I made this Pumpkin Spice and Toasted Walnut Cream Cheese Recipe for a friend’s bridal shower, and it was a big hit. I just had to share it with you all 🙂
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This spread was actually one of three cream cheeses that I made for the party. I also whipped up some herb and scallion cream cheese and mixed berry and honey cream cheese. Each one was delicious.
Making flavored cream cheese at home is pretty simple! Just add ingredients in stages to a stand mixer, and beat until (mostly) smooth. In this recipe, room temperature cream cheese is beaten with heavy cream, pumpkin puree, vanilla, spices, brown sugar, maple syrup and chopped toasted walnuts. The toasted walnuts take pumpkin spice in a different direction, adding little pops of golden crunch.
Serve this flavored cream cheese with toasted bagels for any autumnal occasion. A harvest brunch. Halloween breakfast. Thanksgiving morning. You’ll have enough for four bagels, so double or triple the recipe for a crowd if needed! Continue reading for the recipe.
The one important thing to keep in mind here, is that the cream cheese needs to be at room temperature before you mix everything else in. If the cream cheese is cold, it won’t blend smoothly and you’ll have a lumpy spread. It needs to sit for several hours on the counter before mixing.
You can make this cream cheese recipe several days in advance. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
In other news, Jorge and I are heading out to Japan today, and we’ll be gone for the next 14 days! I’ll be posting daily updates on Instagram, so come say hello. We are visiting Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, and then spending a couple of days in Seoul, South Korea before flying back to California.
Pumpkin Spice and Toasted Walnut Cream Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream (or whole milk)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped
Instructions
- Add cream cheese and heavy cream to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium until the cream cheese is smooth (about 1 minute). Add pumpkin, vanilla, spices, brown sugar and maple syrup, beating until mostly smooth. Add toasted walnuts and beat until combined.
- Transfer cream cheese to a bowl and serve with toasted bagels. You can prepare the cream cheese several days in advance. Store covered in the fridge until ready to use, and let come to room temperature before serving.
I’m Brandon: food explorer, recipe curator, cocktail shaker, dessert lover. Kitchen Konfidence is how I document my time spent in my favorite space, the kitchen. Did you make a recipe? Tag @brandiego on Instagram so I can see the how it went!
mimi rippee says
Back when I catered, I made many flavored cream cheeses, sometimes with goat cheese as well. But never a pumpkin variety! This is fabulous! Have a great trip.