Pie and Ice Cream Recipe Roundup

If you are still looking for recipes for Thanksgiving pie and ice cream. Here are few great recipes to choose from. I'll be making some of these later this week.

Pie Recipes:

• Slab Pumpkin Pie (Thanksgiving classic in a 9x13 pan)
• Apple Pie (American classic in a patriotic shape)
• French Silk Pie (If you need a chocolate fix instead)

Ice Cream Recipes:

• Vanilla
• Caramel
• Pumpkin
• Chocolate
• All ice cream recipes  

Dessert Topping Recipes:

• Caramel
• Chocolate ganache
• Strawberry sauce (whole berry and pureed smooth)

DIY Pumpkin Ice Cream

I made this awesome pumpkin ice cream last year for Thanksgiving, based off of a recipe on David Lebovitz's blog. I'm thinking about making it again this year because it went so well with pumpkin pie. In fact, it is basically like eating pumpkin pie in ice cream form.

You could serve it all by itself as a great alternative to pumpkin pie, for those who love the flavor but not the texture of the classic Thanksgiving pie. You could even use it to make an ice cream pie or cake. It would also be great with ginger bread or other spice cake,

If you are not convinced you want that much pumpkin in one bowl, but you still want to make ice cream for Thanksgiving, classic vanilla or this amazing caramel ice cream are sure to please as well.

Homemade Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ginger (optional)
• 1/8 tsp cloves (optional)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (homemade works great, but if using canned make sure to use 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling with the sweetener and spices already added)

1. In a metal saucepan mix the milk, cream, white sugar, desired spices, and salt. Stir over low heat until the mixture just begins to bubble at the edges.
2. In a small mixing bowl whisk the eggs and gradually add about 1 cup of the warmed mild and spice mixture to the eggs. This is tempers the eggs and keeps them from making scrambled eggs in your ice cream so don't skip this step.
3. Add the egg mixture back to the saucepan and stir until the mixture bubbles and thickens to coat a spoon or spatula.
4. Remove from heat and cool in the refrigerator or regular freezer.
5. When cool add brown sugar, vanilla, and pumpkin puree.
6. If there are pieces of egg, small chunks of pumpkin, or you just want to make sure your ice cream is super smooth, press through a fine metal strainer at this point.
7. Freeze in an ice cream freezer or follow the instructions here for freezing in a regular freezer.

Makes 1 quart/liter of ice cream.

Fall Decorations

I pulled out the fall decorations I made last year a little while ago and we've been having fun having these little pumpkins around while we enjoy our new little pumpkin.

I'm not making decorations this fall, but in case anyone else is still looking for ideas to make for fall decor here are the posts I wrote last year.

• Sew Easy Pumpkin
• Scrap Pumpkin
• Sew Easy Sleeve Pumpkin or Apple
• Scrap Wreath
• Scrap Garland
• Fall Place Mats

DIY Pumpkin Butter

Since pumpkins are still in season here (read that: really cheap and easy to get), I thought I try pumpkin butter as my first DIY project for 2012. I looked at a few different pumpkin butter recipes but ended up coming up with my own very simple recipe. I really like how it turned out though; it tastes like spreadable pumpkin pie to me. Pumpkin butter is great on muffins and toast, and I would imagine it would be fabulous on homemade bagels.

Homemade Pumpkin Butter Recipe

• 8 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (or up to 3 cups depending on your personal taste, but we thought 1 1/2 cups was plenty sweet)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• dash (about 1/8 of a teaspoon) of cloves (optional)
• dash (about 1/8 of a teaspoon) of ginger (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in a crock pot or large stock pot.
2. Stir to combine.
3. Bring to a very low boil and simmer for 30 minutes to up to 2 hours.
4. When you can stand a wooden spoon up in the center of the pot and all of the flavors have combined nicely, remove from heat, and let cool.
5. Store in jars (or other airtight containers) in the refrigerator, or freeze for later use.

This recipe yielded about 7 cups of pumpkin butter for me.

DIY Slab Pumpkin Pie

I wanted to bake a pumpkin pie that would last us a little while, so I made a large rectangular pie. This makes a delicious 9x13 pumpkin pie, so you have plenty to share or enjoy for several days. Although it didn't last as long as I had planned, because it was really good. If you don't want a rectangular pie you could use two regular pie pans.

Oil Pie Crust Recipe

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup oil (vegetable, canola, sunflower, etc.)
• 6 Tbsp or more ice water
  (makes enough for a standard double crust pie, two single crust pies, or a 9x13 slab pie)

1. Mix together oil and flour with a pastry cutter.
2. Add ice water, and continue mixing until firm dough forms.
3. Let rest at least 15 minutes before rolling. 
4. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes to avoid a soggy crust.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Filling Recipe

• 3 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups (12oz) of cream, half-n-half, evaporated milk, or even plain whole milk for a light pie
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 whole eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stirring until well combined.
2. Pour into prepared pie crust shells.
3. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until center is firm.

