Chocolate Pumpkin Custards from Extra Pumpkin Pie Filling

I don't know about you, but every time I make pumpkin pie filling, I always have extra filling left over.  Maybe I have weird sized pie pans, but this seems to happen no matter what size I use.  So what's a baker to do?  I've tried just baking the filling plain in a couple of ramekins, but it's not so good without the crust.  So I came up with this recipe on the fly by making a butter-crumb-chocolate crust in some ramekins and using up the filling that way.  Let me tell you, these are SOOO good!  When they're warm out of the oven, it's like eating a gooey chocolate chip cookie with a bit of spice.

The recipe is below, but first here's the step-by-step with pictures.

First I melted butter, then crushed up a snack pack of Ritz crackers, added a couple spoonfuls of sugar and mixed it up.

The oven was already set at 350 to bake the pumpkin pie, so I stuck lined 3 ramekins with the crumb mixture and baked it for about 10 minutes.  While they were still warm, I sprinkled about a tablespoon of chocolate chips on each one.  I was going to bake it again, but then I noticed the chocolate chips were already melting.  I tried smearing them around to get an even coating, but all that did was make the chocolate pick up chunks of the cracker crumbs.

Next I poured the pumpkin pie filling into each of the ramekins.  It was just enough for three, but it probably would have worked with two.   Then, into the oven until they set - about 15 minutes.  They came out more firm than pumpkin pie, but I think that made them taste even better with the crust.

I didn't get a great picture of the finished product, but here's a blurry idea of what you get.  It's quite rich as is, but I'm sure some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would be quite nice with it as well!

Ingredients
Pumpkin pie filling left over from a pie
1 snack size roll of Ritz crackers- about 14 crackers*
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup chocolate chips
*you could substitute graham crackers or really any dry cookie/cracker for the Ritz crackers.

1. Melt the butter in the microwave.  about 15 seconds will do it, but keep an eye on it so it doesn't explode all over!


2. Crush crackers (I just squeezed the roll of crackers until it was crushed), mix with melted butter and 2 tsp sugar.


3. Divide cracker crumb mixture evenly among ramekins.


4. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes


5. Divide chocolate chips among ramekins while still hot, distributing evenly across the cracker crumbs.  The chocolate chips will melt a bit.


6. Pour pumpkin pie filling, dividing it evenly into each ramekin.


7. Bake for about 15 minutes, until filling jiggles just a little when you shake it.


8. Let cool slightly, and eat!

Apple Crumble Cake

This recipe uses a shortcut: pre-made cake mix.

Cake Ingredients
1 package cake mix
1 egg
water
(possibly) oil

4-5 small apples
1/8 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping Ingredients
3 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. oats
2/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1) Peel, core and chop apples into 1/2 inch cubes. Toss with 1/8 c brown sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Set aside.

2) Make cake mix according to package. Add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Mix together with hand mixer.

3) Add apples to cake batter, toss.

4) Spread in 9x13 baking pan.

5) Mix together topping ingredients with a fork until it looks like clumpy sand.

6) Squeeze together small chunks of the topping and drop onto cake batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or by itself!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

So, I didn't make up this recipe, but it is FABULOUS! And cheap! I got it on http://bakingbites.com/2006/05/banana-oatmeal-cookies/

I don't have a cookie sheet right now, but I do have a small roasting pan (it's like 6 inches by 9 inches), so I tried making squares out of it and baking it a little longer - it came out soft in the middle, but I could still cut up the rest of it to make it presentable... and someone else in the house didn't mind eating the messed up part!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter, very soft

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup mashed banana (1 small/medium)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups oats

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking sodaand salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. Beat in egg and banana, followed by the vanilla extract. Gradually, on low speed or by hand, add in the flour mixture. Stir in the oats (either whole rolled oats or "quick cooking") and chocolate chips.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 11-14 minutes at 350F, until set and lightly browned.
Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the pan before transfering them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.