Pumpkins

How to Cook a Pumpkin: Roasted and Puréed

~ Judy's Chickens ~ 15 Comments

Faced with the choices below of sources for cooked pumpkin purée to use in a pie, which one would you choose?

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I chose the big one. No-brainer. More pumpkin flesh, more purée. I’ve got a lot of baking to do. I’m smart. NOT. There is more intense and earthy pumpkin flavor in the small “pie” pumpkin than in the biggest pumpkin you’ve ever brought home from a pumpkin patch. And, by the way, the flavor in the canned purée may equal that of the little two-pounder.DSC_0460

How much work was it to roast the big pumpkin to find this out the hard way?

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All that work, and when I used the purée in my Mom’s Pumpkin Pie, a pie that always delivers, it barely tasted like pumpkin, the flavor was that vapid. Additionally, the pie left a chalky aftertaste in my mouth that only I detected, but it was enough to make me throw the rest of the pie in the compost.

The next morning, I went to Trader Joe’s and bought two pie pumpkins and a can of pumpkin purée. Note: each of these items was a $1.99, so there was no monetary benefit to making this a DIY project. The only benefit was quelling my curiosity about what went wrong flavorwise.

Roasting Pie Pumpkins

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I followed the directions on the label and cooked the pumpkins at 350º for 1½ hours.

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I scooped out the flesh. I didn’t even need to purée it; it was so ready to use. Figure on two cups of purée per two-pound pie pumpkin.DSC_0459 (1)

Here’s the thing I didn’t know about pumpkin purée. It’s not sweet and tasty on its own. Having never stuck my finger into a can of purée before, this surprised me. I thought I was familiar with the taste of pumpkin from eating it in desserts, but they are sweetened with sugar and flavored by vanilla and spices. I remember a similar thing happened the first time I tasted natural unsweetened cocoa. I was expecting to taste the chocolate of a candy bar and instead what I tasted was bitter and harsh. The pumpkin surprise factor wasn’t nearly as extreme,  but you get the idea.

So, will I ever cook a big pumpkin for purée again? Not likely.

Will I ever roast a small pie pumpkin again? Perhaps, when I have grandchildren and want to show them where pumpkin purée comes from.

Will I go back to buying canned pumpkin? Yes, for sure!

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© 2014-2017 Judy Wright. All rights reserved. Photos and text may only be used with written consent.

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Marion’s Crazy Good Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

~ Judy's Chickens ~ 24 Comments

Let’s just say you need something to serve for a morning meeting or an afternoon snack. Or, maybe you need to come up with a contribution to a bake sale or a neighborhood party. Or, maybe you are looking for a healthy-ish dessert. This is your recipe!

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There is something about the way the earthy pumpkin purée in this bread absorbs the heat of the spices and the sweet taste of the chocolate and turns it into a decadent memory of all that is autumn. Bonus points to this bread for being dairy and nut free.

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My cousin Marion first emailed me this recipe back in 2008 when I was looking for something to make for a school bake sale. It took me a year to make it because I couldn’t see pumpkin and chocolate tasting good together. When I finally tried it, I was blown away by the flavor. The spices subdued the sweet chocolate, and both did something crazy good to the pumpkin. The combination was brilliant. I started making her pumpkin bread every year for the school bake sale. It was so popular; it was placed on the school’s website where it remains all these years later. This recipe is so well-loved my cousin has to print copies for her customers to take home with them whenever she serves it at her Details and Goods trunk shows.

Yield: Makes 2 loaves, 1 bundt cake, or 18-24 muffins depending on size

Ingredients:
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Mise en Place:
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1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup canola oil
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
4 large eggs
1  15-ounce can pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350º

  1. Grease baking pans and lightly dust with flour. This recipe will fill one bundt pan, two loaf pans, 18 muffin tins, or six mini-loaf pans.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, oil, applesauce, and eggs on medium speed for two minutes.
  3. Add pumpkin purée and spices. Mix on medium speed for 30 seconds more. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as you mix.

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4. Add flours, salt, and baking soda. Mix for 30 seconds on low speed just until dry ingredients are fully incorporated into the batter.
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Stir in chocolate chips.
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Pour batter into prepared pans.
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Bake on the middle rack of oven for 50-60 minutes. To test for doneness insert a knife into the center of the baking pan. If it comes out with orange residue on it, put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. If it comes out with just melted chocolate on the knife, then it is ready.

Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Next, run a knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the loaves. Turn the pans over onto the wire rack and shake the loaves out. Immediately flip them over, so they are right side up. Allow to cool for an hour before packaging.

