Pumpkin-maple-yogurt Cheese

Total Time: 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 12 ounces yogurt cheese (made with nonfat milk, see note)
• 6 ounces canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (generous)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried orange peel (generous)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (scant, more like 1/16 tsp. really)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Recipe

• 1 note re: yogurt cheese: there are several recipes on 'zaar for making your own. you essentially take plain yogurt (without gelatin in it!) wrap it in cheesecloth, and suspend it over a bowl in the refrigerator for 4-24 hours. (the longer you drain it, the tarter and thicker it gets). for this, i use trader joe's plain nonfat greek yogurt. you need about three cups of yogurt to get this amount of yogurt cheese. try it! you'll love it!
• 2 throw everything into your food processor and process until smooth. refrigerate 24 hours.
• 3 this will be thinner/more spreadable than whipped cream cheese; the texture will depend on how long you drain your yogurt. if you want the spread to be a little thicker, you can blend in a few ounces of neufchatel cheese.
• 4 i use this on bagels or bread, or on fruit -- or i roll it in a low-fat, high-fiber tortilla (like joseph's tortillas, or trader joe's lo-carb whole wheat tortillas) for a lovely sweet snack.