• 4 – 4.5 cups fresh pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup sweet apple cider or apple juice, more if needed
• 1 cup brown sugar, unpacked
• 3-4 tbsp. pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• pinch of fine grain sea salt

  1. Add the brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg to the pumpkin puree.
  2. Spoon mixture into a medium-sized pot. Cover with lid and prop lid ajar with a wooden spoon. Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a low boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for about 10 minutes, or until it’s as thick as you want it.
  3.Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
  4.Cool completely, stir in lemon juice and a pinch of salt, and then store in a sealed jar in the fridge. Should keep for 2-4 weeks.

Makes 3 dozen.

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tsp sugar minus 2 tbsp.
3/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until coconut is light golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Cool completely, then grind until coarse.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in salt and vanilla. Beat in flour in 2 additions. Stir in toasted coconut. Gather dough together, flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough disk on lightly floured work surface to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter cookie cutters, cut dough into rounds. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out additional cookies.

Bake cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.

Dough:
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup buttermilk
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast
1 1/4 tap coarse or kosher salt, or more to taste
1 teaspoon oil for bowl

Filling:
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup fresh cranberries
Orange zest leftover from above

Icing:
3 1/2 tbsp orange juice
2 cups powdered sugar

DOUGH
In a large bowl whisk the yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, buttermilk and 3/4 of the orange zest together. Add 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; stir until evenly moistened. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour.  Stir the mixture together with a wooden spoon, then continue stirring and beating it about in a large bowl for several minutes, until it comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead it for another 5 minutes. It will stick; don’t sweat it. Just scrape everything up and into the oiled bowl when it’s time to let it rise.  The dough should be soft and moist, but not overly sticky. Scrape the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl (I usually scrape my dough briefly onto the counter, oil the mixing bowl, and scrape the dough back into it) and cover it with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled, which will take between 2 and 2 1/2 hours.

FILLING
Melt the butter and set it aside. In a food processor, pulse the whole cranberries until they’re ground to a coarse rubble, but not fully pureed. You’ll need to scrape the machine down once or twice. Set them aside.

ASSEMBLY
Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish, a heavier ceramic or glass dish is ideal here. Turn the risen dough out onto a floured work surface and roll it into a rectangle that is 18 inches wide (the side nearest to you) and 12 or so inches long. (It’s okay if it goes longer/thinner.) Brush the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle it with the brown sugar. Scatter the ground cranberries over it, then the remaining orange zest.

Roll the dough into a tight, 18-inch long spiral. Using a sharp serrated knife, very, very gently saw the log into 1 1/2-inch sections; you should get 12. Arrange the buns evenly spread out in your baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or up to 16 hours.

The next morning, bake the buns: Take your buns out of the fridge 30 minutes before you’d like to bake them, to allow them to warm up slightly. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Bake your buns until they’re puffed and golden (the internal temperature should read 190 degrees F), approximately 30 minutes.

Transfer pan to a cooling rack and let cool slightly. Make the icing by whisking the orange juice and powdered sugar together. Spread a little on each bun, or drizzle it over the whole pan. Serve immediately.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. (1 stick) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup milk (or heavy cream)
3 eggs
1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, diced
2 small jalapeños pepper, minced

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a small skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter and sauté the jalapeños in it until soft, about two minutes. Let them cool, then place them in a small bowl with the cheddar cheese and coat them with one tablespoon of the flour. Combine the remaining flour with the baking powder and salt. Cut in the remaining butter with a pastry blender, fork or two knives, until the butter bits are pea sized.

Lightly whip two of the eggs and milk and add to the flour-butter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, fold mixture until it begins to come together. Add the cheddar-jalapeño mixture to the dough and mix until everything is incorporated.

Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead gently for less than one minute. Pat dough out to a 3/4- to 1-inch thickness and either cut into 8 triangles or the shape of your choice with a biscuit cutter. Make an egg wash by beating the remaining egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush the scones with egg wash and place on a parchment-lined (or well-oiled) baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.