Apple and pumpkin butters and bread and cheesecake made with these butters!

This will be in Douglas Co. News Wednesday.  I made the pumpkin cheesecake with regular pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pear butter and I liked it, but it wasn't sweet enough for anyone else.  With the pumpkin pear butter, others like it, too!

GOOD FOOD CHEAP #16


EASY APPLE AND PUMPKIN RECIPES

By Larisa Sparrowhawk



INSANELY EASY APPLE OR PUMPKIN/PEAR BUTTER – Chop and core apples or pears. Leave skin on some. Chop, skin and seed pumpkin if using. Cook in a crockpot with a little apple cider vinegar and water, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger if desired, but no sweetener. Check 6-8 hours later. When it’s cooked down to 1/3-1/2 its original volume, let it cool. If making pumpkin/pear butter, you may add a little raw honey to taste after cooking. Blend it silky smooth. Freeze some for pancakes later!

GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN BREAD – Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix 1 ½ c. brown rice flour, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp each nutmeg and ginger, and 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda; set aside. Mix 1 c. pumpkin butter, 1/3 c. honey, 1/2 stick melted butter, and 3 eggs. Mix wet and dry ingredients. Add chopped nuts, raisins or dried cranberries if desired. Bake in greased loaf pan for one hour 15 minutes.

CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE - Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Soak 1 c. golden raisins in 1 1/2 c. pumpkin butter for half an hour. Cut parchment to fit the inside of a spring-form pan. Chop pecans and spread them on parchment in pan with half a bag of semisweet chocolate chips. Melt remaining chips over very low heat. Blend pumpkin/raisin mix thoroughly with 3 tbsp. honey and put aside. Blend 3 8 oz. packages of room temperature cream cheese, 1/3 c. carob powder, 2 tsp. cinnamon (or 1 tsp. ginger), a pinch of salt and 4 eggs. Mix in pumpkin mixture. Pour carefully onto crust. Drizzle melted chocolate randomly over cake and swirl to marble. To prevent cracking, put a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven and bake the cake in the center rack 1 hour without opening then door. Turn oven off to let cake set slowly for an hour and 15 minutes, still without opening the door! Run knife along edge of pan, then remove sides before allowing to finish cooling on rack. Refrigerate before serving.