Renny's Recipes: Homemade Pumpkin Puree

It is fall, and fall is the time for all things PUMPKIN! Honestly, I know everyone is like "pumpkin spice" this and "pumpkin spice" that, which is fine, but pumpkin spice is just... spices. There is no actual pumpkin in it. Personally, I love pumpkin. I love squash generally, but pumpkin is my favorite. You can buy canned pumpkin, but I enjoy making my own pumpkin puree. It's really so easy, and I feel like it gives my pumpkin dishes a different flavor than the canned stuff.

So I am here this week to show you how to make your own. It is so easy! I only used one pumpkin for this demo, but you can definitely use more than one at a time. First, get your pumpkins. The pie pumpkins they sell in the store are typically the best, and the ones I always use. Although I plan on planting pumpkin in our garden so next year I'll have an abundance of pumpkin to choose from!

Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place a metal pan with water inside on the bottom rack.
Using a large, sharp knife, cut your stem off the top like in the picture above, then cut the pumpkin in half.
​Scoop out the seeds from the inside using a metal spoon. I like using metal because it scrapes the stringy parts out better.

You can save the seeds for toasting if you'd like! Toss on some seasoned salt for something savory, or a little cinnamon and sugar for something sweet. Once your pumpkins look like the picture above place them cut side down on a large baking sheet. 
Then put them in the oven and roast them for about an hour. If you do more than one pumpkin at a time you may need a little longer, just keep track and take them out when the rind is soft to the touch and squishes in a little when poked.
​Take them out of the oven and LET THEM COOL! (Or you'll burn your hands.) Then you can use a spoon to scoop out the insides.

The half on the left is the one I haven't done yet. The half on the right is the empty shell after I scooped the filling out. Now, when it's scooped out you can put it in a blender, or use an immersion blender. When I did this pumpkin I used my Ninja. It worked pretty well but I had to stop from time to time to scrape the pumpkin off the sides and I think I like my immersion blender for this the best. If you feel like the pumpkin is too thick you can add a little water. Just blend the pumpkin until it's a smooth puree. 
If you think the puree is a little too runny for your taste you can drain out the water. Just take a colander and place a linen towel inside. Scoop your puree into there. You can press down, or wrap the towel and squeeze depending on how much you want out. I usually don't add or take away water because having the pan of water in the oven helps them stay as moist as I want them.

This is my finished product after one small pie pumpkin. I'd say it made somewhere between 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups of pumpkin. So if you did several pumpkins you can get a good idea of how much puree you can make at one time!
I am planning on using this pumpkin this weekend when I make my pumpkin cinnamon rolls for our church's General Conference.
I will probably also make more for when I make my pumpkin chili for our ward's (like a congregation) Trunk or Treat Halloween Party in October! See, there are so many wonderful uses for pumpkin!