caffaknitted

Miniature Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pies

While knitting is obviously my favorite hobby, I also enjoy cooking, especially baking. Every once and a while I get creative in the kitchen. This week, I'm ramping up my holiday baking. Yesterday I came up with these little mini pies, so I thought I'd share my recipe. Full disclaimer...I don't write recipes very often, so my apologies if my instructions aren't clear.

Miniature Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pies

Ingredients:

1 double pie crust (I like this recipe)

Cream Cheese Filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

1 Tbsp. heavy cream

Pumpkin Filling:

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Whisk together ingredients for cream cheese filling in small bowl. Whisk together ingredients for pumpkin filling in separate small bowl. Refrigerate both bowls while you prepare crust.

Lightly flour work surface. Roll out pie crust into a long rectangle. Use a 4" fluted circle cutter to cut out 12 circles. (You may need re-roll leftover pieces to get enough dough). Save extras for cutting out leaves later. Carefully press each circle into each muffin cup, using your finger to even out edges and flatten bottom. (it doesn't need to look perfect!)

Remove fillings from fridge. Using a tablespoon, fill each up with a couple of tablespoons at a time, alternating between pumpkin and cream cheese. Do not stir the two together. When the filling nears the top, I like to fill the cream cheese last, then take a little bit of pumpkin and pour to one side, giving the top a side-by-side contrast of fillings. Be creative. There's no wrong way to do it. Don't worry about filling the cups too full. The filling will puff up and set, then settle while cooling.

Using dough scraps and a small leaf shaped cookie cutter, cut out 12 leaves. Use a knife to score lines on the top. Place one leaf carefully on the top of each filling. It will look like it will sink, but if you handle it carefully, it will not!

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes (more or less? I don't use a timer), until tops, including the cream cheese side, are lightly golden brown. Cool on rack for 15 minutes, then carefully remove each cup and cool on rack completely.

These are delicious warm out of the over, or if you can refrigerate them, and they'll be more cheesecake like. Enjoy!

Yes, this blog has been

Yes, this blog has been shamefully neglected. But it is temporary, I promise. School has left me nearly no time for knitting. But the good news is that I only have about 5 months until graduation! Even better, there are only a couple of weeks until Christmas break! I'd better get moving on those Christmas projects...

In the mean time, I have finished a couple of projects this fall, primarily, my Halloween costume! If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you probably know just how much I love Halloween.

I've also knitted a few useful things here and there. My favorite are these fingerless gloves!

So I'm not totally useless anyway. More posts over the holidays, as I am obligated to knit several things for people i love (because I have no money to buy them gifts :)

Summertime!

It's summertime, and believe it or not, I'm still in school. There's no rest for x-ray students. Nevertheless, I have managed to keep on knitting. Can't stop, won't stop, knitting tiny things. Here is my latest piece. A friend commissioned a tiny knitted cello!

More Tiny Things!

School keeps me busy! But I do have a lot of breaks during the day, which makes small projects easier to carry around. I'm actually getting a lot done!  There's a miniature show coming up next week here in Boone. I've always loved doll houses, so I thought why not knit some tiny housewares, like this armchair and tv.

Also this record player (chick is there to demonstrate scale and to dance to records)

And at Dave's request, a tiny Telecaster!

 

More soon! Happy Spring!

Available Work

Thanks to all my friends and supporters who came out to my show last weekend! It was wonderful. I've had several requests from folks asking what work is still available. So here is a pricelist. If you're interested in a piece, shoot me an email at [email protected]. I can give you a shipping estimate. I'm also available for commisions, if you have something particular in mind.

