Sunshine - Cooking with Pumpkin: Recipes That Go Beyond the Pie

To Skylar, my greatest gift. I love you beyond words! May all your dreams come true.

To pumpkin fans everywhere, you know who you are when a rush of excitement comes over you upon having your first pumpkin coffee drink of the season. You're not alone!

Contents

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Theres nothing more all-American than a slice of pumpkin pie after the Thanksgiving meal. And theres nothing wrong with that annual slice of pumpkin pie, but theres so much more to pumpkin than pie filling, and it deserves to step into the limelight more than once a year.

I enjoy cooking and baking with pumpkin year-round. The scent of it wafting through the house is just so comforting. I crave the hearty flavor, and its such a versatile ingredient to use in baking. However, I didnt realize others were as into pumpkin as I am until I started blogging in 2009.

Every fall the excitement is palpable as the first pumpkin recipes of the season make their appearance. Ive discovered a whole cult of pumpkin worshipers out there who are just as passionate about pumpkin as I am. I wrote this book to showcase my love of the orange fruit.

Some recipes, like Baked Cinnamon-Sugar Pumpkin-Spice Mini Doughnuts and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Buttercream, have a pronounced and robust pumpkin flavor. In other recipes, like Soft Buttery Pumpkin Pretzels, the pumpkin is more subtle, but its there, creating a supple orange dough.

Pumpkin adds wonderful moisture to quickbreads, muffins, and cakes; it helps make pancakes fluffy. It makes cookies soft and chewy. It tenderizes yeast dough and makes brownies taste supremely rich, decadent, and extra fudgy.

When you begin to think of pumpkin as both a flavor and a softening and moistening superstar, your baking world will open up wide. And hopefully these recipes will inspire you to use pumpkin more than just for one day or a few weeks each year. Theres nothing better than Bourbon Pumpkin Ice Cream with Chocolate Cookies and Chunks over the Fourth of July.

It is my overarching goal as a cook, baker, blogger, and cookbook author to make cooking as easy and streamlined as possible, and to create recipes that people want to makeand that they actually get into their kitchens and makeand for the results to taste spectacular.

I want these recipes to be made and for this cookbook to be used. I cant tell you how many recipes I encounter in cookbooks or online that, after reading the ingredients list or the directions, I quickly give up on because they just seem so daunting and like so much work. Sure, cooking is work, but I dont want it to feel like hard labor.

Ive written the recipes in this book in such a way as to maximize success with the least amount of time and energy spent as possible. That includes not using every dish in the kitchen. Were all busy and dont have the time or desire to wash seven dirty bowls. Unless Im making cookies or bread dough, I dont drag out my mixer, instead using one simple bowl and a whisk.

I do not send you on a wild goose chase to three supermarkets for specialty ingredients, nor do you need to order anything online. With very few exceptions, everything can be found at your regular store, and everything is budget-friendly. No $20 strands of saffron here.

The recipes were created to make modest batches of things8 by 8 and 9 by 9 pans rather than halfsheet pans. One and a half dozen cookies, not four dozen. Not everyone has a huge family or wants a four-layer cake just laying around, good as it sounds. If you are cooking for a large family or a party or group, feel free to double most recipes. Recipes made in 8 by 8 and 9 by 9 formats can usually be doubled with success and baked in a 9 by 13 pan.

I want you to make these recipes, not just talk about making them. I have done everything possible to ensure the recipes are approachable for the average home cook and that your results will be fabulous. I know youll feel proud serving everything youve made to your family and friends, and boy, wont they be impressed.

Ingredients

PUMPKIN

Its the star of the show, and all recipes in this book were tested with canned pumpkin pure. Make sure when selecting canned pumpkin that you choose pumpkin pure, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has added spices and sugar, and you wont get the results you want if you interchange the two. Everything in the book is made with store-bought pumpkin pure, not pumpkin pie filling. One standard can of pumpkin pure is 15 ounces, about 1 cups. Most recipes call for partial amounts from one can. See Tips and Tricks, no. 7, , for storing extra pumpkin pure.

To make your own pumpkin pure, halve a sugar pumpkin or other variety suitable for eating (the kind you carve for jack-o-lanterns dont taste particularly good), scoop out the seeds, lightly oil the flesh with olive oil, and roast in a 400F oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until fork-tender. Scoop out the flesh and pure in a food processor.

That said, in the interest of saving time, to ensure consistent results, and to make cooking with pumpkin a possibility year round and not just during pumpkin season, I dont typically cook with homemade pumpkin pure. If you like to clean and roast your own pumpkins and pure the flesh, youre welcome to try your homemade pure with these recipes. However, its difficult to say if the measurements will need adjusting for homemade, or if the recipe will be successful overall, since the recipes were tested with store-bought canned pumpkin pure.

If you dont have access to pumpkin pure, sweet potatoes or butternut squash can sometimes be used and substituted with success. Some recipes will work better with these substitutions than others, but for those without pumpkin pure (outside the USA, its harder to find) or for those who are feeling adventurous in the kitchen and like to experiment, Im tossing it out as an option. After all, and you may be surprised to know, many brands of store-bought pumpkin pure are actually a blend of pured winter squashes, not just pumpkin.

SPICES, SEASONINGS, SALT

Without the proper spices or seasoning, pumpkin pure can be pretty boring and bland. Id rather be a little heavier-handed with cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and the like, than skimp on these ingredients. The recipes are nicely spiced, and I like the balance and blends used, but of course, adjust spices and seasonings to your preferences and taste.

Some recipes call for pumpkin pie spice (available in the spice aisle, or, to make your own, see DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice, ) in addition to other spices, like cinnamon or ground cloves, that are already in pumpkin pie spice. I do this because some recipes benefit from a bit of extra cinnamon or an extra pop of cloves, ginger, or whatever it may be, and simply adding more pumpkin pie spice wouldnt give the desired balance and ratios.