Isn't Halloween a great time of year? The Odd Fork loves horror stories, masked parties and of course, Halloween recipes! Since there was enough pumpkin left from this pumpkin salad, the Odd Fork made some easy, yummy sweet pumpkin treats to satisfy the little Forks which will come knocking at the door and ask the traditional "Treat or Treat?" 🎃

The spices in the recipe and good quality walnuts are the key ingredients and they will make these pumpkin sweet pieces fantastic, just one bite and you' ll be addicted forever!

Ingredients:

- 4 cups white sugar

- 1 cup evaporated milk

- 3 tbsp light corn syrup

- 1 cup pumpkin purée

- 1/8 tsp salt

- 3 tbsp butter

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1 tsp cinnamon 

- 1/4 tsp ground ginger

- 1/4 tsp ground cloves

- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

- 2 cups chopped walnuts

In a saucepan, bring 5 first ingredients to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes and be careful NOT to stir, as the syrup bubbles a lot and you don't want a caramel burn! When mixture registers 232 degrees F (110 degrees C) on candy thermometer, or forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water, remove pan from heat. Stir in butter and when cooler add vanilla, spices and walnuts. Beat mixture until it is very thick and loses some of its gloss. Quickly pour into a square pan lined with greased baking sheet, put in the fridge and chill until firm for some hours before cutting in squares.

Keep the pumpkin bites in a box inside the fridge.

Pumpkin purée may be found easily ready and canned in every super market, but it's really simple to make your own homemade purée and keep it in the freezer in portions. Just cut your pumpkin in slices and bake until pieces are soft (test them by pinching with a fork).

When pumpkin slices cool, blend them until you have a nice, smooth purée. Measure pumpkin purée using a tea cup, fill single-use plastic bags and store them for a long period of time inside the freezer.

So, every time you wish to make a recipe containing canned pumpkin, all you need to do is to defrost a bag of your homemade purée!