The buttery-sweet smell of morning muffins, fresh from the oven. A lavishly frosted kid's birthday cake, awaiting its candles. A sticky spoonful of chocolate-chip cookie dough snuck from the bowl. What can be more comforting coming out of the kitchen than home-baked treats? Home Baked Comfort, Williams-Sonoma's latest addition into its line of comfort-food cookbooks, is very aptly named.

Written by longtime cookbook editor and Bay Area Bites contributor Kim Laidlaw, Home Baked Comfort jettisons the informative but anonymous tone typical to many Williams-Sonoma books for a warmer, more personal voice. Many of Laidlaw's recipes are inspired by family traditions or by cooking with friends, interspersed with photos and recipes from well-loved neighborhood bakeries, including our own Tartine.

There are also a few recipes from popular home baker-bloggers, like Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen and Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille. The short interviews with the owners of local bakeries are pithy and funny, and the brightly charming photos of each spot made me want to run right out and get a Banana Puddin' cupcake at Sugar Mama's Bakeshop in Austin, Texas or a purple-studded, sugar-topped blueberry muffin at Huckleberry Cafe & Bakery in Santa Monica.

Beautifully photographed by baker Eric Wolfinger (who also photographed the striking Tartine Bread), the book looks both scrumptious and modern, neither cutesy-cozy nor bare-plate stark. Wolfinger, a baker himself, made every recipe he photographed, providing yet another round of useful recipe testing. Recipe pages without photographs are given a parchment-paper wash, a bit of visual interest presumably meant to evoke a family recipe scribbled on a time-yellowed slip of paper.

Nothing's too daunting; nothing requires much more than the usual home-kitchen setup of cake pans, pie pans, and baking sheets. (Do pick up some buttermilk, sour cream, and a microplane citrus zester before you start, however.) And, like the pictures, the recipes are flavorful and engaging; you could serve them at a bake sale or a dinner party and earn the same enraptured, nothing-but-crumbs-on-the-plate reaction. As an dedicated home baker myself, I caught up with Laidlaw at her home in Noe Valley on the eve of her book's release to find out how it all came together.

First of all, how did Laidlaw go from editor to writer? Last year, as part of her job as an editor at Weldon Owen, a San Francisco-based publisher which creates Williams-Sonoma's branded books in addition to other titles, Laidlaw was tasked with finding a writer/recipe developer for a planned home-baking book. (Full disclosure: As a freelance writer and editor, I have worked with Laidlaw and others at Weldon Owen professionally over the years.) The more she thought about the project, the more she realized, "This is what I do!" It wasn't just that she was a lifelong home baker; before becoming a full-time cookbook editor, she'd graduated from CCA's Baking and Pastry program, then worked as a baker at Oakland's La Farine bakery. She knew, having edited dozens of Williams-Sonoma cookbooks, just how important it was to produce the sort of meticulously tested, foolproof recipes that the brand was known for, and felt sure that she had both the baking and writing chops to do it.

But just being an employee didn't give her an automatic in; like any other potential author, she had to present a detailed proposal outlining her recipes, her approach, and why she'd be the best choice for the job. It worked, and with a pressing deadline looming, she got busy whipping up layer cakes and butterscotch puddings in her cramped home kitchen, where there was no Viking stove or Sub-Zero fridge, just the usual generic appliances of any apartment rental.

Writing the book happened to coincide with Laidlaw's pregnancy--which translated into a mostly ravenous appetite. Laidlaw laughed when asked about the rapturous headnotes describing each recipe. "I wrote it while I was pregnant! I would find myself eating half the batch of scones," in one sitting, and everything she made tasted like the best thing ever. Her husband, who had recently started a new job, earned instant popularity around the office as the guy with the recipe-testing wife; "crazy amounts" of tester cookies, brownies, cakes and more went with him to work almost daily.

