Orange Pecan Butter Cookies

This is a circle.

This is a more perfect circle. Num, num, num.
Here's another circle to consider: I've been nominated as a Circle of Mom Favorite for Money Saving Moms. I'm coming into the race a day late and a dollar short, so help me out by heading over and casting your vote. Much obliged, partner.
I don't know why it happens this way, but for some reason, whatever West is studying in school turns into something to eat. This week, he's been learning about the rotations and revolutions and seasons of the earth. We got an orange and marked it up with equators and poles. Then we poked a skewer through the center for an axis and headed to a dark room where I manned the flashlight in my role as the light-giving sun. Then in an elaborate and dizzy dance, West rotated and revolved with his orange-Earth. It was starting to get sticky. The orange, not the dance. What to do with a bleeding orange? I remembered a recipe I'd read recently in The Taste of Home Baking Book for orange pecan cookies. (I'm still in the money with pecans, thanks to Ramona. ) West and I mixed these up yesterday afternoon. Bonus-making a recipe helps him with two belt loops for Scouts, too. These little cookies are addictive. They're buttery and crisp, with more than a hint of orange and a crunch of pecan. They make a perfect after school or mid morning snack. So even if you don't have an assignment to finish or planet to imitate or a belt loop to learn, you're going to love them.

Orange Pecan Butter Cookies from Taste of Home

Estimated Cost: $1.50 for 2 dozen

Money Saving Tips: Stock up on butter and freeze it when you find it on sale. These cookies make good use of an orange by using up both the zest and juice. Don't fret if you don't have pecans-almonds, walnuts, or cashews would make good stand-ins. These will last all week in the fridge, so slice and bake only what you need for that day.

1/2 cup butter softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 egg yolk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup chopped toasted pecan

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add zest, orange juice and egg yolk, mixing well. Sprinkle salt and soda over dough and mix to combine. Gently mix in flour in three additions. Gently stir in pecans. Shape dough into 12 inch cylinder. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 1 week. Slice off generous 1/4 inch thick slices. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about seven minutes.

Up Next: Chicken Paprikash with Buttered Noodles
PS Don't forget to vote for your favorite money-saving Mom. Especially if it's me. :)

Frosted Fudge Brownies with Pecans from Ramona's Tree

Every year in late January, my dear neighbor Ramona hires a man to come with a machine-a-ma-jig to knock the pecans off her stately tree. The first year when the pecan-shaker came, I thought it was an earthquake and sent the kids to stand in doorways while I shouted instructions about covering their heads. I got that from my good old fashioned Los Angeles upbringing. But it was just the rumblings of the pecan-shaker and not a 6.3 on the Richter scale. We could relax and enjoy the pretend earthquake, kind of like a Disneyland ride. We got into the swing of things and we really started looking forward to the pecan-shaker. Afterwards, Ramona's yard was always full or pecans. They needed to be collected and sorted. If you don't hustle over to help Ramona, you won't get the chance. She is spry and hard-working AND she has dozens of helpful grandchildren. If you want to help Ramona, you better not procrastinate or there will be nothing left to do. Here are my Ramona, my two charges and cousin Reeve collecting the nuts. West is making sure it's a good nut before he tosses it into the basket. (We need those little Willie Wonka scales for good nuts and bad nuts. )Sailor has a handful of perfectly good pecans, ready to be shelled and toasted and made into all sorts of lovely things, like the glazed pecans that Ramona brings us every year for Christmas. Since it was getting late in January, I asked Ramona when the pecan-shaker was coming for our annual thrill. But this year, all the pecans fell off by themselves. No shake, rattle or roll was necessary. When Ramona saw that we were disappointed, she brought us over another bag of sugared pecans and a whole bag full of pecans. We've been in heaven. To show our gratitude, I decided to bake Ramona some chocolate frosted brownies with lots of pecans. I spotted the recipe on Cookie Madness, my friend Anna's baking blog. The brownies were utterly divine. They were rich and fudgy and full of buttery pecans. (They've gotten nothing but rave reviews from everyone we've shared them wtih.) They are relatively inexpensive to make since they don't require any baking chocolate; just plain old cocoa powder does the trick here. You could swap out the pecans for another sturdy nut like walnuts, but I think the pecans are worth the splurge. Or you could move onto my street and wait for sweet Ramona to bring you a basket. Frosted Fudge Brownies with Pecans from Cookie Madness
Estimated Cost: $4.00 for 9 servings
4 oz (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 scant teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup Hershey’s natural cocoa (not sure what results you’d get with Dutch)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Frosting
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional) or 9 pecan halves
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8 inch metal pan with foil and mist the bottom with cooking spray.
Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk in the sugar, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Gradually add flour mixture to the batter. Stir in the pecans (if using). Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes (I baked for 20). Pull from oven and make frosting.
Frosting: Stir together cocoa powder and powdered sugar. If you have time, you might want to sift it. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the milk. Stir it into the chocolate/sugar mixture. Stir in the vanilla. Add pecans if using. Pour over the warm brownies and kind of spread it a little to cover. Garnish with pecan halves.
Let brownies cool completely. Lift from pan, set on a cutting board, trim edges and cut into squares. I trimmed the edges and made 9 large squares.

My Favorite Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel

I was getting ready to post my pumpkin ginger cheesecake, one of my signature dishes around the holidays. I started to look through pictures, making sure that I hadn't posted it already. This is what I found from last year. They look like babes in arms compared to this year. I like them just like this, chubby cheeked and smiling. These were our guests.and this was our dinner last year. Here's Dad reading to the kids later in the evening.

