Pumpkin Cheesecake

This is Pumpkin "Cheesecake" - now its not super sweet because you are supposed to serve it with caramel sauce or maple syrup drizzled over the top with a hit of pecans.  This is lactose free - however you can use cream cheese rather than silken tofu if people in your family can have milk products.  Mine can't, so I spend a lot of time creating lactose free versions of things like this.

Here you go:
1/2 cup Pecan flour (ground up pecans) - you can use any nuts here
Box of ginger snaps
1 stick of butter, softened
1 egg
1 pkg silken tofu (or use 1 block of cream cheese - if you use the cream cheese omit the lemon juice)
1/4 tsp lemon juice
dash salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs well beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar
half a can of pumpkin (not pie mix, just pumpkin)
1 box powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp each, cloves, ginger, nutmeg

Heat oven to 350; spray a pyrex 13x9 dish with PAM.  Grind up cookies and flour in food processor; melt butter and mix with egg.  Mix with cookie mix and pat in the bottom of the pan.

Add all the other ingredients in another bowl with a hand mixer; pour over the cookie crust.  Bake for 45-55 minutes (it won't jiggle in the middle).  Cool in the fridge for a little while - a few hours - then cut in squares, drizzle with the sauce of your choice and serve.

The tofu adds extra protein, you can also add more sugar if you wanted it sweeter and not serve a sauce. 

Praline Cookies

These cookies are inspired by the old fashioned pralines.  Its a simple cookie made with brown sugar rather than white sugar then the praline top is actual candy - it hardens on top.  The original recipe came from the NC Pillsbury Bake Off contest in 1959 - clearly before any of us were worried with sugar! 

Cookies:
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or marg
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Candy Top:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup half/half or cream (can use lactose free if you need to)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the cookie sheet with PAM; cream together the brown sugar and butter/marg for the cookies until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and egg, mix well.  Combine all the dry ingredients for the cookie in a separate bowl then slowly add to the wet mixture.  Roll into balls using about 1 tbls of batter, 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes; let cool on the cookie sheet for about a minute then remove to a place for putting the candy on top.

When all cookies are done, put a little bit of the chopped pecans under candy top list on each cookie, spacing it out evenly.  In a small saucepan coming the brown sugar and half/half or cream over medium heat until it boils - boil it EXACTLY 2 minutes stirring constantly - it won't turn out if you don't.  Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar until all dissolved - immediately drizzle on each cookie over the pecans - it will harden as it cools so be a little fast with this.  Should make about 36 cookies.