Spiced pumpkin swirl cheesecake

So I decided to change it up a bit this year for Thanksgiving....ukkah.  Almost all of my treats involve a component of Thanksgiving and Channukkah (or, if I needed to stretch it, "Jewish" food).  I made a few versions of ruggelach pinwheels (original, cranberry-pecan, pumpkin, and pecan pie).  My apple pie had a potato latke crust.  I have a cupcake treat coming up -- but that's more "Channukkah" than "Thanksgiving."  I am also making a second Apple Pie with Latke Crust, but am planning on decreasing some of the sugar in the pie filling, since my mom said it was a little too sweet...but more on that later.

So this year for Thanksgiving, I'm making a Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake instead of pumpkin pie.  I figured that since I am not a fan of pumpkin pie at all and sorta like cheesecake, maybe the sum of the two would be better than the individual parts.  So in continuing with my Thanksgivukkah desserts, I'm going to say that cheesecake is a NY Jewish Deli treat.  That may or may not be completely true, but I'm going with it... ;-)

The recipe that I chose to follow had a pecan crust, however my cousin E is allergic to nuts, and I never bring nuts into her house.  So I went with an old fashioned graham cracker crust (that I had used almost a year ago on my mini cheesecakes) - which I 1.5x because the original recipe said it was for a 7" springform.

The original recipe called for layering the plain and pumpkin cheesecake layers and then swirling all 4 layers together.  I decided that I wanted to try to swirl only the top two layers, and that way the cheesecake would have distinct layers when you looked at it from the side.  I'd say I was successful!

Also, although there are several people in my family who are not pumpkin fans, this cheesecake was hands down the favorite dessert of Thanksgiving.  So much so, that I've already been asked to make it again next year.  And, as an aside, the two biggest pumpkin-averse people in the world (B and I) actually enjoyed it!

Spiced Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
from Taste of Home.  I added my own graham cracker crust...see the bottom for that.

Ingredients:

Crust (I didn't use this one):

2 cups pecan halves, toasted (see the original link for how to toast the pecans)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:                           

 

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened                            

1 cup packed brown sugar, divided                            

3/4 cup sour cream                            

2 teaspoons vanilla extract                            

3 eggs, lightly beaten                             

1 cup canned pumpkin                             

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon                             

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger                            

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves -- I halved that...I debated not adding it at all since I don't like cloves, but figured I should try it since it was a spiced pumpkin swirl cheesecake.

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

If using the graham cracker crust, see the bottom and then start where I put the asterisk (*).

Preheat oven to 325°.
Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). 
Wrap foil securely around pan.

 

Place pecans and brown sugar in a food processor; pulse until fine crumbs form.

Add butter; pulse to combine.

Press onto the bottom of prepared pan.

Place pan on a baking sheet.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until light brown.

Cool on a wire rack.

 

*In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and 3/4 cup brown sugar until smooth.

Beat in sour cream and vanilla.

Add eggs; beat on low speed just until blended.

 

In another bowl, mix pumpkin, spices and remaining brown sugar.

Stir in 1-1/2 cups of the cream cheese mixture.

 

To layer, pour 1-1/2 cups plain cream cheese mixture over crust.

Gently spread 1-1/3 cups pumpkin mixture over top. I didn't measure how much I used, but I wanted to make sure that there was a defined layer of pumpkin in the cake.

Repeat layers.  For the top layer of pumpkin cheesecake filling, I placed dallops of it all over the plain layer, so that the plain really showed through when I swirled it.

Cut through layers with a knife to swirl.  I tried very hard (and hopefully successfully) to only swirl the top two layers, so that when you cut into the cheesecake, you'd see a plain layer on top of the crust, then a pumpkin layer, and then a swirled layer on top.   

Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 inch of hot water to larger pan.

 

Bake 60-70 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull.

Remove springform pan from water bath.

Cool cheesecake on a wire rack 10 minutes.

Loosen sides from pan with a knife; remove foil from bottom.  

Cool 1 hour longer.

