Winter Squash & Pumpkin Recipes

Basic Baked Squash
No peeling required, it's easy-peasy and downright delicious! 

Whole winter squash
Oil (butter, ghee, or coconut oil)
Salt & sweet spices (optional: cinnamon, cardamom, clove, nutmeg)

Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds. Place halves face down on baking pan. Bake for 45 min at 350 degrees (bake Delicata for only 30 min). Remove from oven, turn squash face up, add a dollup of butter, sprinkle with a dash of salt and/or sweet spices and serve hot. To eat, scoop soft, creamy flesh with a spoon leaving the skin behind. Alternatively, cut into sections and eat skin and all!  Enjoy!
-- Recipe by Erica Kempter

Squash Soup
No peeling required, it's easy and will warm your entire being on cold nights. 

Whole winter squash
Oil (butter, ghee, or coconut oil)
Onions, chopped
Sweet spices (optional: cinnamon, cardamom, clove, nutmeg)
Apples or apple juice and/or orange juice
Water and/or chicken stock
Salt

Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds. Place halves face down on baking pan. Bake for 45 min at 350 degrees (bake Delicata for only 30 min). Meanwhile, saute onions in oil in a large pot. Add sweet spices to oil and saute (aka "chaunce") for 1-2 minutes.

Remove squash from oven and allow to cool. Scoop out squash flesh with a spoon and place into large pot. Add apples or apples juice, butter or coconut oil, and salt. Add water (or chicken stock) and blend with immersion or traditional blender. If soup is not sweet enough, add maple syrup. Enjoy hot!
-- Recipe by Erica Kempter

Amanda's Crispy Squash Skins
Squash skins
Oil (olive oil, butter, ghee, or coconut oil)
Salt & pepper
Use a smooth-skin type of winter squash like Butterbush, Thelma Sanders, or Butternut. Prepare squash as usual (in half, facedown in the oven for 45 min at 350 degrees.) Scoop out the flesh and use as usual. Take the skins and tear or cut them into chip size pieces. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Either saute them in a skillet on medium/high heat or bake, one layer deep, in the oven at 375 degrees for 10-20 minutes until crispy. Enjoy!
-- Recipe by Amanda Klain

 

Maple Pumpkin Pie

4 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 large eggs
1 can (12 oz each) of evaporated milk

1) Mix all ingredients together using a whisk or mixer.

2) Bake at 400F for 45-55 minutes.

3) Enjoy!


-- Recipe by Janice Leach of Why Not Pie?

 

Pumpkin Love (Because Winter Squash Love doesn't sound nearly as good)

For the Custard:
2 c Pumpkin/Winter Squash Puree
1 c Milk
1 c Cream
1/2 c Brown Sugar (dark or light)
1/2 c White Sugar
1.5 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Cloves
2 Tbsp Flour
1 Eggs lightly beaten

For the Streusel Topping:
1/2 c Flour
1/3 c Butter
1/3 c Sugar
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 pinch Salt if using unsalted butter
 

1. Preheat your oven to 450.

2. In a large bowl combine pumpkin, milk, cream, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Mix well.

3. Add in the two eggs and the flour and mix really well to incorporate the eggs. Pour into a 9x9 baking dish.

4. Bake for 10 minutes at 450. Turn down the heat to 350 and bake 50 minutes. Top with streusel topping (see below) and bake at 325 for another 20 minutes. Check that the center of the custard is set and enjoy warm with whipped cream.

Streusel Topping: Cream butter with sugar until smooth and pale. Add in flour, cornstarch and salt and mix well. It should form coarse crumbs at this point. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the pumpkin custard.

-- Recipe by Skye Rollings

Pumpkin Pie with a Gluten-Free Pecan Crust

For the crust:

1 cup gluten-free rolled oats, processed into a fine flour OR 1 cup GF oat flour
2 cups raw pecans
2 tbsp natural cane sugar
3 tbsp ground flax
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup brown rice syrup or honey (acts as the binder)
1 tbsp Earth Balance or coconut oil, melted

For the filling:
2 1/4 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) or fresh homemade puree
1/2 cup natural cane sugar or brown sugar
1/4 cup full-fat coconut cream, softened (this is different than coconut milk! Or you can use the solid part of the milk that often rises to the top of the can)
1 tbsp Earth Balance, softened (or coconut oil)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves

Directions

For the crust:

1) Grease a 9-inch pie dish very well and preheat the oven to 350F. In a blender, process your oats into a very fine flour.

