Pumpkin Recipes and Pie Crust How-To

Reposting some of my favorite pumpkin recipes, in case you, like me, just can't get enough of that spicy pumpkin goodness.

PUMPKIN NUT COOKIES
1/2 cup butter 1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin 1/4 tsp ginger
2 cups flour 1 cup raisins
4 tsp baking powder 1 cup nuts

Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and pumpkin and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. 4 dozen.


PUMPKIN CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 cup salad oil
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin or 16 oz canned pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Combine sugar, salad oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Mix well.
Combine dry ingredients; add to oil mixture, beating well. Stir in pumpkin. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9' cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Turn out onto racks to cool. Frost with cream cheese icing.

PUMPKIN PIE
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups cooked, well-drained pumpkin (or use canned store-bought)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 2/3 cup 2% milk--or you can use a can of evaporated milk (13 fl. Oz.)
1 9" unbaked pie shell, homemade or store-bought (if using frozen pie shells, this recipe makes 2 pies. Bake as pie shell package directs)

Mix filling ingredients in the order given. Pour into pie shell. Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.

Pie Crust

To make the pie, you'll need a crust unless you use the pre-made ones. Here's my recipe:

Gather your tools: favorite mixing bowl, pastry blender, measuring cup, rolling pin, cutter for the circles, pastry board(or table or counter top or wherever you plan to roll out your dough), and pie pans.

Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour (not self-rising)

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup of butter (margarine or shortening can work; I like real butter)

about 6-8 tablespoons cold water (put ice cubes in the water to get it really cold. Really.)

Mix the flour and salt together. 

Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or a fork (but the pastry blender is works best). 

Add the water, using only a little at a time, until the mixture will hold together. 

Divide the dough into two parts. 

Roll out on a floured surface to the desired thickness and size (you may need to sprinkle a little flour on the dough as you roll it out if it sticks to your rolling pin, and add a little to the floured surface).

 Roll to the desired thickness and lift into your pie plate. 

 Pinch the extra dough that will probably be hanging off the edges of the pastry and then trim with a knife.

 Prick the bottom to prevent bubbling up. Some people recommend pie weights but I have never used them so can't say how they work.

Add your favorite filling, and bake. That's it--it's really simple. The real keys are using ice water and not working the dough too much as that makes it tough. I like a mixture of shortening and butter instead of all one or the other. Some people also add a little sugar, but I prefer my crust without it.

SUSANNA'S PUMPKIN NUT BREAD
2 eggs
1/4 cup softened butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 /14 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans

Beat eggs with softened butter. Add pumpkin, sugar, and milk. Add next three ingredients and mix well. Add nuts.
Spread in well-greased loaf pan (9x5x3in). Bake in 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

A Soup Kind of Day

It's been that kind of day. After working hard Thursday and Friday getting our booth set up, we settled in Friday evening to watch the snow fall. Yesterday we tried to get motivated to get something done, but it never worked out--both of us were just plain tired! I had a small performance last night too, that I needed to get ready for.

So we watched the snow, piddled around and then left for Charleston in the evening--thankfully the snow had stopped. And what had been predicted as 4-7" of the white stuff only ended up amounting to 3 inches here on the ridge and about an inch elsewhere. Big letdown after all the hype! But up here, it was beautiful and it was nice to see after such a snow-less winter.

Today we got to work. The house was a mess after all that moving of stuff; there was hardly a flat surface clear for sitting. So we worked on picking up and putting away before moving on to other projects. My main project today was paper--sorting out receipts from last year and getting them filed. I had been pretty good about keeping up with them until the fall, then I got so busy I just let them pile up. It's amazing how much paper can accumulate. Now I have them all rough-sorted for the storytelling part of my life; the household part is organized and filed away. Tomorrow I will tackle the storytelling receipts and get them into the spreadsheet. And call an accountant to set up an appointment. There is just too much involved with our taxes for last year to attempt to do them myself this time. Next year, I think I can get back to doing it alone, but with retirement and the land sale it just gets complicated.

