These pumpkin cream cheese rangoons are a fall twist on a unique appetizer. The pumpkin cream cheese filling is a savory fall snack while the dip is a sweet spiced treat. And when combined they make a great appetizer for any fall gathering.

The pumpkin season is upon us – that means we can now make pumpkin treats and recipes galore. So, check out these sweet and savory rangoons. A savory pumpkin cream cheese filling encased in a crispy wonton wrapper is as perfect as it sounds.

If you’ve never tried making rangoons before, know that they are a bit of work. But with the help of this recipe, you can whip up these fun little treats in no time. I make these delicious, festive rangoons by mixing cream cheese with canned pumpkin, adding spices, and folding it all together in a wonton wrapper!

These snacks are not only fun and delicious to eat, but they also look great. So let’s get into all of the steps involved with making them.

What Are Rangoons?

Crab rangoons are typically fried appetizers found primarily in American Chinese restaurants. As far as I’m aware, its origin has been traced back to a Polynesian-style restaurant from San Francisco in the 1950s.

You may have heard them called crab puffs, crab pillows, crab cheese wontons, or cheese wontons. But I’ve always known them as crab rangoons.

Crab rangoons are made of wonton wrappers that are filled with sweetened cream cheese and a mixture of crab meat. The wonton wrappers are deep-fried and folded into some form of star or pouch, creating a pocket to hold the filling. They are typically served with some kind of sweet and sour dipping sauce to round out the experience.

So, I took this general appetizer idea and wanted to twist it into a fall-themed dish.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Rangoon Ingredients

These pumpkin cream cheese rangoons include a few different parts: the pumpkin cream cheese filling, the wonton wrappers, and the sweet dip.

To make this easier, we’re going to use store-bought wonton wrappers. You may be able to find some in either the fridge or freezer section of your grocery store. They are thin squares of dough that are roughly 3 inches on each side. If you’re really dedicated, you can make the wrappers yourself.

The main ingredients in the pumpkin cream cheese filling are cheese and pumpkin. Surprise! To complement it, we’ll add some garlic, shallots, salt, pepper, sage, oil, and maple syrup. This filling is a savory pumpkin treat. Similar to a filling you might make for homemade ravioli.

Since crab rangoons are typically served with a dipping sauce, I wanted to make one for this dish as well. In order to balance things out, the dip for these pumpkin cream cheese rangoons is sweet. I’m not going to lie, it is basically cream cheese frosting… so read on for that.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling

It’s not too hard to make pumpkin cream cheese filling.

Start with chopping the garlic, shallot, and sage. Then saute them together with olive oil in a pan until the shallot just becomes translucent.

Then add all of the other filling ingredients into a bowl and get to mixing. You can mix by hand or with a hand mixer. Just make sure to get everything thoroughly combined.

The filling itself is mostly savory. The sauteed mixture along with salt, pepper, cheese, and pumpkin all add to the creamy, delicious filling. And then a little bit of maple syrup helps bring in a bit of sweetness that will help the rangoons pair with the dipping sauce.

Once again, make sure you get a smooth consistency. We’ll be dolloping this out into the center of the wonton wrappers in order to fold and fry them. And you don’t want a rangoon that’s only cream cheese.

How to Fold Rangoons

I’ll be folding these into a kind of 4-point star formation that I’ve traditionally seen with crab rangoons. But you could just fold them in half, or like wontons, or really any way that seals it together. These instructions are for the star rangoons.

The goal is to fold them into a neat little package that will seal so no filling comes out while cooking. To start, set up a rangoon filling station. Have your wonton wrappers, pumpkin cream cheese filling, and a small bowl of water ready to go. Also, make sure there’s space to hold a bunch of uncooked rangoons.

It may take a few tries to really learn it, but It’s easy to fold rangoons.

Start by setting out a single wonton wrapper (step 1). Then add about 3/4 of a tablespoon of filling to the center of the wrapper. Dip a finger in the bowl of water and trace the outside edges of the wonton wrapper, rewetting as needed (step 2). It is hard to see in the photo, but the entire edge is dragged with water. This helps the edges stick and seal when folded together.

Now take the midpoints between each corner and pull them up and together so that all four midpoints meet at the center of the wrapper (steps 3-5). Try to keep things even so that edges line up. Then gently press all of the edges together so that they seal together.