Now, with the book just out, Laidlaw is still baking, only this time with her young daughter Poppy tucked in a carrier across her chest. "We bake together. She loves it!" Laidlaw said, and it's true: during my visit, Poppy was giggling and smiling, her eyes following her mother's deft movements as Laidlaw whisked together the batter for Pumpkin-Brandy Bread, (see recipe below) a specialty of her own mother's. The finished product, still hot out of the oven, wasn't overly boozy, but it did have a wonderfully grown-up whiff of brandy to it, making it perfect for afternoon tea, especially during the holidays. Her trick for cooking while parenting? "I cook everything in tiny steps, so I can stop anytime."

Some of her favorite recipes in the book are ones that come from her own family traditions, like the Christmas Breakfast Pie, something that she, her mother, and her brother make every Christmas, no matter where they are, and the Beer Rolls, originally made with just Bisquick and beer. "My brother and I thought that was so cool, baking with beer!" she said, which led her to develop a similar, from-scratch recipe that captured the appeal of the original.

She finds her inspiration in things she sees in bakeries, in restaurants, in flavor combinations she imagines. "I'm kind of a lemon freak. There's a crazy amount of citrus zest in the book, it's kind of obnoxious!" As for her favorite thing to bake, "definitely pies and galettes," although she especially admires bread bakers. "It's a real skill that can be kind of hard to do in a home kitchen. But it's so basic and satisfying." Flipping through the recipes, it's clear that Laidlaw has a taste for fruit; there are wonderful, not-too-sweet fruit desserts in every chapter. Pear Custard Tart (see recipe below), inspired by a old Julia Child recipe, comes out delectably elegant, and the vanilla-poached pears are good enough to eat on their own. Laidlaw prefers a hint of salt to too much sweetness, and few recipes seem overly gooey or rich.

It's an easy, appealing book, reflecting Laidlaw's own opinion, based in experience as both a professional and a home baker, that baking isn't that hard, and that its reputation as the stern, inflexible taskmistress of the kitchen is ill-deserved. Once you know the basic chemistry of baking and have a feel for how different baked goods work, you can mess around with your recipes, more than you might think.

"The whole point of the book is to get more people baking, get them to see that it's not so daunting, make it approachable and fun."

That said, are there common pitfalls that new bakers might avoid?
• "People overwork pastry and biscuit dough too much, then they get frustrated," when it doesn't turn out as flaky or fluffy as they hoped.
• In making quick breads, like muffins, that are raised with baking powder and/or baking soda, "some people mix the batter and then just let it sit," rather than getting it into the oven, pronto. Once the batter is mixed, the chemical leavening process starts, and so delaying the baking process can produce a flat result.
• And finally, people frequently overbake, paying more attention to the minutes specified in the recipe than to what their senses tell them about the finished product.

It all comes down to not following recipes too rigidly.

"I want people to relax and enjoy it, be more flexible. Not all ingredients are the same, and things change depending on how cold, hot, or wet the day is. Just relax! I think it's the best thing you can do for somebody, to bake something for them."

Recipe: Pear-Custard Tart
The first recipe from Julia Child that I ever made was her French custard apple tart, which I still love to this day. This delicately flavored tart, filled with vanilla-poached pears and brandy-spiked custard and topped with sugary toasted almonds, is an ode to her and that memorable dessert.

Ingredients:
Flaky Pie Dough for single crust (see recipe below)

for the poached pears
3⁄4 cup (6 oz⁄185 g) Sugar
3 ripe but firm pears, preferably Bosc, peeled, quartered, and cored
Peel of 1 orange, removed in strips with a vegetable peeler
1⁄2 vanilla bean
1 large egg
1⁄4 cup (2 oz⁄60 g) sugar plus 1 tbsp
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1⁄2 cup (4 fl oz⁄125 ml) heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or 2 tbsp brandy (optional)
Pinch of kosher salt
1⁄4 cup (1 oz⁄30 g) sliced almonds, lightly toasted

makes one 10-inch (25-cm) tart

Instructions:
Prepare the flaky pie dough and chill as directed. (see recipe below)

To poach the pears, cut a circle of parchment paper that will fit in a medium saucepan. Cut a small circle in the middle of the parchment. In the saucepan, bring 3 cups (24 fl oz/750 ml) water and the sugar to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the pears and orange peel. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds with the back of a paring knife; add the pod and seeds to the saucepan. Lay the parchment in the saucepan to submerge the pears. Adjust the heat so that the liquid simmers gently and poach the pears until just tender, about 15 minutes. Let cool in the poaching liquid.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400°F (200°C). On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a circle about 13 inches (33 cm) in diameter. Transfer the dough to a 10-inch (25-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom and ease into the pan. Trim away any excess dough. Line the tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the crust is dried out and just starting to color a bit, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights. Let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C).

