Pumpkin Fondue

Oh, my gosh! This is so yummy we took it to two parties and everyone loved it. And it's pretty so it's great to bring when you're invited to someone's house for the fall holidays.

The recipe calls for cream cheese but you can make it with Neufchatel cheese and save the fat calories!

You'll need:

• 1 small pumpkin –about 5 inches in diameter
• 4 apples
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin (made for pie filling)
• 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese –room temperature
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 2-3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice*
• Ginger snaps
• A little adult help

Equipment:

• A sharp knife
• A 1 ½ - quart bowl
• A food processor
• A spatula

1. Have your adult helper cut the top off the pumpkin just like you would for a jack-o-lantern. Pull the seeds out and scrape out all the stringy stuff. You're making a bowl out of the pumpkin so clean it out well.
2. Fill the bowl half-way with water and add the lemon juice. This is a bath for the cut apples. Cut apples turn brown when they sit in the air. This is called “oxidation”because the oxygen in the air is affecting the cells in the cut side of the apple. The acidic lemon juice will stop this process.
3. Put the canned pumpkin, cream cheese, sugar and spice into the processor and blend until smooth.
4. Spoon into the pumpkin shell and refrigerate until ready to serve. Place the pumpkin on a large plate. Drain the apple slices and arrange them and the ginger snaps around the pumpkin.
5. Offer some to your guests and watch them dig in!

*You can also make your own pumpkin pie spice. Use 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and a ¼ teaspoon each of ground nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves.