For some reason I had decided that I wanted to take the pumpkins my nephew and I carved for Halloween and make puree. Since the pumpkins were already cleaned all I had to do is cut them up and bake them until soft, then peel off the skin or scoop out the pulp. After that point you just mash it up. I used a tip a friend gave me and used the food processor to do that part. I did the smaller of the two pumpkins Monday and filled a large Gladware container with pumpkin mush. Yesterday I filled another Gladware container and a bowl with more pumpkin mush.

We bagged it up and I currently have 31 cups of pumpkin puree in the freezer. I froze them in 1 cup portions. I've read that it is good for a year, so in the next year my family is going to be getting a lot of pumpkin flavored things. Let's hope they like pumpkin.

Even now that I am finally finished I really don't know why I just felt the need to do it. It was definitely a time consuming process. I have great respect for a friend of mine who does this every year with her pumpkins. If I decide to do this again next year, I'm pretty sure I will be picking smaller pumpkins to carve.

So is anyone willing to share their favorite pumpkin recipes with me? Please? hehe.

I just made White Chocolate Pumpkin Ganache last night. I'm going to make truffles for family and friends. Here is the recipe I used:

White Chocolate Pumpkin Ganache

18 oz. White Chocolate Chips
5 1/2 TBSP Pumpking Puree
8 1/2 tsp heavy cream
1 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Boil the pumpkin, butter, and heavy cream together and pour over chocolate. Stir in spice right before you remove the sauce pan from the stove. Stir until incorporated and the ganache forms. Let it sit overnight, roll into balls and dip in melted chocolate.

It's been in the fridge for a few hours now and has begun to set up beautifully already! The taste is out of this world! I just can't decide if I want to dip the truffles in white chocolate or dark chocolate.

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Let me know how it turns out for you!

I just posted a thread on pumpkin pie recipes. Here is the link:

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=607792&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

I did use the Eagle Brand recipe (which is also the same recipe that was posted from cakebaker197. Everyone LOVED it! The honey pecan pumpkin pie posted from ceshell also looks delicious so I think that's what I'll be trying next time. Good luck!

That pumpkin ganache sounds amazing!

I also make my own pumkin puree. cut pumpkin in half clean out and then bake upside down in oven covered by tin foil. This steams the pumpkin though and once I puree the pumpkin I stew it to evaporate a lot of the moisture.

I made these cupcakes on Monday - they were delicious although I didnt care for the icing recipe, too sweet and not zingy enough. The double batch made 3 doz. cupcakes and 2 8" cakes.

http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/chocolate-pumpkin-cake-cupcakes-3922