Perfect Dessert for A Golden Autumn Day

Some people love summer. To me autumn is the best because the pace slows down, in my mind anyway, and it seems a time to savor the moments spent with loved ones. I always imagine myself and my husband seated in a romantic New England Inn, this time of year. I know that it is unrealistic with our lives to expect it to happen, but the imagining is wonderful. I imagine we have been strolling through crimson woods, talking and at last, when the purple dusk just starts to envelope the world we go in to sit in front of a crackling fire, dining on roast chicken, wild rice pilaf, brioche, baby beets….and this dessert.
Even though we can’t have the actual experience, I can share this fantasy with my family through the magic of the wonderful flavors of fall!

Maple Leaf Cookies:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Grade B maple syrup
1 large egg yolk
teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 c walnuts, finely ground but not paste

cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and beat in maple syrup and egg yolk until mixture is combined well. Sift together salt and flour over mixture, add walnuts,  and fold in thoroughly. Chill dough overnight.
Let stand at room temp a few minutes to soften. Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface and with a 3-inch floured maple-leaf cookie cutter cut out cookies. Lay on silpat covered baking sheet, sprinkle with red, yellow, and orange sugar crystals or edible glitter, and bake at 350F for 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
Cool. Run “veins” of royal icing in autumn colors decoratively on cookie. Set aside.

Pots de creme

1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup half & half
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
7 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 325°F.

Whisk together cream, milk, syrup, and pumpkin in a heavy saucepan and bring just to a simmer over moderate heat.
Whisk together yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl.
Add hot pumpkin mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup, then divide among custard cups . Bake custards in a bain marie (hot water bath- take a large pan, fill with hot water to come up halfway on the sides of the custard cups), covered tightly with foil, in middle of oven until a knife inserted in center of a custard comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer custards to a rack to cool completely. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 2 hours.

To serve place the pots de creme in the center of a plate, with the maple leaf cookie next to it. If you really want to go all out serve with a pot of hot maple flavored coffee with plenty of cream…if you have access to the maple flavored beans.