Pumpkin doesn’t always mean pie

Pumpkin isn’t only for pie.

Carve out a place for pumpkin at your fall table with these three sweet pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

From Erin Billing of Spokane Valley

1 cup whipping cream

1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese (reduced fat is fine)

¾ cup powdered sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

Whip whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese until light and airy. Add powdered sugar to cream cheese and beat until well combined. Beat in pumpkin. Add spice and continue beating. When fully combined, fold in the whipped cream.

Pumpkin Ricotta Bombolini

From www.wildcraftcc.com

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

6 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cups sugar

9 eggs

2 cups ricotta

2 cups pumpkin purée

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of one lemon

Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In another bowl, mix wet ingredients with a spoon until just combined.

Combine dry with wet ingredients and stir from the middle until a batter forms and most of the ricotta is mixed in.

Use an ice cream scooper to scoop mixture into balls and fry in a pot of 375-degree oil for about 5 minutes. Be careful! You might need to add a little more flour depending on how wet the purée is. Test one and make adjustments as necessary.

Pumpkin Pie Yogurt Smoothies

From “Betty Crocker Smoothies”

1 (6-ounce) container pumpkin pie fat-free yogurt

1 cup crushed ice

½ cup pumpkin pie mix (not plain pumpkin)

¼ cup fat-free (skim) milk

2 tablespoons fat-free whipped topping

Pumpkin pie spice

In blender or food processor, place yogurt, ice, pumpkin pie mix and milk. Cover; blend on high speed about 1 minute or until smooth.

Pour into 2 glasses. Top each with whipped topping and dash of pumpkin pie spice. Serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings