Pumpkin Pillows

Have I mentioned in the past my love of pumpkin? I think it has something to do with my love of Fall. It's wintertime but since you can still find canned pumpkin in the grocery store I decided to try out this Kraft recipe.

I'm usually intimidated by any recipe that requires me to deep-fry something. I just have this idea in my head that deep-frying on top of the stove is difficult. I'm also not going to jump at the opportunity to make something deep-fried, knowing that no matter how healthy the ingredients, it's not going to be healthy after I cook it. But don't get me wrong. If you know me then you know I love fried foods. Doesn't everyone? I mean, you love it (admit it) but you attempt to avoid it because you know it is not good for you.

This recipe calls to wonton wrappers. Not being a fan of Asian food, in general, I didn't really know what wonton wrappers were. Well, it turns out they are this neat little thing that is kind of like pasta...at least to me. You can wrap stuff with sweet or savory ingredients and boil them for a semi-homemade ravioli. You can fry them or bake them. They seem quite versatile.

So I followed the recipe exactly except when it came to the temperature of the oil. How are you supposed to measure the temperature of the oil before frying? I'll tell you how I did it and then you can give me recommendations as to how to check the temperature in the future. I took out one of my thermometers that I got from work. Well, that only measured up to 300F. I needed to measure up to 350F. I took out my candy thermometer and it was taking so long to measure the temperature that I gave up after it hit 325F. It seemed well on its way to 350F.

I placed my first 4 "pillows" in the oil and the burnt immediately. Yay! I reduced the heat and let the oil cool for a minute or so and placed my next batch inside. By the time I got my fourth pillow into the oil the first one was ready to be flipped. By the time I had flipped my last pillow the first one was ready to come out. It was a very fast process. The recipe said it would take 2-3 minutes to cook, but for me and my hot oil it took about 30 seconds, tops.

They turned out great! The caramel sauce that you dip it in turned out great too! Definitely makes a fun presentation, definitely makes a bit of a mess in the kitchen, definitely reheats really well in the oven (pop them in, heat oven to 350F for 10 minutes and then remove - no need to preheat). I crimped my edges with a pastry wheel and that worked out really well.

Here's a photo I took with my phone. I forgot to put powdered sugar on the first batch.

Ingredients

12 Caramels

1 tsp. water

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. flour

1/4 tsp. orange zest

20+ won ton wrappers

1 egg white, lightly beaten

2 cups oil

1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Directions

MICROWAVE caramels and water in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec.; stir until caramels are completely melted. Cool 2 min. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Refrigerate until ready to use.

WHISK cream cheese, pumpkin, brown sugar, flour, zest and remaining cinnamon until well blended. Spoon about 2 tsp. onto center of each won ton wrapper. Moisten edges with egg white; fold diagonally in half. Pinch edges together tightly to seal.

HEAT oil in large saucepan on medium-high heat to 350ºF. Add won tons, in batches; cook 2 to 3 min. or until evenly browned. Drain. Cool slightly or to room temperature. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with caramel sauce.

Make Ahead

Cook won tons as directed. Freeze up to 2 months. When ready to reheat, place frozen won tons on baking sheet. (No need to thaw first.) Bake at 350°F for 15 min. or until heated through.