Pumpkin Maple Macaroni & Cheese

20 Comments

Autumn is by-far my favourite season. I love the chilly air and getting to wear sweaters/hoodies and boots again. I love being cozy! This past week it went from 30’C on Monday to 4’C on Tuesday. What a change! Autumn came very abruptly this year! I quickly dug out my favourite sweaters on Tuesday and retired my favourite pair of sandals for another year. 

Another thing I love about Autumn is the changing colours of the trees. I love the rich fiery reds and deep golden yellows. So pretty! I love switching from iced teas and frapuccinos to apple ciders, hot chocolates and pots of delicious warm tea. I love the smoky smell of the fall where all the farmers in the area are burning off their fields. And more than anything, I love fall baking and cooking. I love cooking with butternut and acorn squash, apples & cinnamon, anything with maple, cranberries, pears, sweet potatoes….and pumpkin. Mmmm….pumpkin. I have a little obsession with pumpkin. :)

And this is why I decided to kick off my fall baking/cooking season with Pumpkin Maple macaroni and cheese. I was extremely intrigued when I stumbled on this recipe while surfing the web the other day. I love maple and pumpkin together. But in a macaroni and cheese dish? Somehow…it works. Quite well in fact! The beer gives the dish an underlying richness. The maple and pumpkin give the dish a hint of sweetness, while the cheese lends the dish a balancing level of saltiness. Mustard, cloves and nutmeg make the sauce savoury and something quite special. Don’t be scared to try this dish, as I realize it sounds a little “out-of-the-norm.” I definitely recommend you take the chance and make this easy, fall-inspired dish. It’s a real winner; one to warm up cool autumn nights.

If you are equally obsessed with baking/cooking with pumpkin, check out the recipes I previously posted on The Fig Tree that have pumpkin as a main ingredient:

Pumpkin Honey Walnut Bread
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Pie Bars


Ingredients

  • 1 pound of short-cut whole wheat pasta; such as macaroni or penne
  • 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons of flour; slightly rounded
  • 1 cup of amber beer (such as Half Pints Bulldog Amber Ale)
  • 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 2 cups of milk (skim works fine)
  • 2 pinches of ground cloves (or 1/2 teaspoon of allspice)
  • 1 teaspoon of ground mustard
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1-14 ounce can of pure pumpkin purée
  • 2 and 1/2 cups of shredded sharp yellow cheddar cheese; divided
  • sweet paprika for sprinkling
  • chopped parsley, chives or a sprig of thyme for garnish

Method


1. Pre-heat oven to 350’F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and then cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.


2. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour ensuring no lumps develop; cook for 1 minute. Raise heat a small bit and add beer. Whisk well to ensure no lumps form. Once the beer has evaporated a bit (about 5 minutes), whisk in the maple syrup and milk. Season with cloves or allspice, mustard, cayenne and the nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow the mixture to cook on medium heat until the sauce leaves a thick coat on the back of a spoon (about 3 minutes).


3. Whisk in the pumpkin purée then stir in 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese. Mix until the cheese is melted. Combine the pasta and the sauce and arrange in a casserole dish or individual ramekins. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Dust tops lightly with paprika. Bake for 15 minutes and/or broil to allow the top to get brown and bubbly.


4. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, chives or sprigs of thyme.


Source: Rachel Ray

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

4 Comments


Thanksgiving with my family is not Thanksgiving until everyone has had one of these famous cupcakes. I’ve been required to bring these every Thanksgiving for the past 8 years. This year I tried to bring a different & new dessert to Thanksgiving dinner and I was almost disowned! I must admit…these cupcakes are delicious. I normally do not use cake mixes, but the yellow cake mix works well with this recipe; if anything to add a golden “pumpkiny” colour to the cupcakes themselves. The cake itself has a wonderful cinnamon & nutmeg flavour with a subtle hint of pumpkin. However, the frosting is definitely the best part of the dessert. The pumpkin, pumpkin spice, cream cheese and whipped topping make the icing light & fluffy. It is really the best icing I’ve ever tasted. Even if you are not a huge fan of pumpkin, you’ll like these cupcakes. Guaranteed!


Ingredients

  •  1 package (2-layer size) of yellow or golden cake mix
  •  1 can (398ml) of pumpkin puree, divided (not pumpkin pie filling)
  •  ½ cup of milk
  •  1/3 cup of vegetable oil
  •  4 large eggs
  •  1 and ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, divided
  •  1 package (250g) of cream cheese, softened (Philadelphia Cream Cheese)
  •  1 cup of icing sugar
  •  1 tub (1L) of Cool Whip Whipped topping, thawed
  •  ¼ cup of caramel topping
  •  ½ cup of toasted pecans

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350’F.

2. Beat the cake mix with 1 cup of pumpkin puree, milk, oil, 4 eggs, and 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.

3. Pour mixture evenly into cups of a muffin tin.

4. Bake according to instructions of cake mix or until a toothpick inserted into the centres comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks.

5. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese in a small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Be patient, as if you don’t allow the cream cheese to become creamy, you’ll risk getting lumps in your icing.

6. Add icing sugar, remaining pumpkin puree, and remaining ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice; mix well. Stir in whipped topping.

7. Frost the cooled cupcakes with the frosting & sprinkle each with a pinch of cinnamon or cinnamon sugar.

8. Drizzle with caramel topping and toasted pecans. Store in the fridge.


Source: Courtney Jones

Pumpkin Honey Walnut Bread

1 Comment

I used to hate anything flavoured with pumpkin. Oh, how times have changed! There is nothing better than the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin. I’ve been busy making a lot of different things with pumpkin lately. I’ve made pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin lasagna (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!) and this pumpkin honey walnut bread. The bread was extremely moist and had a lot of flavour. It was fantastic warmed up with a little bit of butter. I also made a homemade vanilla pear butter spread to go on top that was really delicious. 

Ingredients

  • Canola oil cooking spray 
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 
  • 1/4 cup oat bran or wheat germ 
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder 
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
  • 6 tablespoons cane sugar (I used brown sugar)
  • 1/3 cup canola or sunflower oil 
  • 1/3 cup honey 
  • 1/3 cup milk 
  • 1 1/4 cups fresh or canned pumpkin puree 
  • 1 egg 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch loaf pan with canola oil cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oat bran, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a second large bowl, combine sugar, oil, honey, milk, pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in walnuts.
  3. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack then remove from pan and set aside to let cool completely.
Source: Whole Foods Newsletter (October 2010)