I took a break in filing to make soup. It was definitely a soup kind of day and I had a hankering for a soup with barley--and tomatoes. What I ended up making was Tomato-Turkey-Barley Soup with cornbread.  Here's the basic recipe:

Tomato, Turkey, and Barley Soup
1 quart canned tomatoes
3 cups water (or more, depending on how thick you like your soup)
3 cups cooked turkey, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup dried celery leaves
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried chopped garlic, or 2 cloves, chopped
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup pearl barley

Turn on the stove; pour the canned tomatoes into a 4-quart or larger pot and add the water. Add all the est of the ingredients to the pot in the order listed. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until the barley is tender and ready to eat.

I served this with yellow cornbread and pumpkin butter. It was a feast, perfect for a cold winter's day. There's enough left for tomorrow too. Now that just makes me happy. You can find my cornbread recipe here and my pumpkin butter recipe here--both so simple to make and so good, especially together.

Thanksgiving

Giving thanks this day for the plenty in my life: plenty of family, friends, food and fun.

So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.
 
Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving





Here are a few pumpkin recipes. Just in case you need inspiration!

PUMPKIN NUT COOKIES
1/2 cup butter 1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin 1/4 tsp ginger
2 cups flour 1 cup raisins
4 tsp baking powder 1 cup nuts

Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and pumpkin and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. 4 dozen.


PUMPKIN CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 cup salad oil
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin or 16 oz canned pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Combine sugar, salad oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Mix well.
Combine dry ingredients; add to oil mixture, beating well. Stir in pumpkin. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9' cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Turn out onto racks to cool. Frost with cream cheese icing.

PUMPKIN PIE
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (homemade or store-bought)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 2/3 cup evaporated milk (13 fl. Oz.)
1 9" unbaked pie shell (if using frozen pie shells, this recipe makes 2 pies. Bake as pie shell package directs)

Mix filling ingredients in the order given. Pour into pie shell. Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.

SUSANNA'S PUMPKIN NUT BREAD
2 eggs
1/4 cup softened butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 /14 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans

Beat eggs with softened butter. Add pumpkin, sugar, and milk. Add next three ingredients and mix well. Add nuts.
Spread in well-greased loaf pan (9x5x3in). Bake in 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Bread may be frozen for later use.

Quick Gift Idea: Pumpkin Butter

 So here we are, less than two weeks to Christmas, and you still have a few names on your gift list. And not much cash in your pocket by this point, probably. If the people you still need gifts for like good food, then Pumpkin Butter might be just the thing. It's inexpensive, quick and easy to make, and delicious, a good combination for a great gift.

I didn't haven any fresh pumpkin because mine got fed to the chickens by he-who-shall-not-be-named. So I headed to the store for a few cans, and the results were perfectly satisfactory. The recipe probably cooked up more quickly too, because the store-bought puree tends to be thicker than my homegrown kind.

What you need: pumpkin, sugar, apple juice or apple cider, ginger, cinnnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Some recipes also call for mace, but I didn't have any on hand when I made my butter. You will also need jars and lids.

4- 15-oz cans of pumpkin (not the pie mix, just plain pumpkin puree)
1 1/2 cups of apple cider or apple juice
4- teaspoons ginger
1/2- teaspoon cloves
4- teaspoons cinnamon

2- teaspoon nutmeg
3- cups granulated sugar

Wash your jars and sterilize them. Put the lids and rings in a pan of water and bring them to a boil to sterilize them too.

Then:
1) Combine all the ingredients in a 6-quart saucepan, preferably a heavy one with a thick bottom. 

2) Bring to a boil, stirring almost constantly (it will scorch pretty easily, so pay attention to it). 

