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Acorn Squash Pudding and Pie

acorn squash pudding

Acorn squash pudding serving with whipped cream.

Tired of Pumpkin Everything?

Thanksgiving is coming at us fast.  Along with all the traditional recipes, I like to find something new every year.  Here’s a dessert recipe that gives pumpkin a rest. And really, aren’t you about ready to scream if you hear pumpkin-flavored anything one more time?

Pssst!  Don’t tell the traditionalist, but I liked it BETTER than the very similar pumpkin dessert.

I love acorn squash. Spit them, take the seeds out, put honey and butter and nutmeg in the center–and maybe some sliced apples or applesauce, and bake them in a dish with some water in the bottom. But how about an acorn squash dessert?

Unfortunately, my husband does not share my appreciation of this long-lasting winter squash.  When I serve him a wedge of acorn squash, he scoops out a shallow spoonful, but leaves a good 1/2 inch in the shell.

And he does not have seconds.

LEFTOVERS

So if I bake acorn squash, I’m going to have leftovers.  And you know my opinion of leftovers, don’t you?  MAKE SOMETHING WITH THEM.

Which led to a quest for a good recipe for acorn squash pudding.  Along the way, I found the site, Historic Foodie, and this article on how early Americans used squash. Another article at the same site lists  all the squashes common in various parts of the country in the 17th and 18th century. (Acorn was known, but not common.)

Most recipe sites wanted me to make a pie out of the squash, but I was feeling lazy and just wanted to baked a pudding.  However, when I found a recipe for a streusel-topped acorn squash pie, I knew I had to try it — minus the pie crust. You can also just pour it into a pre-baked pie shell for a substitute for pumpkin pie. Simple and absolutely DELICIOUS!

My husband, the acorn-squash avoider is eating it up!

Acorn Squash Pie

Acorn Squash Pie

Pie with acorn squash pudding and ginger streusel topping.

Just add the mixed pudding ingredients to a pre-baked pie shell, bake for a while, add streusel,topping with ginger, and finish baking. Specifics at end of pudding recipe.

 

squash pudding
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Acorn Squash Pudding

When you are tired of pumpkin everything, make a streusel-topped pudding or a pie filling from acorn squash.
Course Dessert
Keyword pie, pudding
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked acorn squash
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp spices See Note
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup evaporated milk

Streusel Topping

  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter chilled
  • 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

  • Scoop squash out of shell and remove seeds. Mash or process in food processor.
  • Mix all filling ingredients (not streusel ingredients) in large bowl and beat until smooth.
  • Pour into 7" wide, deep casserole and bake one-half hour at 350 degrees. (To ensure even cooking, put casserole in larger shallow pan with an inch of water.)

Streusel Topping

  • Mix flour and sugar. Cut butter in small pieces.  Work butter into flour/sugar mixture with your fingers.  When you have small crumbs, stir in nuts. Set aside until the first half-hour baking is finished.
  • After half hour, pull casserole out of oven and sprinkle the streusel on top of the pudding. Put casserole back and bake an additional half hour--or until knife inserted in center comes out almost clean. (With smaller diameter casserole, the streusel will be deep and the baking will take longer than for a shallow dish or in a pie. See notes.)

Notes

SPICES:  You can use pumpkin pie spices or blend cinnamon and nutmeg.  I used a lebkuchengewuerz spice recipe left over from making the German Christmas cookies.
ACORN SQUASH PIE:
To use this recipe in a pie, mix pudding ingredients and pour into a pre-baked pie shell. Bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees, then add streusel and bake another 25 minutes, tenting the top with foil if necessary to keep it from getting too brown. For the pie, you do not need or want the water bath.
For extra Oomph, add 1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger to the streusel topping.

Acorn Squash Recipe for Autumn

When I went to the Farmer’s Market, it was pretty clear that fall is the season–even here in balmy Arizona. Time for an autumn acorn squash recipe.

Autumn Recipe ideas

Farmer’s Market Fall Bounty

With that kind of offering, I just had to find an autumn recipe and cook up some acorn squash.

I always think of mother when I start hacking away at an acorn squash. While there are numerous ways to cook it, mother’s standard has become mine.

Her acorn squash recipe went  like this: Cut the squash in half.  Coat the inside with butter, and maybe a dribble of honey or maple syrup, put a couple of links or patties of sausage in the cavity, and bake.  Sometimes she would fill the center with applesauce and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Sometimes I put cranberry sauce in mine.

But this time I got just a tiny bit fancier.  I hope you’ll enjoy the new way I cooked my acorn squash.  I’m not going to bother with a formal recipe, because this acorn squash recipe is just too simple—and adaptable.

Atumn Acorn Squash Squash

Atumn Acorn Squash

AUTUMN Acorn SQUASH RECIPE

Cut a small acorn squash in half, or a larger one in four pieces (hacking with a cleaver from stem to blossom end.) Remove the seeds. Put the squash in a pyrex dish.

Coarsely chop an apple and half a cup of walnuts. Mix the apple and nuts with two big dollops of honey, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a quarter to half teaspoon of nutmeg. Spoon the filling into the hollows of the squash. Put thin pats of butter over the filing.

Pour 1/2 inch of water into the bottom of the dish, cover the squash with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour.  After 45 minutes,  top with sausage. (Use whatever kind of sausage you like–I put pork links in mine and turkey sausage links in Ken’s. Cooking time varies widely for sausage, so follow package directions, or brown first in a skillet.)