Carrot Fingers and Ranch Dressing

Recipe courtesy of Robin Miller

Yield: 6 to 8 Servings

Photo by Food Network.com

Ingredients:

• 1 bag peeled baby carrots
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• Cream cheese
• Ranch dressing (bottled or see recipe below)

Directions: 

1. Place a bit of cream cheese on the end of a baby carrot and place an almond slice face down on top. The almond should look like a fingernail on the carrot “finger”. Repeat until all carrots are finished.
2. Pour dressing in a bowl and stand a few carrot fingers upright in the bowl. Place the bowl on a platter and lay the remaining carrot fingers around the bowl.

Home in the Finger Lakes Recipe

Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing

Photo by Jennifer Morrisey/Home in the Finger Lakes blog

Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
2. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

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Bakery-Style Pumpkin Cookies

Recipe by Jennifer Morrisey, author of Home in the Finger Lakes blog

Photo by Home in the Finger Lakes blog

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1 cup Pure Pumpkin puree, not pie filling
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon milk (not nonfat), plus more as needed
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl.
3. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
5. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm.
6. Remove cookie sheets from oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 3 minutes. Using a flat spatula, transfer the cookies to the wire racks to cool completely.
7. When all of the cookies are baked, set the pieces of parchment paper aside for the glaze drizzle.

For the glaze:

Photo by Jennifer Morrisey, author of Home in the Finger Lakes blog

1. Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until evenly combined. (You may need to add more milk by the 1/2 teaspoon if the glaze is too thick to drizzle.)
2. Place all of the cooled cookies on the reserved parchment sheets. Dip a fork into the glaze and drizzle it over the cookies in a zigzag pattern.
3. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the glaze has set, about 20 minutes.