Chocolate Pumpkin Candy Dish Recipes

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until blended. Beat in pumpkin, pie spice and vanilla. Stir in cracker crumbs. Freeze, covered, 20 minutes or until firm enough to shape., Shape pumpkin mixture into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Freeze 20 minutes or until firm., In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Dip truffles in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Return to baking sheets; refrigerate until set. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Make the pumpkin candies: Fill a piping bag with tempered white chocolate. Fill each pumpkin cavity with the chocolate and allow it to set. You can place the mold in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to help the chocolate to harden. When set, the pumpkin candies should pop out of the mold. You can serve them as they are or you can sandwich 2 together. To sandwich them together, pipe a little of the white chocolate on the back of 1 piece and press another candy back-to-back. Let the chocolate harden.
• Make the pumpkin candy dish: Place some powdered orange food color in a small bowl. Add a few tablespoons of cocoa butter to the food color and stir until well combined. Use a pastry brush (or a clean pastry brush used only for food, not for paint) to paint the inside of the mold (top and bottom) with the color. Make sure the inside is completely coated. You can use a hairdryer to warm up the cocoa butter paint if it begins to cool. Place the mold in the refrigerator for a few minutes until the cocoa butter sets.
• Use a cornet filled with bittersweet chocolate to pipe the chocolate into the stem at the top of the mold. Allow the chocolate to set.
• When the painted mold has set, use a ladle to completely fill each piece (the top and the bottom) of the mold with white chocolate. Tap the mold on the counter to encourage the air bubbles to depart. When the mold is full, empty it into the bowl of chocolate. The inside of the mold should be evenly coated with chocolate. Scrape the mold clean with an offset spatula and place it upside down on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. It may be necessary to give each mold more than one coat. This will make the candy dish stronger. Once the chocolate starts to harden, about 5 minutes, scrape the edge clean with a chef's knife. When the chocolate sets, it shrinks or retracts from the sides of the mold. A clean edge will keep it from sticking and cracking as it shrinks. You can place the mold in the refrigerator for several minutes to help the chocolate to harden. Repeat with as many molds as you would like to make.
• Unmold the pumpkin candy dish. It should pop out of the mold. Fill the bottom of the mold with pumpkin candies. Place the top of the mold in place.
• Whenever I use cocoa butter mixed with food color, I like to use an electric yogurt maker. The yogurt maker will keep the cocoa butter melted. Leave the "paints" in the yogurt maker at the end of your project. When you are ready for the next project, just plug in the yogurt maker and, in 60 minutes, you are ready to go.
• The pumpkin candies are made with a special Halloween transfer sheet. It is 3-dimensional and you will need to purchase it before you begin. You will also need to purchase the 3-dimensional pumpkin dish mold.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, pumpkin purée, sugars, egg yolk and vanilla extract. Fold in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and most of the chocolate and pecans. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth into an even layer and sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate and pecans.
• Bake until the top looks dry and set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• To serve, use the paper overhang to transfer the blondies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 pieces. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, oil, chocolate and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chips. , Transfer to three greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Wrap and freeze for up to 6 months.