Saturday Sewing and Such in the Scrapatch

I made this Peach Jam Coffee Cake yesterday 

while the weather was a little cooler.

It is forecast to turn very warm again in a few days.

In New England, the weather can change quickly and frequently.

I started with this recipe for

Super Crumb Coffee Cake

and I added a little nutmeg and mace to enhance the flavor of the jam.
This recipe makes a thick batter to hold the jam on top while it bakes. 

I spooned large dollops of this thick jam in a rind midway around the edges 

  and added a big spoonful in the center.

Any flavor or type of jam will work.
If your jam is runny, you may wish to drain it a little
to thicken it so it will stay on top
while baking.

The recipe also works well with fresh berries.

The Special Peach Jam is a favorite from

Carlson Orchards in Harvard, MA

It is yummy with my morning coffee.

I am sewing Block 2 of the Jelly Snowflake QAL

For slowly stitching outside, I have dug out this old WIP.

For years I have been embroidering free form leaves onto this

Autumn Leaves Quilt

Maybe I will actually finish the hand work this year.

Maybe not.

Time will tell.

May you and yours have a happy and safe weekend.

I Like Thursday # 34 ~ Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin Spice and Fabrics ... Nice! 

It is "Pumpkin Spice" Season.

Do you like Pumpkin Spice?

(I like some Pumpkin Spice) 

Fall fabrics are the best of the season. 

These are on my cutting table for a very special project.

The adorable "Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice"

motif on the left is actually on a large tea towel,

made especially for me by my crafty daughter, who is 

Marissa Forrest @ The Vinyl Forrest

This item image is heat transfer vinyl and it is washable.

This is what is on lots of custom t-shirts and such made today.

My hubby wears a t-shirt at least once a week that she made for him two years ago.

The only caution is that a hot iron should not be placed directly on the image.

My hubby does not press his t-shirts 

and I do not press my tea towels

so it is all good. 

Marissa also has a

 The Vinyl Forrest Facebook Page Here

where she lists new products and such.

Right now she is stocking up for a big craft show near her in Texas

and she is adding new items to her shop today.

I am looking forward to shopping her goodies when I visit her later this month.

The colorful pumpkin spice motif was a special custom order

she made for me

If there is something special you may like,

contact her about what you have in mind

My finished "Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice" project will be up on my blog next week. 

Pumpkins spicing up my fabrics is probably my favorite thing about Pumpkin Spice Season.

Pumpkin Pie is my favorite use of Pumpkin Spice

My Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Pumpkin Pie ~  Life in the Scrapatch

For One 9” Pie:

Ingredients:

2/3 cups brown sugar packed, light, dark or a combination of the two

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon mace

Dash  ground ginger (1/4 teaspoon, if you need to measure)

Dash ground cloves (1/4 teaspoon, if you need to measure)

1 and ½ can of solid pack pumpkin or 2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin, drained

3 eggs (I use extra large eggs, for smaller eggs increase number to 4)

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup milk

½ cup light cream or half in half 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F degrees  NOTE: Oven Temperature will be reduced to 300F degrees later

Line a glass or ceramic 9” baking dish with your favorite Pie Crust Recipe.

(I never use aluminum pie plates or prepared or  frozen crusts.)

Make Filling:

In large bowl. Mix together brown sugars and spices. Mix in pumpkin  and vanilla until well blended.

Beat eggs with a whisk or fork and add to pumpkin mixture and blend well. 

Add milk and cream and mix by hand on low until well blended.

Pour into one 9 inch pie shell.

Set carefully onto baking sheet and place sheet on lower rack in oven.

Bake at 425F degrees for 25 minutes.  This sets the crust. 

Reduce heat to 300F degrees and continue baking for an additional 40-50 minutes or until center is soft set and edges are just starting to crack.   Baking time will vary due to the amount of liquid in the pumpkin.  Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool completely. The custard pie filling will continue to set as it cools.

