Pumpkin Dip

Have you ever had to go to a party or “bring a dish to pass” event and brought chips and dip? Or something from the deli and just put it in your own bowl hoping no one would notice the telltale taste of preservatives or whatever it is they put in the potato salad that has that chemically sweet aftertaste?

There is an alternative that is almost as fast and is a bit more impressive: Homemade Dips.

Today I went to my grandmother’s funeral. After battling cancer for three years, she passed away last Sunday. Needless to say, I haven’t felt much like cooking, and I have two Christmas parties – one tonight and the other tomorrow night. So I decided to put the Pumpkin Dip recipe from Simply in Season to the test.

This is one of those recipes where a Kitchen Aid comes in handy. Simply dump 12 ounces of softened cream cheese into the bowl and turn on the beater. Then add 1 C brown sugar. When that is beaten well, add 1 C of pumpkin (cooked and pureed), 4 tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg. I came up with the nutmeg idea all myself. Aren’t you proud of me?

When it’s all blended up it will be nice and fluffy. Serve with gingersnaps or apples.

The verdict: I loved the extra dash of nutmeg. DH said it was very good, although the gingersnaps were hard. Well, they were store bought, what do you expect? Had I not had a busy week I would have made some homemade, but hey–at least I made *something* homemade for this party and didn’t just bring a bag of Doritos.

This post linked to:

~ Monday Munchies hosted by The Krazy Kitchen

You may also like:

1. Winter Squash/Pumpkin Bars
2. Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake
3. Pumpkin Sausage Pasta
4. Pumpkin Pecan Pie
5. Nutty Pumpkin Bread