Baking query (pumpkin)

[carbonel]

What can replace a quarter-cup of pumpkin puree? Or is that such a small amount that I don't need to bother?

I bought a can of pumpkin puree for a batch of no-bake pumpkin spice balls that called for only a quarter of a cup of the puree. (Having made them, I suspect the recipe may have been deficient in some way, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if they turn into something more promising than they currently appear.)

But that leaves me with most of a can (about 1-3/4 cup remaining). I found a recipe that would use up the rest, but it does call for a full can of pumpkin puree.

I don't have any unsweetened applesauce in the house, or I'd use that. Any other suggestions? Or do I even need to sub anything for it?

I'm a fairly competent baker, but normally I make a new recipe exactly to the specifications the first time, then play around with it on subsequent attempts.

Advice appreciated.

Comments

[philomytha]

Looking at that recipe, I'd probably mix it up using the amount of puree you've got and see how it comes out. You could cut the amount of flour a bit to balance it out if it looks like it's going to come out too dry.

[shadowscast]

I do not have helpful advice, but I just want to share the fact that due to our local Halloween getting rained out this year, I have ended up with two entire pumpkins that I'm trying to figure out what to do with. (So far I have achieved more pumpkin soup than I know what to do with, one casserole dish of macaroni-and-cheese-and-pumpkin that was consumed swiftly, two large freezer bags of frozen roasted pumpkin flesh, and one still-untouched pumpkin).

I guess what I'm saying is: I wish that the internet were a series of tubes that I could send you a quarter cup of pumpkin puree through, because oh my do I have a lot of pumpkin!

[pameladean]

If you click through to the Pumpkin Bread recipe at Smitten Kitchen that this writer says was the inspiration for their own pumpkin bread, you'll see that that recipe calls for 1 and 3/4 cups of pureed pumpkin. It says this IS a whole can, so I guess the size of the cans varies. In fact, I know it does, anywhere from 14 to 16 ounces.

P.

[carbonel]

Thanks, that's interesting. My can was 15 ounces and said "about 2 cups" on the label, and the recipe said the same thing, so I didn't even think about possible variation.

I think I'll see what the texture is like and (as philomytha suggested) adjust the flour a bit if it seems too dry.

That is, of course, all based on the assumption that I actually get around to making it before the container of pumpkin puree gets moldy. Best laid plans, and all that.

[pameladean]

You can almost certainly freeze the pumpkin if you don't plan to use it right away. P.

[naomikritzer]

One option would be to buy a jar of pumpkin or squash baby food, which would be closer to the quantity called for in the recipe than a full can.

I'm pretty sure you could substitute 1/4 cup of mashed ripe banana, but that would significantly change the texture.

You could buy frozen winter squash (Bird's Eye has a butternut squash), thaw out some cubes, puree them, and use 1/4 cup of that. Basically any winter squash can be swapped in for pumpkin puree (and in fact I've heard rumors that the canned pumpkin is in fact some other variety of squash, which is one of a number of reasons that pumpkin pie made from an actual pie pumpkin rarely turns out as well as pumpkin pie made with canned pumpkin from Libby's.)

[brooksmoses]

Yeah, I think I'd start with dropping the flour from 2 1/4 cups to 2 cups, and then see if the extra quarter-cup of flour seems appropriate to add or not.

Pumpkins are frauds!

[lsanderson]

All pumpkins are squash. Or more specifically, we call orange ribbed squash 'pumpkins' and the canned 'pumpkin' ain't even the orange ribbed squash we call 'pumpkin' -- it's another squash with better flavor.

That aside, I'd go ahead a bit short or bake, boil or microwave a sweet potato and mash it to make up the missing amount. No one but you will be aware of the switch. Cooked and mashed carrot would also work.

[the_rck]

Acorn or butternut squash will work, so will mashed banana or sweet potato. Applesauce tends to have too much liquid, but I think thicker stewed or puréed fruits would work.

[the_rck]

I should note that I have substituted these for each other when baking in the past. My daughter used to eat banana bread/squash bread for breakfast every morning for 3-4 years.

As someone said above, you kind of have to adjust to find the right texture. Some substitutions affect cooking time, too.

[minnehaha]

The baby food idea is clever.

K. [personally would just make the pie recipe on the can with the bit missing because it would be fine]