50+ of our Favorite Pumpkin Dessert Recipes - Good Living Guide (2024)

FAQs

Which pumpkin is best for dessert? ›

For cooking, you'll want to use sugar pumpkins (also called pie or sweet pumpkins), which are small and round. Long Island Cheese pumpkins, which are more oblong and can look like a wheel of cheese, are also good to eat. Field pumpkin types are larger, have watery, stringy flesh, and are best for decorating.

To complement pumpkin with sweet flavor pairings, consider using spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla, or sweet ingredients like chocolate, maple, honey, cranberries or brown sugar. Create savory dishes by pairing pumpkin with spices like chilies, cajun, cayenne or pepper.

Cook It on the Stove

Briefly cooking your canned pumpkin purée on the stove can help improve both the flavor and texture. This method helps reduce excess moisture, which gives the pumpkin a superior texture. It also releases the natural pumpkin flavor and helps reduce the metallic taste from the can.

Sugar pumpkins

Also known as pie pumpkins or sweet pumpkins, the sugar pumpkin is perfect for pies because they aren't as stringy and contain less water than other pumpkins. As their name indicates, the sugar pumpkin can be quite sweet compared to other pumpkins.

Try not to mix acidic fruits, such as grapefruits and strawberries, or sub-acidic foods such as apples, pomegranates and peaches, with sweet fruits, such as bananas and raisins for a better digestion. However, you can mix acidic with sub-acidic fruits. For a similar reason, you should not mix guavas and bananas.

Blue cheeses like gorgonzola team up well with the notes of dried fruit typical of pumpkin. Another excellent pairing is with a nice fresh goat's cheese since its acidulous notes offset the sweetness of pumpkin.

the sweet feeling in the mouth with the thick milk is fragrant, entrusts the pumpkin full body milk flavor. it's very tasty, health and so easy to make.

For even more flavor, you can add spices (like the celebrated pumpkin pie spice!) to the purée during the cooking step. Heating spices “blooms” them, releasing their flavorful, fragrant oils.

Pumpkin spice (a.k.a. pumpkin pie spice) is an aromatic blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Sometimes allspice is included. You can buy the spice blend at the store or use ingredients you already have on hand to make DIY pumpkin spice.

Pumpkin is notorious for pairing well with warm winter spices – as found in a variety of Moroccan-inspired cuisines. Try incorporating cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cumin and chilli with your pumpkin dishes for flavour-packed feasts.

What scent compliments pumpkin? ›

Pumpkin Vanilla Scent

Both notes complement each other perfectly. Vanilla carries the proverbial mouth-watering aroma while pumpkin adds a hint of freshness and spiciness. This is the reason why many skincare products like lotions and shower gels come in the pumpkin vanilla fragrance.

Due to its high soluble fiber content, pumpkin is very good for your dog's digestion. If you feed your dog some pumpkin, it will add bulk to their stool. This helps reduce issues with diarrhea. In addition, fermentation of the same fiber produces beneficial fatty acids that supply energy to cells.

Q: My pumpkin pie doesn't taste much like pumpkin. Why not? First off, make sure you're using the right kind of pumpkin! Look for pumpkins labeled "sugar pumpkin" or "baking pumpkin." The pumpkins typically used for jack-o'-lanterns are stringy, watery, and bland.

The best pumpkin pie recipe calls for the sweetest, densest winter squash. Usually, they're cucurbita moschata or cucurbita maxima, as the pepo species is often too mild and watery. Grow buttercup or Musque de Provence within your garden or purchase butternut at the grocery store.

Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin

In this taste test, our Test Kitchen pros found that the biggest name in the pumpkin game does, in fact, make the best canned pumpkin on the market. Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin is a favorite among our culinary crew.

Pie pumpkins, also called sugar pumpkins, usually weigh 1 to 6 pounds. Their flesh is denser and sweeter that the bigger ones, which are called carving or jack-o'-lantern pumpkins.

Smaller pumpkins tend to be sweeter. Pick it up by the stem to make sure it's sturdy. Choose firm, bright-colored pumpkins free of cuts and blemishes. If you're planning on carving it, be sure it's firm and doesn't have any soft spots that could cause it to rot sooner than you'd like.