When done correctly you should end up with a rangoon that looks like step 5, though you may have a few gaps in the seal at the edge or center. They don’t need to be perfect.

Cooking Methods: Fry, Bake, or Air Fry

Now we need some heat. So what kind of cooking method should you use? There are a few options: deep frying, air frying, or baking.

My preferred method is deep frying these pumpkin cream cheese rangoons. They get more crunch and better overall texture this way. The biggest con is that it is definitely the worst for your health. But sometimes, sacrifices must be made in the name of flavor…

You can also opt to bake them in an oven. This will take longer, and I think it lends itself to the filling overflowing and the corners of the rangoons over-browning.

Air frying is basically like a midpoint between deep frying and baking. I think it crisps up better than straight baking but not as much as air frying. And it is still prone to overflowing and over-browning. Note that for both baking and air frying I suggest spraying a bit of canola oil over the rangoons to help them cook.

Sweet Cream Cheese Dip

I’m not gonna lie, this dip is basically just a cream cheese frosting. A cream cheese frosting with a whole lot of fall flavors mixed in. And I know that sounds strange, but trust me the combo of savory rangoons with a sweet dip is divine.

A cream cheese frosting is essentially cream cheese mixed with something sweet and any flavors you’d like. For this appetizer dip, we’re sweetening with maple syrup and flavoring with cinnamon, cloves, and fresh thyme. The thyme brings in a bit of the savory flavors found in the rangoons, but the rest is pure, sweet fall flavor.

And, just like the pumpkin filling, it’s super easy to make. This dip has similar flavors to my brown sugar pumpkin spice butter.

Just chop up the thyme and then combine all 5 dip ingredients in a bowl. Then mix it thoroughly until combined.

I used a hand mixer for this. But you can also use a stand mixer or any old spoon. Just make sure that whatever method you use, it is all mixed together without any clumping cream cheese.

Sweet cream cheese dip is a fantastic dipping food. It’s tangy and creamy. And best of all, it’s incredibly easy to make.

What to Serve with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Rangoons

These pumpkin cream cheese rangoons are best served as an appetizer.

Obviously, I serve the rangoons with the sweet dip that I include in the recipe. I think this dip is key to bringing together the sweet and savory flavors. They aren’t quite the same without it.

If you are looking for meals to serve with this appetizer, look at any of the following:

• Creamy Two-Cheese Pear Ravioli
• Silky Smooth Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
• Pecan and Apple Salad with Mustard Maple Dressing
• Simple Risotto Side Dish

However you serve it, just know you’re in for a delicious combination of sweet and savory fall flavors.

How did yours turn out?

I’d love to hear when you try out these pumpkin cream cheese rangoons! Take a pic of your food and share your success with me by adding it to your Instagram stories or feed, and tagging me @doyouroux, or by using #doyouroux.

Plus, leave a rating to let me know how you liked the recipe. It helps me out a lot to know how things worked out… or didn’t.

Sweet and Savory Pumpkin Cream Cheese Rangoons

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: AppetizersDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

15

servings

Prep time

35

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

55

minutes

These sweet and savory pumpkin cream cheese rangoons are a perfect holiday appetizer or snack for the fall season.

Ingredients

• Sweet Dip

• 1 cup cream cheese, softened

• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• Rangoons

• 1 small shallot

• 1 clove garlic

• 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 15-ounce can of pureed pumpkin

• 1 and 1/3 cup cream cheese

• 1/3 cup ricotta cheese

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 75 wonton wrappers

• Small bowl of water

• Vegetable oil for deep frying or canola cooking spray for air frying and baking

