What to Do with Your Leftover Pumpkin

The holidays are coming and to many of us that brings thoughts of pumpkin pie. This traditional fall dessert is wonderful, but what do you do when you have more pumpkin than you need for your pies? Nobody wants to waste food, but many people associate pumpkin with pie and nothing else. There are lots of great uses for pumpkin however. Here are a few of my favorites.

Pumpkin can easily be added to cakes and cupcakes in place of oil. The pumpkin makes cakes very moist and gives a flavor similar to what you would find in a spice cake. I find that it works best in yellow cakes, but it could be used in any. Be careful about using pumpkin in a cake if you are using a cake mix with pudding because the pudding combined with the pumpkin can make the cake too moist and heavy and it may sink. Pumpkin also works well with nuts and chocolate chips so feel free to mix it even with desserts that have other flavors. Pumpkin is a great ingredient for cheesecakes or layered brownies with cream cheese.

Leftover pumpkin is also wonderful in pancakes and waffles. I suggest adding pumpkin and pecans for a great fall breakfast. It can also be mixed with honey, butter or syrup to give any breakfast bread that extra kick. Some other great combinations for pumpkin are mashed potatoes (the pumpkin also adds great color) or even ice cream.

Please consider experimenting with pumpkin and finding some favorite combinations of your own and if anyone has other suggestions I would welcome them in the comments! Pumpkin is very versatile and can add both nutrients and great flavor to many types of recipes.