Pumpkin Puree

If you have some pumpkins lying around from leftover Halloween decorations, why not use them to make pumpkin puree? I'm not talking about the pumpkins that you carved faces into and lit with a candle! I mean whole, untampered, pumpkins. The puree can be used in lots of delicious desserts such as pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin spice latte and of course, pumpkin pie! And yes, I plan on making some of the above mentioned recipe because I have 6 cups of pumpkin puree just sitting in my fridge right now! Pumpkin puree is so easy to make...



Pumpkin Puree

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium to large sized pumpkin

DIRECTIONS:
Wash the pumpkin.
Then cut off the top portion including the stem.
Now slice the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and as much of the strings as possible. Roast the seeds as seen *here* or discard them.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
Lay both halves of the pumpkin on the cookie sheet cut side down.
Bake for about an hour and a half, checking the pumpkin after an hour.
If the pumpkin is easily pierced with a fork, then its done.
If not, bake about another half hour.
Remove from oven and let sit until able to handle.
Glide the tines of a fork over the pumpkin skin to remove the outer peel.
Discard peel. Place cooked pumpkin meat into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Use a few tablespoons of the liquid from the baking pan if the puree is too thick.
Measure the puree in cups and place in freezer bags to freeze for future use or refrigerate the puree and use in a few days.

This post belongs to My Recipe Journey food blog.