Seasonal Recipe: Whole Pumpkin Soup

As any good cook knows, pumpkins are great for more than jack-o-lanterns.

These festive gourds make delicious treats, and bonus: they transform into soup bowls. That's the inspiration for this wonderful whole pumpkin soup recipe. It's a unique way to set the table and serve a meal. To use even more of the pumpkin than the base recipe requires, toast the seeds after and use them to top the soup. Chunks of bread make for another good topping for a different texture. Keep reading below for this wonderful recipe...

Whole Pumpkin Soup

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 whole pie pumpkins (Use two more for serving in if desired)
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5 whole black peppercorns
• a dash of nutmeg
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cut the tops off the two pumpkins, then cut them into halves.
3. Use a spoon to remove the seeds and the pulp of the pumpkins, then cut into quarters and place on a baking sheet
4. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender
5. Peel away the skin from the pumpkin flesh, then put the flesh into a pot.
6. Pour in the vegetable stock and maple syrup. Cook until simmering.
7. Mash the big chunks, then transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Add cream, garlic, peppercorn, salt and nutmeg. Blend again.
8. Serve in a bowl or hollowed out pumpkin. Top with additional heavy cream, bread chunks, or toasted pumpkin seeds as desired.
9. Enjoy!

Italian Recipe: Perfect Pumpkin Ravioli

There are so many great ways to cook pumpkin, from baking it in a pie, to toasting up some seeds, or to turning it into a soup or puree. One of our favorite meals involves loading ravioli with fresh pumpkin. 

The stuffed pasta, ravioli, has its roots all the way back to 14th century Venice. It was originally stuffed with a mixture of herbs, egg, and cheese, and that basic recipe has stuck around to modern days. But somewhere along the way, pumpkin became a popular filling in northern Italy, particularly in and around the region of Emilia-Romagna in the north. They're still eaten year-round, made fresh in bakeries, and celebrated as a key component of local culinary history.

Now you can make these legendary ravioli right at home. This recipe offers up a spectacular combo of sweet and savory, mixing together pumpkin puree with shallots, herbs, and some heavy cream. 

Perfect Pumpkin Ravioli

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients

PASTA

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

FILLING

• 1 small pie pumpkin (about 2 1/2lbs) peeled, hollowed, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 5 teaspoons chopped shallot
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 egg beaten

SAUCE

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage

Directions

1. Place the flour in a large bowl, then make a well in the center.
2. Beat together 5 eggs and oil, then pour into the well in the flour. Stir together, forming a ball.
3. Place the dough on a floured surface, then knead until smooth and elastic, adding flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking.
4. Cover, and let rest for 30 minutes.
5. In a large skillet, saute pumpkin and shallot in butter until tender.
6. Transfer to a food processor, then add sage, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cover and process until blended.
7. Return the mixture to the pan, stir in the cream and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
8. Reduce heat, and summer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until thickened. Discard the bay leaf.
9. Divide the pasta dough into fourths. Roll one portion to 1/16" thickness. Quickly place rounded spoonfulls of filling 1" apart over half of the sheet of pasta.
10. Brush around the filling with the beaten egg. Fold the sheet of pasta in half, and press down to seal. Cut into squares wit ha pastry wheel.
11. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
12. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli, and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until ravioli floats. Drain.
13. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Let cook uncovered until reduced by half. Stir in butter and sage. Serve over Ravioli. Optionally, also add grated Parmesan cheese.
14. Enjoy!

Seasonal Recipe: Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

One dessert that just screams "Autumn" is the classic pumpkin pie. This velvety pie loaded with our favorite spices and pairs well with so many of our favorite seasonal dishes. Thanks to canning, a delicious, warm pumpkin pie is never far away, however there's just something missing when we get pureed pumpkin from a can. Not only is it more satisfying to roast your own pumpkin, but it's more delicious in the end as well.

For today's recipe, we're leaving those cans in the store and using fresh pumpkin to fill our pies. All you have to do is roast the pumpkins similar to what is called for in our Whole Pumpkin Soup. Take a sugar pumpkin, cut off the stem, then cut in half and scoop out the goopy bits and seeds.  Cut into quarters, roast for 45 minutes at 350F, then peel away the skin. Scroll below for our full recipe...

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

Ingredients

FILLING

• 2 cups pumpkin pul puree (instructions above)
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk.
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

CRUST

• 1 1/2 cups flour (reserve extra for dusting work surface)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 8 tablespoon cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Start wit hthe crust. Whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves in a medium bowl.
3. Add butter, and mix in until it's combined into about pea-sized pieces.
4. Add 4 tablespoons ice water to the mix and combine just until the dough combes together.
5. Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, work on the filling. Mix sugars, salt, spices, and lemon zest into a large bowl.
7. Beat the eggs and add to the mix.
8. Stir in the pumpkin puree.
9. Stir in the cream.
10. Whisk together until incorporated.
11. Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough into a round about 12" in diameter and 1/4" thick.
12. Roll the dough out into a  9" pie plate and fold the excess at the edges under itself. Crimp the edges to seal.
13. Pour the filling into the pie shell and make sure it's even.
14. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350F. Bake for another 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
15. Cool on a wire rack for two hours.
16. Serve with whipped cream.
17. Enjoy!