Enjoy!  Serve with whipped cream if you like.

For two pies or a very deep dish pie:  double recipe and adjust baking times as needed.
I usually make two pies with three cans of pumpkin.

 I use only One Pie or real pumpkin.

I accept no substitutions.

Since I am from New England I can find this locally if I go to the right store.

I have seen it online 

One Pie on Amazon

and in other places.

It seems a bit pricey there to my frugal New England self.

Would I pay this price if I transplanted myself to another place?

Reluctantly, I might. 

It would taste like home.

I would only make ONE PIE though! 

Pumpkin pie is good however you make it.

I am always tinkering in the kitchen and make changes
sometimes to my traditional  recipes.

More Pumpkin Pie Recipes: 

In my internet wanderings this week I found an interesting

Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe from Sally's Baking Addictiom

She  uses less pumpkin and heavy cream and at times 

I have used heavy cream in the past so I like then looks of her recipe. 

She adds a tablespoon of cornstarch,
which I may be trying this year.

She also adds a 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper 
and references ... 

King Arthur Flour Pumpkin Pie Recipe

for this usual idea.
Black Pepper in my pumpkin pie spices ??? 
Hmmm ... 

I am still deciding on whether I should tamper with my favorite

perfect pumpkin pie spices in my recipe, though.

Would you try it?  

This has tuned into a long post.

I have other things going on ...

I am sewing these cute black pieces together for my ... 

Perfect 5 QAL Sampler Quilt started Here

So it is time to go sew.

Since it is Thursday  I am linking up today with the wonderful

I Like Thursday Bloggers @ Not Afraid of Color

where every week we pause to think about all the good things in life,

big and small. 

Have a Happy Thankful Thursday! 

Quilts 'n' Comfort Food

I have spent most of the day under the quilts

with my cuddle cats.

I feel cold, stuffy, achy and fuzzy headed. 

It might be a cold.

It might be allergies.

It might just be the change of the season.

Yesterday, I made a Sunday Morning coffee cake ... 

Banana Crumb Cake

Cake:

3 cups flour ( I use a mix of 1 cup cake flour and 2 cups all-purpose flour)

1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

¼ cup oil or melted butter

½ cup milk

¼ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon rum extract

Topping: 

½ cup softened butter

½ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

Variations:

Coconut Banana Crumb Cake

Sometimes I add 1 cup of shredded coconut to the cake and 1/2 cup of shredded coconut to the topping.  

Pineapple Coconut Banana Crumb Cake

Some times I add the shredded coconut as above and also 1 cup of unsweetened, well drained crushed pineapple.  I then use some to the juice from the pineapple for thinning the glaze in the next step, instead of the milk and vanilla.  

Glaze:

3 cups powdered sugar

1  teaspoon vanilla

3-4 tablespoons milk (enough to make a thin icing)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Grease a rectangular baking pan,  I use a 11” by 9” glass baking dish.

In small bowl, mix topping ingredients to make a fine crumb and set aside.

Sift together dry ingredients into large bowl.  Add wet ingredients and mix well with electric beater.  If batter is thin add a little more flour.  If the batter is too thin the crumbs will sink to the bottom.  Spread evenly in baking pan. Sprinkle evenly with crumb mixture.  

Bake about 60 minutes or until center spring back when lightly touched.

Drizzle with glaze.  Serve warm or cold.  

This cake is even better the next day ... moist and full of flavor.

This cake and a glass of orange juice and hot cup of tea with honey

goes a long way towards making me feel a little better.

Here is picture that makes me smile.

All our cats are indoor cats and have been spayed
so there will be no litters of babies for them to love.

They still have maternal instincts though.

So I bought my little kitties a litter of stuffed kittens.

Nutmeg carries them around by the back of their neck.

Maestro likes to count and keep them together.

Here she is licking a little black plush ear. 

I will feel better and my quilty kitties and I will be back to quilting soon.

