Cherry Turnovers

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Roasted Pumpkins with Bacon and Brown Sugar

6 slices bacon, crisp cooked and drained, drippings reserved.
2 2-4 lb pie pumpkins
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. coarsley ground black pepper
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2-3 green onions, sliced

Preheat oven to 400. Cut off top 1/4 of pumpkins. Remove seeds and strings; reserve 2/3 c. pumpkin seeds.

Place pumpkins, cut side up, in foil lined baking pan. Brush insides with some of the bacon drippings and sprinkle with salt, pepper and brown sugar.  Replace lids.  Roast pumpkins in oven 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in skillet stir together pumpkin seeds, green onions, remaining bacon drippings.  Add skillet to oven during last 10 minutes of roasting.

Remove pumpkins and seed mixture from oven. Sprinkle inside of pumpkins with seed mixture and crumbled bacon. Te serve, use a large spoon to scoop out insides or use knife to cut into wedges.

Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake

This cake is really, really good. But you need to make it when you can eat the whole thing at once.  Like when you have company, or you're really hungry. It's not nearly as good the next day.

6 tbsp butter
4 med. apples, cored, peeled, sliced
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/3 c. dried cranberries
3/4 c. flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. cornmeal
1 c. hot water
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 . In 10 inch skillet melt 2 tbsp. butter over med. heat. Add apples; cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from skillet. In same skillet combine butter and brown sugar. Cook and stir over med. heat until butter melts.  Bring to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Sprinkle with pecans and cranberries.  Transfer to round cake pan. Arrange apple slices on top.

In bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In med. bowl combine cornmeal, water and 1/4 c. butter. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture just until combined. Pour over apples.

Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert; serve warm.

Grape and Pear Pie

1 recipe for Double pie crust or 2 rolled refrigerated unbaked pie crusts
1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. shredded orange peel
5 cups whole seedless black or red grapes
2 med. red pears, cored and sliced (2 cups)
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare pastry for double crust pie. For filling, in large bowl stir together brown sugar, flour, melted butter, and orange peel. Add grapes and pears; toss.

On lightly floured surface, slightly flatten 1 ball of pastry. Roll dough from center to edges into 12 inch circle. Transfer into 9 inch pie plate. Trim even with rim of pie plate. Pour filling into pastry. Roll remaing dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Cut slits in pstry to allow steam to escape. Place pastry on filling; trim to 1/2 inch. beyond edge of pie plate. Fold top pastry edge unter bottom pastry. Place on baking sheet.

In small bowl combine egg white with 1 tbsp water. Brush on top of pie with egg white mixture. Cover edge of pie with foil. Bake 35 minutes; remove foil.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes more or until top of pastry is golden and steam is escaping fro slits in t top crust. Remove from oven. Cool 6 hours. Store, loosely covered in fridge up to 24 hours.

Easy Caramel Apples

This is the cheater version of this recipe. It is pretty easy to make, just keep stirring while the caramel is melting so that it doesn't burn.  It is even better with chocolate coating!

6 Apples
6 wooden sticks
1 (14 oz) pkg individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
2 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Insert wooden sticks 3/4 of the way into the stem of each apple. Place apples on a cookie sheet covered with lightly greased aluminum foul.

Combine caramels, water and vanilla in saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until carmel melts and is smooth. Dip each apple into the caramel and gently run apples around the insides of saucepan to scrape off some of the caramel. Scrape excess caramel from the apple bottoms using the side of the saucepan. Place on the aluminum foil and chill until ready to serve.

Once the caramel is hardened you can dip in melted chocolate, white chocolate and any other toppings you would like: peanuts, red hots, banana chips and peanut butter, chopped pecans, shaved coconut, toffee bar, trail mix, granola, orange zest. . . . the possibilities are endless!

Fanciful Fruit Pizza

Lindsay Walden
1 (18-oz) pkg refrigerated sugar cookies
1 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh or canned peach slices, drained
1 cup whole strawberries, cut in half
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
¼ cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon water

Heat over to 350˚F. Slice cookie dough as directed on package. Arrange slices in bottom of ungreased 15X10X1-inch baking pan or 14-inch pizza pan. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in pan. Bake at 350˚F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes or until completely cooled. In small bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Spread mixture over cooled cookie crust. Arrange fruit over cream cheese, sugar and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Spread mixture over cooled cookie crust. Arrange fruit over cream cheese. In another small bowl, combine orange marmalade and water; blend well. Spoon marmalade mixture over fruit. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Cut into squares or wedges. Store in refrigerator.