It's still hot here in Southern California, but I am still insistent on making fall happen. Right now. What could be more fall-like than pumpkin pie spice? While we all know (and love) the lattes that come this time of year, this versatile spice blend has so many more uses. You can find it easily enough on any grocery shelf, or you can make your own if you already have the spices at home (just remember that pre-ground spices only really last about 6 months before they lose their flavor). And, while a good majority of the recipes included here are desserts, I even threw in a savory dish for good measure. I hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Latte Cream Puffs

Yield: 14-16 small cream puffs

Ingredients:

For the puff:

½ cup water

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

Pinch Kosher salt

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2-3 large eggs (learn the best way to crack them here)

For the filling:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur, such as Kahlua

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ cup mascarpone, softened

Procedure:

Make the puffs:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, add water, butter, sugar, and salt. When water boils and butter is melted, turn off heat. Add flour and spice all at once and stir to combine. Return to heat and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

When mixture is cool enough that the eggs will not scramble, add eggs one at a time and stir to combine. Do not overmix. As soon as mixture comes together, stop stirring. After 2 eggs are added, place a little dough between your thumb and finger and gently pull apart. If the dough stretches without breaking, you are done. If it does not, add another egg.

Load mixture in to piping bag. Pipe rounds ¾”-1” in diameter on to a parchment-lined sheet tray. With a wet finger, push down “tails” that have formed. Alternatively, you can use a portion scoop. Place in preheated oven and bake until golden brown and puffed, 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack to cool.

Make the filling:

While the puffs are baking, place cream, liqueur, and sugar into the stand of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Starting on slow speed, whisk until thickened and peaks start to form. (Learn a "hack" to prevent the cream from splattering everywhere here.) Add mascarpone and mix to combine. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Fill the puffs:

Using a small serrated knife cut the puffs in half horizontally. Using a piping bag fitted with a star tip, fill the bottoms of the puffs, then replace the top. Alternatively, use a round tip to fill from the bottom of the puff without cutting (use the tip to poke a hole, fill, and then remove). Serve immediately.

Puffs will hold, unfilled, for one day in an airtight container. Filling will hold for 2 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If you are planning to hold the puffs for longer, they may be frozen, unfilled, in an airtight container for up to 3 months. The filling (unfortunately) will not freeze well. Thaw frozen puffs at room temperature (with small ones, it should take only 20-30 minutes at the most to thaw).

Turkey and Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the topping:

1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in to ½” pieces

½ cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 egg yolk (see how to separate eggs here)

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the filling:

1 tablespoon neutral flavored oil such as avocado, canola, or vegetable

1 cup diced onion (learn one way to dice here)

½ cup diced fennel (see how here)

1 pound ground turkey (preferably including some dark meat)

¾ teaspoon minced fresh sage

1 tablespoon minced garlic (see how to mince here)

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup low-sodium chicken stock (or learn how to make your own here)

¼ teaspoon minced thyme

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Make the topping:

Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and return to pan. Mash the potatoes and mix in cream, butter, and spice. When slightly cooled, mix in yolk. Set aside.

Make the filling:

Place a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add oil. Add onion and fennel and saute until onion is translucent. Add turkey and sage and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until turkey is browned and cooked through. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook until it just begins to change color, about 60 seconds. Add flour and mix until no remaining flour is seen. Add stock and thyme and mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Assemble and finish:

If using a Dutch oven, press turkey mixture into a flat layer. Spread potato mixture evenly on top. If using a skillet, transfer turkey mixture to a lightly greased pie pan or 9” x 12” baking pan. Spread potato mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle cheese evenly over potato mixture and place in preheated oven. Bake until cheese is melted, and potatoes have started to lightly brown at the edges, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Creme Brulee

Also, many people are intimidated by tempering egg yolks.

So, I made a quick video showing you how to do it!

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups heavy cream

½ cup whole milk

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or paste

4 large egg yolks (learn how to separate eggs here)

6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

Turbinado sugar, for burning

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place a rack in the center.

Heat the cream, milk, 3 tablespoons sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until you can see bubbles beginning to surface around the edge of the pan. Turn the heat off and let sit for 10-15 minutes.

Place the cream mixture back on the heat and bring to a simmer. While you’re heating the cream, whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl with the remaining sugar until well combined.

Slowly pour ¼ of the warm cream mixture into the yolks and sugar while whisking. Once well mixed, add the remaining cream and mix gently. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup with a pour spout. Remove foam, if desired.

Place 6 (6 ounce) ramekins in a roasting pan or baking dish. Evenly fill the ramekins to within 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the rims. Place pan on rack in the center of the oven. Using very hot tap water, pour the water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the ramekins, being careful not to splash water in the custard. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and crimp the edges to seal well. Close oven door and reduce to 325°F.

Bake for 45 minutes. Check to see if the custards are done. They should “jiggle like Jello” when properly cooked. If they are not cooked, return to the oven and continue to check every 7-10 minutes until done.

Remove the foil and carefully transfer the pan from the oven to a countertop and let cool until you can pick up the ramekins with your fingers. Put them on a rimmed baking sheet or platter and refrigerate, uncovered, until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days before serving. If you’re storing them overnight, cover with plastic wrap.

No more than 30 minutes before you want to serve the custards, brûlée the sugar topping. (If it sits too long the burned sugar topping turns to syrup.) Sprinkle each of the custards with about 2 teaspoons of turbinado sugar, tapping and rotating each ramekin so you get as thin and (more importantly) as even a layer as possible.

Using a kitchen torch, cook the sugar until it’s golden, holding the torch 1 inch above the custard and continuously moving it back and forth and never letting it rest too long in one spot. Don’t let the sugar burn. You can repeat this process once if desired. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Spiced Candied Nuts

Yield: 1 1/2 pounds nuts

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3 large egg whites, at room temperature (learn how to separate eggs here)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or paste

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1 1/2 pounds nuts of your choice (the larger the better, such as walnut or pecan halves)

Procedure:

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Melt the butter on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven (nonstick will make easier cleanup). Be careful not to let the butter brown. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Rain in granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed until egg whites turn white. Add the brown sugar a little at a time, until all incorporated. Raise speed to high and whip until a strong, shiny meringue has formed. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the nuts until they are well coated.

Gently tip the rimmed baking sheet so the butter coats the bottom of the pan. Using a rubber spatula, spread the nuts over the butter, without stirring, to form an even layer without deflating the meringue.

Bake the nuts for 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and stir the nuts with a spatula, moving the nuts at the center of the pan to the edges and the nuts at the edges closer to the center. Return the pan to the oven, bake the nuts for 15 minutes longer, and stir them again.

Continue baking, stirring every 15 minutes, until the nuts are separated, have absorbed the butter and glisten, and are beautifully browned, 30 to 45 minutes longer.

Immediately turn the nuts out onto a lined surface (another baking sheet, foil-lined counter, parchment-lined large cutting board, etc.), spread them out, and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

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