Cut each pear quarter lengthwise into 4 slices, then lay most of the pear slices in the crust in an overlapping circle close to the rim. Use the remaining slices to fill the middle.

In a bowl, beat together the egg and the 1⁄4 cup sugar until thick and pale. Beat in the flour and then the cream, vanilla, if using, and salt. Pour evenly over the pears. Bake until the custard starts to puff up, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the toasted almonds and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over the top of the tart. Continue to bake until the custard is set and lightly browned, 15–20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack until warm or room temperature before slicing and serving.

Baker's Note:
To turn this into an apple tart, gently sauté 3 peeled, cored, and sliced apples in 1 tablespoon butter until they just start to become tender. Spread evenly in the partially baked crust, pour over the custard, and proceed with the recipe from there.

Recipe: Flaky Pie Dough for Single Crust

Ingredients:
1 1⁄4 cups (61⁄2 oz⁄200 g) all-purpose flour
1⁄4 tsp kosher salt
1⁄2 tsp sugar (optional; omit if making a savory dish)
7 tbsp (31⁄2 oz⁄105 g) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
5 tbsp (3 fl oz⁄80 ml) ice water, plus more if needed

makes enough for one 9-inch (23-cm) pie or tart

Instructions:
In the bowl of a food processor, stir together the flour, salt, and sugar, if using.

Sprinkle the butter over the top and pulse for a few seconds, or just until the butter is slightly broken up into the flour but still in visible pieces.

Evenly sprinkle the water over the flour mixture, then process just until the mixture starts to come together.

Dump the dough into a large lock-top plastic bag, and press into a flat disk. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes or up to 1 day, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Recipe: Pumpkin Brandy Bread
Growing up, I remember my mom baking this bread in metal coffee cans and how I loved the funny round shape. This recipe calls for a lot of brandy, more than you might be comfortable with, but it is honestly the best pumpkin bread I have ever tasted. You can cut the brandy in half if you want.

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
2 cups (1 lb⁄500 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (7 oz⁄220 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup (8 fl oz⁄250 ml) canola oil
2⁄3 cup (5 fl oz⁄160 ml) brandy
1 can (15 oz⁄470 g) pumpkin puree
3 1⁄2 cups (171⁄2 oz⁄545 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1⁄2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp kosher salt
1⁄2 cup (2 oz⁄60 g) chopped pecans or walnuts, lightly toasted (optional)

makes 2 loaves

Instructions:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F (180°C). Generously butter two 9-by-5-inch (23-by-13-cm) loaf pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugars. Add the oil, brandy, and pumpkin and whisk to combine. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add to the pumpkin mixture along with the nuts, if using, and stir to combine.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until richly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pans, then turn the loaves out onto a wire rack to cool.

Baker's Note:
Baked in smaller, individual-sized loaf pans, this decadent bread makes excellent mini gifts during the holidays. Divide the batter between the pans. The baking time might vary depending on the size of the pans. Once the baked loaves have cooled, wrap each one in colorful cellophane, tie a ribbon around it, and bring on the good cheer.

Recipes and Photos appears with permission from Home Baked Comfort. Photographs by Eric Wolfinger Copyright 2011 by Weldon Owen Inc. and Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

Prepare yourself. I'm going to wax poetic about this cookbook. I have now cooked numerous recipes from Cooking at Home and spent a fair amount of time just flipping through it, and I have to say that I haven't fallen this hard for a cookbook since Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything years ago. It is everything I love in a cookbook: comprehensive coverage with simple to prepare recipes that hearken back to an older style of real home cooking without being fussy or out of date. Mr. Williams (who is now in his 90s) has been around the kitchen for a while now, and while his book (written with Kristine Kidd) reflects his decades of experience the recipes and writing style are contemporary and engaging.

