Thanksgiving is synonymous with stuffed turkeys, homemade cranberry sauce, family squabbles, and of course, pumpkin pie. The thick filling – the slightly roasted crust – the whipped cream – it’s the best holiday time machine we’ve got. However, pumpkins deserve way more credit for their versatility and taste; instead of just being cornered into pies, they make amazing breads, face masks, power balls, and more. For Spoon UF’s first recipe roundup of the semester, we decided to make all things pumpkin – no pumpkin pie included. Read below for some of our favorite 10-minute pumpkin recipes!
Pumpkin Pancakes
Who needs regular pancakes when you can have pumpkin ones?! This homemade recipe doesn’t need an Aunt Jemima box or loads of butter for extra taste – just a dash of natural maple syrup and you’ll be thankful you’re not at IHOP.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Crescents
Honestly, there’s no possible way pumpkin, cream cheese, bread, and cinnamon sugar could go wrong. Eating these treats are better than Thanksgiving dinner itself - the filling oozes out of the Pillsbury dough, and your lips are encrusted with sugar crystals. Although the bake time is around 12 minutes, preparing these nuggets takes no time at all – be sure to dust the rolls with sugar before putting them in the oven.
Pumpkin Spice Martini
These martinis are the upgraded versions of grandma’s eggnog - although the amount of vodka is bold, the sterile aftertaste is masked by pumpkin spice and cinnamon sugar on the glass’ rim. Creamy and cheeky, these drinks will make the holidays a blur (literally) and satisfy your sweet tooth.
Pumpkin Power Balls
Power balls are dessert for healthy gym-goers (at least that's how I think of them). As a combination of oatmeal, peanut butter, pumpkin puree, honey, and chocolate chips, these super-foods are almost too easy to prepare. They also last for up to a week in the fridge, which means midnight snacks for a good seven days.
Pumpkin Face Mask
Face masks shouldn’t just be limited to the beauty aisle at Target. Save money and make your own with this pumpkin face mask – mix together pumpkin puree, an egg, and two teaspoons of honey for a moisturizing and healthy mask. Be sure to close your mouth so you don’t swallow the egg!
Pumpkin Bread
This bread is thicc – although the bake time is around 65 minutes, mixing all the ingredients together takes ten minutes or less. Rising high and tasting hearty, this bread is the more delicious and less expensive version of Starbucks’ pumpkin loaf. The bread is crumbly though, so cut with caution.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Oatmeal
Contrary to the photograph above, the recipe we tried was pumpkin cinnamon oatmeal, not a holiday version of Macaroni & Cheese. Featuring your basic oatmeal recipe with a quarter cup of pumpkin puree, this dish is warm and healthy (none of those boxed oatmeal preservatives). I’m a spice girl, so I loaded it up with ground cinnamon and nutmeg as well.
Pumpkin Getting The Attention It Deserves
Innovative pumpkin recipes are in, and they make these nippy months less bland. Other recipes that would be great include roasted pumpkin seeds, spicy pumpkin soup, and pumpkin meringue cookies. Basically, pumpkin puree can be thrown into anything as it adds depth and savory flavor – and it embodies fall!
Special thanks to Spoon UF members Brooke Avedon, Hanna Silverstein, Amanda Vargo, and Hailey Dansby for contributing recipes!