Question: My friend and I travel by car, driving back roads and stopping at scenic spots. Pickity Place in Mason, N.H., was picturesque, lunching in the restaurant was a treat and we even took an afternoon walk through the gardens. I've enjoyed your column, so I thought the owner might disclose the recipe for Pumpkin Squares to you.
- Frances Sanders, Knoxville, Tenn.
Answer: Pickity Place, the red clapboard cottage built in 1786, served as the inspiration for the illustrations in Elizabeth Orton-Jones' "Litte Red Riding Hood," published by Golden Books in 1948. The Little Red Riding Hood museum houses a private collection of memorabilia, including the Big Bad Wolf reclining coquettishly in bed surrounded by old-fashioned greeting cards, dolls, books and a cookie jar fashioned after America's favorite little country girl.
Drive two hours north of Boston to Pickity Place, linger over a five-course luncheon served in the restaurant, browse in the bookstore, experience five acres of fragrant grounds with theme gardens and a greenhouse bursting with herbs, heaths, heathers and perennials. Menus change seasonally to include herb-kissed fare such as Orange Carrots With Fennel, Minted Summer Pea Soup and Rose-Geranium Cake. The Pumpkin Squares are fall favorites, and are often served with a "lemon gem" marigold.
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RECIPES
PICKITY PLACE PUMPKIN SQUARES
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 (27-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
Frosting, below
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl of mixer, combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin. In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture. Mix to blend well.
Pour batter into a large, ungreased, shallow cookie pan with sides. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before frosting. Yields approximately 3 dozen squares.
PUMPKIN SQUARE FROSTING
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Prepare frosting in small bowl of mixer. Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar together. Blend in vanilla. Frost before cutting into squares.