Virtual Cookie Exchange 2018 ~ Eggnog Cheesecake Cookies

'Tis the Season for Eggnog Cheesecake Cookies!

A fun way to share the tasty holiday treats is with the

Virtual Cookie Exchange @ Just Let Me Quilt

This year I am sharing a recipe from my kitchen

that is one of my hubby's favorites

Eggnog Cheesecake Cookies

10 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup eggnog

1 teaspoon rum extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3 cups flour

1 and ¼ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Powdered sugar and nutmeg for sprinkling on top of baked cookies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and nutmeg in medium bowl and set aside.

Cream room temperature cream cheese and butter on medium speed until well blended.  Beat in granulated sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, eggnog and extracts and beat about I minute until well mixed.  

Add dry ingredients slowly on low speed, mixing just until blended.  Do not overmix.

Scoop by large rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper lined sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes just until dry to touch. Do not brown or overbake. Cookies will be soft and cheesecake like in texture and taste.

Dust well with powdered sugar and sprinkle a touch of nutmeg on top of each cookie.

These cookies are very soft and the center tastes just like

an eggnog cheesecake.,

not too sweet and with just a light hint of spice.

These are best enjoyed right after they are baked.

They are not good keepers as they tend to get too soft and sticky
at room temperature.

Store in refrigerator if you have any left.

The inspiration for these cookies came from this recipe:

Cheesecake Cookies

I have tried the original recipe and the chocolate versions
and they are yummy. 

Be sure to enjoy all the goodness of the season today

November 29 

MooseStashQuilting

Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life

Kathleen McMusing

DesertSky Quilting

Life in the Scrapatch (you are here)

Ridge Top Quilt

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Bejeweled Quilts by Barb

Pumpkin Patch Patterns & Quilting

Operation Domestic Goddess

Just Let Me Quilt

The quilt underneath my cookie dish is my

Snowpeople Table Runner Here


Update:  I am home!

These cookie were baked early and my post scheduled over two weeks ago.
We had a wonderful time visiting our daughter and her family in Texas
for a deep fried turkey dinner for Thanksgiving.
It was delicious!

My daughter then set up her Christmas tree for an early
"Grammy/Grampy Christmas."

Our Grand-darling is four now and getting very tall.

It is always wonderful to see Christmas through the eyes of a child.

I am missing her already, but it is good to be home.

This is my favorite blog hop and I have a lot of catching up to do
with all the festive quilts and yummy goodies.

Enjoy!

Got To Love Apple Season in New England!

Hot Apple Crisp for dessert tonight!

Apple anything is my hubby's dessert of choice,

but this deep dish crumb topped crisp is his favorite ... 

... with a big dollop of whipped cream on the top. 

Our favorite baking apples are Cortlands from our favorite orchard,

Carlson Orchards in Harvard, MA

This is a very easy recipe.

My hubby does not like raisins or oatmeal of nuts in his crisp.

Just lots of apples and cinnamon with a crunchy crumb crust.

It is essentially a deep dish apple crumb pie without the bottom crust.

My Apple Crisp Recipe

(makes a deep dish pie or 2 quart casserole dish) 

Set oven to 375 degrees F

Butter dish.

Make topping:

1 cup flour

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 stock butter, softened

Mix dry ingredients together

and then work in soft butter with your fingers to

form small crumbs.

Set aside.

Make Filling: 

10-12 large firm apples cut into small wedges

juice of 1 medium lemon

3/4 -1 cup white sugar (to taste)

1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix together and pour into dish.

Pack down apples.

Cover with crumb mixture,

packing down lightly.

Bake 45-60 minutes or until apples are easily pierced by small knife in center.

Cover top of crisp loosely with a sheet of foil to prevent too much browning 

for the few minutes of baking.

Crisp is done when it starts bubbling at the sides and apples are soft.

Top should be light golden brown and crunchy.

Serve hot with ice cream or whipped cream.

Enjoy!