Needlework:

• "Birdcage"
• 22" x 28"
• $250

• "Weight" SOLD
• 12" x 12"
• $100

• "Frog Travels"
• 12" x 12"
• $75

 

Knitted works and Knitted Toys:

• Bear-pocalypse
• 12" tall, mounted (lasers are not real :)
• $130

 

• "Turnip"
• 11" tall, blue $40
• 8" tall, orange felted $30

• "Concertina"
• Knit to scale
• $150

• "Doodle" SOLD
• 10" tall
• $40

• "Lov-bots" SOLD
• 6" x 8"
• $50

• "Pickle" SOLD
• 9" tall, removable hat and scarf
• $40

• "Knitted Gas Masks"
• Life-size
• $85 each

• "Plush Argus C3"
• 10" x 14"
• $80

• "Knitted Monster Alphabet"
• Letters are 12" tall, all letters available in any color
• $30 per letter

• "Fair Isle Cow"
• 16" tall
• $50

• "Pablo"
• 8" tall
• $20

• "Joe the Shark and his little friend"
• "13" long
• $50

• "Matilda" SOLD
• "10" tall, felted
• $40

Concertina

I'm currently knitting a series of musical instruments. First up...a concertina! 

AHHH!lphabet

Sophia and I have begun a very exciting project...a monster alphabet! Sophia is doing most of the designing, and I'm doing the knitting. Look at her sketches. Isn't she good?

We've finished A, B, and C. I'll post the additional letters as we go, and publish the patterns as I finish them. I'm planning to sell each letter pattern individually, or if you can wait, I'll be  selling all of them together in a digital booklet when the set is complete. 

Katie's Spring Update: Chicken Edition

It's been a while since we had a chicken update, and in early spring, so much of my focus turns to the chickens. In mid February, the chickens get busy (if you know what I mean). Kenny Rogers, our rooster, has turned out to be the best rooster I've ever had. Isn't he handsome? He's an Easter Egger. The girls have been laying lots of lovely blue and green eggs.

For Christmas, Dave got me a new incubator. I promptly used it to hatch a mixed batch of Marans. Here is a White Marans chick. Look at his lovely feathered feet. Too bad he's a rooster. 

 

Yesterday I set 2 dozen green eggs to hatch on St. Patty's Day. The chicks will be a mix of Ameraucanas and Easter Eggers. So cute!

Coming soon...more chicken pictures, and even more knitting projects.

The Love You Save

When I was a kid, I loved Valentines Day. I loved the decorated tissue box full of store bought cards. I thought Valentines Day was a day for secret declarations of love. Every year I excitedly went through my box of cards from classmates, awaiting the box of conversation hearts with a note that read, "Dear Katie, I love you. Will you go with me? Love, Scott". Scott was the unknowing recipient of all of my affections from grades 2-8. Scott never did give me that box of conversation hearts. And who could blame him? (see exhibit B)

Look at this poor naive mullet headed child. This is me grade 6. Fortunately, time passed. I discovered hair stylists and found some courage (liquid courage). Many boyfriends, missteps, heartbreaks, and years later, I find myself here....

With Dave.

Dave is simply the best ever. He is kind, talented, funny, and sarcastic. Life with Dave is peaceful and happy. Plus look at those  muttonchops! I mean really? Could he be any cuter?  He is my Valentine. I know a lot of folks think Valentines is lame and overly commercial, and they're right. But I'm not going to let the jewelry store commercials and pandering romantic comedies stop me from celebrating my love. So you guys go ahead and sit at the cool table drinking your haterade. I have a holiday to celebrate.

This year for Valentines I baked Dave some Mocha Shortbread Nutella Sandwich Cookies. I also knitted him a guitar strap! I hope it is functional. I'd hate for him to drop his guitar in the middle of one of his rockstar performances. Pending the functionality, I may publish the pattern soon.

I hope you are all having a delightful Valentines.

La Maison Bisoux

One of my projects received a very flattering nomination for Best Knitting of 2012. If you look at the nominees, you'll see I'm in very talented company. There are some really beautiful projects. Have a gander, and vote for one if you feel inspired:

http://lamaisonbisoux.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/mejores-proyectos-de-punto-del-2012-nominados/