How to Cook Light With Pumpkin
If you are looking to decrease the amount of fat in your diet, one of the easiest places to start is with baked goods. Instead of using oil or butter in your dessert recipes, you can substitute canned pureed pumpkin. When you learn some tips on how to cook light with pumpkin, you can decrease the total fat and calories in a recipe and increase the vitamins, minerals and fiber. The finished results will be slightly different, due to the unique taste of pumpkin, but these will be less noticeable in some recipes than in others. There are a few guidelines you should know about to achieve the greatest success. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Find a recipe for citrus, chocolate or pineapple-flavored spice cake; bread; biscuits; or muffins. These are the types of recipes in which a pumpkin puree substitute tastes best.
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Preheat the oven to a temperature 25 degrees lower than that required in your recipe.
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Assess your recipe for the total amount of fat. This will include butter, shortening, oil or a combination of these three.
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4
Multiply the amount of butter or shortening by ¾ (.75) to get the amount of canned pumpkin puree to use. For instance, if the recipe requires 1 cup of butter (2 sticks) you will use ¾ cup pumpkin puree.
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Replace all of the oil required in the recipe (if applicable) with pumpkin puree. A measure of ½ cup oil in the recipe needs to be replaced with ½ cup pumpkin puree. You might have to add additional puree to reach a smooth consistency.
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Add the pumpkin when the recipe instructs you to add the shortening, butter or oil.
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Replace each whole egg in the recipe with two egg whites. This step is optional, but it will help to lower the cholesterol and fat in the overall recipe.
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Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 25 degrees lower than the temperature required in the recipe.
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Test the dessert 5 to 7 minutes before the time required in the recipe. Insert a fork or a toothpick into the center of the dessert. It should come out clean.
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Tips & Warnings
You can also make brownies from a mix by combining one 18-oz. box of brownie mix with one 14-oz. can of pumpkin puree. Bake according to package directions.
Do not use canned pumpkin pie mix. This has sugar and spices added to it that will result in an altered taste to your finished product. Pumpkin puree is just mashed pumpkin without salt, sugar or flavorings.
