Making Pumpkin Puree

I do love pumpkin pie, and it's easy to find pumpkins to buy in fall, but then you have to cook the pumpkin to use it in pies and other recipes.  I've tried various ways of doing this, including chopping, peeling, and boiling them, but that's kind of a pain.  It's so much work, and I found the puree pretty watery, even though I drained the boiled pumpkin.  Here's what I do now, and it is super simple.

• Wash the outside of the pumpkin
• Cut the pumpkin in half.
• Remove the seeds and stringy stuff in the middle.  I find it helpful to use a small paring knife to cut the stringiness around the edges.  A spoon doesn't really scrape it out effectively.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the pumpkin halves upside down on it.

• Bake the pumpkin at 350º F for about 1 hour or so.  My 8" pumpkins took 1 hour and 15 minutes.  You'll know they are done when soft to the touch, and moisture is leaking out around the bottom.

• Turn the halves over and let them cool a bit.  You can see the steam rising off this one!

• Using a spoon, scoop the cooked pumpkin out of the shell, and put in a bowl.
• Puree the pumpkin right in the same bowl using a stick blender.  Or you could use a regular blender.

• Place the pumpkin puree in jars, and freeze.  Make sure to allow enough head room for expansion.  I froze them in 1 cup portions - makes it easy to know how much to take out for any particular recipe.

And here is my pretty pumpkin puree, ready to use in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin.  I got about 4 cups of puree from each 8" pumpkin.