A thought occurred to me the other day that I thought was interesting and I hope you think so too.  Different areas of the country have different holiday traditions when it comes to food.  For instance, on my holiday table for Thanksgiving and Christmas there will always be pumpkin pie, apple pecan pie and death by chocolate.  For the Easter Holiday I still have the apple pie and the death, but not generally the pumpkin.  The same holds true for certain foods (comfort foods) if you will, that my family loves.  One of these is pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.  Here is what you need:

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon baking power, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 large eggs, 1 cup plain pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix) 1 stick of melted butter, 1 cup chocolate chips.

Grease muffin tin or use paper baking cups.  Sift flour, pie spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in the brown sugar and the granulated sugar.  In a separate bowl break eggs, then add pumpkin and butter and whisk until well blended.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour over dry ingredients and fold in with a rubber spatula just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Scoop batter into muffin tins and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  I usually stick a knife in them to be sure they are completely baked.  If you run out of pie spice you can substitute with 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger and 1/2 teaspoon cloves.  These are actually better on the 2nd day. 

Here is what they look like.

Leave me a note and let me know your traditions or favorites!

Well I made eight of the upside-down apple pies, and because I had to trim the dough I ended up with a plastic baggie full of scraps.  What was I to do with them?  Now I try really hard to keep my weight down, but inside me I am a girl who LOVES food.  So I lay in bed on Christmas Eve thinking, what can I do with those scraps and here is what I came up with.

I took 1 1/2 apples, peeled and cored and then I put them in my little chopper.  If you don’t have a chopper you can dice them up small with a knife.  I put the apples in the bowl with a squirt of lemon, a handful of brown sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Then I took the pastry scraps and rolled them out; I took a bowl and set it over the pastry and traced around the bowl with a knife.  I spread a little bit of butter on the dough, then added some of the apple mixture and folded the dough in half and pinched the edges.  Bake it at 4oo degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until the pastry becomes golden brown.

After you take the pastry out of the oven, take about two tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar and add a few drops of water to it to make an icing.  Ice the pastry and serve it warm.  Chet liked it with a big glass of milk.

I have to admit the combination of the butter and brown sugar makes a “Caramel” flavor, which is the same with the upside-down apple pie. 

Here’s what it looked like:

I figured since today is Christmas, I would take a break from my traditional rantings and ravings and give you a favorite recipe of mine that is very easy and absolutely delicious.  It is Upside-Down Apple Pie.  Here’s what you need:

2-9 inch pie shells (I cheat and use Pillsbury but if anyone has a great pie crust recipe I’d be glad to try it!), 1/2 stick butter, 1/2 cup pecan halves, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 4 or 5 large apples (peeled, cored and sliced), 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, a pinch of salt.

Pre-heat the over to 4oo degrees. 

Place the apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice.

In a small bowl combine the flour, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Mix well.  Toss the mixture over the apples, coating them thoroughly.

Spread the butter as evenly as you can on the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate.  Press the pecans, rounded sound down into the butter layer.  Pat the brown sugar evenly over the nuts and then place one of the pie shells over the brown sugar, pecan layer.

Spread the apple mixture in the pie plate.  Cover with the second pastry shell.  Crimp edges of the pastry and make steam vents in the top.

Bake for 50 minutes.  Let it cool for about one minute, then gently slide a knife around the pie plate between the plate and shell. Place a serving plate over the pie pan and invert the pie.  My original recipe says five minutes of cooling, but sometimes the pie stuck so I started flipping it quickly.

It should look like this and get you compliments galore!  Happy eating!!