One of the saddest parts of saying goodbye to Halloween has to be seeing all the left-over jack-o-lanterns on people’s doorsteps. Slowly deflating as they rot from the inside out, their once cheerful grins twisting into painful-looking grimaces, they’re an all too depressing reminder that our favorite holiday is once again behind us.
Luckily there is something you can do with those left-over gourds that, much like any good zombie story, will breathe new life into them…and make them delicious at the same time.
I’m talking about spiced pumpkin pickles!
A little sweet, a little sour and a whole lot delicious, this ridiculously easy recipe is a great way to keep your love for Halloween around just a little bit longer.
To secure your crown as the Pumpkin King and make your own spiced pumpkin pickles you will need:
- 4 cups diced pumpkin flesh with the rind removed (Sugar Pie pumpkins are the best but really, with this recipe, just about any pumpkin will do. You can also use Butternut Squash or Acorn Squash! Just make sure if you really are using recycled jack-o-lanterns that you’ve thoroughly washed them and that there are no signs of mold or nibbles from neighborhood animals. When in doubt, use fresh pumpkin.)
- 4 cups water
- 6 T apple cider vinegar
- 4 T white vinegar
- 2 T lemon juice
- 1/2 T citric acid
- 1 C white sugar
- 2 T brown sugar
- 12 whole cloves
- 2 cardamom pods or ½ Tablespoon cardamom seeds
- 1 whole star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks broken into 3 pieces each for a total of 6 pieces
- 1 T ground cinnamon
- 1 T candied ginger, chopped
- ½ t ground ginger
Place your diced and peeled pumpkin into a large pot and add your water, apple and white vinegar, lemon juice and citric acid. Make sure the liquid fully covers all your pumpkin pieces. Stir well to mix.
Put your pot into a cool dry place (a fridge works well, or in my case, since the weather is cold now, on the back porch) and allow to soak for 24 hours. You can get away with soaking them for less time, but the longer they soak, the crispier they stay through the whole pickling process.
Once you’ve soaked your pumpkin pieces, add the rest of your ingredients to your pot and bring to a boil on the stove.
Allow to boil until all your sugar is dissolved and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 20 to 30 minutes or until your pumpkin pieces are just fork tender.
Strain your pumpkins (reserve the liquid) and divide up evenly between several sterilized jars (I found this recipe was just enough for 6 half-pint jars with a bit left over for me to snack on while I worked!)
Fill each jar up with the still-hot strained pickle juice, making sure to add 2 cloves and 1 piece of cinnamon stick to each jar.
Because we’re not doing an official ‘water bath’ canning, we’re going to cheat the next few steps just a bit. Be aware these steps HAVE to be done immediately after filling each jar and while they’re still hot.
Cap each jar tightly and flip upside down and immediately place into the fridge to cool. As they cool, the caps will seal.
(FYI: This isn’t an official ‘canned’ product and should not substitute for a proper canning technique if you plan on keeping these pickles for longer than 45 days or so, but after you’ve tried them, I doubt they’ll last that long anyway! If you plan on making these and storing them for longer, I strongly suggest properly canning them using a water bath technique.)
Once they’ve fully cooled, flip upright and allow your pickles to sit in the fridge for approximately 5 days, really soaking up the flavor of the brine. After 5 days, pop them open and start enjoying!
For a truly decadent way to enjoy these little nuggets of left-over Halloween happiness, here’s a recipe for puff pastry wrapped brie and pumpkin pickles we did for a party a few days ago that was a huge hit!
Mmm…Sweet and sour pumpkin pickles in puff pastry…say that three times fast!
You’ll need
- 1 package of puff pastry dough, thawed
- Bit of flour for your work surface
- 1 half-pint jar of our pumpkin pickles (about a full cup)
- 1 round of brie
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 3 feet of clean cotton string cut into 3 equal, 1 foot long pieces
- Green food coloring
- Red food coloring
- Yellow food coloring
- Cinnamon powder, for dusting
- French bread baguette, sliced into thin rounds
- Honey
Pre-heat your oven to 400F/205C.
In a bowl, whisk together your egg and tablespoon of water until well combined.
Carefully unfold your puff pastry dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a size approximately 12” square.
Drain your jar of pumpkin pickles and gently place in the center of your rolled-out puff pastry dough (make sure to remove the cloves and cinnamon sticks as well.)
Place your brie wheel on top of your pickle chunks.
Carefully start folding up the edges of your puff pastry up and over your cheese and pumpkin pickle pile. Use a light wash of egg and water to seal the edges down.
As you fold, trim off the excess dough and set aside for now. We’ll be using it in a bit.
Once your dough is completely sealed over your cheese and pumpkin pickle pile, carefully flip it over, seam side down.
Take your three pieces of string and knot together in the very center.
Place your knotted string in the middle of a baking sheet and arrange the strings out in a six-armed spoke pattern.
Put your pumpkin brie directly in the center of your knotted string, seam side down.
Divide your remaining egg wash in half.
To one half, add a few drops of green food coloring.
To the other half, add enough red and yellow (about one drop red to 6 drops yellow) to turn a nice deep orange.
Using a food-safe pastry brush, brush the entire exterior of your brie pumpkin with the orange egg wash.
Once you’ve finished painting your pastry, start carefully tying the strings together, opposite side to opposite side. Don’t worry about tying them too tightly against the pastry. As it cooks, it will puff up.
Trim off the excess string.
Gather together the scraps of dough you cut off and roll out. Cut out a few small leaves and paint green with the green egg wash.
Use extra wash to adhere to the top of your pumpkin, making sure to avoid covering the cotton strings.
A few thin long strands of dough painted green can be used for vines.
To create a stem, twist together some dough into a stem shape and hold up with a small ball of tin foil. Bake this separately from your pumpkin. We will attach it at the end.
Dust the top of your pumpkin with a light dusting of cinnamon and pop into the oven to cook for approximately 20 minutes.
(If you find that you have any extra dough left over, wrap it around a small pat of butter sprinkled with a generous amount of cinnamon and bake it along with the rest of the items. It’s a sweet little way to reward yourself for all this hard work.)
Once your brie pumpkin is done baking, remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Carefully cut your cotton strings and remove from the pumpkin (this can take a bit of gentle tugging so be careful!)
To attach your pumpkin stem, dot the center of the top of your pumpkin with a bit of honey and use that to glue down your stem.
Serve your brie puff pastry pumpkin with a generous selection of baguette slices and crackers while still warm for maximum ooziness!
Bone appetite!
But wait! You still have pumpkin left over? Why not make some Creepy Pasta Pumpkin Stuffed Ravioli?