DIY Pumpkin Bread

My husband loves pumpkin bread, probably because his mom is famous for her great pumpkin bread she makes at Christmastime. Nate says he likes that pumpkin bread is less sweet than the scones and you have room to put butter on it. This it the recipe I used this time to make him some pumpkin bread this time. It turned out really well, nice and moist. You can use it to make great mini loaves or muffins as well with less baking time.

Homemade Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Pumpkin muffins made using this recipe with
spiced glaze from scone recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stirring until well combine.
2. Pour into greased pans.
3. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes for large loaves, 25-35 minutes for small loaves or muffins.

(Makes about 1 large loaf, or 2 medium loaves, or 8 mini loaves, or 12-18 muffins depending on how full you fill your pans.)

DIY Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

I changed the scone recipe just a little to make these pumpkin cookies. They are really quick to mix up and just drop by the spoonful onto the cookiesheet.

Homemade Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp (or a pinch) cloves

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes until just lightly brown
4. Remove from oven, and let cool.
5. Make spiced powdered sugar glaze.

Spiced Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine spices and sugar, and add milk a Tbsp at a time until a nice consistency. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies. If you want to serve these for company, wait an hour or so for the glaze to harden, but I really have a hard time waiting more than a couple minutes to eat some myself. These are a great with tea, coffee, or milk.

(Makes about 2 dozen good sized cookies)

DIY Cinnamon or Pumpkin Spice Syrup

We are loving all things pumpkin right now at our house, including these delicious pumpkin pancakes. This weekend, I made some pumpkin spice syrup to go with them. I briefly adapted the recipe from here. I really like the combination of spices, but if you feel like this would be pumpkin spice overload, simply using the cinnamon will tone it down a little.

Homemade Cinnamon or Pumpkin Spice Syrup Recipe

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• Dash of ginger
• Dash or cloves

Combine all ingredients in a pot, and stir well. Make sure flour is thoroughly dissolved. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the syrup begins to thicken. Pour over pumpkin pancakes, and enjoy, or cool and refrigerate for later use.

DIY Pumpkin Scones

This is my new favorite pumpkin recipe of the year. Last year, I discovered pumpkin soup and love it, but this may just be the best unusual use of pumpkin puree ever! I adapted a recipe I found here, making it a little simpler in my opinion. I'm lazy enough to not like the extra step of cutting in the butter, so I substitute oil or melted butter and they still turn out amazing.

Homemade Pumpkin Scone Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp (or a pinch) cloves

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
2. Divide dough in two, and press or roll out into circles on greased pans until about 1/2 inch thick. 
3. Score into about 16 total triangle-shaped scones.
4. Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes until just lightly brown
5. Remove from oven, and let cool.
6. Make spiced powdered sugar glaze.

Spiced Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2–3 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine spices and sugar, and add milk a Tbsp at a time until a nice consistency. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled scones. If you want to serve these for company, wait an hour or so for the glaze to harden, but I really have a hard time waiting more than a couple minutes to eat some myself. These are a great with both tea or coffee.

DIY Pumpkin Biscuits

These are a great low-fat twist on traditional biscuits. These are really good with butter and/or honey and as an accompaniment to pumpkin soup.

Homemade Pumpkin Biscuits

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano or cinnamon (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
2. Drop rounded tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 400 F for 10–20 minutes.

DIY Pumpkin Soup

This is an unusual use for pumpkin, but we all (except for Aaron) love it. Like most soup, you can customize the taste quite a bit by varying the meat and vegetables to your liking.

Homemade Pumpkin Soup Recipe

• 4 cups chicken broth or water
• 2 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
• 1 pound of sausage, chicken, or ground beef (cut and cooked)
• 4-6 potatoes
• 3-4 cups carrots, corn, celery, peas, beans or a combination (cut)
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 tsp salt (unless using salty sausage)
• 2 tsp oregano or cinnamon (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, and simmer for 30-60 minutes. Or combine all ingredients in a crock pot, and cook for 4-8 hours.  These are great served with pumpkin or cheesy biscuits.

DIY Pumpkin Pancakes

This is a great fall twist on traditional pancakes. It is a great use for pumpkin puree and uses less milk than regular pancakes in case you are running low.

Homemade Pumpkin Pancake Recipe

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and stir until smooth.
2. Pour 1/2 cup of batter on hot greased frying pan, and fry until underside is lightly browned.
3. Flip over, and brown the other side.

DIY Scrap Pumpkin

This pumpkin takes a little more time to sew than the sew easy or sleeve pumpkin, but it is really cute. It is also a great way to use up small scraps and the odd button or piece of ribbon you might have lying around. You could also use this process with all red fabrics and short green leaf piece like this one to make scrap apples.

Scrap Pumpkin

• Fabric scraps in fall colors
• Green and brown fabric scraps, felt, or ribbon pieces
• Needle and thread
• Somthing to stuff the pumpkin with
• Extra embellishments if desired (buttons, ribbon, lace, etc.)

