Instructions

1. Select a pumpkin to cook. Unless you are planning to cook a lot of pumpkin dishes or make several pies, a small pumpkin is sufficient to make a couple pies. Pumpkins with a darker color provide a richer tasting mash.

2. Wash the pumpkin well. You can cook it with or without the outer skin, but it's easier to leave the skin on so be sure to remove all the dirt.

3. Use a sharp knife to cut the stem away from the top of the pumpkin. Discard it. If you like to eat pumpkin seeds, pull them out of the pumpkin's cavity and set them aside to cook later. Discard the stringy part.

4. Cut the pumpkin into chunks. Try to make the pieces as uniform as possible so they bake in about the same amount of time.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pumpkin chunks skin side down on baking sheets. Place them in the oven for at least one hour. Test the pumpkin with a fork. The fork should easily go into the pumpkin meat. Let the pumpkin cook longer if necessary. Remove the cooked pumpkin from the oven. Let it cool.

6. Scrape the cooled pumpkin away from its skin. Discard the skin. Put the pumpkin in a food processor. Mash the pumpkin until it is the desired consistency. Or you can mash the pumpkin with a mixer or a potato masher. The food processor is the most likely to give you lump-free pumpkin to use in your recipes.

7. Continue making your selected pumpkin recipe. Measure and use the mashed pumpkin just like you would pumpkin from a can.