Pumpkin White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake

This was my pick for my Thanksgiving pie this year (The kids and I go over our pie wishes each year and try to make at least a few of them.  I love Thanksgiving pies!!)  It was my first time making a cheesecake and using my springform pan that I've had for 16 years, so that was exciting!  I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great!  The pumpkin flavor was light, the cheesecake flavor was mild and the white chocolate and graham cracker crust both added a yummy sweetness.  Making it was a little time consuming, but it wasn't difficult, and it was SO delicious!  I would definitely make it again!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake

by: melskitchencafe.com

Crust:

2 c. graham cracker crumbs (about 14 rectangle crackers)

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 c. salted butter, melted

Cheesecake:

3 packages softened cream cheese (I used Philadelphia brand because I wanted it to set up right and had read on her blog that more expensive brands work better)

1 1/2 c. sour cream

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

pinch of cloves

1 tsp. vanilla

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree (or 2 c. homemade puree, which is what I used)

White Chocolate Mousse Topping:

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1/4 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

4 oz. softened cream cheese

4 oz. white chocolate, melted (I had also read on her comments that a nicer brand of white chocolate work best-I used Lindt)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  For your crust, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and melted butter and press it into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9 or 10 inch springform pan.  Line a baking sheet with foil and set the springform pan on it while baking, for 8 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden.  Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.  Reduce the oven to 350 degrees.

For the cheesecake, whip together the softened cream cheese and sour cream and then add the cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and mix it until it is combined.  Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.  Pour the batter onto your crust and spread it evenly.  Bake it on the foil lined baking sheet for 45-60 minutes, until the edges are set and the center jiggles slightly.  Be aware, a 9 inch pan will be more full and will take longer to bake.  Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely. 

For the white chocolate mousse topping, beat the cream and vanilla until soft peaks form.  Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix it until slightly stiffer peaks begin to form.  In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy.  Add in the white chocolate and mix it until it is smooth and creamy.  Gently fold together the white chocolate and cream mixtures until the mousse is nice and creamy (fold gently and carefully so you don't deflate the cream).  Spread the topping over the cooled cheesecake and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours.  Serve and enjoy!

 

Fluffy Egg Nog Pie

Every Thanksgiving, my kids and I try to find a new, fun pie to make.  This year we tried Egg Nog Pie.  It was a favorite from our pie table.  If you like egg nog, you should love this pie!

Egg Nog Pie
by: www.meatloafandmelodrama.com

1 prepared pie crust (I made a no bake graham cracker crust the day before)
1 3.4 oz box instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 c. egg nog
2 c. whipped topping
dash nutmeg

In a large bowl, combine the pudding and egg nog and mix it until it is thick.  Sprinkle in the nutmeg.  Fold in the whipped topping and spread it into your pie crust.  Refrigerate it for 2 hours or until it is firm. 

Amazing Banana Cream Pie with Salted Caramel Sauce

We made a lot of really delicious pies for Thanksgiving this year.  This was one that my girls and I found and decided that we really needed this on Thanksgiving.  It was super easy, very creamy and delicious, and probably my favorite of all that I tasted.

Banana Cream Pie with Salted Caramel Sauce
adapted from: thisgalcooks.com

1 baked pie crust
1 c. chopped vanilla wafers
2 small bananas
1 8 oz. tub of whipped topping, divided
1 1/2 c. milk
1 5.1 oz box of instant banana cream pudding
dash of lemon juice
salted caramel sauce

In a large bowl, stir together the banana pudding and the milk until thick and creamy.  Fold in 1/2 of the tub of whipped topping.  Slice your bananas and sprinkle them with a dash of lemon juice to prevent them from browning.  Stir the banana slices in to your pudding mixture.  Pour it all in your cooled pie crust.  Refrigerate the pie until the pudding is set (I made mine before the Thanksgiving meal started, and then added the rest of the ingredients just before we ate pie).  Spread the remaining whipped topping over the top of the pudding mixture.  Sprinkle the chopped vanilla wafers on top, and then drizzle the salted caramel sauce over the top of the wafers.  Serve it immediately and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Pie

This was Avery's choice for pie this year.  It sounded so rich and sweet that I thought it would be too rich, and too sweet.  But, I was wrong!  It was just enough.  So delicious!  It was the favorite pie of all that we made.

