Pumpkin Wonton Howlers
Crispy and Delicious
Thanksgiving isn’t a big to-do at my home, my husband and I both are only children, my parents are gone, and his parents don’t do much for the holidays. In 2020, we decided to turn Thanksgiving weekend (Thursday-Sunday) into a Harry Potter weekend.
I was tasked to make Harry Potter-themed food that also fit into the mold of Thanksgiving food. These pumpkin-stuffed wontons, that resembled little envelopes, seemed to work perfectly, and they became our Pumpkin Wonton Howlers!
What You’ll Need
To make the wontons, you only need a few ingredients, pumpkin, ricotta cheese, a bit of salt and cinnamon, the wonton wrappers, and some oil for deep frying. Making these couldn’t be easier, though they take a bit of time to fold. I’d never used wonton wrappers before but once you get the hand of folding them, it goes faster.
Let’s Get Cooking
In a food processor or mixer (or hand mix) combine the pumpkin, cheese, salt, and cinnamon until mixed and creamy
Prepare a surface to work with your wonton wrappers. I just used a bit of parchment paper. Also, have a small bit of water available. Lay out a wonton wrapper and stuff a tbsp of the pumpkin/cheese mixture into the center. Moisten the edges with water to help the corners adhere, and bring corners together. Fold up the wonton like a little envelope.
Repeat these steps until all the wrappers have been used. You can start to heat your oil here too. I used a Dutch oven and oil and eyed the temperature, however, you could use an electric skillet or deep fryer, heating the oil to about 375℉.
To fry the wontons, fry them in small batches for about 30-60 seconds on each side or until they get crispy and brown. Use a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel to allow them to drain.
To Serve
I made a dip to go with these. I used some powdered sugar, sour cream, marmalade, and a pinch of cinnamon to make a dip.
Thanksgiving, Harry Potter Weekend, or Anytime
We really liked these Pumpkin Wonton Howlers, my kids had a blast helping prepare them, and they really liked them too. They are not overpowering in the pumpkin department, they have a subtle flavor but you could add some spices (curry maybe) to make them your own.
The dip is good but could be changed for taste. I used marmalade but you could use peach or apricot jam, or try with another type of sweet dip, maybe something cream cheese-based.
These made cute little pumpkin-stuffed envelopes. To go with our Harry Potter theme, we turned them into howlers, if you are unfamiliar with the movie… well they are hard to explain, but they are magical envelopes. As a Thanksgiving dish, these would make a great appetizer and we plan on making them again!
If you make these please let me know what you think! You can comment below or head over to Instagram or Facebook and share your pics… tag me @bemandfam!
I will eventually tag the whole feast of our 2020 and 2021 Harry Potter weekends, but until then, for more fall/Thanksgiving posts and ideas, head here!
Happy Cooking!
BEM and Fam 🙂
PS. This post has some affiliate links, read more about those here
Fun recipe perfect for Thanksgiving or as part of a Harry Potter menu
- 15 oz pumpkin not sweetened or pie filling just pumpkin
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- ½-1 tsp cinnamon this is to your taste, add more or less... or none
- 1 package wonton wrappers about 40
- oil to fry enough to let them sit in the oil
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup marmalade substitute for another jam or preserve of your choice but stay in the stone fruits or citrus family for best pairing
- 1 tsp cinnamon
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Mix pumpkin, cheese, salt, and cinnamon together until creamy
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Use a tbsp. to spoon in the mixture onto a wonton
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Moisten the edges of the wonton and fold it closed to resemble and envelope
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Repeat for all wontons
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Heat oil and fry the wontons in small batches, for 30-60 seconds each side
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Sit wontons on paper towel and allow to drain
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As the wontons drain, mix all dip ingredients until creamy and serve with wontons.
