Brandied Pumpkin Pie Food

BRANDIED PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms chickpea-size pieces. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet. On a lightly floured surface, gather the dough into a ball. Flatten into a disk with the heel of your hand. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch circle. Transfer crust to a 9-inch pie plate. Fold over any excess dough, then crimp edges. Prick crust all over with a fork, then chill crust for 30 minutes.
• While the dough chills, heat oven to 375 degrees. Line chilled crust with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes; remove foil and weights and bake until pale golden, 5 to 7 minutes more. Cool on rack until needed.
• Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, eggs, cream, dark brown sugar, brandy, ginger, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the nutmeg and clove. Pour mixture into the cooled pie shell. Transfer pie to a large baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden and center jiggles just slightly when shaken, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

VALERIE'S PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• For mom's flaky pie dough: Combine the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Gradually add the butter chunks and pulse until the largest chunks are pea-size. Add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse just until the dough begins to clump together against the walls of the processor. Dump the dough out onto a work surface and press together to make a cohesive ball, kneading once or twice if it is falling apart. Divide the dough in half, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 portion of the dough for 1 hour before using. (You'll be using only 1 portion of dough for the pie, so wrap the extra piece in a second layer of plastic wrap, put in a resealable plastic bag and freeze for another time.)
• On a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 9- to 10-inch round and transfer to an 8-inch pie plate. (If the rolling pin and work surface quickly become sticky, refrigerate the dough until firm, or, using a large spatula or bench scraper, transfer the dough to an 8-inch pie plate and press it into shape.) Crimp the edges and prick the bottom all over with a fork. Refrigerate the pie shell for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place a sheet of parchment paper or foil in the pie shell and fill with pie weights, raw rice or dried beans. Bake until the edges are lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Remove the weights and paper and bake until golden and cooked on the bottom and sides, about 15 minutes more. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
• For the pumpkin pie filling: Combine the pumpkin, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt in a large bowl and whisk until thoroughly blended. Stir in the bourbon, vanilla and eggs. Whisk again until thoroughly blended.
• Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie shell and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake until the center wobbles slightly when shaken, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool completely on a rack for about 2 hours. Serve with Cinnamon-Buttermilk Whipped Cream.
• Add the heavy cream and buttermilk to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and cinnamon while beating, then continue to beat until soft peaks form.

BRANDIED PUMPKIN BREAD

Steps:

• Combine flour, yeast, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, butter, pumpkin puree, water, and brandy in the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Select the Sweet or Basic/White cycle using the Light crust setting and start the machine. (To make the bread without a bread machine, see Editor's Note.)
• When the bread is done baking, remove it from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

BRANDIED PUMPKIN AND CHESTNUT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, toss pumpkin with butter and granulated sugar. Arrange on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing occasionally, until caramelized and very soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool (this can be done up to 5 days ahead).
• Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Purée pumpkin in a food processor or blender. In a bowl, combine 1 cup purée with 1 cup cream. Save any leftover purée for another use: it freezes well. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, brandy, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cloves. Stir in pumpkin mixture.
• In a separate bowl, combine chestnut paste with remaining 1/4 cup cream. Spread chestnut mixture in pie crust. Top with pumpkin filling.
• Transfer pie to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until pie is firm to the touch but jiggles slightly when moved, about 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

BRANDIED PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, brandy, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in a large bowl until smooth. Pour the mixture into the pie crusts. Cover the outside edge of each pie with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes; remove foil. Continue to bake until a knife inserted near the center of a pie comes out clean, about 25 minutes more.
• Cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Store unused portion in refrigerator.

BRANDIED PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Roll out three fourths of the dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface, fit it into a 10-inch (6-cup capacity) pie plate, and trim the edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under the dough flush with the edge of the pie plate and with a sharp knife make 1/2-inch-long cuts at 3/4-inch intervals all the way around the edge of the shell. Turn every other section of the dough in toward the center of the shell to form a decorative edge and chill the shell for 30 minutes.
• Roll out the remaining dough 1/8 inch thick on the lightly floured surface and with a 3-inch leaf-shaped cutter cut out 3 leaves. Transfer the pastry leaves to a baking sheet, score them lightly with the back of a knife to form veins, and chill them for 15 minutes, or until they are firm. Brush the leaves lightly with some of the egg wash and bake them in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden. Transfer the leaves to a rack and let them cool completely.
• In a bowl whisk together the pumpkin, the brown sugar, the cinnamon, the ginger, the salt, the heavy cream, the milk, the eggs, and the Cognac until the filling is smooth and pour the filling into the shell. Brush the edge of the shell lightly with some of the remaining egg wash if desired and bake the pie in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven for 1 hour, or until the filling is set but the center still shakes slightly. (The filling will continue to set as the pie cools.) Transfer the pie to a rack and let it cool completely. Garnish the pie with the pastry leaves just before serving and serve it with the ginger whipped cream.

ULTRA-CREAMY PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH A HINT OF BRANDY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Coat 9" springform pan with cooking spray.
• Crumb Crust:.
• Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Mix to moisten crumbs, then press into prepared pan - bottom and 2-inches up the sides. Bake 10-12 minutes until slightly darkened.
• Pumpkin Filling:.
• With a wire whisk or electric mixer on low speed, beat cottage cheese until smooth. Add cream cheese, brown sugar, eggs (one at a time until smooth), and flour; continue beating until smooth.
• Add pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, brandy, nutmeg and cloves; beat until smooth. COOK'S TIP: DO NOT OVERBEAT! If there is too much air in the batter, it will pouf up like a souffle while baking then drop into an unappetizing mess.
• Pour the batter into the baked graham cracker crust.
• Bake the cheesecake 1 1/2 hours on a baking sheet, or until top is firm and cake is beginning to pull away from sides of pan.
• Cool cheesecake to room temperature on a wire rack, then chill in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 hours before unmolding and serving. COOK'S TIP: Chilling overnight is best.
• Just before serving, decorate each slice with a daub of whip cream, chopped pecans and ginger.

BRANDY PUMPKIN PIE MILKSHAKES

Steps:

• In blender, place ice cream, brandy, milk and pumpkin pie spice. Cover and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add pie chunks; cover and blend until smooth, stopping blender to scrape down sides if necessary.
• Pour into 2 glasses; top with sweetened whipped cream and garnish with cinnamon stick. Serve immediately.

BRANDIED PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare pastry; set aside.
• 2. Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk, brown sugar, brandy, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in a large bowl until combined. Pour into pie shell. Cover edge of pie with foil.
• 3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 25 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate within 2 hours; cover for longer storage. Serve wedges of pie with Sweetened Whipped Cream; sprinkle with crystallized ginger.
• Pastry for Single-Crust Pie: Stir together 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in 1/3 cup shortening until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 4 to 5 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time, over mixture, gently tossing with a fork between additions and pushing mixture to side of bowl. (Add only enough water to moisten all of the mixture.) Form dough into a ball. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to form a 12-inch-diameter circle. Wrap pastry around rolling pin. Unroll onto a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. To build up the edge of the pastry, trim it to 1/2-inch beyond edge of pie plate; fold under. Flute edge as desired. Do not prick pastry.
• Sweetened Whipped Cream: Place a medium mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Combine 1 cup well-chilled whipping cream and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in the bowl, and beat with an electric mixer or rotary beater on high speed until cream holds soft peaks.