Pumpkin Dip

I’m going to keep this post short, simple and sweet, as a tribute to the qualities of this dip.

First off, I’ve never been much of a pudding/sweet dip person. And I’ve always slightly loathed those who try to pass off fruit as dessert. So making a fruit dip wasn’t high on my list of must-eat treats. But I do love pumpkin and anything with cream cheese, so I had the inkling to give this recipe a shot.

It’s quite a breeze to make. Six ingredients. Three steps. You gotta love that. I did, however, modify it a bit based on a review I read online, cutting the brown sugar down to 1/3 cup (you definitely don’t need more), and adding a little pumpkin pie spice. You just whip it all up with a little maple syrup and cinnamon, chill for 30 minutes, and voilà! A perfect fall treat. It came out fluffy, creamy and… oh so dreamy. (Sorry. I have Grey’s Anatomy on my mind from last night, which is becoming quite an annoying show, in my opinion.)

I served it with fresh Michigan apple slices and mini gingersnaps. This stuff is awesome. Like pumpkin cheesecake in an easy-to-pig-out-on form. We couldn’t get enough! I loved the way it complemented the crisp, juicy apples. Luke preferred the crunchy cookies. We both ended up eating most of it off our fingers.

 

 

 

Pumpkin Dip
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 2 tablespoons dip/2 apple slices)

Ingredients:
3/4  cup  (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/2  cup  packed brown sugar (I reduced to 1/3 cup)
1/2  cup  canned pumpkin
2  teaspoons  maple syrup
1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
24  apple slices
(*I added a few shakes of pumpkin pie spice)

Preparation:
Place first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add syrup and cinnamon, and beat until smooth. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Serve with apple.
Nutritional Information

Nutritional info: Calories: 107 (27% from fat), Fat: 3.2g (sat 2g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.1g), Protein: 2g, Carbohydrate: 18.3g, Fiber: 1.4g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Iron:1mg, Sodium: 87mg, Calcium: 35mg. Source: Cooking Light, 2003.