Pumpkin Soup, Chocolate Chip Muffins, & Cookies

It is an old tradition in my family to use all you can and to waste little or nothing of what you use. If you cut down a tree for lumber the scraps can be burned as firewood, or chipped for landscaping and livestock bedding.

We do the same with food, when we catch a fish we make Fish Head Soup, Milt, Row, and Fillets or stakes. We even cook the scraps for cat food, Ok the fish head soup goes to the cats also. I hate fish head soup.

This Instructable is in addition to my Instructable Baking with Pumpkin where I make pumpkin puree, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin seeds.

In this instructable I will be using a white pumpkin and making pumpkin soup, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and pumpkin cookies. I will be discarding next to nothing from the pumpkin.

Step 1: Cleaning the Pumpkin

Wash the outside of the pumpkin making sure to get all the dirt out of the crevices.

When you cut the white pumpkin open you will be greeted with the delightful aroma of cucumber, scrape out the seeds and stringy bits and put them to aside.

Dice the shell of the pumpkin into about one inch cubes putting aside any scared pieces stem and blossom navel, these parts can be woody.

Place the cubes in a pot of water and simmer just as I did in the baking with Pumpkin recipe to make the pumpkin puree you can find the recipe here.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Baking-with-Pumpki...

Step 2: Preparing the Soup Base

While the pumpkin shell is simmering separate the pumpkin seeds from the squiggly bits.

Put the pumpkin seeds to aside for roasted pumpkin seeds and the squiggly bits in a pot with any of the good parts you can salvage from the scared shell.

If you picked a good pumpkin you should have less than a cup of discard from a 16 inch pumpkin.

After the pumpkin shell is cooked add the broth and the skin from making the pumpkin puree to the squiggly bits and simmer for 30 minutes.

Step 3: Finishing the Pumpkin Soup

Pureeing the pumpkin skin and squiggly bits into a smooth broth, then pour the broth into a slow cooker and add the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients

4 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 piece Lemon

2 Chicken broth cubes or 2 tablespoons powdered broth salt free

2 cups celery chopped

2 cups carrot finely chopped

2 cups broccoli

2 cups cauliflower

1 cup Onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves crushed

1/4 cup Chives chopped

Once you add the rest of the ingredients simmer in the slow cooker for 3 hours and serve.

This makes a surprisingly delicious soup.

Step 4: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

While you are waiting for your soup you can make pumpkin muffins from the pumpkin puree you have made.

This recipe takes about 45 minutes and makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup water

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 table spoon baking powder

1 table poon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Step 5: Preparing Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.

2. Mix sugar, eggs, pumpkin and water then add oil in one bowl.

3. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices.

4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir in chocolate chips.

5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter I like to use a measuring cup for this.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

7. Let cool on a rack for 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 6: Soft Pumpkin Cookies

You can make these with or without chocolate chips.

Ingredients

1. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2. 1 teaspoon baking soda

3. 1 teaspoon baking powder

4. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

5. 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

6. 1/2 teaspoon salt

7. 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

8. 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

9. 1 cup pumpkin puree

10. 1 large egg

11. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12. 1/2 cup Chocolate chips if desired

Step 7: Preparing Cookies

Preheat oven to 350° F.

With cookies I find covering the cookie sheet with paper works better than greasing the cookie sheets, plus if you are making a lot of cookies, changing the paper is faster than washing the cookie sheets and the bottom of the cookies are soft.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in one mixing bowl.

Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth.

Gradually beat the dry mixture into the wet mixture and add the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm.

Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes.

The slide the paper and cookies off the cookie sheet onto wire racks to cool completely.