Stocking up:

How do you make pumpkin puree from scratch? I’m glad you asked. But before I really get into the how-to, I’ll give you a little backstory. Once upon a time there was a girl named Ash with a dog named Pumpkin. Ash loved her dog, Pumpkin, and also loved pumpkin spice everything. Since fall was right around the corner, Ash felt the seasonal craving of pumpkin once again. Off to the store she went to purchase a few cans of pumpkin puree at her local target. Feeling pretty confident that the store would be well stocked, she made her way down the baking aisle.

Wait, wait… I don’t see.. Peach pie filing and blueberry. The pumpkin is suppose to be right there.. Oh no…

Ash stared in horror and the empty shelf. What was she to do now? Did she dare go to a different store? With no choices left, she went on her hunt to find at least one can. Ash tried every store in a 15 mile radius of her home. She turned to Pinterest in an effort to make herself feel better. Looking up pumpkin recipes left and right. Until she came across another post about how to make pumpkin puree from scratch. From scratch?! Ash hadn’t thought of that before, but she wasn’t afraid of a simple recipe.

The post:

I found a nice little post about how to make pumpkin puree from scratch by Gently Sustainable.

You can see her post here!

There were quite a few posts on the topic but Gently Sustainable’s was the one I followed. It’s a pretty simple recipe/ how-to. Something that I never imagined be so simple. I actually didn’t fully read the post until after I purchased the pumpkins. Because, as I found out, that you don’t want those giant pumpkins that are usually carved into scary or funny faces, you want small pumpkins. Yes, small pumpkins that are called Pumpkin Pie Pumpkin. Geez, that’s a tongue twister. I only figured this out when I looked at the big pumpkins and thought, “I don’t think I’ll be able to stick these in the crock pot OR the oven. I needed smaller ones. As I turned to where target normally places the squash, these smoother, cuter, and more adorable looking pumpkins magically appeared in front of me.

Baby Pumpkins:

The reason for using the small pumpkins is because they are sweeter. Whereas, the big pumpkins are actually grown specifically for carving so they aren’t very sweet. I’m so relieved that my brain was like, “big pumpkin will not work!” Once I came home with two of my new findings, the rest was simple.

Yes, I could make this post shorter but what would the point of that be haha.

Recipe:

1st: Wash the pumpkins (you know… germs)

2nd: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

3rd: Line the cookie sheet with olive oil (lightly) or with parchment paper then sprinkle cinnamon on top before you place the pumpkins done

4th: Cut each pumpkin in half (I wanted to get more pumpkins but two fit perfectly on one sheet)

5th: Pull out the insides of the pumpkins (you can always keep the seeds to make something with but dont ask me i have no idea what for)

6th: Place pumpkins, cut side down, onto the sheet

7th: Place in oven for…. Ok, so Gently Sustainable says that they take about an hour to cook. However, I cooked them for about 30 minutes. The pumpkins only collapsed when I pushed down on them.

8th: Once they are soft enough pull them out of the oven and let them cool. They can be really hot to the touch so please don’t try to scoop right after you pull them from the oven.

9th: After cooling time, scoop out the inside. The skin will basically pull right off. So cool!

10th: I used a hand mixer to mush it up which took about a minute.

11th: Put in frig for about a week or freeze it up to three months. The puree can start to lose its taste after awhile in the freezer so its best eaten before the three months are up.

12th: Eat and Repeat!

Pretty simple right? A recipe for anyone even with no previous cooking history. But there you have it! How to make pumpkin puree from scratch!

Let me know what you guys think!

Keep Baking,

Ash