We are getting into winter, which means the holidays are coming up quickly. Fall also means harvest which is exciting! We are getting a lot of unique fruits and vegetables that we only get this time of the year. Two of these are pumpkins and squash. This year I decided to try something different. I had my brother pick me up a pie filling pumpkin and I decided I want to make homemade pumpkin pie filling. I’m not going to lie, I’m not an expert on this subject, I got all of my information from here. This website, called Pick Your Own, is a great resource so I suggest you check it out!
I thought it was going to be hard. But honestly, it was not difficult at all! The first thing I’m going to tell you is this, you cannot use a regular jack-o-lantern to make good pie filling. A pumpkin or squash grown for filling is smaller, sweeter and has a smoother texture which is exactly what is needed. The butternut squash is just as tasty as a pumpkin made for pies and really, the canned pie filling is made from a pumpkin-butternut squash cross. Also, bigger is not always better, when I get more into the instructions you will see why.
Instructions
Step 1: First you need to wash the outside of your pumpkin with warm water. No Soap and make sure there isn’t any dirt left.
Step 2: Cut the pumpkin in half. It’s best to use a serrated knife, that’s what I used. It took a lot of elbow grease for me to do it so I would not suggest using a smooth knife, you seriously could hurt yourself if the knife were to slip.
Step 3: Scoop out the seeds. I used a heavy ice cream scoop and I had them scooped out in no time. Feel free to use to seeds to bake and eat or to dry and use as seeds next year.
Step 4: Now it’s time for the fun part- Cooking the pumpkin! There are several ways to cook the pumpkin, but I did it in the oven and found it to be very easy to do. So that is the technique I will talk about. The pumpkin needs to be put in an ovenproof container with a lid on it.
In my experiment I found that cutting the pumpkin into smaller pieces made it cook more even. Remember the more pieces you cut it into the harder it is to scoop off the rind later, so there is a happy medium to this. You need to bake the pumpkin at 350 degree for at least 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, take the container out and stick a fork into a piece of pumpkin. If the fork slides in easily your pumpkin is done, if not, put it in for increment for 10 to 15 minutes and continue checking until done. By 90 minutes in the over your pumpkin should be done.
Step 5: After the pumpkin is cool you need to scoop out the cooked pumpkin. You can do this with a large spoon and if you cooked your pumpkin enough it should scoop out easily and in large chunks.
Step 6: Puree your pumpkin. There are a lot of ways to do this. The idea is to get a smooth consistency. I used my stand mixer because that’s all I have right now and it worked well. Also, keep in mind during the unthawing process that will help to break up some of the filling as well.
Step 7: Freeze your puree. This was the easiest part but also the messiest. I put one cup of filling in each bag and simply put it in the freezer! Pie filling is good for up to 1 year, so make sure you label your bags.
Seriously, making my own pumpkin pie filling was almost as easy as pie. In Part 2 of this series, I will show you how to make your own, homemade pumpkin pie. And let me tell you, it will be delicious.