Tag Archives: pumpkin spice products

PHILADELPHIA PUMPKIN SPICE CREAM CHEESE SPREAD (AND A RECIPE)

Posted on by
4

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.

IMG_6737

The first thing you’ll notice when you open the container is the odd color of the cream cheese spread:

IMG_6722

Hmmm . . . where have I seen that color before?  Why, it’s the color of Barbie and Ken:

barbie and kenIf 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.

Print
PUMPKIN SPICE CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizers, Halloween
 
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth and thoroughly combined. Keep refrigerated.

IMG_6747

Philadelphia on the left, homemade on the right

IMG_6744

In a side-by-side taste test, homemade easily beat out Philadelphia

PEPPERIDGE FARM PUMPKIN SPICE SWIRL BREAD

Posted on by
3

Welcome to Tag Sale Tastes’ Pumpkinpalooza!  Despite the fact that it’s still technically summer for another three weeks (but really, go ahead and put those white shoes up), the stores are already full of a veritable pumpkin patch of pumpkin spice products and autumn décor.  I’ll be checking out some of these products, for better or worse, along with some recipes and other pumpkinalia.

Like Tina Turner in Proud Mary, I’m going to take the beginning of Pumpkinpalooza and do it easy.  And so, to kick off Pumpkinpalooza, I’ll begin with Pepperidge Farm’s limited edition Pumpkin Spice Swirl bread:

IMG_6727

This is one of ten different swirl breads that Pepperidge Farm offers.  Who knew?

Checking the ingredients, you’ll notice that pumpkin is one of the ingredients, although it’s so far down on the list that I have to wonder if it’s just there for show:  IMG_6728The pale slices are thick-sliced, with a faint spice (?) swirl and dotted with little cinnamon-flavored blobs:

IMG_6730

If you try this bread straight out of the package, you’ll probably find yourself checking more than once to see if, in fact, you are nibbling on the package and not the bread.  But — if you lightly toast the bread and butter it, it morphs into something that is actually quite good.

IMG_6735

In fact, my kids love this bread.  I don’t necessarily know that I could tell the difference between this and Pepperidge Farm’s Cinnamon Swirl bread if I were eating it blindfolded — seems like one spice swirl is pretty much the same as the next.  But if you want to ease into pumpkin spice season gently, a little pumpkin spice swirl toast in the morning is a pleasant way to do so.

Rating:  4 pumpkins (out of 5)