Refrigerate overnight.

Remove rim from pan.

 

Graham Cracker Crust

from Shari (more about Shari when I first posted it here)

 

For this spiced pumpkin swirl cheesecake, I 1.5x the recipe, since the original recipe was for a 7" springform.  I think it was a bit more than I needed, so I ended up with a decent crust.  I have included the adjusted recipe below.  You may want to play around and maybe not use all of it if you don't want a thick crust.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
3/8 cup (6 Tbsp) melted butter (I used unsalted, as I always do with baking)
1/4 cup sugar

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 400F.

 

Grease a 9" springform pan.

Make the crust:
Mix the crust ingredients together.
Press the crust into the springform pan.

Bake at 400 degrees until brown, being careful not to burn it.  Watch.  It.  Closely!  It goes from perfectly brown to burnt in a matter of seconds.

 

Lower the heat to 325.

Apple pie with latke crust, take 2

When I made the first Apple Pie with Latke Crust, I was very pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.  I ate a slice right out of the oven (which was delicious), and then another the following night.  I brought a piece home for my parents to try, since I was so proud of my creation.  My dad ate a piece (cold, straight out of the fridge) and lamented to me that he liked the filling and the crust, but simply didn't like them together.  I called my mom and pleaded, "Warm the pie up, please, and you and dad try it."

So it took a while (and several calls to my mom to gently remind her to try the pie, since Thanksgiving/Thanksgivukkah was rapidly approaching, and if they both didn't like it, I wasn't going to serve it at a family function), but my mom finally called me back - she loved it, but she felt the filling was a little too sweet.  It shouldn't have been a surprise, since I ended up using fewer apples last time, but used the regular amount of brown sugar.

So when I made it again for Thanksgivukkah, I ended up making a few adjustments:
1.  I ended up using 3 apples - 2 large Rome apples and 1 large Braeburn apple.
2.  I used 1/2 instead of 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar; I kept everything else the same.
3.  I cut down the butter even more, and ended up using a little less than 1 Tbsp.
4.  I baked the whole thing uncovered, instead of covering it for the first part and then removing the foil at the end.
5.  I decided to decorate the top of the pie with the apple slices, to make it look prettier -- like a flower.

Check out my original recipe here.

Pecan pie ruggelach pinwheels

While I was on a ruggelach pinwheel making kick, I decided to try out that pecan pie ruggelach filling in ruggelach pinwheels.  Honestly, when I made the actual ruggelach, I attempted a mini roll, just to see how they turned out.  The pecan pie filling is super runny, but it didn't run quite as much with the pinwheels, so I thought I at least had to try them out with this dough. 

The dough from the ruggelach pinwheels is a little different than the dough in the original pecan pie ruggelach.  The big difference?  There is no sugar in the pecan pie ruggelach dough -- probably because the filling is so freakin' sweet.  But for consistency's sake, I decided to use the pinwheel dough for the pecan pie ruggelach pinwheels.

 

The nice thing about these is that the filling didn't run like it did in the regular pecan pie ruggelach.  And they were still super tasty!

 

Pecan Pie Rugglach Pinwheels

Dough from Smitten Kitchen, Filling from Buzzfeed, idea to combine them from JulieBakes.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sifted bleached all-purpose flour

Filling:

2 cups shelled pecan halves
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into 4 pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Note: I skipped the apricot preserves on these since the filling is so wet.

Topping:

