My Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
In honor of Fall, I decided to share with you all some of my favorite recipes involving pumpkins. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. In separate bowl, mix pumpkin, oil, eggs, and spices. Stir wet ingredients into dry until incorporated. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Pour into well-buttered 9x5" loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes. Turn out of pan and let cool on rack.
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Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage (casings removed)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
4-6 sprigs sage, cut into chiffonade
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 lb penne rigate, cooked
Heat large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil. Brown sausage. Transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return to heat. Add garlic and onion; saute 3-5 minutes. Add bay leaf, sage, and wine. Boil until wine is reduced by half (about 2 minutes). Add stock and pumpkin; stir until bubbly. Return sausage to pan; reduce heat and stir in cream. Season with cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5-10 minutes to thicken. Put drained pasta back in the pot in which you cooked it. Pour sauce over pasta in pan; toss over low heat about one minute. Serve with grated Parmesan and garnish with sage.
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Pumpkin Pie
Crust
1 cups all-purpose flour
½ tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 egg yolks
1 ½ tbsp. milk
Filling
1 ½ cups canned pumpkin
½ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
7 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
6 ½ tbsp. evaporated milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch ground clove
pinch salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
For crust:
Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut butter into mixture until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Whisk together egg yolks and milk in small bowl. Fold yolk mixture to flour and mix until it forms a dough. Roll dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for several hours. Roll out dough into a 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Line pan with dough and crimp edges. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Line pie shell with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and beans.
For filling
In a medium saucepan, mix together pumpkin and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the cream, milks, vanilla, spices, eggs, and yolk. Pour into pre-baked pie shell and bake at 325 for about 50 minutes. Cool and serve.
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Gingerbread Jack-O'-Lanterns
(Okay, so these cookies don't have pumpkin in them, but they look like pumpkins! :) They are also the type of cookie that makes me eager to have kids - I can just imagine myself making these on Halloween with them as they decorate with icing and chocolate. :) )
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp unsulfered molasses
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and egg until fluffy. Stir in molasses. In separate bowl, sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Mix dry ingredients into sugar mixture and form into dough. Wrap in plastic and chill 3-4 hours.
Preheat oven to 325. You may need to microwave dough about 30 seconds to soften enough to roll. Roll out dough to 1/4" thick. Use pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters to cut. Place cookies on lightly greased baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Ice with royal icing.
Royal Icing
1 egg white
1 tsp lemon juice
1 - 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Beat egg white and lemon juice until frothy. Add powdered sugar slowly until mixture is thick but can still be stirred. Beat three minutes until smooth and glossy.
Divide icing into thirds. Color 1/3 icing with green food coloring and 2/3 of the icing with orange (use 5 drops red and 6 drops yellow to start, then adjust to desired darkness). Spread orange frosting on pumpkin, avoiding stem. Use a toothpick to dab green frosting on stem.
To draw designs on pumpkins:
Melt 1/2 cup chocolate in microwave. Put melted chocolate in ziplock bag. Close bag, sealing out air. Snip a very tiny holy in one corner to release a stream of chocolate. Pipe eyes, noses, mouths, or whatever design you wish on your pumpkin!
Pumpkin Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. In separate bowl, mix pumpkin, oil, eggs, and spices. Stir wet ingredients into dry until incorporated. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Pour into well-buttered 9x5" loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes. Turn out of pan and let cool on rack.
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Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage (casings removed)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
4-6 sprigs sage, cut into chiffonade
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 lb penne rigate, cooked
Heat large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil. Brown sausage. Transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return to heat. Add garlic and onion; saute 3-5 minutes. Add bay leaf, sage, and wine. Boil until wine is reduced by half (about 2 minutes). Add stock and pumpkin; stir until bubbly. Return sausage to pan; reduce heat and stir in cream. Season with cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5-10 minutes to thicken. Put drained pasta back in the pot in which you cooked it. Pour sauce over pasta in pan; toss over low heat about one minute. Serve with grated Parmesan and garnish with sage.
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Pumpkin Pie
Crust
1 cups all-purpose flour
½ tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 egg yolks
1 ½ tbsp. milk
Filling
1 ½ cups canned pumpkin
½ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
7 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
6 ½ tbsp. evaporated milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch ground clove
pinch salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
For crust:
Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut butter into mixture until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Whisk together egg yolks and milk in small bowl. Fold yolk mixture to flour and mix until it forms a dough. Roll dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for several hours. Roll out dough into a 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Line pan with dough and crimp edges. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Line pie shell with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and beans.
For filling
In a medium saucepan, mix together pumpkin and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the cream, milks, vanilla, spices, eggs, and yolk. Pour into pre-baked pie shell and bake at 325 for about 50 minutes. Cool and serve.
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Gingerbread Jack-O'-Lanterns
(Okay, so these cookies don't have pumpkin in them, but they look like pumpkins! :) They are also the type of cookie that makes me eager to have kids - I can just imagine myself making these on Halloween with them as they decorate with icing and chocolate. :) )
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp unsulfered molasses
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and egg until fluffy. Stir in molasses. In separate bowl, sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Mix dry ingredients into sugar mixture and form into dough. Wrap in plastic and chill 3-4 hours.
Preheat oven to 325. You may need to microwave dough about 30 seconds to soften enough to roll. Roll out dough to 1/4" thick. Use pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters to cut. Place cookies on lightly greased baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Ice with royal icing.
Royal Icing
1 egg white
1 tsp lemon juice
1 - 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Beat egg white and lemon juice until frothy. Add powdered sugar slowly until mixture is thick but can still be stirred. Beat three minutes until smooth and glossy.
Divide icing into thirds. Color 1/3 icing with green food coloring and 2/3 of the icing with orange (use 5 drops red and 6 drops yellow to start, then adjust to desired darkness). Spread orange frosting on pumpkin, avoiding stem. Use a toothpick to dab green frosting on stem.
To draw designs on pumpkins:
Melt 1/2 cup chocolate in microwave. Put melted chocolate in ziplock bag. Close bag, sealing out air. Snip a very tiny holy in one corner to release a stream of chocolate. Pipe eyes, noses, mouths, or whatever design you wish on your pumpkin!