Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

There is a bagel chain near my house that has a pumpkin cream cheese spread that I used to crave. One day it occurred to me to look up a recipe to make my own, and for weeks on end I ate pumpkin cream cheese spread on everything I could. I have experimented with the recipe a couple times this fall trying to eliminate the sugar my original recipe had. A few nights ago I had a chance to try out the sugarless recipe on friends and they liked it. My kids are loving this dip, and continually asking for more "pumpkin frosting" for their apples. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip (or Spread)

Ingredients

1 block (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

¼ cup of honey
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

- In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese, honey, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add pumpkin and spices until well mixed.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Serve with apples, pretzels, or gingersnaps for dipping. You could also use this as a spread on bagels.

Cost:

Organic Cream Cheese (Sprouts): $1.75

Pumpkin (Target): $.60

Honey (local from co-op): $.50

Spices (Vitacost): $.15

Total: $3.00 (plus cost of whatever you serve the dip with)