Dessert in a Pumpkin

I have a recipe in my recipe box that I cut out from a Sunset Magazine over 30 years ago.  It is a recipe for Rice pudding in a Pumpkin Shell. I thought it looked so good, and was always going to make it, but never seemed to get around to it. I decided this Fall I would attempt "something like it".    It would go along with last year's "Dinner in a Pumpkin".  I wanted a pumpkin pie type of filling for this one, so I put together a recipe inspired by a few that I had seen on Pinterest titled "Impossible Pumpkin Pie" or  "Magic Pumpkin Cake" recipes.  These recipes are like a Pumpkin Pie, but add flour to the filling which creates a cross between pie, cake or muffin texture.  I loved the little pumpkins as "ramekins", and discovered that they worked wonderfully.   The larger "Sugar" Pumpkins were  also delicious, the filling came out with a more pudding like texture.  Either way… this is something fun to do for dessert during the fall… and a great way to use those pumpkins.

Cut off the top of the pumpkin

Scrape out the seeds and stringy pulp.

I like to put the pumpkin seeds to soak in some salty water for roasting later.

Pour Butter and Sucanat over the bottom and spread evenly over the bottom of the inside of the 

pumpkin.

Mix together filling ingredients.

Pour the filling into the pumpkin. Fill it almost to the top.

Measure topping ingredients into a bowl.

Mix together until crumbly.

Pour topping ingredients  on top of pumpkin filling.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 20 minutes.  

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Dessert in a Pumpkin

Filling:
1/2 stick butter melted

1/2 cup Sucanat
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup Sucanat or Coconut Sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup half and half
2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon clove

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

For the topping:

1 cups flour
1 cup Sucanat or Coconut Sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup cold butter, diced



1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.     Take the tops off of the pumpkins and clean out the seeds and stringy pumpkin strands.
        Use a spoon to scrape the inside of the pumpkin clean.
3.     Drizzle butter inside the pumpkin, and spread evenly around the inside of the pumpkin.
4.     Sprinkle with Sucanat or Coconut Sugar.  Set aside.
5.     Mix together pumpkin, 3/4 cup Sucanat, eggs, vanilla extract, spices and milk. Mix together
        the flour, salt,
        baking powder and baking soda to the mixture.
6.     Place pumpkins onto a greased cookie sheet and fill with filling.  You can fill it up to the top.
7.     In a separate bowl, make a crumble topping by combining the topping ingredients together.
8.     Mix with a mixer until mixture resembles course crumbs.
9.     Generously pour crumble topping on top of pumpkins. Cover with foil.
10.   Place cookie sheet into oven.  Once solidly on a baking rack, pour 2 cups of water into baking  
        sheet.
11.   Bake for 40 minutes covered. Uncover and bake another 20
        minutes.  The Large pie pumpkins      
        require another 30 minutes (covered baking time).
12.   Cool as you would pumpkin pie and Serve.

Makes 8 mini Pumpkins, or 2-3 small pie pumpkins

Enjoy!