1. Cut several strips of fabric the same length to sew into a tube for the body of the pumpkin. For my pumpkin I used four strips of alternating fabric that are the same length and roughly the same width as well. However, you could use more types of fabric, less strips, or vary the widths of the strips as well.
2. Cut a piece of green sleeve, a green square to sew into a tube, or a green circle to gather for the pumpkin top. Cut a brown strip of fabric, felt, or ribbon to use for the pumpkin stem.
3. Sew the strips of fabric together to form a square. I then chose to stitch some scraps of orange lace i had on. You could also stitch contrasting fabric scraps on at this point.
4. Fold the square over and stitch the long side of the square together to form a short tube.
5. Gather the bottom of the tube, and stitch closed tightly.
6. Stuff the pumpkin.
7. Gather the top of the tube, and stitch closed tightly.
8. Fold over the piece of green sleeve, and gather the unfinished end together, or gather the green circle.
9. Fold the brown strip together to look like a stem, and stitch into the green pumpkin top.
10. Whip-stich the green pumpkin top to the orange pumpkin.
11. Add any extra embellishments you like.

DIY Sew Easy Sleeve Pumpkin or Apple

Out of part of the sleeve from the orange shirt I used to sew a larger pumpkin, I made a cute little pumpkin. The way I did the green part on this pumpkin makes it look sort of like an apple though. You could use this process with red fabric to make apples just as easily.

Sew Easy Sleeve Pumpkin (or Apple)

• Orange (or red or green) sleeve, or a square of fabric sewn together to make a short tube of fabric
• Green and brown fabric scraps (or ribbon) for a leaf and stem
• Needle and thread
• Something to use for stuffing

1. Cut out the sleeve or sew a short tube of fabirc.
2. Cut short pieces of green and brown fabric or ribbon to use for a leaf and stem.
3. Gather the bottom of the tube, and stitch closed tightly.
4. Stuff the pumpkin.
5. Gather the top of the tube, but before closing tightly, insert the brown stem and green leaf. Stitch closed tightly, and stitch through the stem and leaf a couple of times to secure them.

DIY Sew Easy Pumpkin

This is a super easy fall decoration I made out of an old orange shirt and some other fabric scraps. You could use many other types of fabric as well.

Sew Easy Pumpkin

• Orange, green, and brown fabric or felt scraps
• Something to use as a circular template
• Scissors
• Needle and thread
• Something to stuff the pumpkin with

1. Cut out a large orange circle, a piece of green sleeve to fold over or a smaller green circle, and a brown strip to fold over and use as the stem of the pumpkin.
2. Sew a loose gathering stitch around the orange circle, begin to pull it tight, stuff the pumpkin, and then finish gathering it together, stitching it closed tightly.
3. Fold over the piece of green sleeve and gather the unfinished end together, or gather the smaller green circle.
4. Fold the brown strip together to look like a stem, and stitch it into the green pumpkin top.
5. Whip-stich the green pumpkin top to the orange pumpkin.

DIY Pumpkin Bars

These are great fall treats. You can make this recipe either regular or light, both are quite tasty. This is one of my husband's favorite desserts.

Homemade Pumpkin Bars

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil (or half oil and half milk for a light version)
• 15-ounce can pumpkin or 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8-ounce (1 cup) cream cheese (homemade works great) softened
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar (homemade works great)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients for pumpkin bars in a large mixing bowl, and stir until thoroughly combined.
2. Spread into a greased jelly roll pan or a 9x13 cake pan for thicker cake-like bars.
3. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (may vary based on thickness of bars). Allow bars to cool. Top with cream cheese frosting for a rich dessert or lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar for a lighter version.
4. For the frosting, beat powdered sugar into cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. If you desire a stiffer or sweeter frosting, continue to add powdered sugar until it reaches desired consistency. Spread on top cooled bars.

DIY Processed Pumpkin

If you can get a great deal on pumpkins, you can save a lot of money by processing them yourself instead of by pumpkin puree or pie pumpkin already in a can. If you do a large batch at once and freeze it, you can still have the convenience of ready to use pumpkin at a fraction of the cost. We got an interesting looking thing that Walmart here called a pumpkin. It doesn't really look much like a pumpkin, but tastes just the same as the big orange guys back in America. It works for us.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

• Pumpkin
• Water

1. Begin by cutting the pumpkin in half lengthwise.
2. Scoop out the seeds, and save them for making roasted pumpkin seeds if desired. Scoop out the stringy center, scraping the firm flesh free of strings.
3. This year I did something different that really worked well. I cut off the outer skin next, like peeling a cantaloupe. Then I cut the pumpkin into small pieces.
4. Next boil the pumpkin in a pot of water on the stove top, or bake in a shallow baking dish in the oven at 350 F. With the pumpkin already peeled and chopped small, both methods seemed to only take about 20-30 minutes for the pumpikn to cook up nice and soft.
5. After the pumpkin has cooled slightly, blend the pumpkin with a small amount of water until very smooth.
6. Use as you would pumpkin puree or freeze for later use.