Spiced Pumpkin Crepes With A Apple Pear Topping Recipes

Steps:

• Dough:
• Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Rub 1/4 cup of the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until completely absorbed. Then rub in the remaining butter until it resembles cornmeal mixed with pea-size bits of butter. (If it gets warm and sticky, refrigerate it to chill.)
• Beat the egg with 3 tablespoons of the water; then drizzle it evenly over the dough. Lightly stir the dough together with a fork. (The dough should just hold together when you squeeze it together, with some dry crumbly bits.) If the dough is really dry, sprinkle it with the final tablespoon of water. (To make the dough in food processor, see below.)
• Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap and shape into disks. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (The dough can be frozen for 2 months. Defrost dough in the fridge overnight.)
• Filling:
• Finely grate the lemon zest and set aside. Peel, core and then slice both the apple and pear into 1/2-inch slices. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit, then toss fruit with the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fruit and cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves and juices simmer, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until the fruit softens and the juices evaporate some, about 10 minutes. Evenly mix the flour into the fruit; then cook about a minute more to thicken the juices slightly. Stir in the vanilla and lemon zest; and remove from the heat. (The filling should resemble a tight compote.) Cool completely.
• Form the pie:
• Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll a disk of dough into an 11 to 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to 9-inch glass pie pan (see photo), trimming so it hangs about 1/2-inch over the edge of the pan. Fill the crust with the prepared fruit so it mounds slightly in the center. Roll the remaining dough into a 12-inch circle. Brush the rim of the crust with some of the egg.
• Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll it over the fruit so it hangs over the edge of the pie pan by about 1/2-inch. Trim crust if needed, reserving the scraps for decorations or for patching, if needed. Fold the top crust edge under the bottom one, then press the edges together to seal. Cut trimmed scraps into designs if desired and set aside. Flute the crust by pressing a finger into the crust against the other hand's index finger and thumb to make an even impression. Repeat every 1/2 inch around the pie to create a ruffled edge (see photo). Refrigerate the pie for at least 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 425 degrees F.
• Brush pie with egg and place cut dough designs on top if desired. Brush again and sprinkle with sugar. Cut 6 to 8 small steam vents into the top of the dough. Place pie on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake until the crust (both top and bottom) is golden brown, about 50 minutes more. If the edges begin to brown too quickly, cut a pie shield out of a piece of aluminum foil and cover the edges (see photo). Cool on a rack.
• Serve pie warm or at room temperature with whipped or ice cream. Keep pie, covered, at room temperature for a day, or refrigerate for up to four.

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Whisk all ingredients in heavy small saucepan over low heat until butter melts. Cool until slightly thickened, whisking occasionally. (Can be made 3 days ahead; chill.)
• For crêpes:
• Blend milk and eggs in blender until smooth. Add flour, butter, sugar and salt; blend until smooth batter forms. Chill 1 hour and up to 2 hours. Reblend for 10 seconds before using.
• Heat nonstick skillet with 8-inch bottom over medium-high heat; brush with oil. Pour scant 3 tablespoons batter into skillet. Rotate and shake skillet to spread batter over bottom. Cook until crêpe is brown at edges and appears dry on top, about 20 seconds. Turn crêpe over. Cook until brown spots form on bottom of crêpe, about 12 seconds. Turn crêpe out onto paper towel; cover with paper towel. Repeat, making about 26 crêpes and brushing skillet occasionally with oil. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap; chill.)
• For filling:
• Mix currants and rum in small bowl; let stand 15 minutes. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Mix in pears and 1/4 cup sugar. Cook until pears are tender and brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes; cool.
• Beat cream cheese, eggs, peel, vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar in bowl. Beat in ricotta cheese; stir in pear and currant mixtures. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Place 1 crêpe, spotted side up, on work surface. Shape 1/4 cup filling into 3-inch-long log in center of crêpe. Fold bottom of crêpe over filling. Fold in sides; roll up. Place seam side down in prepared dish. Repeat with remaining filling and crêpes.
• Cover dish with foil. Bake blintzes until thermometer inserted into center of filling registers 160°F to 170°F, about 45 minutes. Place 2 blintzes on each plate. Whisk sauce over low heat until just warm and smooth. Serve blintzes with sauce.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add apples to the melted butter. Add sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla; saute until apples are soft, 3 to 5 minutes.

