Understanding Proper Cooking Skills

5 Ways To Enjoy Pumpkin Beyond Pies And Lattes

13 December 2016

Lois Young

If you're a fan of pumpkin pies and pumpkin spiced lattes, then why not branch out and try some other cool pumpkin flavored dishes. There are breakfast items, soups perfect for lunch, dinner dishes, and desserts as well as shakes for after you exercise. Here are some ideas to help get you started.

Pumpkin and Cranberry Corn Muffins

A great variation on classic cranberry corn muffins is to add a bit of pumpkin puree into the mix. When you are in the store looking for pumpkin, you will see two types of canned pumpkin. The first is straight pumpkin puree. This is pure pumpkin and will give your muffins a deep, pumpkin flavor and won't overpower the cranberries. If, on the other hand, you want that spicy flavor that comes with pumpkin pie, you should consider getting a can of pumpkin pie mix. This is pumpkin that is already mixed with the common spices (clove, nutmeg, ginger)  that will be found in the pie, as well as some sugar. If you do use a bit of this in the muffins, adjust the amount of sugar in your muffin recipe so that your muffins won't be too sweet.

Pumpkin Soup

A fun idea would be to make a pumpkin soup. While you can add  pumpkin to lots of different vegetable soups, a popular combination is green apple, butternut squash, and pumpkin. If you're someone who likes to cook from scratch, then this is cool because you can roast the pumpkin and the squash at the same time, then add them to the green apples and vegetable stock, and cook it down and then puree it.

Pumpkin Ravioli

Fans of Italian food will love this variety of the classic Italian pasta dish. Pumpkin is very popular in Italian cooking. It shows up in risottos and also as a filling in ravioli. Instead of cheese or meat, the pasta is filled with a spicy pumpkin mixture. This is an excellent choice for people who are watching their cholesterol and want to avoid cheese or meat.

Pumpkin Flavored Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate fans will love the idea of combining pumpkin and chocolate in a mousse. For this recipe you should steer clear of pumpkin puree, and instead, use pumpkin spice syrup. This has the intense flavor of pumpkin and it can be added to the chocolate, egg yolks, and sugar without ruining the texture of the mousse. Just find your favorite chocolate mousse recipe, and add a touch of pumpkin spice syrup right at the end to add that rich pumpkin flavor.

Pumpkin Flavored Whey Protein Shakes

If you're a gym rat, but still want to get your fix of pumpkin, then why not make your own pumpkin flavored protein shakes. It's not a common flavor in commercially prepared protein shakes, but it's easy enough to make. What you need to get is unflavored whey protein. These are protein powders that don't have any sweeteners ( no sugar, sucralose, or stevia) or any flavors (chocolate, vanilla, berry). They are just plain whey. When you mix them with water, they are pretty bland. But add a few drops of pumpkin spice syrup and you have yourself a pumpkin flavored protein shake that's going to taste amazing.

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