Mini-Pumpkin Kiddie Snack
M took her very first field trip last week with her preschool to a pumpkin patch. She was so excited. She got to ride in a school bus for the first time (which I was a nervous wreck about), but she had a blast. They were safely buckled in sang songs the entire ride over.
The first part of the field trip included an education section going over all the different types of pumpkins. The last pumpkin they talked about were the tiny little baby pumpkins. They said all you had to do is scoop out the insides, bake it, and you have a yummy snack. Aside from the hay rides, pumpkin picking, and sunflower adventures, all M would talk about was making a little pumpkin snack. So last week, on a very dark rainy San Diego afternoon, we baked ourselves a mini-pumpkin snack.
First thing you do is take a paring knife and cut the top off.
Next you want to scoop all the seeds out. This was M’s favorite part!
One the seeds are completely removed you want to place a tiny pat of butter (about 1/2 tsp) in the bottom of the pumpkin. Followed by 1/2 tsp brown sugar and dusting of cinnamon. Next, fill the pumpkin about 3/4 full with all natural unsweetened applesauce and sprinkle with a final dusting of cinnamon.
Place the top back on and bake at 375 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until the pumpkin flesh is tender.
This is the final product. The hardest part for M was waiting for it to cool. It was piping hot right out of the oven. I took the lid of let it cool for a good 30 minutes.
Once cooled, I showed M how to use her spoon to mix up the pumpkin “meat” with the applesauce.
She ate the entire thing and loved every bite.
If you’re taking your kids to a pumpkin patch I highly recommend doing this for them. It was not only educational for M, but produced an extremely healthy snack that we will be making again very soon!
Hi! My daughter goes to the same school- we heard about your blog from a teacher, and I love it! I had a quick question: if we were to make this pumpkin snack, do we need a specific type of pumpkin? It’s such a cute idea, and I’d like to try it with my daughter. Thanks so much!
Hi there! I don’t think you need a specific type of pumpkin, just those tiny ones they sell at the grocery store or trader joes. That’s so great your daughter goes to the same school! Thanks for reading 🙂