Halloween will be over before you know it. That means tearing down all the decorations and eating all the candy. What about your pumpkin? Most people just take them and chunk them. Have you ever thought of the all the pumpkin possibilities? Well, below I've got five ways on how to re-use that pumpkin and I don't mean just for decoration.

1. Save for Thanksgiving

This idea is extremely easy. Just take that pumpkin and keep it. There's nothing like extra decorations for Thanksgiving you already have. Your pumpkin could even help bring out that Thanksgiving Centerpiece!

2. Make a Pumpkin Spice Latte

Recipe by FarmGirl Gourmet

Ingredients: Milk (2% recommended), coffee, pumpkin pie spice mixture (or mix your own cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg blend), maple syrup, pumpkin, vanilla extract. Optional: cinnamon sticks and maple pumpkin butter as garnish

1) Measure and pour milk into saucepan on your stove (latte: one espresso shot will need 3/4 cup milk; café au lait: will need approximately ½ cup milk for a 2:1 coffee/milk ratio)

2) Add in 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon organic maple syrup and 1 teaspoon pumpkin puree. Stir well.

3) Heat the mixture on medium/hot heat, stirring occasionally.

4) Meanwhile, brew coffee or espresso. For drip coffee, it's recommended to use a pumpkin spice blend such as Dunkin Donuts or Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice coffee.

5) Remove milk from stovetop once it is hot and use a milk frother to froth it. The mixture should double in size and create a nice foam or simply use your blender.

6) Once milk is frothed, combine in a mug with espresso or coffee. Garnish with pumpkin pie spice. Optional: add a cinnamon stick.

3. Pumpkin Face Mask

Recipe by Beautylish

(Yields one facial mask)
2 Tbsp organic canned pumpkin puree or 1 small pumpkin
1/2 tsp organic honey
1/2 tsp milk (I used skim, but you can substitute soy or almond)

Directions

1: Start with clean skin. Remove all makeup and wash your face with your regular cleanser.

2: Combine pumpkin puree, honey, and milk in a small bowl and mix well. If using a fresh pumpkin (or leftovers from a carved jack-o-lantern), scrape the insides and remove the seeds. Beat the gooey insides to a creamy pulp and mix with honey and milk.

3: Apply the mask using your fingers or a medium-sized makeup brush; avoid getting the mixture too close to the eyes. You can also apply to the neck and decolletage, but you’ll probably need to double the ingredients.

4: Allow the mask to set for about 20 minutes.

5: Gently wash off the mask with a warm, damp washcloth and follow with a moisturizer.

4. Make Pumpkin Butter

Recipe by OhSheGlows

• 4 – 4.5 cups fresh pumpkin puree (made from ~3.8 pounds sugar pumpkin)
• 1/4 cup sweet apple cider or apple juice, more if needed
• 1 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar, unpacked)
• 3-4 tbsp pure maple syrup, to taste
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice (enhances flavour and helps preserve)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• pinch of fine grain sea salt

1. Roast your sugar pumpkins (see this tutorial). Cool for 10 minutes on pan before handling.

2. Add pumpkin flesh (without the skin) in a blender. Add juice and blend until smooth, stopping to push down the pumpkin when necessary. It may take a bit to get it going.

3. Add the Sucanat (or brown sugar), maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Process again until super smooth and no clumps remain.

4. Spoon mixture into a medium-sized pot. Cover with lid and prop lid ajar with a wooden spoon. Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a low boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for about 10 minutes, or until it’s as thick as you want it. Keep the lid ajar throughout the cooking process – you will find it splatters everywhere so be careful! I like to keep the lid propped up on an angle while I stir the mixture so I don’t get splattered. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

5. Cool completely, stir in lemon juice and a pinch of salt, and then store in a sealed jar in the fridge. Should keep for 2-4 weeks.

5. Bake Pumpkin Gut Bread

Ingredients (Makes two loafs)
2 cups of fresh pumpkin guts (the stringy part separated from the seeds)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
3 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Use your fingers and a pair of scissors to separate the pumpkin guts, making sure they’ll be able to mix well into the batter.

Combine flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add eggs, water, oil and pumpkin. Stir until blended. Add nuts. Mix well. Pour into two 9×5″ loaf pans. Bake 1 hour. Cool slightly and take out of pans to let cool on a rack.