2) In a food processor, add 2 cups pecans and process until it starts to clump and oils start to release (about 35 secs), but don't make pecan butter either. You should be able to make a ball with the pecan dough.

3) Melt Earth Balance with brown rice syrup for about 30 secs in microwave. Stir. Transfer clumpy pecan mixture into a large bowl and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Using your hands, squeeze the dough over and over to combine very well. You should be able to form a ball with it. If it's too dry, add a bit of water.

4) Spoon the pecan dough onto pie dish and smooth out evenly. Press down firmly with fingers to form a crust, bringing it up along the sides. Press as firmly as you can. Prick base with fork 12-13 times. Prebake the crust at 350F for 9-12 minutes, watching closely so it doesn't burn. Remove and cool for 10 mins.

For the filling:

1) In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch). Now add all ingredients and whisk together, adjusting spices to taste. Add more sweetener if desired.

To bake:

1) Scoop the filling into crust and smooth. Cover crust with crush shield (or tin foil). Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350F. Place on cooling rack for 1 hour. Transfer to fridge to set for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight. Do not slice the pie until it has set in the fridge for 3 hours minimum.

2) Slice with a very sharp knife, very slowly and carefully for best results. A bit of crumbling may occur, but that's okay because it's rustic and made from scratch! The main part is it tastes incredible. Yum!


-- Recipe adapted by Jacalyn Webster from Angela Liddon of "The Glow Spot Recipes"

Spicy Squash Dip

5 spring onions, chopped; reserve green tops for garnish
2 tsp olive oil
2 c baked, mashed winter squash (butternut, buttercup, Wisconsin Cheese, hubbard, etc.)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Hot sauce to taste
1/2 c salsa
1/4 c shredded cheese or vegan cheese (opt)

  1. Cut the squash in half and place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake until you can pierce it easily with a knife. This will take 30 mins to 2 hours depending on size of your squash. When it's done, scoop out 2 cups to use in this recipe. Hint: Bake a BIG squash and freeze 2-cup portions to use later!
  2. When your squash is ready, sautee onions in oil. Mix in the squash, spices, salt, and hot sauce, mixing well.
  3. Spread in 9x9 baking dish and top with salsa and cheese. Can be served as-is, or you can microwave or bake until cheese melts.
  4. Serve with tortilla chips as a dip, or use as burrito or quesadilla filling. One of my favorite winter breakfasts is to spread this thickly between corn tortillas. Microwave for 1 minute to heat through. Healthy, portable, and keeps me full until lunch! 

This recipe was inspired by the Calabaza Queso served at Sava's Restaurant in Ann Arbor.

-- Recipe by Emily Springfield

 

Winter Luxury Pumpkin Pie
Try this simple and easy Winter Luxury Pumpkin Pie recipe.
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 - 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk (preferably whole - we used whole goat milk)
2/3 cup (about 6 oz) evaporated milk

 

1) Prepare the pumpkin puree by poking a few holes with a fork into the pumpkin. Trim the stem. Bake the pumpkin whole at 350 degrees until it "slumps" and softens after an hour or so. Be careful - the pumpkin will be really hot once it's out of the oven! Scoop out the inside, separating seeds and strings from flesh. Puree the flesh in a food processor or blender.

2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pie plate with a single pie crust.

3) Mix pumpkin puree, sugar, salt, and spices.

4) In a separate bowl combine eggs, milk, and evaporated milk.

5) Blend milk mixture into pumpkin mixture (texture will be very thin).

6) Pour into pie crust. Bake for 50 minutes or until the center of the pie has begun to set. The pie will continue to set as it cools to room temperature.

7) Enjoy!

P.S. You can also save and bake the seeds, they are a delicious snack while you wait for that pie to come out of the oven!

-- Recipe adapted from Seed Savers Exchange blog, "Winter Luxury Squash: Pumpkin Pie's Dream Come True," Hartwell, Roger, Nov 20, 2012.
 

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