Directions

• Sweet Dip
• Mix together all of the dip ingredients in a medium bowl using a mixing spoon, stand mixer, or electric hand mixer
• Place the mixed dip in the fridge until the rangoons are ready to serve, then give it a quick stir before serving
• Rangoons
• Chop the shallot and sage and mince the garlic
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and then add in the shallot, sage, and garlic
• Stir and cook until the shallot just begins to become translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes, and then remove it from the heat
• Combine the sauteed mixture from the frying pan with the pumpkin, cream cheese, ricotta, maple syrup, salt, and pepper in a bowl
• Mix together the pumpkin filling with a mixing spoon or electric hand mixer to thoroughly stir all of the ingredients until fully combined
• Make a rangoon filling station by setting out the pumpkin filling, wonton wrappers and a small bowl of water
• Preheat the oil (if deep frying) or the oven (if baking or air frying) to 350°F (175°C)
• Working with 1-3 wonton wrappers at a time, place about 3/4 of a tablespoon of pumpkin filling into the center of the wonton wrapper
• Dip a finger in the bowl of water and run it along the entire outside square edge of the wrapper, rewetting as necessary
• Take the midpoints between each corner and pull them up and together so that all four midpoints meet at the center of the wrapper, then gently press all of the edges together so that they seal up
• Repeat steps 8-10 until all wontons are filled
• If deep frying, place 4-5 rangoons at a time in the heated oil and cook until golden brown and crispy (about 3 minutes), then remove them to paper towels to drain
• If baking or air frying, lightly spray the rangoons with canola oil to give them a little fat for cooking, then place them in the oven or air fryer at 350°F (175°C) for 15 to 20 minutes in the oven and for 5 to 10 minutes in the air fryer until golden brown
• Serve the rangoons with the sweet dipping sauce and enjoy!

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Behold the family tradition recipe that I knew growing up simply as ‘scones’. Until I learned later what most people consider scones – which are kind of crumbly and dry-looking and honestly, I’ve never had one (they’re probably tasty in their own right, but they are not my scones…). But still, I guess I should call them fry bread scones to avoid confusion.

Kind of like an obscure cousin of beignets and donuts, these are fried slabs of perfectly golden-brown dough. Add some sweet toppings and it is a dessert that usually masquerades as a breakfast item. Which I love.

My mom started making these on the mornings of our church’s big conference held twice a year. So it became a tradition and a special treat that we rarely had. And one that we always looked forward to growing up.

Because it was a tradition, my wife lovingly made these for our family when the time came. For the longest time, she would use a photo on her phone of a recipe card that had super shorthand instructions to make this. Similar to the German pancake recipe that I had written on a scrap of paper.

So, it is finally immortalized and a little bit easier to follow.

Making and Frying the Dough

My mom first learned of this from a friend. And it starts out with a simple white bread dough recipe.

Begin by mixing together the dry ingredients while heating the wet ingredients together to just melt the butter. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and thoroughly mix them together.

I recommend using a stand mixer with a dough hook to mix everything together. It is faster and easier to bring the ingredients together into a slightly sticky dough.

From there, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and start kneading it for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. It should no longer be sticky when you have finished kneading it.

Now comes the patience. Let it rest in a bowl to rise for an hour.

Once it has about doubles in size after rising for an hour, you are good to start rolling out the dough and cutting your scones. You can honestly cut them into whatever shape you want. It might be interesting some time to try out some cookie cutters and see how that goes…

But rectangles are easy.

Toss them in the melted shortening and let them fry. Actually, don’t toss them. Hot Crisco will get everywhere. Gently place them in the pan and wait until they are golden-brown. Make sure you flip them halfway through cooking.

Then drain them on a paper towel-lined plate, let them cool enough to not burn your tongue, and start chowing down. After you top it with more deliciousness, of course.

Topping Fry Bread Scones

Anything that would go well with a simple fried dough will work. Which is basically everything. We seem to keep uncovering new things that pair with the scones.

We always treated these sort of like pancakes or waffles with respect to toppings. My favorite growing up was a Knott’s Boysenberry syrup that no longer seems to be available anywhere. Also, melting a little butter on top first because apparently frying them in Crisco was just not enough.

Try topping or serving with any of the following:

• Berries
• Whipped Cream
• Salted Caramel or Butterscotch Sauce
• Powdered Sugar
• Three-Berry Syrup
• Nutella

Mix and match and set them all out as options for people to top their own however they like.