Delicious Bread Recipe: Ginger Pecan Pumpkin-Spice Loaf

Who’s ready for fall? When the days get cooler and the leaves start to turn, it’s nice to have some culinary options to embrace the changing weather. This recipe is perfect for those days! As a general note: this pumpkin loaf is equally as good without any pecans or when using only cinnamon and nutmeg, so if that’s all that’s in the pantry, it’s fine—your house will still smell amazing!

Ginger Pecan Pumpkin Loaf

Ingredients

(Makes two, 9x5 loaves)

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 sticks butter, melted
• 2/3 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter two, 9x5in loaf pans

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda,  and all spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) together.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin purée, pecans, melted butter, sugars, molasses, eggs and water together until blended.

4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

5. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans and bake for 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

6. Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes and run knife along edge of pan to loosen loaf.

Creative Dessert Recipe: Golden Coconut Pumpkin Cake

It’s possible that people have been on the pumpkin/coconut bandwagon for a while now, but it’s a new one for us. That being said, it’s a fantastic combination that we should have been whipping up ages ago! The pumpkin lends sweetness to this cake without being overpowering and the addition of sweetened and unsweetened coconut makes this duo a winning pair. Whether or not you’ve dipped your toes in the (coconut) water, this is certainly a recipe you’ll want to try!

Coconut Pumpkin Cake

(Yields 1 cake)

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin purée
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup coconut oil (or oil or butter)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

Topping:

• 6-8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk

Directions

1. Grease a 9-inch spring form pan (a rectangular baking dish is also fine) and preheat the oven to 350º F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, sugars, coconut oil and eggs together.
3. Mix in all other “Cake” ingredients and beat until well combined.
4. Pour into baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cake should be springy to the touch.
5. While the cake is baking, mix all “Topping” ingredients in a small bowl.
6. When cake is just about finished, remove from oven and evenly pour on the topping. Then place under broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until the topping is bubble and golden.
7. Remove and enjoy.

Seasonal Snack Recipe: Roasted Pumpkin Fries

A favorite snack updated with a bit of seasonal flavor, these pumpkin fries are a tasty twist on ordinary fries. We love recipes that add in pumpkin where we least expect it; we'd heard of sweet potato fries, but pumpkin fries? Somehow it had never occurred to us to give this try!

It doesn't get much more simple than this recipe-- we're talking just a handful of ingredients and prep time around 15 minutes. Top these babies with crumbled blue cheese, maple balsamic, or whatever else you fancy. If you're a purist, they're plain delicious all by themselves. However you enjoy them, we promise you this: you'll be hooked!

Roasted Pumpkin Fries

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 pumpkin

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 tsp garlic powder 

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Optional: crumbled blue cheese, maple balsamic, or other topping of your choice

 Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Slice pumpkin in half, then remove seeds. Peel off pumpkin skin using a potato peeler. 

3. Cut pumpkin into 1/4-1/2 inch strips.

4. Mix together olive oil and seasonings in a bowl. Dip pumpkin strips in the bowl so they're coated in the mixture. 

5. Place fries on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

6. Roast fries for 15 minutes or until tender. Raise temperature to 400 F and broil the fries for another 3 minutes until they're nice and crispy.

7. Top fries with crumbled blue cheese, drizzled balsamic, or another topping of your choice. Enjoy!

Perfectly Simple Fall Dessert: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

You may have noticed this already, but we have no shame in sharing our love for pumpkin treats around here—we hope you don’t mind... These pumpkin muffins are the perfect snack to whip up because they are so easy and so yummy! If you’re a wizard with a mixer, they’re ready in close to half an hour and after the first batch you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t want seconds. For those of you out there who share our appreciation of anything pumpkin- (or chocolate-) related, you have to try these!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

(Yields approx. 2 dozen, large muffins)

Ingredients 

3 cups app-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F and line your muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a bowl, sift your flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat your eggs and sugar together. Mix in pumpkin puree and canola oil.
4. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Mix well and fold in chocolate chips.
5. Fill your muffin tins with about 1/4 cup of batter, or until 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are springy to the touch and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes, then remove muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Perfect Fall Recipe: Roasted Pumpkin With Walnuts & Honey

For anyone who just can’t get enough of pumpkins, this dish is for you! A lot of the recipes we see and try with pumpkins usually have another “main” ingredient, or something else that shares the spotlight with the pumpkin—not the case with this recipe! Consider the spices, nuts and honey as backup dancers of this kitchen number. Pumpkin is the frontrunner of this recipe because it has amazing flavor on its own and needs our undivided attention!

Roasted Pumpkin With Walnuts

Serves 4-6

 Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pound pumpkin, sliced, skin on
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2-1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Rinse pumpkin under warm water to rinse off any dirt. Pat dry and cut in half. Scoop out seeds from the center (save if you want to roast them later) and cut thin slices (as though you were cutting a cantaloupe) and set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves and mix well.
4. Dip each side of pumpkin slice in the cinnamon mixture and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with honey.
5. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until pumpkins are caramelized and tender.
6. In a pan over medium heat, toast walnuts until fragrant and crispy.
7. Remove pumpkin from oven and serve with walnuts.