Impossible Pumpkin Pie

Delicious pumpkin pie in just minutes?  Impossible you say? It's not quite a Thanksgiving miracle, but if you have a blender and oven, it's possible! 

This is a cheat pie made by placing all the ingredients -- including a half cup of Bisquick -- in the blender and mixing for about one minute. The pie didn't form a substantial crust at all; in fact, it was barely there, but the pie otherwise tasted like the traditional Thanksgiving dessert.

This pie is so easy and passed the taste test with flying colors, that I couldn't resist posting it. Aside from baking for 55 minutes, the pie took literally minutes to put together. (It took me longer to make pumpkin pie spice from the spices below than it did to actually blend the ingredients.)

Start by putting all the ingredients in a blender. I used the DH's fancy smoothie blender, which I can barely operate but, after pressing all sorts of buttons, it whirled everything into a smooth batter.

You'll need to grease a nine-or 10-inch pie pan. Spraying it with Pam, or similar, is the easiest method.
Pour in the batter and place in the preheated oven.  I put the pan on a cookie sheet lined with foil to catch any spillover.

When a tester comes out clean, remove from the oven and let cool.

Serve and enjoy. It's better with whipped cream, as is nearly everything else in life.

Production notes: I followed this recipe exactly, except I used softened butter in place of the margarine.  Of course, the first time I made it, I realized that I'd forgotten to add the eggs.(However, that version formed a more traditional pie crust. Go figure!)  But it took just minutes to whip up another one. If you don't have pumpkin pie spice in your pantry, you can make your own.

Fresh Cranberry Cookies

'Tis the season for fresh cranberries and after making sauce, bread, cake and cobbler with these tart ruby berries, I was delighted to discover this vintage recipe for Fresh Cranberry Cookies. These would make a fine addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table, and a nice alternative to pie.

They are a snap to make, delicious and, most importantly, different. While Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries have appeared in numerous cookie recipe, this is the first I've seen using fresh berries.)

Gather your cranberries and, as the recipe instructs, coarsely chop them. I thought this was way too boring (and difficult) and was about to give up, but...

the DH, a former "deli man," decided to do it.  However, I do think these cookies would be fine using the whole berry if you don't have an ambitious sort at home willing to step up to the plate cutting board.

The recipe calls for two teaspoons of orange juice and, having none the house, I just juiced half an orange (and drank the extra!).

Make sure your butter is at room temperature, and beat it with the sugars. Add the milk, juice and egg and combine.

After you add the dry ingredients and combine well, add the cranberries and nuts to the batter. I used pecans, but walnuts would also be nice.

I used gloved hands to form the cookies into small balls, rather than dropping them by teaspoon onto the cookie sheet. They don't spread much so you can place them close to one another.

Bake for about 10 minutes and cool on racks.

Production notes: I followed the recipe exactly, using pecans for the nuts. The SIL, who adored these cookies, suggested gilding the lily berry by adding white chocolate to the batter. I will try that next time, Josh!

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

The pumpkin craze that began last month shows no signs of abating (and quite frankly has gone into overkill, what with pumpkin flavored Oreos, pumpkin burritos from Chipotle, and other similar "delights").

But pumpkin is good, if not bastardized, and this light, moist and delicious pumpkin cake from a vintage recipe showcases this seasonal fruit in the best possible way. It's very easy to prepare, keeps fresh for days (on account of the oil) and perfect for your Thanksgiving company. I made this Sunday for my friends Karin and Jim -- and Karin (who is a very discerning eater and big fan of pumpkin pastry) declared it among the best pumpkin cakes she's ever had.

Start by combining the wet ingredients in a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer). Meantime, combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Blend together and pour into a greased and floured 9 x 12 inch pan. The batter is thick, so using the back of a spoon, spread it to the edges.

Bake and cool. You can turn the cake out from the pan (or not). I was serving this to company, so went the extra step.

Frost and serve.

You'll not that the original recipe is rather incomplete -- no baking temperature, pan size, and amount of ingredients for the frosting, so I wrote the recipe (with the missing information) below. The original recipe calls for a 16-ounce can of pumpkin, but these days only 15-ounce cans are available, but it doesn't make a difference. It is also titled Pumpkin Bars, but trust me, this is a cake.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Frosting

Preheat oven to 350F
Grease and flour a 9 x 12 inch pan

4 eggs
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda

In large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until well blended.
In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
Add dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix until combined.
Pour into prepared pan, spread to the edges and bake for about 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 8-oz. package of cream cheese (room temperature)
1 lb. confectioner's sugar
1 t. vanilla

In a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer) combine butter and cream cheese.
Add confectioner's sugar in batches, combining well between each.
Add vanilla and beat until smooth.

World's Easiest Pumpkin Bars

Sometimes when things are too easy, one suspects that they will fail -- like, what's the catch?  But these moist and delicious pumpkin bars prove that one can bake their cake (easily) and eat it too.

This recipe is so simple and so quick, that it's the perfect baking project for children. With ingredients found in most pantries, you can put together the batter for this dessert in minutes.  As with many vintage recipes, this one is incorrectly titled, for this is a sheet cake, not typical bar cookies.  Not that there's anything wrong with that!

 How easy is this? Truly, just dump all the ingredients in a single bowl and

mix thoroughly until combined.  Pour into a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake.

Voila! Pumpkin sheet cake!

Cool slightly and cut into bars.

Production notes: I followed this recipe exactly, baking it in a 9 x 13 inch pan. When it was written, cans of pumpkin contained 16 ounces. Today, most have just 15 ounces, but it will be fine with the slightly lesser amount.

Typical of many vintage dessert recipes, this is not overly sweet. So you can make a frosting of confectioners sugar mixed with a little milk or simply dust the cake with confectioners sugar.