Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese

There is a chain bagel shop that Tristan and I used to frequent back when I lived in Asheville, that has been selling pumpkin cream cheese come fall for years. I introduced Tristan to it years ago – long  before I started making everything from scratch. Now mine is superior… Mwahahaha!

Better than Bruegger’s Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese!

Ingredients:

8 oz.  block cream cheese (I like to use the 1/3 less fat style)

3 TBSP. brown sugar

1/2 c. canned  pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1.5 tsp. cinnamon (or more to taste)

1.5 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or more to taste)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

I generally start with a spoon, and then whip out my hand-mixer (could use stand-mixer as well – but for me it isn’t worth dirtying those components!).

Keeps in the refrigerator for 10 days.

The best part of my cream cheese (besides the taste, of course!)…? No funny ingredients! No thickeners, no added colors, no preservatives, and certainly no corn syrup!

Take a look at Bruegger’s ingredients…

Ingredients: PASTEURIZED CREAM, PUMPKIN BASE (PUMPKIN PUREE, CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, BROWN SUGAR, SPICES, CITRIC ACID, SALT, ANNATTO EXTRACT [FOR COLOR], SODIUM BENZOATE AND POTASSIUM SORBATE [PRESERVATIVES]), NON FAT MILK, MILK PROTEINS, LESS THAN 2% OF SALT, NATURAL ACIDS, XANTHAN, LOCUST BEAN, AND GUAR GUMS, POTASSIUM SORBATE (MAINTAINS FRESHNESS)

No thanks.

But this… this I can do.

Mmmm.

Enjoy it on toast, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, bagels, or my personal favorite… pumpkin muffins! (even better when topped with my pumpkin butter!)

 

Pumpkin muffin and pumpkin butter recipes to follow… 

~