The holiday season is upon us and I’ve been dreaming of sharing an easy snack cake to have around if you happen to be hosting family or friends this time of year. You know, the kind of cake that is justifiable as a “snack” or “breakfast” because it has fruit and vegetables in it. Yes! That kind. Let’s bake, shall we?
This 1-bowl recipe starts with a flax egg for binding and mashed ripe banana for some natural sweetness and moisture.
1-Bowl Carrot Apple Snack Cake from Minimalist Baker →
31 of our home & kitchen favorites that are perfect for anyone on your list! Treat friends and family members to a kitchen gadget they’ve always wanted, the perfect serveware for entertaining, or a new way to keep their space clean & organized. I’m back with a truly Ambitious Kitchen gift guide for you guys: [...]
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Check out these simple steps for how to make pumpkin puree to use in your favorite pumpkin recipes. This post teaches you everything you need to know about homemade pumpkin puree including how to roast a pumpkin, how to puree pumpkin, how long does pumpkin puree last, and how to store it.
Ever wondered how to make pumpkin puree?
It’s like the easiest thing EVER to make and makes a huge difference in your pumpkin recipes.
In this post, I’m sharing all you need to know to make homemade pumpkin puree like a pro.
Why would you make your very own pumpkin puree when you can buy canned pumpkin, you might wonder.
Well, there’s something about the flavor and texture of fresh pumpkin puree. Homemade pumpkin puree is different than canned pumpkin. In a majorly good way. I’ve always been more pleased with my pumpkin recipes made with fresh pumpkin puree. The flavor is sweeter, more delicate, and oh so yummy. Plus, it’s super easy to make so why not give it a try, right?
Spoiler alert here: I’m talking E.A.S.Y. All you gotta do is slice open the pumpkin, clean out the seeds, and then pop it in the oven.
If you are the type of person who always has pumpkin in their house during this time of the year, making pumpkin puree is a great way to prolong the life of your pumpkin. Which means more delicious pumpkin puree recipes to try!
And speaking of pumpkin puree recipes, fresh pumpkin puree is delicious in pumpkin bread, pumpkin chocolate muffins, and, of course, in pumpkin spice lattes. And, if you need more inspiration, at the end of this article I have 3 pumpkin puree recipes you can use to put your homemade pumpkin puree to the test.
Pumpkin!
If you don’t believe me when I say making pumpkin puree is super easy, I’m gonna highlight the steps for you, but first let me talk to you about pumpkin benefits and why fresh pumpkin is good for you. I’ll do it quickly so you can get to the roasting pumpkin for puree part fast!
Pumpkin Benefits: Pumpkin is highly nutritious; Pumpkin is rich in vitamin A; Pumpkin is packed with other vitamins including vitamin C, vitamin B2, and vitamin E; Pumpkin is loaded with minerals including potassium, manganese, copper, and iron; Pumpkin is low in calories.Now that you know why pumpkin is good to you, it’s time to move to the how do you make pumpkin puree part.
Making pumpkin puree requires only one ingredient. That is – you guessed it – pumpkin. And a few simple steps:
Preheat the oven; Slice the pumpkin; Scoop out the pumpkin seeds; Roast the pumpkin; Blend the pumpkin.And there you have it – easy peasy homemade pumpkin puree.
To become a pumpkin puree expert, you have to know how to make pumpkin puree, (which I just told you how!), how to roast pumpkin (or how to bake pumpkin), which I’ll show in a minute, and how to puree pumpkin which we will discuss in a bit. But first, I have to teach you how to tell if a pumpkin is ripe. This is super important because you want your pumpkin puree to have the perfect texture and the right amount of sweetness.
To determine if a pumpkin is ripe:
Check the color. If the pumpkin has a uniform orange color, it’s probably ripe. Check the sound. Give that pumpkin of yours a lil’ slap. If it sounds hollow, the pumpkin is ripe. Check the skin. Try to puncture the skin of the pumpkin with your fingernail. If the skin doesn’t puncture, hooray, you’ve got a ripe pumpkin. Check the stem. If the stem is hard, your pumpkin is ripe and ready to be transformed into pumpkin puree.
ROASTING PUMPKIN FOR PUREE
It’s time for the roasting pumpkin for puree part. Woot!
