Is it possible to cook pumpkin for pumpkin pie with out cutting it in half and cooking it with the skin?

Rachie: Is it possible to cook pumpkin for pumpkin pie with out cutting it in half and cooking it with the skin?
Is it possible to cook pumpkin for pumpkin pie with out cutting it in half and cooking it with the skin? Because intead of destroying the pumpkin I want to make a Jack-O-Lantern, make it into a pumkin pie, then make pumpkin seeds with the seeds.
Is it possible to cook pumpkin for pumpkin pie with out cutting it in half and cooking it with the skin? Because intead of destroying the pumpkin I want to make a Jack-O-Lantern, make it into a pumkin pie, then make pumpkin seeds with the seeds. Even if it is hard to cook the pumkin without cutting it in half is it still possible?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Michele
Get a separate pumpkin for your jack o’lantern.

First of all, the pumpkin you get for pies is a “pie pumpkin” (small baking pumpkins)…they are different than the big huge pumpkins you see sitting outside the grocery store to carve as jack o’lanterns (those are not tasty and make poor pumpkin pies).

You CAN bake the seeds from either pumpkin, however (and from acorn squash too, if you ever desire to!)

As for baking the pumpkin…the easiest way is to cut it in half, seed it and bake it. It would be very hard to scrape out the raw flesh and bake it without the skin.

You can get cheap pumpkins closer to Halloween and at Farmers Markets.

I hope this helps!

EDIT:

The answer I guess you are looking for is that if you were to buy a pie pumpkin and turn it into a jack o’lantern, can you then bake it off as a pie? I wouldn’t…after leaving a pumpkin out with a candle in it, I wouldn’t cook it. You want to bake a fresh pumpkin, not one whose flesh has been exposed to the air for a day or two. You can’t get the fresh flesh out to bake when it is raw and you have carved it for a jack o’ lantern either. So, the answer is no.

Answer by wry humor
As Michele pointed out, jack-o-lantern pumpkins make poor pumpkin pies. Her instructions for cooking the pumpkin are good. Pie pumpkins are seldom seen at regular super markets. Farmers’ markets, green grocers and fruit/veggie stands are your best bet for getting a pie pumpkin. If you cannot find one and do want to make-your-own pie filling, suitable substitutes are Butternut and Hubbard squashes, which are often available at supermarkets. Even Acorn and Delicato squash do fairly well. And all do better than jack-o-lantern pumpkins.