Welcome to Day 2 of Tag Sale Tastes’ Pumpkinpalooza!
Today I’m taking a look at Philadelphia Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread:
The lid boasts that this spread is made with “real pumpkin & cinnamon.” Sure enough, the ingredient list includes pumpkin concentrate and cinnamon.
The first thing you’ll notice when you open the container is the odd color of the cream cheese spread:
Hmmm . . . where have I seen that color before? Why, it’s the color of Barbie and Ken:
If they were going to make this spread Barbie flesh-colored, you would think they could have at least gone with Malibu Barbie.
The appearance of the spread dashed any hopes that this might be something tasty to smear on a bagel. Indeed, it had a noticeable tang, which you would expect from cream cheese, but it was not offset by enough pumpkin or sugar or spice to balance it out. There was no discernible pumpkin or spice flavor. It kind of made you want to scrunch up your face when you’re eating it.
Rating: 1-1/2 pumpkins (out of 5)
But . . . pumpkin spice cream cheese takes just a few minutes to make, and is infinitely better than the Philadelphia brand. This flavorful cream cheese can be used as a spread or a dip, and no one will question whether it contains pumpkin or spice. It is also not Barbie-colored.
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth and thoroughly combined. Keep refrigerated.
Philadelphia on the left, homemade on the right
In a side-by-side taste test, homemade easily beat out Philadelphia