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
Add sugar and continue processing until fully incorporated.
Add flour and pulse just until dough comes together.
Divide dough into 2 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make filling.
Using a knife, finely chop pecans and put in a medium mixing bowl. (Do NOT do chop the nuts in a food processor. You want the pecans to be chopped but still coarse, and a food processor will turn them into nut butter.)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown the butter by adding all 4 pieces at once and constantly stirring with a heatproof spatula until completely melted.
Continue to stir or swirl the pan as butter starts to bubble and foam.
When the foam subsides slightly and butter turns a light brown color, take it off the heat immediately and add the it to the chopped pecans.
Add vanilla extract, corn syrup, and brown sugar, and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
My tip: roll the dough between two floured pieces of parchment paper.
BEFORE going any further, slightly flour the up side of dough and transfer the rolled out dough onto a piece of saran wrap by flipping it over (the floured side will now be down.
Spread the filling mixture over the dough.
Roll dough into a log beginning with one of the long sides.  This is where the dough being on saran wrap helps.  The dough is pretty soft by now, and rolling can be a little bit difficult.  UNLESS its already on the saran wrap.  You can use the plastic wrap to aid in rolling, making sure that the roll is tight (less filling lost later), and it makes it much easier for the next step.
Wrap rolled dough in plastic wrap.
Transfer dough log baking sheet.
Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
Place dough logs in refrigerator; let chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping; set aside.

Slice chilled dough logs crosswise, about 1/4 inch thick.
Toss each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place cookies 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes.
Lift parchment paper from baking sheets and transfer to a wire cooling rack; let cool.

Thanksgivukkah ruggelach pinwheels

Sometimes my mind works in weird ways.  I made those ruggelach pinwheels the other day, and they were good.  Really good.  So what did I do?  I went back and made more dough to make "Thanksgivukkah Rugglach Pinwheels" - this time substituting craisins and pecans for the original raisins and walnuts.  Although instantaneously, my Thanksgivukkah variety seemed to make perfect sense, I had to pause for a moment.  The original ruggelach pinwheels are so freakin' amazing that I really had to think about whether I wanted to tempt fate and try to improve on something so amazing.  I rationalized for a while, and then decided that I wasn't trying to improve them but rather try something different.  So I went for it....

For the Thanksgivukkah Ruggelach Pinwheels, I substituted even amounts of craisins and pecans for the original ingredients.  I was slightly concerned that craisins are slightly more dry than raisins, and that that might change the consistency of the ruggelach, but didn't want to try plumping them up (by soaking them), so I just went with the craisins as they are.



And it was totally worth it.  They were super tasty.  Now I just have to decide if the next time I make these Thanksgivukkah-ified Ruggelach Pinwheels, I should add a pinch of ground ginger or not...


Ruggelach Pinwheels - Thanksgivukkah-ified
Original recipe from SmittenKitchen, modified by yours truly.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sifted bleached all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup craisins, chopped
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup apricots preserves, heated and cooled slightly
I have to say, I debated adding a pinch of ground ginger into these, but held off....for now.  Baby steps ;-)

Topping:

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
Add sugar and continue processing until fully incorporated.
Add flour and pulse just until dough comes together.
Divide dough into 2 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make filling.
In a medium bowl, mix together granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon, craisins, and pecans; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
My tip: roll the dough between two floured pieces of parchment paper.
BEFORE going any further, slightly flour the up side of dough and transfer the rolled out dough onto a piece of saran wrap by flipping it over (the floured side will now be down.
Spread a thin layer of preserves over dough, I use a pastry brush to make sure it is evenly distributed.
Sprinkle with filling mixture.
Roll dough into a log beginning with one of the long sides.  This is where the dough being on saran wrap helps.  The dough is pretty soft by now, and rolling can be a little bit difficult.  UNLESS its already on the saran wrap.  You can use the plastic wrap to aid in rolling, making sure that the roll is tight (less filling lost later), and it makes it much easier for the next step.
Wrap rolled dough in plastic wrap.
Transfer dough log baking sheet.
Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
Place dough logs in refrigerator; let chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping; set aside.

Slice chilled dough logs crosswise, about 1/4 inch thick.
Toss each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place cookies 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes.
Lift parchment paper from baking sheets and transfer to a wire cooling rack; let cool.

Apple pie with latke crust

Scrolling through Instagram while at a conference a few weeks ago, I came across a picture with a caption explaining that the pie was a pumpkin pie with a latke crust for Thanksgivukkah.  The other pumpkin pie I had seen for Thanksgivukkah had a rye crust, which just didn't sound appetizing to me.  Well, neither sounded all that appetizing to me because I don't like pumpkin pie.  But at least the latke crust gave me something to work with.  And then -- almost immediately -- it came to me: Apple Pie with a Latke Crust!  It was like a somewhat deconstructed potato pancake (latke) with applesauce, which happens to be my favorite way to eat latkes.

