Pecan and Prune Loaf

1 cup grated carrot, packed
1  1/2 cups  chopped prunes
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brewed coffee
4 tbsps marg, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup white flour
1/2 whole wheat flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Soak prunes in coffee for about 1 hour. 
Mix together flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add carrot and pecans and set aside.
To the prune/coffee bowl add brown sugar, melted marg, vanilla and beaten eggs.
Mix all together just until everything is incorporated.
I used an 8 1/2 X 4 1/2 X 2 1/2 loaf pan and a mini pan measuring 5 X 2 1/2 X 1 1/2.

Preheat oven to 350 F and bake the small loaf for 40 minutes and the regular sized loaf for one hour.

It's done when a cake tester inserted comes out clean.
Once completely cooled it slices very nicely, moist and not crumbly at all.  It reminds me of fruitcake. Ok, ignore that last line if you don't like fruitcake : )

Caramel Pecan Apple Pie

Here's a recipe my older daughter made for Thanksgiving.

Pie ingredients:

8 apples
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsps sugar
4-5 tsps cinnamon
 1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 -1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
2  9-inch unbaked pie shell
3 tbsps butter, melted

In a large bowl toss sliced apples with lemon juice and vanilla.  (She used 3 yellow delicious and 5 Granny Smith apples)

Mix pecans, both sugars, cinnamon and cornstarch together and toss with apples.

In the pie shell pour in caramel topping and fill with apple mixture.  As you can see she didn't measure the caramel.  I guess more is better : )

Drizzle the apples with butter. (She used a shortbread crust which was very good!)

Streusel ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 sugar
6 tbsps cold butter
1/4-1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

Combine flour, pecans and sugar.  Cut the butter in until crumbly.  Sprinkle and press lightly over filling.

Bake in a 350F oven for 55-60 minutes.
You might want to put your pie pans on a baking sheet.
When you take them out of the oven, a knife should slide easily in. 

Drizzle with even more caramel topping and cool.

How could you not love it with all this caramel?

Baked Sweet Acorn Squash

There are so many different types of squash in the stores right now.  I picked up this acorn squash

and turned it into this.

Take your squash and cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and 
slice a piece off the bottom of each half so that it will sit flat in the oven.

Mix:

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup brown sugar

and fill the squash.  Top each half with 1 tbsp. butter or marg and a pecan half.  You can sprinkle a little nutmeg over top if you like

Place in a baking dish and cover loosely with foil. Bake at 375F for 1  1/4 hours removing foil in the last 10 minutes.

Aren't the colours incredible?