Cherry Cranberry Pie

Over the last month I have made about 4 pumpkin pies.  So yesterday, I really wasn't feeling another pumpkin for our Thanksgiving dinner.  Cherry it is!!  Well, cherry-cranberry to be more precise.  This recipe is very simple but I will warn you, frozen pie cherries are pretty expensive.

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Dash of ground cloves

4 1/2 cups frozen cherries

1 cup fresh cranberries

Premade pie crusts - I use the Pillsbury brand pie crusts that you just unroll onto the pan.

PAM for spraying the pan.

Preheat oven to 375.  Combine sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, cloves, frozen cherries and cranberries.  If the cherries are really frozen, leave the mixture out for about 45 min so a syrup starts to form.  Mix once in a while so the sugar and cornstarch dissolves in the juices.  Spray the pie pan with a little bit of Pam and unroll the pie crust.  Pour the mixture into the crust.  I used the other crust in the package to make a lattice design on top.  It looks pretty this way.  Place foil around the edges of the crust and bake for 50 min.  Take off the foil (if edges are not brown), otherwise bake with foil, for another 20-30 min or until there are bubbles close to the edge.  Cool completely and serve.

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cherry-Cranberry Pie recipe.

Praline Cheesecake with Walnuts and Caramel

It has become a tradition to make this cheesecake every year on or around Thanksgiving.  It has become a favorite for many and surprisingly it is not that hard to put together.  But the presentation... the presentation is wonderful.  It looks like I spent a lot more time on it than I did.  The vanilla praline cookies make the best crust! A word of advice - never use the Low Fat kind.  I tried it one year and the cookies fell apart in the oven.

Nilla Praline Cheesecake

66      wafer cookies, divided

1 ¼    cups sugar, divided

¼       cup unsalted butter, melted

3        pkg.  (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, at room temperature

½       cup Sour Cream

1        tsp. vanilla

3        eggs

½       container caramel (the kind found by the apples for dipping)

½       cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 325°F.

Crust 50 wafers finely; mix with 1/4 cup sugar and unsalted butter. Press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Stand remaining wafers around edge, pressing gently into crust to secure.

Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

Bake 45 to 50 min. or until center is almost set. Run small knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim.  After removing rim, place a piece of parchment paper on a plate big enough for the cake.  Flip the cake on the parchment paper and remove the bottom pan.  Flip back on a serving platter.  Microwave caramel, stirring occasionally for about 20 seconds.  Spread over cheesecake and top with nuts.  Refrigerate 4 hours…if you can wait that long.

Adapted from Kraft’s Praline Cheesecake recipe.