If you peeked in on us this year, I suspect it would look just about the same, except for last year's wee ones are a bit taller and trimmer and there are new little babies taking their place. When it's all said and done, even though Thanksgiving is a truckload of work, I am so happy to be able to share it with my family. My whippersnappers aren't going to be little forever. I'm so glad they have such happy memories with their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. They might not be little forever, but a happy memory is eternal.

After looking through all my old pictures and posts, I discovered that I hadn't shared my ultimate favorite Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel. I will still post my cheesecake, but it's going to take a backseat. (Don't worry Heidi-I'll still make you one for your birthday.) The cheesecake can stick around through New Year's but this pie, this pie is all about Thanksgiving. I found the recipe in Bon Appetit in 1994, when I was a college student. I've since tinkered, but the credit should be theirs. (The original top-rated recipe is here. )The spiced pumpkin filling is silky and rich, just like you would expect. What makes the pie exceptional is the ginger scented pecan streusel topping. I have to guard this pie like a hawk, or my pesty little brother Roy will steal all the streusel off the top. It's a little game we play, he and I. We've been raging a pumpkin pie war for sixteen years now and I wouldn't have it any other way. Make my pie and drive your own little brothers crazy. It's all part of the happy memories.

Money Saving Tips: Stock up on canned pumpkin this week when you can get it for a buck. Substitute evaporated milk for the half and half, if you don't have it on hand. Walnuts would be everybit as nice as pecans, if you can find them for cheaper this week.

Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel, adapted from Bon Appetit

1 pie crust, partially baked (click here for my recipe and tutorial)

Filling:

1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
1 1/2 cups half and half
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (about 2 1/2 ounces)
1 tablespoon finely minced crystallized ginger, optional
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.For filling:Whisk all ingredients in large bowl until combined. Pour into partially baked, cooled pie crust. Bake until skin begins to form on filling and filling begins to set, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven. Let pie stand 10 minutes to set slightly. Maintain oven temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare topping:Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until mixture begins to form small clumps. Sprinkle topping over pie. Bake until pie is set and streusel is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Next Up: Summit House Corn

Blueberry Walnut Maple Granola

Uh, this was really supposed to be Blueberry Walnut Maple Granola, until I found out that I used up all of my walnuts on the previous batch. So could you all just pretend that all of those pecans that you see in the pictures are really walnuts? I'd feel ever so much better if you would just play along. Good, I'm glad that's out of the way now. Welcome to today's post. I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to have a great batch of granola squirreled away in the pantry. Especially if it's Blueberry Pec-uh, I mean Walnut Maple Granola. You won't want anything else for breakfast besides some vanilla yogurt and a heaping pile of Blueberry-uh-Nutty Maple Granola. It's simple to make, honest. You take some oats and douse them with some maple syrup and vegetable oil, then a dusting of cinnamon and a sprinkle of walnuts- or nuts of your choice. (Pecans are also good.) Toast it for a good half hour, stirring here and there. When the house smells like an Autumn weekend in Vermont, take it out and stir in some dried blueberries. (You can make your own dried blueberries by setting your oven temp to 150 and baking them on a cookie sheet for about ten hours.) Now go ahead and grab a handful. I'm going to the store. You know what I'm out of. Walnuts. And pecans now, too. At least I've got my Granola.

Money Saving Tips:

Did I mention you can substitute other nuts if you don't have walnuts? (Pecans, anyone?) Well, you can. And the same goes for berries. Use what you've got and what's on sale. Amen, sistuhs. Oh, and real maple is best but pancake syrup works in a pinch.

Blueberry Walnut Maple Granola

Estimated Cost: $4.00 for 5 cups

4 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Scatter oats on cookie sheet. Toast oats for ten minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. In a medium bowl, combine syrup, oil, and cinnamon. Pour over oats and continue to toast, stirring often, for thirty minutes. Remove from oven and stir in berries. Let cool on counter. Store in airtight containers.

Next Up: Honey Vanilla Caramel Apples

Silkiest Butter Pecan Ice Cream-No Ice Cream Maker Needed

Photo Courtesy J.M. Smucker

I'm guest blogging today over at my college freshman roomate's site. Are you ready for a little break from zucchini? I was saving something extra special for Aunt Spicy's blog. This Butter Pecan ice cream is absolute heaven, and best of all you won't need an ice cream maker. Now, I've made ice cream without an ice cream maker before-but this is in an entirely different league. The secret to the creamy texture is.....wait a second! Head over here and you can find out all about it. And trust me, you're going to want some on the end of your spoon for the rest of the summer. Be back tomorrow with more zukes...

Spicy Honey Pecans

If you missed any posts this weekend, scroll down for Mint Syrup, a Musical Debate, and a Father's Day Menu including....The father of our home almost didn't get any of these. Not one. My two little nut eschewers chewed them all up. I didn't want to stop them because I feel they are making progress in their journey to becoming nut-loving fools like their mother. So, I made another batch. I should have doubled it, because these sweet and spicy honey lacquered babies are addictive. Put them out in a little bowl next to some black olives, and you've got the nibbles covered for Father's Day. And make extra, because even people who claim they don't like nuts might just go nuts for Spicy Honey Pecans. Spicy Honey Pecans

Estimated Cost: $2.50

Notes: Any type of nut, or even mixed nuts, would work well here. My backyard neighbors have a pecan tree that drops free nuts right onto our lawn.

1 cup pecans

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon sugar

pinch of cayenne

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients. Place on foil-lined cookie sheet that has been coated with no-stick cooking spray. Bake for five minutes. Stir nuts with fork to separate. Bake an additional eight minutes. Stir with fork and let cool. (Nuts will crisp as they cool)

Coming Tomorrow:

Father's Day Dessert from Tuesdays with Dorie

Individual Fresh Berry Tarts