Recipes with Julie Van Rosendaal: cooking with leftover pumpkin

'Tis the season to come up with creative uses for leftovers — but beyond the usual turkey and mashed potatoes, that half-full can of pumpkin can be tricky to contend with post-pie.

Fortunately, pumpkin is perfect for both sweet and savoury applications.

When it comes to baking, you can stir it into pancake, waffle batter or muffin batter, add it to all kinds of yeast dough, or turn it into cookies.

Swap pumpkin puree for some or all of the mashed banana in your banana bread, or for the crushed pineapple or applesauce in your carrot cake (most fruit purees can be used interchangeably).

• Bookmark cbc.ca/juliesrecipes to keep up with all of Julie Van Rosendaal's dishes

You could add a big spoonful to your hummus or smoothie, or stir some into a pot of soup, chili or stew.

Swirl a dollop into your oatmeal, into a batch of risotto or polenta, mash it into your potatoes, add egg and flour to make gnocchi, or stir into a container of ricotta to use as a filing for ravioli.

You could make pumpkin fritters — add sugar, egg and enough flour to make a sticky dough you can drop by the spoonful into hot oil, or if you have a dog, you can make pumpkin dog biscuits.

And of course, it doesn't have to be canned pumpkin puree. These are all great ways to use leftover mashed squash or sweet potatoes, if you happen to have surplus of either, instead.

Pumpkin Naan (or pizza, or focaccia!)

A few spoonfuls of pumpkin puree go beautifully into chewy yeast dough to make naan, pizza or even focaccia.

If you have more or less puree to add, just use a bit less or more flour until you have a smooth, very tacky dough.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tsp active dry or instant yeast
• ½ cup (approximately) pumpkin puree
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-4 tbsp olive or canola oil, plus extra for cooking
• 1 tsp salt
• flaky salt, to finish (optional)

Directions:

Put the warm water in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over and let sit until it dissolves. (If you're worried it might be inactive, let it sit for 10 minutes, until it gets foamy. If it doesn't, you may need fresh yeast.)

Add the pumpkin puree, flour, oil (feel free to eyeball this, you don't need to be precise) and salt.

Stir (or use the dough hook on your stand mixer) until the dough comes together, then knead for a few minutes, until smooth and elastic.

It will be very tacky. If it's far too sticky to work with, add a bit more flour, but remember it will smooth out as it sits.

• Listen to the entire segment with Julie Van Rosendaal on the Calgary Eyeopener here:

Shape the dough into a ball if you like, return it to the bowl, drizzle with oil and turn to coat it all over.

Cover with a tea towel or plate and let sit on the counter for at least an hour and up to several hours, punching it down now and then.

To make naan: Pull off large pieces of dough (about the size of two eggs) and roll as thin as you can on an unfloured surface. The dough will need to cling a bit in order to roll it very thin, but it shouldn't stick.

Heat a heavy (cast iron is ideal) skillet over high heat, add a drizzle of oil (or a spoonful of ghee) and cook each thin piece of dough for a couple minutes per side, turning as it bubbles and turns golden on each side.

If you like, sprinkle with a bit of flaky salt while it's still warm.

Serves: about 8.

To make pizza: preheat the oven to 450 to 500 F, divide the dough in half and gently stretch into two pizzas, or just make one larger one.

Assemble it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, or one that has been sprinkled with flour or cornmeal.

Top with your toppings of choice, plus cheese, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbly and deep golden.

Makes: one large or two medium pizzas.

To make focaccia: generously oil a 9x13-inch pan.

Flatten the dough into the bottom, then flip it over so that it's coated with oil and press until it covers the entire bottom of the pan.

Press your fingers deep into the dough, straight through to the bottom, to create deep dimples.

Cover and let it sit for another hour, preheating your oven to 425 F toward the end.

Drizzle the dough with a bit more oil, and sprinkle with flaky salt.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until deep golden. Turn out onto a cutting board to slice.

Serves: about 12.

Pumpkin Hermits

These soft, cakey hermits are a bit like muffin tops.

Add anything you like to them: dried fruit, chopped nuts and/or chocolate chips.

White chocolate goes particularly well with the pumpkin and spice.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½- ¾ cup canned pure pumpkin
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup dark molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• ½ cup dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries and/or chopped dried apricots)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
• ½ cup white or semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, pumpkin, egg, molasses and vanilla until smooth.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

Add to the butter mixture and stir until almost combined; add the raisins, nuts and/or chocolate and stir just until blended.

Drop scoops or large spoonfuls a couple inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until just set — springy to the touch around the edges, but you still leave a slight dent if you poke them in the middle.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes: about 18 cookies.

Ramone's Pumpkin Bones

Dog treats are a great way to make use of pumpkin puree! These make your house smell wonderful, too.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup pumpkin puree (or any mashed winter squash)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp molasses or honey
• 2 cups whole wheat or barley flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• a shake of cinnamon
• a pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, egg, oil and molasses. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Stir, then knead until you have a soft dough.

If it's too sticky, add a bit more flour. You don't need to worry about making dog cookies tough!

Scatter some flour over your countertop and roll the dough out about ¼-inch thick. Cut into whatever shapes you like (watch out for sharp edges) and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until firm.

Let them cool on the sheet, or turn the oven off but leave them inside as it cools so that they harden further.

Very dry cookies will last indefinitely — if they still have some moisture to them, freeze any you don't plan to use within five to six days.

Makes: about two-dozen cookies.

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener.