Let the Fall baking begin, save money and make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice and Pumpkin Puree.
Pumpkin pancakes, cookies, pies and lattes, all good reasons to have pumpkin pie spice available. This year why not make my own, if you're like me you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry. I'll admit my spice and herb shelf overflows with a ridiculous amount of items I had completely forgotten. I finally buckled down and reorganized my stash of herbs and spices, no more falling in my face spice jars when I open the pantry.
As I organized I realized I didn't need to purchase a lot of these spices and herbs. That's when I decided to make my own pumpkin pie spice, I had all the ingredients.
Just mix and store in an airtight container and you'll have your very own flavor of the season ready for use whenever you need it.
Since I was in a make-my-own mode I decided to make my own pumpkin puree. Did you know that often times the pumpkin sold in cans is actually squash and not true pie pumpkin. Making your own pumpkin puree is not that difficult, and here's how.
You'll need a pie pumpkin, the smaller pumpkins about the size of a child's head. Start by washing the skin, slice using a large knife and scoop out the seeds and fibers.
Place face down on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about an hour and a half or until you can easily pierce it with a fork.
After the pumpkin has cooled slightly you can scoop the insides or just peel the skin.
Use a blender to puree the pumpkin flesh until smooth.
Because there is a bit of water in pumpkin, it's beat to strain several hours or overnight. I strained mine over a flour sack cloth. After draining I had about 2 cups of pumpkin puree.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: ¾ cup 1x
Ingredients
- ¼ cup ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground mace
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground allspice
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a small bowl, whisk to combine. Store in a spice jar or airtight container.
Pumpkin Puree
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 mins
- Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients
- pie pumpkin
Instructions
- Wash the skin of pumpkin.
- Slice using a large knife, place face dow on a parchment lined baking pan.
- Bake for 1 ½ hours or until you can easily pierce with a fork.
- Allow to cool a bit before peeling the skin from the flesh. If unable to peel, simply scoop the flesh out.
- Blend until completely smooth in a blender.
- Drain puree over a cheesecloth or flour sack cloth for several hours or overnight.
- Use immediately or place in an airtight container and store in the fridge.
There you have it, your very own pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin puree.
[…] I made a batch before going to bed and took them to work to share and they were a big hit. So add this one to your pumpkin repertoire. If you’re like me you don’t always have pumpkin pie spice available or if you do it’s leftover from last year and has lost is pop. The solution, make your own, here’s my recipe for Pumpkin Pie Spice. […]