Pumpkin Recipes

 

I’m blogging about pumpkin one last time for this year.  Below are a few of my favorite easy and tasty recipes if you’re wanting to add to your collection of pumpkin recipes.  My friend Anne shared this pumpkin cheese ball with me.  It’s a great appetizer for a fall gathering. All of the recipes use canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.  I don’t have a photo for all of them, but trust me they are good.

Pumpkin Cheese Ball

1 8 0z. pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, well-drained

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1  2- 1/2 oz.pkg. dried beef, finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped onion

celery leaves

Serve with crackers or fresh vegetables

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, pumpkin and pineapple.  Stir in cheese, beef and onion.  Shape into a ball.  You may want to refrigerate mixture for at least 4 hours to let it harden a little and for the flavors to meld together.  You could even let it set overnight.   It will be easier to score the sides with a knife to resemble a pumpkin.  Add celery leaves for stem.  You can also sprinkle a little paprika on the top for a little extra pizzazz.

My friend Betsy shared this pumpkin dip recipe with me.

Pumpkin Dip

1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (it’s the bigger package of instant vanilla pudding)

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin (Not pumpkin pie)

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix all together.  It’s cute if you serve in a hollowed out sugar pumpkin.  Serve with vanilla wafers or little Nabisco graham crackers.

This pumpkin crunch  is comfort food to me.  I love eating it both warm or cold.  It’s similar to a dump cake.

Pumpkin Crunch

1 16 oz. can pumpkin

1 120z. can evaporated milk

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 c sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 pkg yellow cake mix

1 c chopped pecans

1 c melted butter

whipped topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice.  Stir well and pour into prepared pan.  Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over top.  Sprinkle with pecans.  Drizzle with melted butter. Bake 1 hour.  Serve with whipped topping, if desired.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 can pumpkin

1 box spice cake mix or white cake mix

bag of  chocolate chips or cinnamon chips

add 1/2 cup water for less dense muffins

Combine ingredients mix by hand or with mixer.  Fill muffin cups  almost to the top and bake for approximately 20 min. at 350 degrees.  I’ve seen several variations of this recipe.  My friend made them with a white cake mix and they were delicious that way too.  I like the taste of gingerbread/spice cake mix so that’s why I went with the spice cake.    It depends on your personal preference.  I also like to add 1/2 cup of water to the mix otherwise I think they are too dense.