Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

I've seen variations of this idea floating around Pinterest for awhile now. I love anything pumpkin, so the notion of drinking what amounted to a pumpkin pie was very appealing to me. I wasn't so sure the kiddos would go for it, but they really liked it, too.If you like your smoothies really creamy, it's essential that you freeze the pumpkin before mixing everything up. So it does require a little forethought and planning, but the results are spectacular!

A few hours before you plan to make the smoothies, open a can of pumpkin and scrape it into a freezer container. Freeze until mostly solid. You don't really want one big chunk of frozen pumpkin, so make sure you can break it up before putting it in the blender.

Now here's what you need for the smoothie:

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin, frozen as directed above
1 cup plain yogurt
2-3 cups milk (I started out using 2 but added a little more to thin the smoothies out)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP maple syrup
2 teas vanilla extract
2 teas pumpkin pie spice

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

If you've ever made a pumpkin pie, you know that 1/3 cup of sugar isn't much sweetener, even if you add in some maple syrup. If this isn't sweet enough to your family's tastes, just add a little more brown sugar or syrup.

This recipe made enough for 4 servings as shown above. We'll definitely be enjoying these again soon!