AMAZING PUMPKIN DIP

If you really want to experience a holiday treat, order a tin of crisp, spicy gingersnaps from The Center, a private not-for-profit agency serving persons with developmental and intellectual disabilities.  Each gold tin is decorated with a hand-pressed and gilded ornament, made by one of the Center’s clients.  These gingersnaps are crunchy, buttery, spicy, and addictive.

 

Although the gingersnaps are wonderful all by themselves, they’re even better served with Amazing Pumpkin Dip.  We discovered this years ago at a small grocery store that had samples out of various products you could order for the holidays.  They called it Amazing Pumpkin Dip and had copies of the recipe printed for anyone who wanted one.  What was truly amazing was that we were not asked to leave, because my young son ate at least half of the bowl of dip while I was shopping.  (He tended to view free samples as his own personal buffet.)

If you need to bring a dish to a holiday party, or are looking for something to serve at one of your own, gingersnaps and pumpkin dip are a crowd-pleaser.

AMAZING PUMPKIN DIP
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizers, Snacks, Desserts
 
Ingredients
  • 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 10 ounces pumpkin butter
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 8-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed
  • Gingersnaps, for serving
Instructions
  1. Place cream cheese in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add pumpkin butter, sugar, and vanilla, and beat until well-blended. Gently fold in whipped topping. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve with gingersnaps for dipping.

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CHEX PUMPKIN PIE SPICE CRUNCH

Welcome to day 10 of Tag Sale Tastes’ Pumpkinpalooza!

Today I took pumpkin spice matters into my own hands and made a batch of Chex Pumpkin Pie Spice Crunch.  This was a big hit here — in fact, I’ve already made a second (double) batch.  Crunchy, sweet, and lightly spiced, it makes a welcome snack.

The Chex varieties used in this mix are Honey Nut, Cinnamon, and Wheat (it was hard to resist eating the Cinnamon Chex straight out of the box):

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Mixing up a batch takes only a few minutes.  There are microwave versions out there, but in my opinion, the mix really benefits from conventional baking.  Use any kind of nuts you like — pictured below is a batch made with a honey-roasted nut mix from Costco that was really great.  Pecans and peanuts also work well.  (My family didn’t care for almonds — they were too hard.)

CHEX PUMPKIN PIE SPICE CRUNCH
Author: 
Recipe type: Snacks
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal
  • 2 cups Honey Nut Chex cereal
  • 2 cups Wheat Chex cereal
  • 1 cup nuts of your choice
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ cup butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
  2. Place cereals and nuts in a large bowl. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, butter, and vanilla, stirring until thoroughly combined. Drizzle over cereal mixture, stirring to coat cereal and nuts.
  3. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool before serving.

 

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Snack time!