I figured I would have to work on the recipe a little, since apples are watery and I didn't want a soggy latke crust (the BEST part of latkes are their crispy outside!).  More on that below (see *).

I was a little overzealous when I made it, and cut into the pie when it was still a little runny (the filling does thicken a little as it cools) -- see the photos below.  But it was super tasty - exactly what I wanted it to be.  And even though the filling was a little wet (because of my overzealousness), the crust was still crispy thanks to cooking it technically three times.  *So, even though I thought this pie would need a few iterations before I posted it for you, I was pleasantly surprised by the final result the first time.  I would possibly add a little more flour next time, just to control some of the filling, but I honestly don't think I have to do that. 

 

FYI, the blogger who I got the recipe from claims that these are the best latkes she has ever tasted.  Clearly, she has never had my mom's latkes!  But since I knew the crust worked with her recipe, I went with it....I may need to try it again with my mom's latke "recipe."  Just sayin'.


Latke Crust
From My Name Is Yeh

Ingredients:

She calls for a "half batch of ex-boyfriend latke mix" - adjusted measurements below:

2 1/2 medium russet potatoes
1/2 medium yellow onion
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 egg whites
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Canola or vegetable oil to coat pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to broil.

Shred potatoes and onion using a food processor or mandolin.
Mine was very watery, so I drained the mixture before adding everything else.  Just like my mom does when she makes latkes. 
Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, egg whites, and flour.
Mix well.

Once you've mixed up the latke mixture, coat an oven safe pan with oil and set over medium heat (She used a 9-inch cast iron pan).
Pour the latke mixture into the pan and use a spatula to firmly press the mixture all over the bottom and around the edges.

Cook until the bottom browns.  I assume she meant on the stove top, so that's what I did.
The crust may start to puff up in the center-- if this happens, poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork.
Once the bottom is brown, stick the pan in the oven and broil for 8-12 minutes, or until the top starts to brown.
Reduce the heat to 375 (or whatever your pie filling recipe advises -- Mine calls for 350, if you're making my "deconstructed latke with applesauce" pie).

Pour in the filling (see below), and bake until the pie is set.

Apple Pie Filling
(you may need less since the latke crust is a bit thicker than a regular crust.  That's OK, the apples are super tasty on their own, to snack on while the pie is baking)

Ingredients:

6 to 7 medium apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about 7 cups total) -- I tried to lessen the amount of apples because my crust was particularly thick.  I used 2.5 LARGE apples (1 Rome apple, 1.5 Braeburn apples), but I ended up with a lot of apples, so I ended up keeping the following amounts as is, except the butter -- but that is noted below. 
2 tablespoons lemon juice 

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar -- I used some dark brown sugar (less than 1/4 cup), since I didn't want to open another box of light brown sugar, so I lessened the amount slightly.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced -- I used 1.5 Tablespoons

 

Directions:

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; toss to combine.

Mound the apples in the crust-lined pan, making the center higher than the sides.

Dot the top evenly with the pieces of butter. I ended up using half of the butter since I didn't want it too soupy and to make the crust soggy.

I covered it with foil.

 

Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the apples feel tender, mine took about 30-40 minutes.  After that, I removed the foil and let it bake a little longer, about 5-10 minutes

Remove the pie from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Let the pie rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  

Pecan pie ruggelach

The first thing I ever saw with recipes for Thanksgivukkah had some totally delicious sounding recipes, and some that, well, didn't sound too tasty (for example, a pumpkin pie with rye crust).  The one recipe that totally caught my eye was a recipe for Pecan Pie Ruggelach.  Now you might know, or at least remember reading about a year ago, but I am not a fan of pecan pie.  So why, you ask, did this recipe catch my eye?  Well, for two reasons, really.  First of all, it completely mixed foods from Channukkah and Thanksgiving without sounding weird or bizarre (ok, ok, I will give you the fact that Ruggalach is not really a Channukkah food, as much as a Jewish food, but still).  And secondly?  They combine two of my dad's all time favorite sweets ever.

