How is this custard different from flan and other custards? Check out the different types of custard in our delectable Custard Glossary.
 
 
RECIPE #1: PUMPKIN CUSTARD WITH MAPLE PECAN CRUNCH

Ingredients For 8 Servings

[1] Pumpkin custard topped with maple pecan crunch (photo © Nielsen-Massey).

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Place 8 six-ounce ramekins onto a rimmed sheet pan or a roasting pan; set aside.

2. COMBINE the half-and-half and liqueur in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat and stir, just until the mixture is warmed. Remove from the heat.

3. COMBINE the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly until well combined. Add the pumpkin and whisk until it is incorporated. Slowly pour the heated half-and-half mixture into the pumpkin mixture; whisk continuously until combined.

4. POUR the custard mixture into ramekins. Place in the oven; then carefully pour warm water into the sheet pan, so custards are surrounded and the water depth is about ¾-inch high (this technique is known as a bain-marie). Bake until done, about 40-45 minutes. Remove ramekins from pan, cool completely on wire rack and place in the refrigerator to chill. You can serve the custard chilled or at room temperature.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. LINE a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2. COMBINE syrup, vanilla and cayenne pepper in a small bow. Whisk to combine; set aside.

3. LIGHTLY COAT a large skillet with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add the nuts to skillet and toast until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. CAREFULLY POUR the syrup mixture over the nuts. Cook and stir until the nuts are coated; then remove from heat. Place the nut mixture evenly onto the prepared baking sheet and cool.

5. TO SERVE: Top the cooled custards with Maple Pecan Crunch. Finish with a pinch of coarse salt.

Store any unused Maple Pecan Crunch in an airtight container. You can use it to top anything from baked sweet potatoes to green salad to vegetables to ice cream.
 
 
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VANILLA

Did you know that vanilla beans are the fruit of a species of orchid? Of the 110 species in the orchid family, the vanilla orchard is the only one used for food.

While the fruit is called a vanilla “bean,” it has no close relationship to the actual bean family. After the plant flowers, the fruit pod ripens gradually for 8 to 9 months, eventually turning black-brown in color and giving off a strong aroma. Both the exterior of the and the seeds inside are used to create vanilla flavoring.

Check out the history of vanilla, types of vanilla products (including vanilla paste and different terroirs of vanilla extracts and vanilla beans), how to buy vanilla, and our reviews of the best vanilla extracts and vanilla beans.

Start here.

Very delicious! You can enjoy them plain, with a savory or sweet dip, or as “fall nachos.”

• Harvest Pumpkin tortilla chips are as good as eating a cookie. Deftly spiced with cinnamon, clove, allspice and nutmeg (and a touch of cane sugar), stone ground corn is mixed with pumpkin, spices, sea salt.
• Sweet Potato tortilla chips, which are made with a touch of sugar, can be served with fruit salsa, raspberry jam or apple butter; served with ginger snap dip, or instead of cookies with vanilla ice cream.

The all natural line is certified gluten free, certified vegan and OU kosher. The snack contains 19 grams of whole grains per serving. (The USDA recommends 48 grams of whole grains daily.)
 
RECIPE #1: GINGERSNAP DIP

This recipe, adapted from Taste Of Home, makes a “dessert dip.” For a less sweet dip, cut the sugar in half or eliminate it entirely.

Sweet Potato and Harvest Pumpkin tortilla chips from Food Should Taste Good. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
• 1 carton (8 ounces) plain Greek yogurt
• 1 package (16 ounces) gingersnaps

 
 
*You can combine equal amounts of allspice, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg or adapt the spices and proportions to your preferences.>
 
Preparation

1. BEAT the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl until fluffy. Beat in the yogurt.

2. REFRIGERATE until ready to serve.

Biscoff Spread looks like peanut butter but smells like gingerbread and is nut-free. It is made from spice cookies, called spéculoos cookies in Belgium, where they are the national cookie—a variation of gingerbread. (The cookies are called Belgian spice cookies in the U.S.)

The name Biscoff is a combination of “biscuits and coffee,” a nod to enjoying the cookies with your cup of java. The spread, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week, was the winner of a recipe competition in Belgium that was held by the largest producer of the cookies. The winning concept: Grind the cookies into a “cookie spread” that can be enjoyed an alternative to Nutella or peanut butter.

