet potato
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions:

• Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.
• Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Next I had to use up a bunch of pears, so I decided to try this recipe from Taste of Home magazine. This was really good when served warm: like an apple pie/cobbler.

Old-Fashioned Pear Dessert

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Crust Ingredients

• ·2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
• 3 egg yolks
• 4-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice 
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 5 cups chopped peeled ripe pears

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice; stir into dry ingredients with a fork. Remove 1 cup to another bowl; stir in the remaining sugar and set aside for the topping.
• Press remaining crumb mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
• Meanwhile, for filling, combine the sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, salt and cinnamon in a small saucepan; slowly stir in water and lemon juice until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla.
• Toss pears with remaining cornstarch; spoon over crust. Top with filling. Sprinkle with reserved topping. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

And lastly, I tried to use up a bunch of lemons from our lemon tree by making Lemon Bars from allrecipes.com. Although this recipe got high ratings I don't think it was very good. Don't get me wrong, the flavor was good, but the crust was too thick (should reduce the recipe by ~half) and the filling/lemon was not enough and should be at least doubled.

Lemon Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes  

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 lemons, juiced

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
• Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a checker board fashion.