My first reaction to Cooking at Home was excitement over the sheer number of recipes included. The cover claims 1,000, but I wonder if that number is actually a little low as most chapters include not only pages of recipes laid out in a traditional format, but brief recipe synopses of old standbys at the start of each chapter (like the pies and tarts introduction which includes a page detailing the basics for making standard pie fillings like apple-spice and peach-raspberry).

While the gamut of classic recipes seem to have made the cut -- from dishes like pot roast (recipe below), Coq au Vin, and Boston Baked Beans -– Mexican, Spanish, Indian and Asian foods are also spattered throughout. And I think this is exactly why I love this book so much. Unlike the old Joy of Cooking (and I have to say this book does remind me of that one in its expansive coverage of almost every type of food and cooking technique), Cooking at Home mostly emphasizes traditional American fare, but also includes a hodgepodge of ethnicities and world cultures that more accurately reflects who we are as a nation. From fish tacos to Chile Fried Rice and Crab, the basics for trying a dish or ingredient (like fish sauce) that may be outside your comfort zone are presented in a calm, easy and nonthreatening way, inviting you to branch out a little.

With the Williams-Sonoma brand tagged on to the title, I was concerned the recipes might need specialty ingredients that needed to be purchased at their store, but was happy to see instead that there is an emphasis on whole natural foods, tried and true cooking techniques, and the real process of home cooking. The gimmicks are few. There are occasional references to using specialty products, such as crocks for French Onion Soup Gratineé or a note about how convenient a mandoline can be when making Shaved Fennel and Mushroom Salad. Set in the margin notes, I saw these as covert references to the many coveted yet gratuitous products the Williams-Sonoma store sells (then again, I'm a skeptic at heart). But these are few and tangential to the real purpose of the book: making wholesome food from scratch. The cherry pie calls for real pitted cherries, not the jarred mix from the store; and from what I can tell, there is no mention of fancy demi-glace, which seems to be for sale on every other page in the holiday Williams-Sonoma catalog.

As with other expansive cookbooks, pretty much all major topics are covered. From breakfast to pasta and pizza, meat and fish, and vegetables and grains, plus a section for every type of sweet you can imagine (pies and tarts, fruit desserts, cheese and cheesecakes, cookies and brownies, and the list goes on). There are also a few bonus sections that I found appealing; such as the Cooking Basics chapter, which opens the book and should be presented to anyone who doesn't know how to cook but wants to learn. With information ranging from how to outfit and stock your kitchen to directions on how to follow a recipe, plus essential knife and cooking techniques, this is really a primer for any novice and a great refresher for old hands. But what I really loved about the book's opener was its listing of basic recipes, such as any type of stock you could hope to make (from various kinds of beef and chicken to fish and vegetable), clarified butter, preserved lemons and breadcrumbs. This one chapter alone is a fantastically succinct resource for any kitchen.

The book's many chapters begin with a type of encyclopedic opener. These pages attempt to provide background information, cooking techniques, and the brief recipe synopses I mentioned earlier. So in the salad section, you get a briefing on the various types of salads, short recipes for basic dressings, plus notes on how to shop for and wash greens, keep things crisp, test your flavors, and, finally, present your dish. There is also a Greens Glossary listing the many types of greens you can buy, notes on salad components (breaking a salad down into herbs, proteins, legumes, cheeses, etc.). And this is all before the salad recipes even begin.

But the facts don't end in the section introductions. Beside each recipe in the margin is a helpful nugget (such as whether or not you should rinse your rice or tips to frying crunchy potatoes); information that may be helpful to the recipe (such as choosing the right type of dried fruit for a chutney) or a variance of the recipe (like turning the Peach Upside-Down Cake into one with pineapple).