Biscoff Spread is available at supermarkets nationwide and onlineonline; Trader Joe’s sells a private label version called Cookie Spread. In Europe, the generic version is called spéculoos spread.

This recipe, which was originally developed for dipping fruit and cookies, is equally delicious with pumpkin and sweet potato tortilla chips.

• 1/4 cup Biscoff Spread
• 1 container plain lowfat yogurt (6 ounces or 3/4 cup)†
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Plus

 
Optional Fruit To Serve Alongside The Chips

• 1 red apple, washed and cored, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 1 small banana, peeled, cut into 1-inch slices
• 1 cup whole or halved strawberries, washed and dried
• 1 ripe pear, washed, dried and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices, or other favorite dipping fruit

 
†Or, use lowfat vanilla yogurt and omit the vanilla extract.
 
Preparation

1. WHISK together the Biscoff Spread and yogurt until smooth.

2. WHISK in vanilla and cinnamon. Place in small serving bowl. Serve with chips and optional fruit.
  

This seasonal brew is so well liked that in the month of October, it rivals the popularity of India Pale Ale (IPA), the top-selling craft beer style in the U.S.

The body is richer, thanks to the addition of actual pumpkin into the vat; and brewers typically add hints of pumpkin pie spices. The flavors can vary widely depending on whether the brewer uses fresh, frozen or canned pumpkin (or a related squash).

But pumpkin beer is no recent craft beer invention. It’s been made since the Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock Colony discovered pumpkins (indigenous to the Americas) and added them to their brews.

Why did they brew with pumpkin?

There were plenty of them. Since good malt was not readily accessible in the early days of the colonization of America, fermentable sugars had to come from elsewhere. In those early pumpkin beers, the flesh of the pumpkin took the place of malt. (Later, with dependable supplies of malt, both were used.)

Pumpkin beer remained a staple throughout the 18th century, but its popularity began to wane by the early 19th century as quality malts became accessible everywhere.

Fast forward 200-plus years to the Bay Area in the 1980s. The father of American micro-brewing, Bill Owens, read in a brewing book that George Washington added pumpkin to his mash. Owens thought it was an idea in need of resurrection. The result, Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale, is an amber-style ale based on Washington’s recipe (and a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week).

Although most pumpkin ale and beer are brewed with pumpkin and flavored with cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg, don’t expect pumpkin pie in a bottle. With most products, there’s no obvious pumpkin taste analogous to the pronounced flavors of fruit beers.

This season, retailers will sell some 400 pumpkin beers from craft brewers. You can put together a nice selection for a tasting party. Or, pick up a selection for your own personal enjoyment. Just a sampling of what you might find:

Bring a six-pack or two to your Halloween or Thanksgiving host(s). Photo courtesy Buffalo Bill’s Brewery.

• Boxcarr Pumpkin Porter | Starr Hill Brewery | Crozet, Virginia
• Flat Jack Pumpkin Ale | Flat 12 Bierwerks | Indianapolis, Indiana
• Gourd Shorts (pumpkin ale) | Florida Beer Co. | Cape Canaveral, Florida
• Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale | Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company | Lexington, Kentucky
• Mavericks Pumpkin Harvest Ale | Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. | Half Moon Bay, California
• Oak Jacked (imperial pumpkin ale) | Uinta Brewing Co. | Salt Lake City, Utah
• Potosi Stingy Jack Pumpkin Ale | Potosi Brewing Co. | Potosi, Wisconsin
• Pumking | Southern Tier Brewing Co. | Lakewood, New York
• Post Road Pumpkin Ale | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn, New York
• Pumpkin Ale | Blackstone Brewing Co. | Nashville, Tennessee
• Pumpkin Ale | Buffalo Bill’s Brewery | Hayward, California
• Pumpkin Ale | Rivertown Brewing Co. | Lockland, Ohio
• Pumpkinfest | Terrapin Beer Co. | Athens, Georgia
• Punkin Ale | Dogfish Brewery | Milton, Delaware
• Roadsmary’s Baby (rum-aged pumpkin ale) | Two Roads Brewing Co. | Stratford, Connecticut
• Rum Punk (Rum barrel-aged pumpkin beer) | Joseph James Brewing Co., Inc | Henderson, Nevada
• Samhain Pumpkin Porter | DESTIHL Brewery | Bloomington, Illinois
• Samuel Adams Fat Jack (double pumpkin ale) | Samuel Adams | Boston, Massachusetts
• Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale | Smuttynose Brewing Co. | Hampton, New Hampshire
• Wick for Brains Pumpkin Ale | Nebraska Brewing Co. | La Vista, Nevada
• Witch’s Hair Pumpkin Ale | Twisted Manzanita Ales & Spirits | East County San Diego, California

