Sweet Pumpkin Tamales

Pumpkin tamales are a delicious fall treat for the season. Packed with hearty flavors and pumpkin spice aromas, those tamales are for sure also a delicious dessert to serve for your Thanksgiving dinner.

About

Pumpkin Tamales are a sweet treat consisting of a tamal made with pumpkin puree, pecans, brown sugar, butter, and pumpkin spice. It can be served as a dessert drizzled with condensed milk or as breakfast along with atole or champurrado.

Pumpkin spice tamales are not a traditional Mexican recipe, but they’re still as delicious as you can imagine, filled with autumn flavors, and a perfect idea to celebrate Día de Muertos.

Ingredients

• MASA HARINA: You can find this type of flour at any Mexican grocery store and also on Amazon.
• PUMPKIN PUREE: We’re making our own puree with fresh pumpkin, feel free to swap it for canned puree.
• PUMPKIN SPICE: I am using a mix of spices that you can easily replace with store-bought pumpkin spice.
• BUTTER: Butter gives a nice texture to tamales, if you want a vegan version of this dish swap butter for vegetable oil, corn oil is a good substitute.
• PECANS: I’m using chopped pecans for this recipe, it is an optional ingredient and you can replace them with your favorite nut or leave it out if you want.
• SUGAR: Brown sugar adds not only a fabulous flavor to sweet pumpkin tamales but also a nice dark color.
• BAKING POWDER: This helps tamales to be a little bit softer and fluffy.

How To Make Pumpkin Tamales

*If you using fresh pumpkin, start by making the puree, otherwise go to the next step.

BEFORE STARTING: Soak the corn husks in warm water for about 30 minutes to soften and make them pliable. Remove from water and pat dry thoroughly (read notes).
Also, prepare a Mexican steamer (vaporera) or a large stock pot with a steamer basket.

MAKE THE PUMPKIN PUREE: Place pumpkin in a pot and add the cinnamon stick and anise star. Cover about half an inch with water and boil until tender (about 15 minutes). Set aside and allow to cool down.

Remove the pumpkin from the pot and add it to a food processor or a blender. Blend until pureed and set aside.

MAKE THE TAMALES DOUGH: Place masa harina, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, melted butter, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add the spices and baking powder.

Mix at low speed for 3 minutes. If you are using canned puree you will need to add a little bit of water, start adding a few tablespoons then add more if needed.

You have to achieve a slightly sticky masa dough, but somehow firm that allows you to make a ball.

Add the chopped pecans and using a spatula, mix to combine. You can also add any other extras you want here (read notes).

MAKE TAMALES: Spread about 1/3 cup of pumpkin tamales dough onto the middle of a corn husk and spread it a bit.

Fold the husk to close, then fold the pointy edge towards the center.

Place the tamal in the steamer standing with the open side up, use some aluminum foil to fill some gaps, and help the tamales to stand up. Repeat the steps until all dough is used.

STEAM TAMALES: Cover the pot, and steam the pumpkin tamales for about 1 hour and a half, checking occasionally and adding more water when needed.

To check out if pumpkin spice tamales are ready, take one from the pot and open it in a plate, allow it to cool down slightly then taste. If they need more time just return the tamal to the pot and keep cooking until ready.

Notes

• Don’t worry about the pumpkin puree being too watery, as we need some moisture to make those sweet tamales.
• If you using canned pumpkin puree, you’ll need also some liquid to make the masa, so add first about a few tablespoons of water or milk then add more if needed.
• If you don’t have corn husks available, you can also use parchment paper to make those pumpkin spice tamales, just cut some paper into 8×6 inch (20x15cm) rectangles and use those instead corn husks.
• You can also add some extra ingredients to the dough such as raisins, chopped pineapple, or chopped apples.
• Make it vegan by replacing the butter with your favorite type of vegetable oil, we recommend coconut oil or corn oil.

How To Serve

My favorite way of eating those tamales is with atole de elote or with champurrado in the evening, or with a glass of milk in the morning.

If you want to serve them as a dessert I suggest drizzling some homemade condensed milk, melted butter, or some delicious cajeta on top, so yummy!

How To Store Tamales

Believe it or not, many people wonder how to store tamales. Should they have the husk off? should I leave them? Well, you can do both, but leaving the husks on helps to keep those pumpkin spice tamales moist and prevent them from drying out quickly.

So, place your tamales in an air-tight container or zip-locked bags and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. Otherwise, wrap them individually with cling film (again, husks on) and freeze for up to 2 months.

How To Reheat Tamales

There are various ways to reheat sweet pumpkin tamales, for instance, you can unwrap them and reheat them in the microwave.

Or you can also melt a little bit of butter in a non-sticking pan and slightly fry tamales.

If you want to reheat tamales with the husks on, you can do so in a steamer, which is the best way for reheating, or you can also heat them up in a grill or a griddle pan until the husk have charred marks and pumpkin tamales are heated through.

More Mexican Tamales

• Traditional tamales rojos.
• Tamales Oaxaqueños.
• Rajas and cheese tamales.

Video

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