Autumnal Stuffed Pumpkin Dessert

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon clove
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 small sugar pumpkin (3-6lbs)
• 3 granny smith apples
• 3 pears, any variety
• 1 cup pecans or 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon orange peel, plus
• orange juice, from orange
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons rum

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 350°f.
• 2 mix spice mix together by combining the first five ingredients.
• 3 cut the top of the pumpkin off leaving a lid but enough room to stick your hand in and clean out the seeds and stringy pulp.
• 4 mix 2 tablespoons butter and ½ of the spice mix into a paste and rub it all over the inside of the pumpkin and pumpkin lid.
• 5 bake the pumpkin with the lid on for 15 minutes on a cookie sheet.
• 6 in the meantime, coarsely chop the apples and pears, then mix with the last of the spice mix, butter (cut into chunks), and remaining ingredients.
• 7 stuff the pumpkin tightly with the mix and place the lid back on. the inside stuffing will bake down a bit as the apples and pears soften.
• 8 bake for 45 minutes and check for doneness based upon how soft the flesh is when pierced with a fork. continue baking until pumpkin is cooked, covering the top loosely with foil if it starts to blacken.
• 9 cool with the lid off for 20 minutes and serve scoops of the pumpkin flesh and stuffing next to vanilla ice cream and a slice of pound cake.