 
KNOW YOUR BEER TYPES

Check out the different types of beer in our Beer Glossary.
  

[2] Fragrant cinnamon, ground from the bark of the cinnamon tree, scents the donuts (photo © American Heritage Chocolate).

That’s the difference between these and the one we purchased: corn syrup and apple cider combine for a delicious glaze.

Prep time is 35 minutes, rest time is 45 to 60 minutes. You can fry them or bake them (bake time is an additional 15 minutes).
 
 
RECIPE: APPLE CIDER DONUTS

Ingredients For 15 Doughnuts

 
For The Apple Cider Glaze

Preparation

1. COMBINE 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large mixer bowl.

2. HEAT milk and butter to very warm (120°F to 130°F). Add to flour mixture with egg yolks; beat for 2 minutes at low speed. Continue adding flour until a soft dough forms.

3. KNEAD on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (4 to 6 minutes). Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

4. ROLL out the dough on a lightly floured counter into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Cut out the centers with a 1-inch cookie cutter (or poke a hole through the center with your finger).

5. PLACE the doughnuts 2 to 3 inches apart on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Re-roll and cut the remaining dough. Cover the doughnuts and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

6. TO FRY: Heat at least 2 inches of oil to 350°F in a deep fryer or deep pan. Fry 2 to 3 doughnuts at a time, turning occasionally until well browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. TO BAKE: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the risen doughnuts for 8 to 10 minutes. FOR BOTH: Cool a few minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

8. GLAZE: Drizzle the donuts with the apple cider glaze or, using tongs, dunk the doughnuts into the glaze. Serve warm.
 
Enjoy the donuts warm, with a hot cup of coffee or a cool glass of milk or apple cider.
 
 
CORN SYRUP VERSUS HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

Corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are two different sweeteners. The latter is a sweeter form of corn syrup made from corn starch. It is 20% cheaper and easier to transport than sugar; hence, a more profitable sweetener for manufacturers to use. The process was developed in the 1970s and introduced widely into American processed foods in the 1980s. Here’s more about high fructose corn syrup.

Corn syrup, called glucose syrup outside the U.S. and Canada because it is composed mainly of glucose, is made from corn starch. It was invented in 1812 by a German chemist, Gottlieb Kirchhoff, and has long been used to sweeten soft drinks, ice cream, ketchup, breads and many other mass-produced foods. Before commercial brands (Karo Light and Dark Corn Syrup products were introduced in 1902), housewives would carry their syrup jugs to the grocery store to be filled from the barrel.

Light corn syrup is almost clear, with a delicate flavor; dark corn syrup has a more pronounced, molasses-like flavor. They can be used interchangeably in most recipes.

Corn syrup is a good product that is often confused with the highly-processed high fructose corn syrup. The best manufacturers use it because corn syrup doesn’t crystallize and turn grainy in cold temperatures. It thus keeps a good consistency for products like fudge and caramel sauces and candies. In mass production, baked goods made with corn syrup are moister and stay fresher longer than those made with sugar.
 
 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SWEETENERS IN OUR SUGAR & SWEETENERS GLOSSARY.

RECIPE: PEAR & ROSEMARY MARTINI

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the rosemary in the base of a heavy bottomed mixing glass and press gently.

2. ADD the remainder of the ingredients (except garnish) and shake with ice cubes. Strain into a chilled Martini glass.

3. GARNISH with a stem of rosemary or other favorite garnish (pear slice, edible flower).