Now that the holiday season is upon us, I'm contemplating giving this book to a few people. The core cooking basics make it the perfect gift for someone new to home cooking, but it's also ideal for an experienced home chef as the recipes are great reminders for how to make old favorites that you may have forgotten or provide a twist on something you've made for years but may be a little bored with. I've already given a copy to my friend Christina (of Lasagna Illuminated fame) not because she needs any help in the kitchen (she may be one of the best home chefs I've ever met) but because the breadth of the recipes combined with the numerous facts on food and technique are helpful and also just plain fun to read.

Classic Pot Roast
(printed with permission from Weldon Owen)

I made this dish earlier this week on a night when my daughters had two friends over for a rainy day of play. At around 4 PM all four girls stopped by the kitchen to ask what I was making. When I responded "pot roast," I was surprised none of them had heard of it. What was once the archetypal American dinner now seems to be unique and unusual. When I then explained that pot roast was a beef dish served in gravy with potatoes and carrots, all four girls yelled "gravy!" and then the two playmates asked, "Can we stay for dinner?" As they later ate their dinner while watching Santa Claus is Coming to Town, I saw each girl clean her plate. I guess some dishes never go out of style.

Makes: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp flour
Salt and ground pepper
1 Beef chuck roast (3-4 lb)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp canola oil
4 Carrots, 2 finely chopped and 2 cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Yellow onion, chopped
1 Celery stalk, chopped
3 Cups beef stock
3 Yukon gold potatoes, about 1 lb total weight, peeled and quartered
1 Cup frozen pearl onions (I used fresh cut in half)
½ cup frozen peas

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons of the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Turn the roast in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the oil. Add the roast and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the roast to a plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pot. Add the chopped carrots, onion, and celery and sauté over medium-high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons flour and cook for about 1 minute. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, and deglaze the pan, stirring to dislodge any browned bits on the pan bottom.

Add the roast back to the Dutch oven, cover, and bake, turning the roast occasionally, until the meat is very tender, about 3 hours. Remove the pot from the oven and transfer the roast to a platter.

Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl; discard the solids. Skim any fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Return the roast and liquid to the pot and stir in the potatoes, carrot pieces, and pearl onions. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and stir in the peas. Re-cover and bake until all the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes longer.

Transfer the roast to a cutting board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for about 10 minutes. To serve, cut the roast against the grain into slices and divide among warmed individual shallow bowls. Using a large spoon, divide the vegetables and cooking liquid among the plates. Season with salt and pepper and serve right away.

There were two margin notes with this recipe:

Slow-Cooker Method:
Place the browned roast and broth mixture in the slow cooker, cover, and cook for 8 hours on low. Strain and skim the liquids; cook for 1 hour longer with the vegetables, adding the peas during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

The Best Pot Roast
Many believe that chuck roast, a muscular shoulder section of the steer, makes the best pot roast. Not actually roasted at all but braised in a savory cooking liquid, the beef becomes meltingly tender and juicy after long, slow cooking in a covered pot.

Disclosure: A friend who is also an employee of Weldon Owen, the publisher of Cooking at Home, suggested I review the book for Bay Area Bites but she did not work directly on the production or editing of the book.

My mother never wanted to be taken out on Mother's Day. "Don't you dare," she'd say, half-joking but half-serious. Mostly, she disliked the obligatory part of it, the thought of being surrounded by, as she said, "all those people who probably never talk to each other the rest of the year, having to be nice to the old bat because it's her day." Not us, of course, but still she had no interest in getting hauled out for overpriced mimosas and underdone eggs Benedict.

What she did like was a homemade breakfast, wobbled up the stairs as soon as the oldest of her three girls was able to carry a tray. We didn't make anything particularly fancy, but just putting together eggs, toast, and coffee can be a challenge when you're four, seven and eight, even with Dad on deck. Partly, I think, she enjoyed the simple luxury of a morning off, but it also reassured her that we'd picked up the basics of what she did to feed us, day in and day out.

As she attests in her lavishly illustrated and user-friendly new book, Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen, cookbook author and former PlumpJack Cafe chef Maria Helm Sinskey feels the same way. Kids should know where their food comes from, whether it means picking out carrots at the market or helping Dad fry shrimp.