3) Reduce heat to low so the mixture simmers and cook, continuing to stirring even more often, for 30 minutes or until mixture is so thick that your spoon leaves a trail behind it that does not close up. The butter will "plop" if you don't keep it stirred well, and you will have pumpkin decorating your walls and stove; since it's very hot, you will be sporting some nice little burns too. It will also scorch easily, remember. So just stand there and stir; it's worth the trouble.

4)  When your butter is thick, remove the pan from the heat and ladle the butter into your hot jars. Put the lids on, tighten them and turn them upside down to seal. 

This recipe yielded 16 half-pints of pumpkin butter, along with a bit left over for a batch of biscuits which I promptly made--and didn't get any pictures of because they disappeared too fast.

(NOTE: All recipes I have found for pumpkin butter recommend refrigerating for immediate use, or freezing for up to six months. All cautioned against trying to process and store like other jams, butters and jellies. I followed these recommendations and stored my pumpkin butter in the fridge before giving it to friends.)

Add a pretty label, a doily or round of fabric and some ribbon around the lid, and you have a lovely, homemade, inexpensive gift. (And if you're lucky, the giftee will return your jar for future use.)

Leftover Pumpkin?

Cushaw pumpkins--the green striped ones in the photo--have a yellow flesh that can be used in any pumpkin recipe. The color will be different but the flavor and texture is excellent. Butternut squash in the right of the photo is also a good substitute for the traditional orange pumpkin, and it also has a lovely smooth texture. I canned and froze my prepared pumpkin. Freezing is a lot faster, but the canned pumpkin is very pretty and easier to use, I think.

You made the pies and now you still have some pumpkin left over. Or you didn't make the pies and still have a can of pumpkin or prepared fresh pumpkin to be used. Or you just love pumpkin and seek out recipes of all kinds to try.


I'm in the last category. I like pumpkin in cakes, pies, loafs, cookies, bars, ice cream and butter. There are other ways to eat it that I haven't yet tried, like pumpkin soup, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin fudge...ah, the possibilities! I posted a few of my favorites last year, and you can find them here.

Here is one of my favorite recipes for this versatile vegetable.

Pumpkin Nut Bread (or Muffins)

3 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup cooked, prepared or canned pumpkin (see below)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup softened butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Stir together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Combine pumpkin, sugar, milk and eggs in a separate mixing bowl; add the dry ingredients and the softened butter. Mix until well-blended. Stir in nuts. Spread in a well greased standard size loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This bread can be frozen and used later, and that's a handy thing during the holidays. I often bake it in muffin pans so that I can carry it easily in my lunch. If you use muffin pans, expect them to bake in about 20 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness as above.

How to Prepare Fresh Pumpkin
You can learn more about how to prepare and preserve pumpkins by freezing and canning at this site.

Pumpkin Recipes

It's the time of year for spicy pumpkin treats. I pretty much love anything made with pumpkin--soup, pie, cake, muffins, cookies...

Here are some of my favorites.

PUMPKIN NUT COOKIES
1/2 cup butter 1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin 1/4 tsp ginger
2 cups flour 1 cup raisins
4 tsp baking powder 1 cup nuts

Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and pumpkin and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. 4 dozen.


PUMPKIN CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 cup salad oil
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin or 16 oz canned pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Combine sugar, salad oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Mix well.
Combine dry ingredients; add to oil mixture, beating well. Stir in pumpkin. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9' cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Turn out onto racks to cool. Frost with cream cheese icing.

PUMPKIN PIE
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (homemade or store-bought)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 2/3 cup evaporated milk (13 fl. Oz.)
1 9" unbaked pie shell (if using frozen pie shells, this recipe makes 2 pies. Bake as pie shell package directs)

Mix filling ingredients in the order given. Pour into pie shell. Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.

SUSANNA'S PUMPKIN NUT BREAD
2 eggs
1/4 cup softened butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 /14 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans

Beat eggs with softened butter. Add pumpkin, sugar, and milk. Add next three ingredients and mix well. Add nuts.
Spread in well-greased loaf pan (9x5x3in). Bake in 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Bread may be frozen for later use.