How to Make Pumpkin Puree

Until this summer when I made my Better Than Pumpkin Pie I had never made pumpkin pie before. Therefore, I also had never bought canned pumpkin and used it to make pumpkin pie.  I also never had a mental debate over whether to use canned pumpkin or real pumpkin.

After I made Better Than Pumpkin Pie, I became determined to make my own pumpkin puree to use for real pumpkin pie.

Then I decided that I liked Better Than Pumpkin Pie so much, that there was no need to search out a different pumpkin pie recipe.  Pureeing a pumpkin was still in my future though, only I now planned to use it in a pumpkin bundt cake.

This leads me to today's How To.  Sorry for all the detours.  I wish I could promise that it won't happen again.

You'll want to get yourself a few adorable sugar pumpkins.  Buy them a few weeks before you plan to make your pumpkin puree so that they can decorate your house and make you smile.

One 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree = about one and three quarters cups of puree.  Two sugar pumpkins yielded exactly that for me.

Cut the pumpkins in half.  This is the hardest part.  I wanted to cry and call hubby home from work to do it for me.  If you can make it past this point, you'll be fine.

I should say, if I can make it past this point, you'll be fine.

After cutting the pumpkins in half, scoop all their guts out and place in a small bowl.

Lightly oil a baking sheet and put the pumpkin halves face down.  You'll notice that I cut off the stem of my pumpkin.  This is not necessary.  I just like to make life difficult.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.

While the pumpkin corpses are baking, grab your bowl of pumpkin guts.  Separate the seeds from the gushy innards and discard all traces of orange.  You must get every single speck of orange off or else utter calamity will befall you.

Just kidding.  But I had you worried, didn't I?  

My two sugar pumpkins yielded half a cup of pumpkin seeds.

I decided to make olive oil and sea salt pumpkin seeds.  

Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the seeds and toss lightly.

Add about one teaspoon of sea salt.  Toss lightly.

Put the pumpkin seeds to the side as your pumpkins finish up baking.

For the love of everything pure, holy, and good, let the pumpkin halves cool for five to ten minutes.  I say this because my fingers are still burning due to my impatience.

After the pumpkin halves have cooled, use a spoon to scoop the pumpkin meat off the skin.  If the pumpkin baked long enough, this should be extremely easy.

If you are anything like me you'll look at your pumpkin skin and say, "Gee, I wish I could do something more with this,"

 

And then you'll realize that trash is trash.  So, you'll put those pumpkin skins in the trash.

Puree the pumpkin meat in a blender or food processor.

When it is smooth and looks like baby food, it's ready.

Either use it immediately in pumpkin pie, pumpkin bundt cake, or anything that calls for canned pumpkin or refrigerate or freeze until you're ready to use it.

When all the excitement of pureeing the pumpkin has died down, spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread the pumpkin seeds out.

Bake at 350 until they start to brown or pop off of the pan like popcorn, whichever comes first.  Mine only took about seven minutes.

Toss them in a bowl and feel unashamed as you snack on the entire thing alone.  After all that work pureeing the pumpkins, you've earned this little treat.