One of the youngest girls at our table corrected me just as we started this recipe. I was listing the virtues of this deep orange veggie, packed with Beta-carotene that turns into vitamin A. "Wait!" she said. A pumpkin is a FRUIT. It has seeds, doesn't it?" That sent me to the web -- and she was right! Not a veggie. Tomatoes and avocados belong in the fruit category, too.
If it's hard to believe that this dip tastes amazing, consider that it's a little like pumpkin cheesecake - dipped with a cracker or pretzel. There is a wonderful sweet/salty chemistry.
Ingredients
- 1 15-oz. can of pumpkin
- 1 8-oz. package of reduced-fat cream cheese or Neufchatel, softened
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Spoonful of plain or vanilla yogurt as topping, or to swirl in.
- Pretzels, graham crackers, whole-wheat bagels, or other “dippers”
Instructions
- Beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer or whisk, and add the pumpkin.
- Mix in the powdered sugar, and the spices. Taste, and adjust spices to your liking.
- Put the mixture into a bowl, or several small bowls, and top with a dollop of plain, vanilla or tart yogurt which you can swirl in a spiral. Top with more cinnamon if desired. Serve with pretzel sticks.*
More Information
*After a pretzel taste-test, the kids preferred Pretzel Slims from Trader Joe’s, closely followed by chunky Honey-Whole Wheat Pretzel Sticks and regular whole wheat pretzels. But any type will do. Also try whole-grain bagel slices, graham crackers, Wheat Thins or whatever you like.
The recipe comes from my friend Sharon, whose family used to make it for the holidays and now enjoys it all year!
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