homemade pumpkin puree

I just made homemade pumpkin puree for the first time. Why on earth did I not know how easy it was before this???

If you consider cutting up, cleaning, baking, scooping and processing easy...?

Can + opener = one step. That's easy.

I made homemade pumpkin purée one year, for my husband who adores pumpkin pie. I thought he'd really appreciate REAL pumpkin pie with homemade crust, instead of just Mrs. Smith's frozen. He informed me it was "too pumpkiny" and the crust was not sufficiently soggy.

I guess I'm a sucker for punishment

I went to buy a can of puree and it was SOOOO expensive. The price really shot up this year, so I figured I'd give it a try

JennyNixe, I'd have smooshed that homemade pie right in my husband's face LOL!

lol here's pie in your eye.

Once I made pumpkin pie from complete scratch... the pumpkin puree was more mashed pumpkin and therefore kinda lumpy and not smooth like the canned stuff (I hate washing the food processor so did it in my rice mill)...

The last 10 years or so we buy the pies at Safeway.

I can make pastry but buy Tenderflake frozen pie shells... why make a mess if you don't have to? That's my motto.

I just saw a recipe where you just put the whole pumpkin in the oven and bake, then separate the outsides and the seeds. Once you let it cool for an hour, I guess it's much easier than trying to peel and seed at the beginning. I'm so gonna try it.
I have yet to eat a store bought pie with a crust as good as my mama's.

kingsmeadmama wrote:JennyNixe, I'd have smooshed that homemade pie right in my husband's face LOL!

I was tempted to, KMM, but my father-in-law raved about it and I was appeased. I hope your pie (if that's what you're making) gets a better reception.

These posts cracked me up, lol!!!!

Christina,
I love baking from scratch... my husband prefers boxed mixes. *sigh* I think its like anything else. If you enjoy doing it (like, say, face painting) then its easy! If you don't enjoy then its hard! (and by easy, I mean it isn't work... )

There's no such thing as a can of pumpkin puree in Belgium....only thing we use (fresh)pumkins for is soup.
It is a pity, I love the taste of pumkin, but have no clue what else to do with them.

Mama you can make pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins. My youngest had a pumpkin tasting party at school for halloween this year she is after pumpkin everything. We even had pumpkin ice cream for her birthday, but I bought it at the store.

the kids are in to muffins right now, I'll have to google a recipe for those!

And pumpkin pancakes!

mamakatrien, I have a great recipe for pumpkin muffins. If you'd like it, let me know

I have a recipe for incredible "Pumpkin Cheesecake" if anyone want it, let me know. Also for a great Bundt cake called "Pumpkin sour cream cake" where the pumpkin part runs in a tunnel through the cake

Tina - I would love the cheesecake recipe!

Here it is Christina! People love it at the holidays, great alternative to pie

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE: serves 10-12

Use a 9" cheesecake pan, if you use another size you'll have to adjust timing

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup finely ground pecans (optional)
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 stick butter, melted
3 (8-0z) pkgs. of cream cheese, at room temp.
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. ground/grated nutmeg
dash of ginger powder and dash of ground cloves (I grind cloves in my coffee bean grinder BTW, keep it just for herbs)
2 large eggs PLUS 2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 (15-oz) can of pumpkin "puree"

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. combine the crumbs, pecans, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp. of the cinnamon in a bowl. Pour the melted butter and stir well to blend. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan and 1" up sides.

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, the remianing 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, the nutmeg and the dash of cloves and ginger, in the bowl and mix with electric mixer. Beat until fluffy. Add the eggs and the yolks, beating on low until just blended. Fold in the cream and pumpkin puree.

Pour batter into the crust lined pan, and place on a baking sheet. Bake until center is nearly set, about 1 hr. to 1 hr and 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool 15 min. Carefully run a knife between the cake and sides of pan. Release sides of pan and cool at room temp for 30 minutes. Cover cheesecake tightly and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hrs before serving.
NOTE - before serving I make real whip cream and pipe all the edges and center with a cake tip...makes it look great!

kingsmeadmama - Christina wrote:mamakatrien, I have a great recipe for pumpkin muffins. If you'd like it, let me know

how wonderful, yes please !

We eat pumpkin as a vegetable... baked or mashed. It is a squash after all. Really excellent baked with some bacon and a little maple syrup.

My Great Grandmother used to cut off the top third of small pumpkins, hollow them out and put the pumpkins in the oven until they "relaxed". Then, she would peel the softened "lids" and use it in her recipe for pumpkin pie, or pumpkin cheesecake. She would pour the filling right into the pumpkin. She would make a ring of graham cracker/butter/suger mixture around the inside of the pumpkin shell. She would serve these every Thanksgiving on a small "bed" of autumn leaves.
I recreated this for my in-laws one Thanksgiving. They oohed and aaahed over the flavors, the presentation.
When I spoke to my Great Grandmother about the accolades I had received because of her pumpkin pie...
she looked at me and told me that she had made pies for her neighbors and had not gotten any pie tins back in time to make the pumpkin pies. She came up with using the actual pumpkin as a dish. When she had to bring a pumpkin pie to anybody, she would bake it in the shell, so she was not trying to keep track of her pie tins.
As for the artful autumn leaves....
The pumpkin pies leak goo out of the bottom of their shell after being baked. The leaves were there to disguise the goo.

So much for the family lore!

great story! Here we mostly just get the big orange pumpkins, I do sometimes serve the soup out of the pumpkin.

Thanks Tina!

Lisa - that sounds awesome! What a great idea!

Mamakatrien, here you go:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger

In a small bowl mix the ingredients listed above.

1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree

In a large bowl mix all the above ingredients

Slowly add dry ingredients blending until just combined.

Spoon into lightly grease muffin tin and back for 18-20 min at 375*F