Buñuelos de Calabaza (Pumpkin Fritters)

Welcome fall with this delightful guilty pleasure!

Yields approx. 3 dozen; syrup recipe included as well.


Ingredients:

1 pound fresh pumpkin
4 spice cloves
1 cinnamon stick
½ inch fresh ginger root
1 pound all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
5 ounces sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
½ cup 2% milk
Canola oil for frying fritters


Directions:

1. Peel and clean pumpkin; cut into small pieces.
2. In a medium-size pan, boil pumpkin, cloves, cinnamon and ginger for approximately 20 minutes, until tender. Drain and reserve liquid. Cool pumpkin for 15 minutes, and puree it in a food processor. Set aside.
3. Mix flour, 4 ounces of sugar (set aside the 5th ounce), baking powder and salt. Add egg to center of dry mixture, and slowly beat to incorporate all the ingredients. Mix milk with ½ cup of residual liquid used for boiling the pumpkin, and add slowly to the batter.
4. Flour your hands and knead the batter well. Place batter in a bowl, and cover with a slightly damp cloth. Let rest for 40 minutes.
5. Heat oil in a frying pan.
6. Mix batter with pumpkin puree.
7. Wet your fingers in water. Make a ring or donut shape by taking about two tablespoons of dough in your hand and using your middle and index fingers to make a hole in the center. Place ring in hot oil and fry for 3–4 minutes, or until golden brown. You may fry several at once. Or, if you prefer little balls, use an ice cream scoop and dump the dough into the hot oil.
8. Place hot fritters over paper towels and sprinkle them with remaining sugar.
9. Serve warm.

Syrup recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
½ teaspoon lime juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Put all the ingredients, except for the vanilla, in a medium-size pot on medium heat until the sugar melts and little threads begin to form. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla, and stir.

To learn more about me or my recipes, visit me at DenisseOller.com and at AARP, where I am a chef and nutrition expert.

Other recipes by Denisse:

Pastelón de Yuca y Pollo
Mango Pie
Polvorosa de Pollo (Chicken Pot Pie)
Vegetarian Paella
Scallop Ceviche with Serrano Chile
Cod in Tomato Sauce
Tinga de Pollo (Mexican Shredded Chicken in Smoky Tomato Sauce)
Caldo Tlalpeño (Tlalpeño Soup)
The Mexican Tamale: A Delight for the Palate
Shrimp Asopao with Pigeon Peas

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