Fry Bread Scones

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: Breakfast, DessertDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Rise Time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

Fry bread scones are fried slabs of perfectly golden-brown dough with sweet toppings for dessert or breakfast like beignets and donuts

Ingredients

• 5 3/4 cups flour

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (one 1/4 ounce package)

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1/2 cup milk

• 3 tablespoons butter

• Shortening for frying (like Crisco)

Directions

• Mix the sugar, salt, yeast, and 2 cups of flour in a large bowl or stand mixer bowl
• Heat the water, milk, and butter over low heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm to the touch but not yet hot
• Pour the heated wet ingredients over the mixed dry ones in the bowl, add 3/4 cup flour on top, and stir or mix using the stand mixer with a dough hook to combine
• Add remaining flour, mixing in one cup at a time until the flour is absorbed and the dough is just barely sticky
• Take the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and knead it for about five minutes until it is smooth and elastic
• Grease a large bowl with Pam or butter and place the ball of dough inside
• Let the dough rise, covered for 1 hour until it doubles in size
• Roll out the dough to 1/4-1/2 inch thick
• Let the rolled out dough rise again for 10 to 15 minutes
• While rising, heat the Crisco in a high-sided frying pan on medium heat so that it comes about 2 inches up the side of the pan
• Cut the dough to about 2-inch by 4-inch rectangles
• Fry the pieces of dough, in batches, until puffed and golden-brown about 3 to 5 minutes
• Drain the cooked scones on paper towels and serve warm

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The post Fry Bread Scones Family Recipe (Beignets) appeared first on Do You Roux?.

Fry it in oil and it will taste good. Add in a flavorful breadcrumb coating and it will taste even better. Accompany it with a sauce and you’ve got a perfect appetizer. Savor this crispy, crunchy fried cheese ravioli by ticking all three boxes.

Let me recover from the food coma I am in from eating these before I continue. Just look at the picture below for a moment and I’ll get back to you.

Okay, I think I can soldier on now.

Make this recipe for pillowy, golden-brown, cheesy perfection in a bite. It is a delicious appetizer, can be a great crowd-pleaser, and can be made in large batches for all your guests.

Dredging and Frying

Dredging can mean pulling up fish, dirt, or silt from waterways. But we will not be doing that today. Maybe some other time.

For our cooking purposes, it refers to coating with flour. And from there we will coat in egg and dunk it in a breadcrumb mixture. This helps create a solid breading that really sticks to whatever you are cooking – the ravioli in our case.

My fried shrimp burrito and gorgonzola pear salad with breaded chicken recipes also use a similar dredging process for frying the main protein.

To do this, you’ll have to set up a dredging station. And by that, I just mean setting out some shallow bowls to help take the ravioli from one step to the next until they are coated.

I typically have one plate that they start on, a shallow bowl for flour, a bowl for whisked eggs, a bowl for the breadcrumb mixture, and a plate for the coated ravioli.

Then you can easily dunk the pasta from one bowl into another without a whole lot of mess.

I recommend working in sort of mini-batches by coating 4 to 5 pieces at a time in each bowl. I like to let them sit in the egg bowl for a few seconds so that it soaks a little bit more than just a short dip. If not left in longer, the flour will sometimes create a barrier and the egg will just slide off instead of coating the pasta.

Once it is fully coated, get to frying them up. But be careful of oil splatters!

Fried Cheese Ravioli Appetizer

This recipe is sped up using refrigerated ravioli and jarred marinara sauce. You could always make your own from scratch and bump this recipe to the next level. If you want to make homemade marinara, I recommend this pizza sauce recipe from Serious Eats.

But I will typically use Rao’s jarred marinara that I keep in stock in my pantry, typically from Costco. And then find whatever ravioli seems good from the refrigerated pasta section.

Note that if you want to venture out from the norm, you can experiment with different types of ravioli.

I’ll admit that when I made this batch of fried cheese ravioli, I also snuck in some spinach and cheese ravioli to see how they fared.

And they were quite delicious as well. So feel free to see what flavors of ravioli you prefer.

Fried Cheese Ravioli with Marinara

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: AppetizersDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

45

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

5

minutes

Try these fried cheese ravioli for pillowy, golden-brown, cheesy perfection in a bite, and savor this crispy, crunchy pasta dipped in marinara

