Stuffed Halloween Mini-Pumpkins

Halloween treats for your dinner guests.

I was needing recipes for this blog for Halloween.  After looking around the internet and through some books, I came upon this recipe for those cute little mini-pumpkins that people decorate with around the holidays.  I never thought about whether you could eat these.  They are quite tasty, but you don't eat the skin.  When presenting these little beauties, be sure to tell your guests to scoop the goodies out of the pumpkin and leave the rind.

As a courtesy, I adapted my recipe from the one on this wonderful food blog Kumquat Blog. I did a few things different, but she has some great  recipes and pictures over there. Thanks to Gretchen for a wonderful blog, I love it.

Ingredients
4 mini-pumpkins (get the bigger ones)
1 lg apple (I like the Honey Crisp)
3 tbs sugar (you can use brown sugar)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs butter (melted)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Heading into the oven.

Preparation
First preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the tops off your pumpkins as in the photo and scoop out all the seeds and goo from the inside. Combine the sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. spoon about a half teaspoon of this mixture in each pumpkin and rub it around inside.

Next dice up your apple (skin on) very small.  Combine the diced apple, melted butter, vanilla extract, remaining spice/sugar mix, and your walnuts in a bowl and combine thoroughly.  Stuff this into your little pumpkins and replace the lid.  It's okay to over-fill them a bit.

Place them on a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Give the pumpkins a little shot with cooking spray, place them in the 350 degree oven for 55 mins to an hour.  Let them cool slightly before eating. That's it.  Easy, peasy, pumpkin squeezy.

Happy Halloween

RouxBDooooooooooo