Pumpkin

Last year I asked Derek's grandma how to make a pumpkin pie from scratch - you know, by starting out with an actual pumpkin.  Since I love cooking things from scratch, it drives me crazy that every recipe calls for "a can of pumpkin." She gave me a detailed description of how to go about cooking the pumpkin and concluded her instructions with, "And that's why they sell it in a can." :)  But she didn't scare me from trying.  So, this spring I planted eight pumpkin seeds in the garden - a smaller variety of pumpkin suggested specifically to use for baking.  Before we knew it, the pumpkin vines had taken over two of the raised garden beds and a big patch in the backyard.  We think that they cross-pollinated with some of the cucumbers and we had huge orange cukes.  Some of the vines had actually grown up into the corn stalks and there was even a bud up at the top of one of them.  Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is, I only wanted/needed a few pumpkins, but we ended up with close to 100.

Polly with pumpkins 10.1.11

I gave some away, but most people want them for Jack-O-Lanterns and pie pumpkins are much smaller and not good for carving.  Most of them will go to feed the wildlife, but I have succeeded in cooking with a number of them.

To prepare the pumpkin for baking:  

Wash the outside of the pumpkin.

Cut it in half.

Remove the stem and scrape out the seeds and "stringy" parts.

Put the halves of the pumpkin open face down in a baking pan.

Cover with foil and bake in a 350F degree oven for about an hour.

Let the pumpkin cool, and then scrape the soft inside parts from the skin.

Then, use two cups of the the fresh pumpkin "mash" in any recipe that calls for a "can" of pumpkin.

The pumpkin mash also freezes well, so you can put some away for another time.

I started out by cooking pumpkin pie, and pumpkin spice bars, but I wanted to try a new recipe.  Last night, I tried this recipe for Soft Pumpkin Cookies from a friend's blog.  They are amazing - soft like cake - and they are not going to last long in this house.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies 11.13.11

SOFT PUMPKIN COOKIES

2 1/2 CUPS FLOUR
1 TEASPOON BAKING SODA
1 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER
1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
1/2 TEASPOON GROUND NUTMEG
1/2 TEASPOON SALT
1 CUP SUGAR
1/2 CUP BROWN SUGAR
1/2 CUP BUTTER, SOFTENED
2 CUPS FRESH PUMPKIN PUREE OR 1 CAN PURE PUMPKIN
1 LARGE EGG
1 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES F. GREASE BAKING SHEETS.

COMBINE: FLOUR, BAKING SODA, BAKING POWDER, CINNAMON, NUTMEG, AND SALT IN MEDIUM BOWL. BEAT SUGAR AND BUTTER IN LARGE MIXER BOWL UNTIL WELL BLENDED. BEAT IN PUMPKIN, EGG AND VANILLA EXTRACT UNTIL SMOOTH. GRADUALLY BEAT IN FLOUR MIXTURE. DROP BY ROUNDED TABLESPOON ONTO PREPARED BAKING SHEETS.

BAKE FOR 15-18 MINUTES OR UNTIL EDGES ARE FIRM. COOL ON BAKING SHEETS FOR 2 MINUTES; REMOVE TO WIRE RACKS TO COOL COMPLETELY.

GLAZE:
COMBINE 2 CUPS SIFTED POWDERED SUGAR, 3 TABLESPOONS MILK, 1 TABLESPOON MELTED BUTTER AND 1 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT IN SMALL BOWL UNTIL SMOOTH.

YIELDS: 36 COOKIES