Peanut Butter Pie
adapted from: allrecipes.com

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. container of Cool Whip
24 crushed Nutter Butter cookies
4 Tbsp. melted butter
chocolate fudge ice cream topping

In a small bowl, stir together the Nutter Butter crumbs and melted butter and press into the bottom and sides of a pie plate.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until it begins to look golden brown.  Set it aside and let it cool down.  In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar and beat it with an electric mixer until it is smooth and creamy.  Add the peanut butter and vanilla and do the same.  Stir in the cool whip until it is well combined (also, smooth and creamy) and spread the whole mixture over the cooled Nutter Butter crust.  Squirt a little of the chocolate fudge ice cream topping over the top of the pie and refrigerate until you are ready to eat it.

Banoffee Pie

I made this pie for Thanksgiving this year.  And it is much more than just a graham cracker crust and some caramel.  But, I think I must have taken a picture of the final product with someone else's camera at Thanksgiving.  So, to my family members who were there, if you have a picture of my pie, could you send it to me?  This was a super rich, sweet and very delicious pie.  Try to imagine it covered in bananas and whipping cream.  Yum.

Banoffee Pie
from: many different websites, but mostly, food.com

1 graham cracker crust
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 bananas
1 pint heavy whipping cream
sugar and vanilla, to taste

The night before you need your pie (or at least a good few hours before), turn your sweetened condensed milk into dulce de leche.  I followed the recipe for this on Our Best Bites, but there were many different ways to make it.  Pour your can of sweetened condensed milk into a shallow baking dish, like a pie plate.  Make a water bath by setting the pie plate inside a larger dish (like a roasting pan).  Pour water in the outside dish until it is about halfway up the outside of the pie plate.  Cover the pie plate tightly with tin foil.  Bake it at 425 degrees for an hour and then check it.  It should be a nice, brown, carmel color.  If it isn't put it back in for another 20 minutes, or so and check it again.  Once it is ready, stir it until it is smooth and then let it cool a little before pouring it into the graham cracker crust.  Refrigerate it over night (or a couple of hours).  Prepare your heavy whipping cream by mixing together the cream, sugar and vanilla (I usually add about 2 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla, but taste it and add more if you want). When you are ready to serve it, slice the bananas onto the dulce de leche and then spread the whipping cream over the top of that.  Grate a chocolate bar on top.  Serve it immediately.  And have a big drink of milk ready!

Chunky Chicken Pot Pie & A Pie Crust Recipe

When it is a blizzard outside and hasn't been above 20 degrees in a month, don't you just feel like eating warm and cozy comfort food?  I really love chicken pot pie.  I have made it a number of times and this was one of my favorite versions.  Of course, I may have just been in the perfect mood for it.  You can add any veggies that you have on hand.  I only had potatoes, carrots and onions, but peas or celery would have been great, too.  The other great thing about this is it is an all-in-one dish.  I added a little fruit on the side and my meal was done.

Chunky Chicken Pot Pie
adapted from: allrecipes.com

1 chicken breast
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 onion, sliced
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 3/4 c. chicken broth
2/3 c. milk
1 recipe for a double pie crust (mine follows)

In a medium saucepan, boil the carrots and potatoes until tender (about 15 minutes).  You can also cook your chicken breast with your vegetables if you want.  I always forget and end up cooking the breast separate and then shredding it.  When the vegetables are tender, drain the water and set them aside.  While the veggies are cooking, prepare your crust and lay one half of it in the bottom of your pie tin.  In the saucepan over medium heat, cook the onions in the butter until they are tender.  Stir in the flour, salt and pepper.  Slowly stir in the chicken broth and the milk.  Simmer it over medium heat until it thickens.  Gently stir together the shredded chicken and vegetables and dump that into your pie crust.  Pour the sauce over the top of the veggies.  Then gently lay your other half of rolled out pie crust over the top of the pie and crimp the edges.  Make a few slits in the top with a knife to let the steam out.  Bake it at 425 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until your crust is golden yumminess.  I bake mine on a cookie sheet so that if it oozes out a little while it is baking, I won't have to clean my oven.

