Pumpkin Spice

November 18, 2022

I have a small fascination with how crazy people go when it comes to the autumn season and pumpkin spice. It pops up everywhere in all the stores and seems like every company comes out with a pumpkin spice flavor. All of a sudden there’s  pumpkin spice protein bars, Kit Kats, and Goldfish. Chloe and I originally wanted to rate Thanksgiving food, but as we did more research we saw more and more pumpkin spice flavored things and we switched our angle to rating weird autumn recipes that people come up with.

Spice up your cooking: four of the weirdest pumpkin spice recipes

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pizza

16 oz. pizza dough

5-6 cups all purpose flour

¼ ounce packet of dry yeast

2 ½ cup warm water

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

½ onion sliced

2 tbsp butter

1 can of pumpkin puree

¼ cup tomatoes diced

3 tbsp garlic minced

2 tsp rosemary

2 tsp basil

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp pumpkin spice

½ cup of water

½ cup each of gouda, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese

To make dough:

Combine yeast and water into a large bowl and mix until yeast is completely dissolved. Let the water and yeast mixture sit for at least ten minutes before adding dry ingredients.

Add the salt, flour, and olive oil into the yeast and water mixture until the mixture is well combined; roughly shape the mixture into a ball and set the dough onto a well floured surface.

Knead the dough until it’s elastic, roughly ten minutes. 

Set the ball of dough into an oiled bowl and cover. Let it rise for an hour or until doubled in size. 

To make pizza:

Preheat the oven to 425 F and oil the pizza pan.

Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add sliced onions once the pan is hot. Cook the onions for about 15 minutes until translucent and browned on the sides.

Meanwhile, combine: pumpkin puree, diced tomatoes, rosemary, basil, parsley, pumpkin spice, and garlic into a large bowl. 

Add the pumpkin puree mixture to the saucepan with onions and add water until the mixture has the consistency of pizza sauce.

Let the mixture simmer for about fifteen minutes; then remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

As the mixture cools, roll out pizza dough into desired shape and set on to oiled pizza pan.

Poke holes into the dough leave about a half an inch margin on the sides to allow the crust to rise. 

Then, smear the pumpkin sauce and cheese onto the pizza and bake for about 20 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.  

Let the pizza cool for about five minutes before cutting and serving.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Custard

1 can of pumpkin puree

2 large eggs 

1 egg yolk

½ cup heavy cream

⅔ cup dark brown sugar

¾ tsp salt 

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Topping

¼ pecans or walnuts finely chopped

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp butter melted

½ cup whipped cream

½ cup heavy cream

¼ cup pure cane sugar

½ tsp salt

To make custard:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Fill a large pan with water until it reaches about half an inch in height. 

In a large bowl, combine; pumpkin puree, eggs and egg yolk, heavy cream, dark brown sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well and pour into six ounce ramekins.

Set the ramekins into the water-filled-pan and bake for about twenty minutes.

While the custard bakes, melt the butter for the topping, and combine with the finely chopped nuts and brown sugar. 

Once the custard finishes baking for the first twenty minutes, take the custard from the oven and gently pour the nut, sugar, and butter mixture on top. During this time, the mixture may sink into the custard but the custard will still cook completely.

Bake the custard for another 25 to 35 minutes until it is completely set. The custard will be done if the custard is slightly separated from the sides of the ramekin once a knife is run in between. 

Let the custard cool before serving or store the custard in the fridge for up to three days.

After the custard is completely cooled, add whipped cream either store bought or homemade.

To make whipped cream: 

Add heavy cream and salt into a medium sized bowl and beat while slowly adding in sugar.

Beat until stiff peaks form or until the cream holds its shape and serve immediately.   

Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Mac and Cheese

2 cups whole milk

1 can of pumpkin 

12 oz. of pasta 

4 tbsp flour 

½ cup each of sharp cheddar and gouda cheese 

3 tbsp salted butter 

1 tbsp pumpkin spice

Salt and pepper to taste 

To make mac and cheese:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add flour to the pan. Stir butter and flour mixture in pan and let cook until golden brown.

Meanwhile, begin boiling pasta in a large pot.

In a separate bowl, mix together milk, pumpkin puree, and spices, then add to butter and flour mixture.

Continue cooking over medium low heat until steaming then add cheese and stir well.

Once the pasta is cooked, add the pasta to the saucepan and serve.

 Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Hummus

Juice of half a lemon

2 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp garlic minced

1 can chickpeas

½ can pumpkin puree 

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika 

1 tsp pumpkin spice

Salt and pepper to taste

To make hummus:

Blend together chickpeas, pumpkin puree, garlic, olive oil, and tahini, in a food processor. Once well blended, add the rest of the ingredients, then salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve hummus in a dish and garnish with olive oil and lemon juice. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to three days.

Pumpkin Spice has its limits

Pumpkin Spice Hummus: 6/10

As soon as I tried the hummus I immediately thought of pumpkin pie, which in all fairness is probably how I was going to feel about all the food I was trying. I like hummus in a normal setting, so I was kind of excited to try it. Honestly, it just tasted like pumpkin puree with spices added. I did find myself going back for more, although the amount I put on my chip was the size of a dime and anything more made me cringe.

Pumpkin Spice Custard: 8/10

I don’t like custard, the texture itself is enough for me. However, the custard from this recipe didn’t have the same texture as usual. It reminded me of a melted marshmallow but without the stickiness. It had a good flavor, but was very rich and I’m not sure I could finish a whole one. Once the homemade whipped cream was added, it was ten times better and this would honestly be a really good alternative to the traditional pumpkin pie. 

Pumpkin Spice Pizza: 9/10

Yes, a 9/10. The pizza was surprisingly very good. There was very little pumpkin taste to the pizza, but I felt the pumpkin sauce added a lot more flavor than traditional pizza might have. It had a lighter taste compared to normal pizza and the mix between the cheese and the sauce went well together. I went back for another piece eagerly. 

Pumpkin Spice Mac and Cheese: 4/10

Take what I said above about cheese and pumpkin going well together and delete it. Why anyone would make something as great as mac and cheese and combine it with pumpkin spice is beyond me. This was disgusting. The cheese hid some of the pumpkin taste but it was still majorly there and the mix between the sweet of the pumpkin and salt of the cheese was not okay. 

Pumpkin spice is the description for most peoples autumn season, and it definitely works for some things. It seems like people just go crazy with the spice, and like most seasonings, you can always add, but you can’t take away. So maybe don’t go turning everything in sight into pumpkin spice. 

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