A Few Autumn Recipes

Apple Spice Cookies
Ingredients:

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup apple juice
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup raisins

Directions:

Cream together shortening and brown sugar. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and spices until dampened. Stir until smooth. Mixture will be very thick.
Stir in nuts, apples and raisins.
Drop by tablespoon 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in a 400 degree F (205 degrees C) oven. Let cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

2 cups pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 drops hot pepper sauce
Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking pan with aluminum foil.
Stir together the pumpkin seeds and butter in a bowl. Add the salt, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and hot pepper sauce; stir. Spread the seeds in a single layer on the baking pan.
Bake in preheated oven until crispy, about 45 minutes.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1 pinch salt
Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Toss seeds in a bowl with the melted butter and salt. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown; stir occasionally.

Pumpkin Seeds with Cinnamon and Salt
Ingredients:

4 cups pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
vegetable oil cooking spray
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease a cookie sheet and spread the seeds out in an even layer. Lightly sprinkle with salt and cinnamon.
Bake for about 5 minutes, then stir the seeds. Season with salt and cinnamon again. Continue baking, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until seeds are toasted.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust:

56 reduced-fat vanilla wafers (about 8 ounces)
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted
Cooking spray

Filling:

3 (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of allspice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.
To prepare crust, place wafers in a food processor; pulse 2 to 3 times or until finely ground. Add butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

To prepare filling, beat cheeses with a mixer at high speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (granulated sugar through vanilla), beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin; beat well.

Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust; bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours or until almost set. (Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when pan is touched.) Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature; cover and chill at least 8 hours.