You can have it plain or with the [highly-recommended] paired toppings that create a frozen yogurt pumpkin pie: crunchy honey graham crackers, a dusting of cinnamon and whipped topping.

The pumpkin color is beautiful and the taste is tangy—more like the Original Pinkberry than a heavy pumpkin flavor. So even if pumpkin isn’t your favorite flavor, try it. The pairing with the graham crackers is delightful. Going forward, we’re going to enjoy all flavors of Pinkberry with graham crackers.

Also available for the holiday season are high-antioxidant pomegranate seed topping and pomegranate juice to top any flavor. Combined with the live and active cultures in Pinkberry yogurt, it’s practically health food (at least, that’s what we tell ourselves).

• Find the store nearest you at Pinkberry.com.
• Find more of our favorite ice cream and frozen yogurt.

Graham crackers are the perfect complement
to Pumpkin Pinkberry frozen yogurt. Photo
courtesy Pinkberry.

Skip the whipped cream: Candied bacon
rocks. Photo courtesy TerrenceBrennan.com.

We love this idea from Chef Terrence Brennan of Picholine restaurant in New York City.

It’s a chocolate tart garnished with ice cream, meringue and bacon. It looks impressive, tastes great. And it’s quick and easy to prepare if you buy the chocolate tarts instead of baking your own. All you need to do is candy the bacon and assemble the components.

You can make the bacon several hours in advance, but be sure to keep at room temperature. You can warm it for 10 seconds in the microwave before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (you can omit this if your crowd doesn’t like the sweet-and-spicy combination)
• 1/2 pound thinly sliced bacon (about 18 slices)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line a broiler pan with foil. Lightly coat broiler rack with nonstick spray or rub lightly with vegetable oil. Place broiler rack on pan.
3. Mix brown sugar and cayenne thoroughly. Coat one side of each bacon slice by pressing into mixture.
4. Place bacon sugar side up in a single layer on the broiling rack. Any remaining brown sugar mix can be sprinkled over the slices.
5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the bacon is crisp and the sugar bubbly
6. Drain bacon on paper towels; let cool on clean toweling or a plate.
7. Serve as whole strips or cut as in photo. Serves 8.

To Assemble

• Top chocolate tarts with one scoop each of chocolate and vanilla.
• Garnish with candied bacon.

The meringue puffs are a nice touch, but not necessary to complete this dessert—the top of the tart is amply full. If you love meringue and want to make them, your guests will appreciate it.

If you’ve never used a bain-marie: All you have to do is set the springform pan into a roasting pan filled with warm water. As the cheesecake cooks, the moisture from the water protects the cheesecake from cracking.

Now for the real tip: No matter how good a springform you have, water from the water bath can leak in through the bottom while the cheesecake is baking, creating a soggy crust. To fix this problem, all you have to do is wrap the bottom of the springform in foil before putting it into the bain-marie.

Cheesecake perfected!

Here’s a fun fact: The water bath was originally invented by alchemists, who needed a way to heat their materials slowly and gently. The alchemists were trying to change base metals into gold and create an “elixir of longevity.”

We’re just happy to have cheesecake!

• Check out our cheesecake recipes.

Your cheesecake will be perfect when you
use a water bath and foil wrap. Photo by
Kelly Cline | IST.