Double Pie Crust
adapted from my Better Homes and Garden cookbook

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. shortening
1/3 c. butter
6-7 Tbsp. ice water

Mix your flour and salt and the cut in the shortening and butter until it resembles pea sized pieces.  Sprinkle one tablespoon of ice water in the flour at a time and using a fork, press the flour and the water together (pushing moistened dough to the side of the bowl).  Repeat until all the flour is moistened and you can form it into two balls.  Roll one out and place it in the bottom of your pie tin.  Roll the second out into a circle.  It will go on top of the pie after the filling is in it.  

Lawry's Coconut Banana Cream Pie

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is putting our pinterest to good use and choosing delicious pie recipes that make us drool as we browse the endless sea of "so good!", "the best!", and "delicious!" that pinterest has to offer.  This is one of the (4) pies that we made this year!  It was my favorite for sure, and the favorite of many of our family members too.  The direct quote (that I kept because I'm too lazy to change what other people write when they pin it) from when I pinned it is: "Heads up coconut lovers, this pie is amazing, totally decadent, and the coconut crust is absolutely awesome. The crust takes it from ordinary to sublime."  Okay, if a recipe has amazing, decadent, and absolutely awesome in its description, it's got to be good.  No one would be that liberal with their choice of words unless it was true...

Well, luckily for me it was true.  How embarrassing to make a pie at Thanksgiving that is only "really good".

This pie was pretty awesome.  Absolutely awesome, if you will.  The coconut crust almost made a cookie or macaroon-ish crust that was so yummy.  The homemade vanilla pudding was great too.  If I ever want to make this pie in a crunch (most of the time comes from letting things chill before putting it together), I will just do a boxed vanilla pudding, although it wouldn't taste quite as yummy. 

So, thanks to Jan Can Cook, who took the time to scout out this recipe from L.A. Food Times, we can all enjoy "absolutely wicked awesome decadence" in the form of this pie. (You can quote me on that.)

Lawry's Coconut Banana Cream Pie 
adapted from Jan Can Cook

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes plus 2 hours chilling 

Coconut Pie Shell 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, plus more for pie plate 
3 cups sweetened flake coconut 

Lightly butter a 9-inch pie plate and set aside. 

Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat and brown the coconut flakes, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. They should be golden brown. Press the coconut firmly and evenly in the pan to form a shell. Chill the crust 30 minutes before filling. 

Pie Filling 

4 egg yolks 
3/4 cup sugar, divided 
3 tablespoons cornstarch 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/4 cup flour 
3 cups half-and-half, divided 
Yellow food coloring 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
2 bananas 
1 cup whipping cream 
1 tablespoon powdered sugar 

Combine the cornstarch and flour.  Pour a little at a time into a tightly sealed container with 1 cup of the half-and-half.  Shake vigorously until there are no lumps.  Continue to add the remaining flour/cornstarch mixture until no lumps remain.  Combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Gradually add the half-and-half mixture and whisk.

Combine the remaining 2 cups half-and-half and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a 3-quart saucepan and bring just to boil over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook and stir until the mixture returns to a boil and thickens, about 1 minute. 

Remove from the heat. Stir in 2 drops of food coloring and the vanilla. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool. 

Slice the bananas into the pie shell. Pour the filling into the shell. 

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until stiff. Spoon in dollops or pipe with a pastry bag around the edge of the pie. Chill 2 hours before slicing. 