Roasting pumpkin is amazingly easy and simple. All you need to roast a pumpkin is a baking sheet and — yep — a pumpkin. If you want even less clean-up, you can use parchment paper or aluminum foil to protect the baking sheet. Roasting a pumpkin also adds extra depth to the flavor of the pumpkin and, in my opinion, makes it a little sweeter and richer.
Here are the easy steps for how to roast a pumpkin:
Preheat the oven; Slice the pumpkin in half; Scoop out the seeds of the pumpkin; Place pumpkin halves, cut-side down, onto the baking sheet; Roast for 40-60 minutes.And then — poof — you have easy roasted pumpkin. You’ll know the pumpkin is perfectly roasted if a fork or knife easily pierces the outer skin.
I have to admit this is my favorite part involved in the process of making pumpkin puree because the house smells divine.
Once you have the roasted pumpkin, it’s time to turn it into puree. Cooked pumpkin is already very soft and can be mashed, either by hand using a potato masher or fork to turn into a puree.
But I prefer to use a…
food processor kitchen blender or an immersion blenderto get it as smooth as possible. There’s really no way to puree the pumpkin too much – it’s just a matter of how smooth you want to make it.
You can totally freeze pumpkin puree if you want. This is a great way to have fresh homemade pumpkin recipes longer than just the winter. To freeze pumpkin puree, just put the fresh pumpkin puree in freezer-safe containers or freezer-safe plastic bags and store in the freezer.
Frozen pumpkin puree will last for 4-5 months if stored correctly. To defrost the pumpkin puree, you can thaw overnight in the refrigerator in a bowl of cold water. Use thawed pumpkin puree within a few days for the best flavor.
Homemade puree tends to be a little more watery than the canned stuff, especially if defrosted, so you may need to reduce any additional liquid in a recipe by 2-3 tablespoons – just be aware of that if it’s too runny!
If you aren’t using your homemade pumpkin puree right away, you can store it in the fridge. Refrigerated leftover pumpkin puree will last about 4-6 days in the refrigerator if kept in an airtight container. I like to keep some on hand during the fall to add to pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cheesecake smoothies, or to top my plain Greek yogurt. It’s amazing.
I promised you pumpkin puree recipes inspo so let’s get you pumpkinspired with 3 more healthy pumpkin recipes.
FRESH PUMPKIN ICE CREAMI talked about this Fresh Pumpkin Ice Cream a lot lately. That’s because I think it’s perfect for Fall. It’s also gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. Which makes it even better.
This ice cream tastes like pumpkin and pumpkin spice and it’s super easy to make (you don’t need an ice cream maker to make it) and it is prepped in 15 minutes. Get the recipe.
PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINSAnother great pumpkin recipe that requires pumpkin puree is this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe. You just learned how to make pumpkin puree so make sure you learn how to make these muffins too because they are Fall perfection. And perfect for breakfast, lunch, snack, or dessert.
The Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are healthy, ready in less than 30 minutes, and made without refined-flour or sugar. Get the recipe.
PUMPKIN PIE OVERNIGHT OATSThese Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats are yet another pumpkin puree recipe I talked about a lot during the last couple of weeks.
The Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats are healthy, loaded with pumpkin flavor, easy to make, and they make an amazing make-ahead breakfast. Get the recipe.
Check out these simple steps for how to make pumpkin puree to use in your favorite pumpkin recipes. This post teaches you everything you need to know about homemade pumpkin puree including how to roast a pumpkin, how to puree pumpkin, how long does pumpkin puree last, and how to store it.
This post contains affiliate links for products I use frequently and highly recommend.
The post How to Make Pumpkin Puree appeared first on A Sweet Pea Chef.
Finally! I started working on this naturally sweetened pecan pie recipe last fall, and it’s ready to share with you in time for Thanksgiving this year. I’m so excited.
Unlike most pecan pies, which are sweetened with corn syrup and refined sugar, this pecan pie is naturally sweetened with real maple syrup. As you can imagine, the maple syrup flavor makes this pie extra delicious.
I’ve been intimidated by pie-making for too long, and finally conquered my fears with this pecan pie. The filling is so easy to make.
Here’s a preview: Toast the pecans in the oven for a few minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, melted butter, vanilla, and salt. You can add some bourbon to the mixture to amp up the flavor, if you’d like. That’s it!
The post Naturally Sweetened Pecan Pie appeared first on Cookie and Kate.