Steps:

• In a skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add apple; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until tender. Stir in brown sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from heat; keep warm., For pancakes, in a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, pie spice and salt. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, pumpkin and oil until blended. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in walnuts. , Lightly grease a griddle; heat over medium heat. Pour batter by scant 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook until bubbles on top begin to pop and bottoms are golden brown. Turn; cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with apple topping. Freeze option: Prepare pancakes only. Freeze cooled pancakes between layers of waxed paper in an airtight freezer container. To use, place pancakes on an ungreased baking sheet, cover with foil and reheat in a preheated 375° oven, 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare apple topping as directed; serve with pancakes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a small bowl.
• Grease a pie pan or 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Place apple slices in the prepared pan and sprinkle with flour mixture. Drizzle milk, maple syrup, and vanilla over top; toss to coat.
• Bake in the preheated oven until apples are tender (not mushy), 25 to 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Crepe Batter -- In the blender, add the eggs, milk and melted butter and pulse to combine. Add the flour, sugar and salt and blend until smooth. Place in a small bowl and cover with saran wrap over night. IMPORTANT to keep over night.
• Fruit Garnish -- In a small pot, add the apple, pear, butter, spice, brown sugar and apple cider and mix well. Bring to medium heat and cook 5-8 minutes until the fruit begins to soften and the apple cider has reduced a bit and the sauce thickens. Once again, remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Cool and cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Make ahead until ready to make your crepes. I serve this chilled. Make a day ahead.
• Crepes -- Now, I love to make these ahead too. After the batter sat over night, you can make these 1-2 day ahead. Just reheat them in the microwave and desert is done.
• In a small NON STICK saute pan (NON STICK is important for this), spray with Pam or a non stick spray, then heat to medium to medium high heat. Pour a thin layer of the batter and I mean thin. Just enough when you swirl the pan to coat the bottom. NO more. You are not making a pancake, but a thin crepe. JUST enough to coat the bottom of the pan is all you need. When side of the crepe starts to release, flip with a spatula. It should only take seconds, NOT minutes. Flip over the crepe and cook about 10 more seconds crepe is now finished. It will be lightly golden but not brown. Remove and cool on a rack of even just a piece of parchment paper. I usually just stack them up with the parchment paper between each crepe and wrap well with saran or plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.
• Pecans -- Preheat the oven to 350. In a small bowl, mix the egg white, sugar and cinnamon. Then add pecans and stir until coated. Place mixture on a non-stick sheet pan or I use just a small baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and cook at 350 degrees for 5 minutes - then stir. Cook for 4 more minutes - then stir. Another 2 or 3 minutes until the nuts look dry. Just remove and cool. Place in a small baggie or small tupperware until you are ready for desert. Make several days in advance if you want.
• Filling -- Mix the Pumpkin puree, cheese, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. In a small pot on medium heat, cook 3-5 minutes to combine all the flavors and the cheese melts with the pumpkin. Remove and transfer to a small bowl and cover. Refrigerate until ready to use. Just heat in a small microwaveable bowl on medium until warm but not boiling. Just warm when ready to make the crepes.
• Assemble the Crepes -- I warm my crepes in the microwave. Since they are already in sheets of parchment paper they reheat in just a minute or two in the microwave on medium heat. don't cook them on high as they will get hard. Just a minute or so is all they take, 30 seconds and then flip the stack over and reheat the other side. That's it.
• Make sure you take the fruit out so you can take the chill off. And at this point, mix the amaretto with your whipped topping. Now you can make it fresh or you can buy the topping either way.
• Heat up your pumpkin filling just 2-3 minutes on medium in the microwave until warm. Then, lay your crepe out flat and fill with some of the pumpkin filling on 1/2 of the round crepe (or like a half moon). Fold over once to make a half circle and then again to make a quarter. Garnish with some of the chilled pears and apples, whipped topping and candied pecans. Add a sprig of mint if you feel "fancy.".
• It is a very decadent, fancy dessert without all the work. It is all done ahead which is the best part. It looks like you spent hours and you didn't -- really a great easy desert.