Pumpkin Pie Dip

We love cooking with pumpkin this time of year. But sometimes "cooking" isn't an option for us at Kids' Table. For example, when we don't have access to kitchen facilities (at most of our after school programs), and/or enough time to bake regardless (for short projects at outdoor festivals). We decided to explore the idea of a dip styled after a no-bake pumpkin cheesecake.

When we started researching it, we found that a lot of recipes used things like instant pudding mix and cool whip. Neither of which are really up our alley. For the creamy component, we ended up going with a mixture of cream cheese and Greek-style yogurt. We used whipped instead of regular cream cheese because it's easier to blend smooth straight out of the fridge (with a dash of patience and elbow grease). You can make it a little easier on yourself if you'd like and bring the cream cheese to room temperature first. 

We used canned pumpkin for the sake of simplicity. We haven't tried it with roasted and pureed pie pumpkin, but we bet it would be delicious. If you give it a shot, please let us know how it goes.

We hope this dip makes a welcome addition to your Halloween party table or your fall snack repertoire. It's been a crowd-pleaser at Kids' Table, and even passed muster with the superhero set at one of our recent events! Enjoy...

Pumpkin Pie Dip

Ingredients

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 cup whipped cream cheese

1/4 cup plus 1 T Greek-style yogurt

3 T brown sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Few pinches ground ginger

Few pinches ground nutmeg

Few pinches allspice

Graham crackers and sliced apples for dipping

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine pureed pumpkin, cream cheese, yogurt, brown sugar, vanilla and all the spices. Whisk well until smooth. Serve with graham crackers and sliced apple.

Makes 6 servings

What kids can do (with appropriate tools & adult supervision)

In this recipe, pretty much everything!

*Measure ingredients

*Pinch spices

*Whisk dip

*Taste dip & whisk some more until smooth