Canned pumpkin is a great addition to food storage. It will store for years on your shelf and it’s loaded with great nutrition including plentiful Vitamin A, alpha and beta-carotenes, magnesium, potassium and iron. It’s also a good source of Vitamins C, K, and E. If that’s not enough to convince you to store a few cans, there are 3.5 grams of fiber in one half cup of canned pumpkin! I made my first pumpkin pies last November, but I typically stock pumpkin for this favorite muffin recipe:
PUMPKIN STREUSEL MUFFINS
Combine dry ingredients:
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
Then add:
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
2 eggs, beaten (or 2 Tbsp. powdered eggs + 1/4 c. water)
1/2 c. oil (I use 1/4 c. oil + 1/4 c. applesauce)
10-11 oz. applesauce (or you can use grated apples or crushed pineapple)
Pour into greased muffin tins and top with streusel mixture.
STREUSEL:
4 T. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
8 Tbsp. butter
Cut butter into flour, sugar and cinnamon until it forms a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle onto muffin batter.
Bake muffins at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Yield: 2 dozen
Another popular way to use canned pumpkin is in cookies. This week I product-tested a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix from Alison’s Pantry that was delicious (and made my kitchen smell fantastic)! Spiced pumpkin and chocolate go together like Autumn and crunchy leaves! The cookies looked and tasted just like my favorite recipe, but whipped up in about 5 minutes. I loved them warm from the oven, while the chocolate chips were still gooey! My daughter actually took a plate of them to a party and no one would have guessed they were from a mix. This mix is also convenient for food storage because it only requires oil and a can of pumpkin. The package will make about 96 cookies and costs
$7.69.