One of my favorite places in the world to visit is Jan Karon's Mitford, North Carolina. I love ambling down Main Street with Father Tim. Having coffee at the Main Street Grill and chit-chatting with Mule Skinner and J.C. Hogan. A quick stop at Happy Endings Bookstore to see what the latest shipment has to offer. A wave to Uncle Billy sitting outside in a chrome dinette chair crafting a bird house and chuckling to myself over that joke he told about the census taker. And a stop by Winnie Ivey's Sweet Stuff Bakery to see if there are any of yesterday's Napoleons left over. And of course, there are, set aside just for Father Tim.
I am re-reading At Home in Mitford for the umpteenth time and almost smelling the cinnamon-scented air as Father Tim stops in at the Sweet Stuff on his way home to the rectory. If Winnie used the two ingredients for this month's Lady Behind the Curtain's Dessert Challenge - pumpkin and cream cheese - maybe she would create something like this ....
Pumpkin Cream Napoleons with White Chocolate Drizzle
4 tablespoons butter, softened6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Cream butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add pumpkin, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and vanilla. Continue mixing until well blended. Set aside.
On a floured surface, roll out puff pastry to about 1/8-inch thick. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, prick the surface with a fork. Top with another sheet of parchment paper and place another baking sheet on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove top baking sheet and top sheet of parchment. Return to oven and bake another 5-7 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Cut pastry into three sections. Mix remaining cup of powdered sugar with just enough water to make a glaze. Spread over the top of one section of pastry.
Spread half of pumpkin cream on one unglazed section of pastry. Place the second unglazed section on top and spread remaining cream to cover. Place the glazed section on top of the stack, glaze side up.
Melt white chocolate chips. With the back of a spoon, drizzle in a zig-zag pattern over the Napoleon. Give the top a light sprinkle of cinnamon. Chill in refrigerator one hour before slicing.
These got a "wow" out of my husband. I like to think they might have earned a "wow" from Father Tim also. If you haven't been to Mitford, you need to plan a trip very soon.
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