Hiya foodie fam! This blog post is the first in a mini series of “dips” for the holiday season. I have two more delicious dips lined up for you in the next two weeks- so if you’re looking for an easy dish to take to your holiday get together-these are party pleasers for sure!
What better ingredient to inspire your foodie creations for the holidays than pumpkin? You could always go the gourmet route, and gut a pumpkin yourself- but I’m a fan of canned pumpkin for several reasons. 1. It’s super, duper easy. pop the can pour. (or scrape with a spoon. whatever). 2. It’s already prepared into a ready-to-go pulp. 3. It stays good forever (in the can) and doesn’t spoil. 4. The smooth texture makes a great base for baking. Need I say more?
I make a pumpkin dip almost every year for entertaining during the winter months. This year I decided to “spice it up” and add some Bailey’s. If you’ve been following any of my food posts, you’ll know that I look for almost any excuse to cook with alcohol. Pour a little the bowl, and a little for me. Pour a little in the bowl, and a little for me. . .
Also, I wanted to offer dipper other options besides just apples. Aaron suggested snickerdoodles, so to save time I just bought some sugar cookie dough, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and rolled it out and baked it. Then I cut it into little “dipper sticks” as you can see in the photos. It makes for a much cuter presentation, don’t you think? Gingersnaps would be good too- whatever your preference! You can portion these out individually as shown, or in a community bowl (see top photo).
- 1-8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temp
- 1-15 oz can Libby's pumpkin
- 1- Tbsp Lockerbean's Vanilla (Locally made and bottled here in Indianapolis)
- 3 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur
- ground cinnamon
- 1/2 Tbsp chopped pecans
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 2 c powder sugar, sifted
- With a mixer, blend cream cheese, pumpkin, vanilla, and baileys.
- Mix until well blended.
- Gradually blend in powder sugar.
- Last, blending in spices.
- Transfer to serving bowl(s) and serve chilled.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon and chopped pecans.
- Serve with apples, Snickerdoodle sticks or gingersnaps as dippers.