*Notes from my experience: 

It seemed like the coconut was going to be way too much to fit in the pie pan as a crust.  I got wax paper and pressed firmly until it resembled a crust.  This worked but it was a little hard to cut into afterwards.  Some readers from this website, Jan Can Cook, said the same thing, but others didn't have a problem with that.

Also, I changed the directions slightly to make the pudding recipe.  It said to mix the egg yolk with the dry ingredients, two of them being cornstarch and flour, which I did, then to mix them into the cup of half-and-half.  It wouldn't mix in with the liquid at that point.  It just made egg yolk clumps at the bottom of my bowl.  I had to scratch that and start over.  It worked well to mix it first with the cornstarch and flour, and then add the other ingredients. 

Creamy Dreamy Pudding Pie

I had to give this an exciting name, because although this is the best way to make a pudding pie, you can't tell from this picture.  Just trust me.  Once you make this switch, you will never go back to regular, pasty pudding pie. I'm not sure where this came from, maybe the back of a pudding box years ago, but it is the only way I ever make a pudding pie now.

Creamy Dreamy Pudding Pie

1 small box of instant pudding, any flavor
1 1/4 cup milk
1 8 oz. carton cool whip
1 prepared pie crust
shaved chocolate, mini chocolate chips, toasted coconut, bananas or whatever you want to garnish your pie with

In a large bowl, mix the pudding and milk until well mixed.  Add approximately 2/3 of the cool whip to the pudding and stir it gently.  Pour it into your pie crust and smooth it out.  Spread the remainder of the cool whip over the top.  If you would like, sprinkle something yummy on the top of the pie.

Perfect Pie Crust

This is the perfect pie crust.  I know because the recipe told me that it was.  And then it said something in French.  So it must be.  And I have to say, it was the best crust I have ever made.  And when you see how much butter is in this, you won't be surprised at how flaky, buttery and delicious it is.  It would be worth trying this with a little less butter (Nicole, I leave that to you).  For the purpose of my Relief Society Pie Making Class that I taught, I kept all that artery clogging deliciousness in it.  After all, I wouldn't want to mess with perfection!

Perfect Pie Crust (double crust recipe)
adapted from: simplyrecipes.com

2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. unsalted butter, very cold, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
6-8 Tbsp. ice water

A tip that the above website gave was to cut the butter into cubes and then freeze it for at least 15 minutes. I read on multiple websites that very cold butter is a key to a successful pie crust.  I did that, then combined the flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl.  When my butter was chilled, I dumped it into the flour mixture.  I followed directions very closely on this recipe (which I rarely do, but I really wanted this crust to turn out right).  I followed the ingredients exactly, but it was suggested to do the crust in a food processor.  Mine isn't big enough, so I did it the old fashioned way, which I prefer anyway, and used a pastry blender and some muscle to cut in the butter until the crumbs were pea sized.  A tablespoon at a time, add the ice water.  In between tablespoons, using a fork, squish the water and the flour mixture together until it forms a ball.  Another key to a successful pie crust is to not add too much water.  When you have enough water that you can form it into a ball (even if it is still flaky) that is enough.  Place the dough ball on the table and smash it into two discs with the palm of your hand.  According to simplyrecipes.com, this will flatten the butter between the layers of the flour and make your crust extra flaky.  Kind of like some people I know...  Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour, or up to 2 days.  After an hour, take out one disc and let it sit for a few minutes.  Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface into a 12 inch circle.  Place the crust into your pie tin and gently press it onto the bottom and sides.  Add your pie filling.  Roll out the second disc into a 12 inch circle.  Lay it over the top of the pie and pinch the edges to seal it.  And then you can try to make it look pretty.  However, it is really unnecessary to do that because this pie is so flaky and yummy that it won't matter if you made it look pretty, or not.  You will want to make sure and either poke some holes with a fork in the top, or make a slit or two, to release the steam while it cooks.