Long overdue, I know! But in the shuffle of turkey, mashed potato and stuffing, I misplaced my camera and couldn’t post these until today.

 For my family, I made this toot-my-own-horn-good Pumpkin Cheesecake. The crust was made from crushed gingersnaps—a season-appropriate spiced twist from the traditional graham-cracker one. I piped whipped cream (yes, made from scratch, thank you) blobs on top (Bake It Pretty’s Round Giant Pastry Tip was perfect for this!) , and sprinkled some toffee brickle on them. The chocolate pieces you see were made from a chocolate “mat.” I melted some chocolate chips, dipped a fork in the mixture and whipped it back and forth over some wax paper so it made some sort of cross-hatched pattern. Those pieces you see on the cheesecake were simply broken-off “shards” from the mat. More crushed gingersnaps in the middle completed the dessert. (I’m very proud of it!) I think I’ll be making this cheesecake for Thanksgiving from now on.

For E.’s family (who are self-confessed chocoholics!), I made this autumn-themed Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting. I baked it in a disposable sheet pan, just like these. They’re handy because they come with their own cover and there are no worries about a forgotten cake pan wherever the baked treat is sent. The leaves are made from marzipan that I tinted, rolled out and cut out with autumn mini cookie cutters. I used the back of a knife (a Martha Stewart trick so that you don’t cut all the way through the marzipan) to score veins on the leaves and marks on the acorns. 

The holidays are always an excuse for me to cook and craft even more, so may the Kitchen and Craft Gods be with me in the next few weeks as Christmas draws near. Hope to keep you posted of all my adventures in thread and flour!