Tag Archives: pumpkin recipe

DIY Pumpkin Puree & Pumpkin Spice Waffles

Connecticut Field Pumpkin

Whoever decided that pumpkin spice food is just for autumn got it wrong. Now is when I scrambling to pack all the winter squash and pumpkins we put up this summer into our meals. Before long it will be spring and as much as I love the stuff I don’t want the house to still be overflowing with winter squash. Come spring I’ll be ready for greens, snap peas, and rhubarb! So for now it’s pumpkin spice, tasy, warm, filling and sweet.

DIY Pumpkin Puree

***for those who are ready for the waffle recipe keep scrolling****

Any local foodie will tell you pumpkin puree doesn’t come in a can! It’s actually super easy to make and nearly any winter squash or pumpkin will do. If you’ve got a Waltham Butternut or Table Queen on hand there’s no need to go search the farmers market for a pie pumpkin.

Split your squash or pumpkin in half and scoop out all the seeds. Place the pumpkin opening down in a shallow baking pan with about 1 inch of water. This will keep it from drying out.

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes to 2 hours or until tender depending on the size of your pumpkin.

*Optional: clean the seeds and bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet with a little vegetable oil and salt while your pumpkin is baking. Bake until golden brown. Alternatively save them for next year!

On to the good stuff.

Pumpkin Spice Waffles

These waffles are a great breakfast or treat on a cold winter days and they’re an awesome way to cook with local, healthy ingredients. I bet you can get all the veggie haters in your life to eat some winter squash hidden in these little gems.

Another great thing about these waffles is that the squash takes the place of the egg in the recipe so they’re great for people with allergies or those who are vegan. I promise you’ll love them even if you’re not!

These waffles are that perfect mixture of crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1 cup of flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 TBS sugar
  • 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 6 TBS vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup milk (for dairy free replace with nut milk or water)

Option toppings:

  • maple syrup, butter, molasses, or powdered sugar

First combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl then add the pumpkin or squash puree, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil. Next, slowly stir in the milk. If you’re puree was watery you may need less of the milk. The batter should be easy to pour but not thin.

While you’re mixing up your batter you can pre-heat your waffle iron. A hot waffle iron makes better waffles that stick less.

Cook your waffle using the normal directions for your waffle iron and enjoy! Then promise your family you’ll make a double batch next time when they keep coming back for more.

Pin it for later.

Pumpkin Butter

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the size of your winter squash harvest.  But not to worry.  Winter squash will keep for months if undamaged, cured well, and stored well.  If you have enough pumpkin recipes and squash recipes, you won’t get tired of it. Pumpkin butter is delicious, and it’s not hard to make two months’ worth at once.Oct 2016 (26) Pumpkin butter on biscuit croppedFeb2015 (45) squash for squash butter prcsdFeb2015 (51) squash for squash butter cropped

 

Start by cutting any kind of pumpkin or other winter squash in half or quarters. Scoop out the seeds, and for best texture, scrape out the stringy pulp around the seeds. Lay the squash on a baking sheet. Some prefer face up; others prefer face down. We cooked ours face up. You’ll retain the most moisture in your squash if you cook it face down, with a little water in the pan.

Bake the squash until it is easy to put a fork through it.  We baked ours for a little over an hour.  Large chunks of very large squash would take longer.

When the baked squash is cool enough to handle, scrape it off the skin.  Even if the skin is tender and soft enough to be palatable with a chunk of squash, the texture of the pumpkin butter will be much better (and more buttery!) without it.Oct 2016 (14) Pumpkin butter cropped

Now it’s time to add spices and sugar.  We used one part sugar for every four parts squash.  We also added cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.  Sorry, we didn’t measure the spices; we just tasted the spiced pumpkin and added a few more pinches of ginger.  Some people add orange zest, but we didn’t.

When you’ve mixed the spices into the squash, put it back in the oven.   Ours made a layer about 2 inches deep in a steam table tray, and we baked it for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees the second time around.  If you spread yours into a thinner layer, you’ll probably want to bake it for less time.

I like pumpkin butter the most when some areas have just started to turn dark brown and caramelize.

Oct 2016 (31) Ken eats pumpkin butter on a biscuit prcsd

While Ken was planting spinach in the garden,  I brought him a biscuit with a thick layer of fresh pumpkin butter.

We like to put our pumpkin butter in mason jars, but we don’t can it.  It’s not acidic enough to be canned in a boiling water bath, and pressure canning might ruin the texture.  We’ll store these jars in the refrigerator for up to a couple of months.

Oct 2016 (44) Pumpkin butterYou might also want to try the pumpkin jam recipe that was recently featured in our e-newsletter.