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup breadcrumbs

• 1 tablespoon dried basil

• 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

• 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese, divided

• 2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley, divided

• 24 ounces refrigerated cheese ravioli

• Vegetable oil for frying

• 1 cup marinara sauce

Directions

• Create a dredging station: put the flour in the first shallow bowl, whisk the eggs together in a second shallow bowl, then in a third bowl stir together the breadcrumbs, basil, oregano, thyme, 1/4 cup parmesan, and 1 tablespoon parsley
• In batches of 3 to 5 pieces, complete steps 3 through 5 until all ravioli has been breaded
• Dip the ravioli into the flour and then dust it off so that it is just barely coated with no large pockets of flour stuck to the pasta
• Next, dip the flour-coated ravioli into the egg mixture and make sure that all of the pasta has been coated, let the excess egg drip off when removing the pasta for the next step
• Now place the egg-coated ravioli into the bowl with the breadcrumb mixture and fully coat each piece with breadcrumbs
• Once all ravioli is coated, pour vegetable oil in a large deep skillet or shallow pot so that it reaches 1 and 1/2″ up the side and heat it on medium-high
• When the oil is hot, add the coated ravioli in batches to the oil and fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown, flipping the ravioli halfway through
• Remove golden-brown ravioli from the oil and place it on a paper-towel covered plate
• When all ravioli are cooked, spread them out on a platter, sprinkle with remaining parmesan and parsley, and add the marinara sauce to a bowl in the center for dipping

Notes

• If using fresh herbs instead of dried, use half the amount listed

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This recipe for fried potato and onion strings comes from a restaurant at Universal Studios Orlando. My wife and I love the Universal theme parks in Orlando. Their theme-ing is on point. The rides are intense. Harry Potter world. What is not to love?

Though we’ve never lived in Florida, we have had annual passes on two separate occasions. Working for an airline helped make it possible to travel, though sometimes it would take a few extra stops. If you are ever headed down there, let me know so I can join you. I can always use an excuse to make the trip.

But back to the dish.

Across the way from the Mummy ride is an Irish pub called Finnegan’s Bar and Grill. During a long day on our feet walking throughout the park, we stopped by for a sit-down meal. And we started with an appetizer that sounded amazing.

They call it Finnegan’s Potato & Onion Webb. Their description reads: “Thinly sliced potatoes & onions, hand-dipped in beer batter, crisply fried golden brown & served with malt vinegar.” Which is exactly what I intend to copycat.

This dish is salty, fried onions and potatoes in thin little strings. If you are looking for some sweeter onions, try making some caramelized onions instead. Continue on for crunchy goodness.

Preparing Everything

Preparation is key. When cutting the onion and potato down to the strings, try to get them to the same size and thickness. If they are a similar size, then they will fry up consistently in the hot oil so everything can come out perfectly cooked at the same time.

Be careful on when you slice up your potatoes. They will begin to oxidize and turn a greyish-rust color. This is especially pronounced with russet potatoes because of their super high starch content. But it is that same starch content that makes them excellent for frying.

To combat that oxidizing you can use a little bit of acid – like lemon juice or white vinegar – to toss with the potato strings. You can also submerge the sliced potato in some lightly salted water. Or you can just slice them right before smothering with the batter.

You will definitely want to use a deep fryer or a deep-sided pot with hot oil. An air fryer is not ideal for this. It is too wet of a sauce to cook quickly in the air fryer. I use this deep fryer from Amazon. It is enormous. Because I always make way more food than needed.

What to Serve with Fried Potato and Onion

Fried onions and potatoes are amazing by themselves. Hot out of the fryer they are crispy and delicious. But they also go great with a whole lot of other sauces, toppings, and flavors.

For dipping:

• Malt vinegar
• Ranch
• Ketchup
• Aioli (any flavor)
• Fry sauce
• Tartar sauce

For Topping:

• Cheese
• Chives
• Bacon
• Jalapeno

However you serve it, make sure it is perfectly fried to a crisp and golden brown that’ll give you a crunch they can hear from your neighbor’s house.

Fried Potato & Onion Strings

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: AppetizersDifficulty: Moderate

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Crispy, crunchy, perfectly fried, golden-brown potato and onion strings

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 1/2 tablespoon pepper

• 1 large onion

• 3 large russet potatoes, peeled

• 1 egg

• 1 and 1/3 cup club soda

• Enough vegetable or canola oil for frying

Directions

• Mix together the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl and set aside
• Preheat your frying oil to 350°F (175°C), either in the deep fryer or in a deep sided pot
• Slice or grate the potato and onion into thin strings using a mandolin, food processor, or your sharpest knife
• Mix the egg and club soda into the flour mixture until it is fully incorporated
• Add the sliced potato and onion strings to the batter, and mix around until they are fully coated
• Fry your potatoes and onions for 6 to 8 minutes until crispy and golden-brown – note that you may need to fry them in batches depending on the size of your fryer

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