This is a story of how I made my own pumpkin puree and how it was awesome and not scary. This is also the story of how I put the puree in things like my morning oatmeal and pumpkin bread.

Here’s a warning – do not get that pumpkin pie filling stuff. Use pumpkin puree for all your pumpkin cooking and baking needs. You can get it canned this time of year (and only this time of year. Why??), or you can make it yourself. I promise you up and down and all around that making your own is not hard to do. You will need a bit of time. I’d suggest making the puree either the day before you plan on actually using it and then storing it in the fridge, or just giving yourself a couple of hours for puree-making + using puree. All this recipe involves is cutting up the pumpkin into quarters, baking it, peeling off the skin, and pureeing it.

So I spotted pie pumpkins in my Farm Fresh…err, nope GREEN Bean Delivery (they changed their name FYI), and decided it was high time I stopped buying cans of pumpkin. Pie pumpkins are smaller than your average pumpkin, but really I think you can make puree out of any kind of pumpkin. They all seem to be the same to me.

Now you have your pumpkin puree plan. What will you do with it? I suggest pumpkin bread. Or oatmeal. Or put a bit in your favorite pancakes. There are tons of recipes out there. I’m going to attempt to try a few more this fall.

I had one thing in mind for my puree: pumpkin bread. One of Adam’s all-time favorite baked goods is pumpkin bread, and a couple of years ago his mom gave me her recipe (this was also the same time she gave me the potato chip cookie recipe. So now I can pretend to be Adam’s mom by baking him pumpkin bread. And that’s not weird at all.

Make this pumpkin bread. It’s spicy (in a cinnamon and nutmeg sort of spicy way) and pumpkin-y, and never dries out. This time I topped it with cinnamon cream cheese icing, but it’s equally delicious plain.

Pumpkin Puree
recipe from My Kitchen Addiction
yields about 3 cups

All you need is a pumpkin!

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Cut off the pumpkin top right by the stem. Scoop out all the seeds and stringy, gooey stuff. Now cut the pumpkin into quarters.

Put the pumpkin on the baking sheet, cut side down. Bake until a fork goes into the pumpkin easily, about 45-60 minutes.

Remove the pumpkin from the oven and let it cool completely. Remove the skin. Place the pumpkin into a blender or food processor and puree it. That’s all!

Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
makes two loaves with enough icing for both
pumpkin bread from Debbie Coffin,
Icing adapted from Will Run For Food

Ingredients

For the bread
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
2 cups pumpkin puree (that’s a 16 ounce can)
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup cold water

For the icing
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-4 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

Make the bread. Preheat your oven to 350°. Cream together the oil and sugars in a large bowl. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix in the pumpkin puree.

In a medium bowl mix together all the dry ingredients (that’s allspice through flour). Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the cold water.

Bake in two greased loaf pans for 45-55 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

Make the icing. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the cinnamon, and gradually add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Add the milk and more powdered sugar (if needed) until you get your desired consistency.