This isn't a kids' cookbook; instead, it's a cooking-together kind of book, full of dishes and menus that a whole family can make and enjoy together.

Helm Sinskey, her husband (acclaimed organic winemaker Robert Sinskey) and their two girls are adorable, the styling is charming, the recipes look both tasty and accessible, and alright, I'll admit it: by page 50, I was envious (those chickens! that lavender! those sweet dirty carrots!), and by page 260, I was downright suspicious. Who were these preternaturally well-behaved children daintily cutting out star shapes from their very own homemade marshmallows? As they frolic in the meadows around the Sinskeys' gorgeous wine-country house while stuffing handfuls of fresh vegetables into their mouths and saying things like "Mommy, you make the best vanilla ice cream ever!" the whole package can seem almost too rustically perfect.

Then again, it's a Williams-Sonoma book, not real life. And dinner with the Sinskeys sure looks like fun. In a time when some kids live on juice boxes and Cheerios, and other parents treat a single cupcake like a gateway drug to a lifetime sugar binge, Helm Sinskey's approach is refreshingly down to earth.

Her family seems to make the most of that old standby, the varied and balanced diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables are treated as a joy and a treat, not like pills that have to be gooped with brownie batter before they'll go down. As a smart mom and chef, she advocates for sustainable, responsible eating, providing helpful lists of recommended seafood, for example, or the differences between grass- and grain-fed beef. But she also doesn't flinch from serving reasonable amounts of butter, cream, steak, and yes, marshmallows. She can wax rhapsodic about red lentils and yellow split peas while also giving step-by-step instructions for making your own bacon.

In fact, the rainy-day projects interspersed throughout the book, like rolling pasta and pizza dough, simmering chicken stock, and making homemade jam and ricotta cheese, really make this two books in one.

The everyday recipes are good enough for company but generally simple enough to get on the table for a family meal, especially if some little hands help shell the peas, shuck the corn, or peel the shrimp.

The projects are part science (how does yeast grow? why does milk curdle?) part kitchen technique, and part educational messy fun. Who needs a Game Boy when you can be making real, honest-to-Pete home-cured bacon? OK, that last one might take a little convincing. But a kid who can make her own bacon is a kid well-prepared for adulthood. Thank Maria Helm Sinskey for that.

Local chef and blogger Jennifer Carden wrote the cookbook The Toddler Café for picky kids, but truth be told, many of the recipes would satisfy picky adults. A recipe for Pumpkin Pockets isn't so far from a very sophisticated Ravioli di Zucca.

The cookbook makes food fun, all the while introducing lots of flavors, textures and even temperatures to fussy eaters. Carden's book is whimsical and friendly and Matthew Carden's photos capture the joy of discovery and pleasure of eating. In the book you'll find over 50 recipes that are healthy, imaginative and stress free. Recipes have kid-friendly names and there are plenty of tips for toddlers, recipe notes and variations along the way.

What: Jennifer Carden demonstrates recipes from The Toddler Café

Where: Williams Sonoma flagship store, 340 Post St, Union Square, San Francisco

When: 12 - 2 pm, Saturday September 20th, 2008

How: Free!

Why: This is a great book for parents who care about what their kids eat. Get a chance to try before you buy at this in-store demo. A signed copy would make a great shower gift or holiday present.

Recipe from The Toddler Cafe, Chronicle Books.

Pumpkin Pockets
Makes 60 ravioli

8 ounces cream cheese
one 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus 1 tablespoon for pasta water
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 package (60) round gyoza wrappers
2 tablespoons butter
grated parmesan cheese

Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on high for 30 seconds to soften. Add the pumpkin and stir to combine. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt, the nutmeg, and cinnamon, and mix with a stick blender or by hand until the filling is smooth. 

Place a 1/4 teaspoon-sized ball of filling in the center of each wrapper. Wet the edges with water, and fold the ravioli over to form half moons. Pinch to close, pressing down lightly around the mounds of filling to prevent air bubbles.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Gently add the ravioli, and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they float. (Depending on the size of the pot, you may have to cook them in batches.) Drain the pasta and toss them with butter and Parmesan.