 

So a few weeks before Thanksgivukkah, I started working on the recipe.  The first batch was, let's just say tasty, since they weren't really pretty.  The recipe warned that the filling would ooze out, but mine oozed out, onto the parchment paper, and then under the parchment paper onto the pan.  Cleaning off the pan was not fun.  In retrospect, I don't think I rolled the dough thin enough, and then I didn't cut them into enough pieces (I did 8 instead of 16).  And since I think I didn't roll it thin enough, I think they were too small, and so the filling was really thick. 

But you know what?  While they weren't pretty, the filling was delicious.  And that is A LOT coming from a non-pecan pie fan.  It helps that while there were pecans in there, there was also some browned butter, dark brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla.  I went out to dinner that night with my parents, my sisters, and B, and gave my parents and B a ruggelach to taste (remember those pesky sisters of mine?  Pesky in the sense that they don't eat sweets....well, they didn't want to try any), and the response was unanimous -- they're delicious!  So since they were so tasty, I plan to go back and tried to make them again, this time thinner, and more pretty.

Pecan Pie Ruggelach
from the Thanksgivukkah menu I saw on Buzzfeed (the same menu that featured that less-than-appetizing sounding pumpkin pie that I mentioned before).


Ingredients:

Dough:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup cream cheese (4 oz), cut into 4 pieces

Filling:

2 cups shelled pecan halves
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into 4 pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Egg wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Special equipment:
Electric hand mixer
Plastic wrap
2 cookie sheets
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Pizza cutter (not essential)

Directions:

Make the dough:

Let butter and cream cheese sit out at room temperature for 10 minutes, so that they are still cool but slightly soft.
Combine flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Using a hand mixer, mix on a low speed just until combined.
Scatter butter and cream cheese pieces over the top of the flour mixture, and beat on medium speed until dough is the texture of cottage cheese, still slightly crumbly.
Use your hands to divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, then roll each piece into a ball.
Flatten each ball into a disk about 1 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter, then wrap each one separately in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours, up to 1 day.

Make the filling:

Using a knife, finely chop pecans and put in a medium mixing bowl. (Do NOT do chop the nuts in a food processor. You want the pecans to be chopped but still coarse, and a food processor will turn them into nut butter.)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown the butter by adding all 4 pieces at once and constantly stirring with a heatproof spatula until completely melted.
Continue to stir or swirl the pan as butter starts to bubble and foam.
When the foam subsides slightly and butter turns a light brown color, take it off the heat immediately and add the it to the chopped pecans.
Add vanilla extract, corn syrup, and brown sugar, and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined.

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Beat egg yolk with the tablespoon of water and set aside.

When dough is chilled, unwrap one disk onto a lightly floured surface, and roll with a rolling pin into a 12-inch circle.
It is important to have an even, symmetrical circle, so trim any excess.
If dough gets too soft during rolling, lay it on one of the lined baking sheets and put it in the freezer for 5 minutes, until slightly chilled.
Once the dough is rolled out, sprinkle half of the pecan mixture on top of the dough, all the way to the edges of the circle, making sure the mixture is evenly distributed.
With a pizza cutter (or a knife), cut dough into 16 equal slices.
Roll each slice from the outside in (starting the wide end and rolling towards the point), placing each roll onto the cookie sheet as you go.
Repeat this process with the other disk of dough.

Use a pastry brush to coat the top of each cookie with the egg-water mixture.
Bake rugelach for 20 minutes until golden, turning the cookie sheet halfway through baking.  The filling will ooze out, don't worry, there is plenty still inside.  Once they're cooled, break away the parts that oozed out.  The original recipe recommends eating them.  I second that!

Cool completely before serving.