This is the last of the homemade food gifts blog for this year (but fear not! The holiday blogs are not over!). And, as a dog lover, I thought what better way to end than with a treat for your furry canine friends? You only need four ingredients for these treats—they come together quickly, cook quickly, and our dogs go crazy over them! Plus, they’re full of good-for-them ingredients! Talk about a perfect gift for your dog (or dogs)!…
Spiced Pumpkin and Carrot Soup
It’s still warmish during the mid-days around here, but the mornings and evenings are chilly! And what’s better for chilly evenings than soup? Especially this ultra-flavorful, velvety spiced pumpkin and carrot soup that uses the best of fall’s produce!
When we moved last month, I found the pumpkin puree I made last year from the little sugar pumpkins. I had to use it, but for what? I also had some carrots that needed to be used up, and then the idea popped into my head—soup!
Also, one of my favorite things during the cold months (besides soup) is something with spice in it—it just gives me that warm, cozy feeling, and this soup does just that! It’s absolutely packed full of bright, warm flavors and a little bit of spice to warm you up even on the coldest of days!…
Simple No-Bake Pumpkin Cookie Butter Cheesecake
Yes, Thanksgiving and turkey season may be over, but pumpkin season isn’t! December (can you believe it’s December?!) is the month of desserts! My husband created this recipe and made it for Thanksgiving, but it’s the dessert perfect for any holiday or dinner party. No-bake means it’s simple to make and it incorporates the sweet, comforting tastes of the season with pumpkin cookie butter, all in a silky, luscious, cheesecake!
The holidays are stressful enough, which is what makes this such a wonderful dessert. You can easily make it a day or three ahead of time, leaving you plenty of time to cook or do any of the hundreds of other things you have to do at this time of year. And because it’s no-bake, there are no eggs, no need to use the oven or a pan of water that leaks through. Just beat all the ingredients into submission, put them into a crust, and you’re done!
The Recipe
You only need a handful of ingredients for this recipe, one of which is Cool Whip® or another type of non-dairy whip. It adds the light creaminess needed for cheesecake and takes the places of the eggs (which keep everything together).
Another note: honestly, the only place I can find this pumpkin cookie butter is Trader Joe’s, and it’s a seasonal item. I’m not entirely sure where else to find this type of cookie butter, but please let me know if you find one! However, if you can’t find cookie butter, increase the pumpkin by half a cup and the pumpkin pie spice by a teaspoon.
Simple No-Bake Pumpkin Cookie Butter Cheesecake
Prep time
Total time
This no-bake cheesecake is fast, simple, silky, and full of the flavors of the season!
Author: Samantha Gallegos
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Holiday
Serves: 6 to 8
Ingredients
- 1 tub of Cool Whip®
- 12 oz. of cream cheese
- ½ C. of pumpkin cookie butter
- ½ C. of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp. of vanilla
- 1 tsp. or pumpkin pie spice
- 1 crust (either made or store bought)
Instructions
- Combine the cream cheese, butter, pumpkin puree, pumpkin cookie butter, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice in the bowl of a stand mixer, or a regular bowl if you only have a hand mixer.
- Beat on high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy and fully combined.
- Mix in the Cool Whip®, or beat on low speed, until fully combined.
- Pour mixture into the pie crust.
- Allow to sit in the fridge for at least two hours, then serve (and enjoy)!
‘Till next time!
How To: Make Your Own Pumpkin Purée
Canned pumpkin purée is perfectly fine, but there’s something about the taste of fresh, homemade pumpkin purée. It’s more pumpkin-ey, which makes anything made with it taste that much better, and richer.October is almost over—can you believe it? I can’t. I’ve never had a year go by so quickly.
Just like in last week’s Friday Bits blog on roasting squash and maple roasted butternut squash, we’re right in the middle of squash and pumpkin season. There’s pumpkin absolutely everywhere (have you read Trader Joe’s “Frequent Flyer”?), including pies, muffins, cakes, and cookies.
What goes in to all of those baked good?
Pumpkin purée!
It is a bit more work than opening a can (and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!), but making homemade pumpkin purée isn’t too much work so give it a try! It’s always kind of fun baking with pumpkin purée you’ve made from scratch!
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