Thanksgiving is over and our thoughts and hearts turn quickly to Christmas. Families everywhere are already planning Christmas Dinner, if not on paper then at least in thought. Baking is a huge part of Christmas for most people, for all the people I know anyway. Childhood memories might be full of stockings hung and gifts opened, carols sung and gently falling snow but it is the smell of Christmas that brings those memories flooding back. A whiff of apples baking, the smell of cinnamon and spices and the images of Christmas Past begin to swirl, first in our minds and then our hearts. We may remember gifts and visitors, games and stockings, the sleigh rides and snowmen but the Christmas table, laden with food and drink, this is the image we carry close to us. This is the image that means warmth and family. Christmas isn't about the glitz, Christmas is all about the food.
The following two recipes bring back the smell of the holidays. Apples, pumpkin and spice. The recipes are easy to prepare and while baking they fill the home with a cacophony of wondrous smells. I have used Bisquick in the Caramel Apple Cake but there are other baking mixes that are equally good. Bisquick and pancake mix are not the same and if you use pancake mix in place of Bisquick or Bisquick in place of pancake mix, the results will not be quite the same.
Crustless Pumpkin Pie
- 1-1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
- 1 cup half and half cream or light cream
- 1/2 cup Peanut Butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup original pancake mix
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whipped Cream - in the can is fine
- Crushed walnuts - for garnish
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix everything together expect for the whipped cream and walnuts. Beat on high for a minute and on medium for a minute. Scrape down the sides well. Pour into a 9 inch, greased, pie plate. Bake at Bake at 350F for approximately 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center come out clean. Cool on wire rack. Just before serving top with whipped cream and crushed walnuts.
Caramel Apple Cake
- 1 ½ cups Bisquick
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 2 med. cooking apples, peeled and sliced to equal 2 cups
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup boiling water
- whipped cream or ice cream
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix Bisquick and granulated sugar in a medium size bowl. Beat in milk till blended. Pour into ungreased 9 X 9 X 2 inch pan. Spread the apples evenly on the top. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over apples. Pour the boiling water gently over the apples. Bake for 50-60 minutes or till toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped cream.
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