Recipe: Pumpkin Hummus

Pumpkin Hummus

Ingredients

1 (15 oz) can Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)

3/4 c. Pumpkin Puree

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Cumin

1/4 tsp. ground Ancho Chili Pepper

1 tsp. (or one large clove) minced Garlic

2 tbsp. Lemon Juice (or juice from one lemon)

1/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 c. Water

** 1/4 c. Smoky Pumpkin Seeds, ground

So why pumpkin hummus? WHY NOT PUMPKIN HUMMUS?!

1) Jenn loves everything pumpkin.

2) Jenn wants autumn to be ALL THE TIME

3) Jenn's been dying to make her own hummus from scratch!

So how did I make it?

Throw all of the above into a blender and cross your fingers. 

Okay... So I started with this recipe here from "Cooking with Trader Joe's." As it happened, I had just gotten back from a trip to TJ's! So when I realized that I didn't have any lemons or tahini paste... I said, Fuck it! And made it anyway.

While I found sesame seeds in my cupboard to make tahini from scratch with, I knew I had some Smokey Pumpkin Seeds handy from NatureBox. (Which is healthy snack food service that's totally worth it! Click here to check it out.) So, I used a makeshift mortar and pestle--terrible idea--and ground them down as fine as my patience would last. Into the blender the went!

For my first batch o' hummus, it's pretty damn good! Next time, (or tomorrow...), I will absolutely be amping up the spices. But for now, it's a super healthy dip where the pumpkin flavor totally shines through! I'll call it a success.

Yield: about 2 1/2 cups 

NUTRITION: Serving size: 1oz (2 tbs); Calories: 57; Total Fat: 3.7g; Saturated Fat: 0.5g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 130.8mg; Potassium: 1.8mg; Total Carbs: 4.9g; Fiber: 1.5g; Sugars: 0.3g; Protein: 1.6g; Vitamin A: 22.6%; Vitamin C: 0.3%; Calcium: 0.8%; Iron: 1.1%

% based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Disgusting. Delicious. Finger Cookies!

Always a Halloween party favorite, finger cookies are gruesome fun, easy to make--and they taste great too! I've seen both sweet and savory versions of the "finger," but the recipe I use I found in Rachael Ray's October 2011 issue. Unbelievably simple considering how great they turn out.

Severed Finger Cookies

Makes: 50  Prep: 40 min (plus chilling) Bake: 25 min

1 c.  unsalted butter, at room temperature (I use whatever butter I have in the fridge + nuke to soften)

1 c.  confectioners' sugar

1 egg

1 tsp.  pure vanilla extract

2 3/4 c.  flour

1 tsp.  baking powder

1 tsp.  salt

1/2 c.  sliced almonds

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla, then mix in the flour, baking powder and salt. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
   
                      
   
2. Preheat oven to 325 F. Using your hands and working quickly, roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a finger shape. Place the fingers about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Stick a sliced almond on 1 end of each for the fingernails. Use a table knife to make three crosswise knuckle marks in the middle of each cookie. Bake until lightly golden 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
   
                      
   
3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cook the jam over low heat until it reaches a saucy consistency. Once liquified, remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl; dip the "severed" end of each cookie into the sauce.

Somehow, I completely forgot to take a photo of the finished project... But here's what last year's batch looked like:

(This year's fingers were better...)