A few baking notes:

If you don’t have applesauce, use 1 full cup of oil instead of half oil and half applesauce.

If you don’t have whole wheat flour, use 2 cups of all-purpose flour.

In case you’re wondering, a 15-ounce can is equal to 1¾ cups of pumpkin purée.
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Marion, thanks for turning me on to this unlikely pairing of flavors! Marion thanks her friend, Marilyn who first introduced her to this recipe in the form of muffins as a crowd-pleasing snack after a high school lacrosse game.

Holding hands with my favorite cousin and first friend, Marion.

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Other Nice Fall Desserts
Mom’s Apple Pie with a Cheddar Streusel Topping
Mom’s Pumpkin Pie
Mrs. Walker’s Cranberry Nut Pie
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream
Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Always check the website for the most current version of a recipe.

© 2014-2017 Judy Wright. All rights reserved. Photos and text may only be used with written consent.

Mom’s Pumpkin Pie

~ Judy's Chickens ~ 23 Comments

It is not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.

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A few years ago, when my son was a Vanderbilt student, I asked if he wanted to invite friends over from school who couldn’t get home for Thanksgiving. About ten of his friends joined us. He asked if they needed to bring any food. I told him we had the meal covered, but if anyone enjoyed cooking and wanted to bring something, they should feel free to do so.

A few days later, he sent me an email with a headcount and said his friends had dessert covered. Wonderful. As I scrolled further into his letter, I noticed a copy of the letter he had sent his friends. It said, “My mother said if it’s part of your wellness to cook during the holidays, feel free to bring a dessert, otherwise just bring yourselves.”  Part of your wellness, how nicely put. Cooking is part of MY wellness.

On Thanksgiving Day, as everyone arrived, the desserts were dropped off in the kitchen — coconut cake, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, mint ice cream. Alas, there was no pumpkin pie, my favorite. So now we get to the point of the story, my mother’s pumpkin pie. It is so easy; I was able to prep it with ingredients I had on hand in the amount of time it took to preheat the oven. The pie cooked while we ate dinner. No one was the wiser, and I had my beloved pumpkin pie.

Yield: Makes one 10-inch pie or one 9-inch deep-dish pie.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon fine salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1¾ cups pumpkin purée (15-ounce can)
1½ cups warm milk (heat for one minute in the microwave)

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 450º

2) Prepare pie crust. If you are using a 10-inch pie pan, you may need to roll the crust a little more to stretch it to fit better. I like to use Trader Joe’s Pie Crusts.

Technique Time: How to arrange a TJ’s pie crust into a pie pan:

Once the crust comes to room temperature, which takes about 90 minutes, unroll it retaining the plastic sheets. You will find that the dough breaks up into wide strips as you unroll it. Not a problem; use a rolling pin to rejoin the cracks while the dough is sandwiched between the plastic sheets. Next, remove the plastic covering from one side of the crust. Using the corners of the remaining plastic square, lift the crust, turn it over, and plop it into the pie plate. Continue to leave the plastic on as you press the dough into the pan, then remove the plastic. 
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Tuck crust edges under and crimp to make pretty.
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3) Prepare Pumpkin Filling: Blend all ingredients together in a mixing bowl for one minute on medium-low speed. Be sure to warm the milk as this will decrease the cooking time. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula as you blend the ingredients together.
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Pour filling into prepared pie crust.

For best results, cover the pie rim with foil or a Pie Crust Protector until the last 15 minutes of baking. While the pie is cooking, take a look at this post about must-have cooking tools, Stocking Stuffers: Tools for the Cooking Life

4) Bake for 10 minutes at 450º. Turn oven down to 350º and cook for 45-55  minutes, depending on whether you are using a regular or deep-dish pan. To check for doneness, prick the center of the pie with the tip of a knife. It should come out clean. If not, let the pie cook five more minutes and test again.

This pie is delicious served warm from the oven or cold from the refrigerator (for breakfast!).

My friend, Renée, skips the pie crust altogether and pours the pumpkin batter into small ramekins for single-serving desserts.
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Happy Thanksgiving!

Other Desserts for Thanksgiving:
Mrs. Walker’s Cranberry Nut Pie
Mom’s Apple Pie (with a cheddar streusel topping)
Pumpkin Bread Pudding (with caramel sauce and whipped cream on top!)
Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
Marion’s Crazy Good Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

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Always check the blog for the latest version of a recipe.

© 2014-2020 Judy Wright. All rights reserved. Photos, videos, and text may only be reproduced with the written consent of Judy Wright.