Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Dip With Stacy’s Salted Caramel Pita Chips

The following is a post sponsored by Stacy’s. For our sponsored post policy, click here.
Looking for the perfect sweet and savory holiday treat? Maybe something that’s a bit indulgent but not without some nutritional value?

We’ve got you covered with a seasonal, creamy, dark chocolate pumpkin dip that will delight your taste buds, particularly when paired with Stacy’s Salted Caramel Pita Chips (which, by the way, are delish on their own, what with the salted caramel flavor baked right in and all the crunchiness and such). And, best of all, while Stacy’s Pita Chips is known for making their chips the hard way and taking up to 14 hours to bake each batch, this dip recipe can be prepared — and enjoyed — in less than 30 minutes (and even less if you use a store-bought chocolate sauce to top it).
First, gather your tasty ingredients: canned pumpkin, cream cheese, brown sugar, maple syrup, dark chocolate chips and dark chocolate syrup (details listed below!). Then, mix all ingredients but the chocolate. Start out by going light on the sugar — I liked this best when very lightly sweetened, but you might want to add a tiny bit more brown sugar or pure maple syrup. Keep in mind you’ll be adding some chocolate as well for added flavor.
Leaving the cream cheese out for 20 minutes before beginning to mix will help it to blend more easily. Make sure all ingredients are blended well — there should be no lumps of plain pumpkin or pockets of cream cheese. At this point, give it a taste to determine whether you’re happy with the level of sweet vs. savory. I know, I’m asking a lot of you here.

Once the cream cheese, pumpkin, spices, brown sugar and/or maple syrup are blended smoothly, add your dark chocolate chips and fold into the mixture.

Now, you’re nearly done! Transfer your dip to a clean dish if you want a pretty presentation (or just don’t want to get pumpkin all over your hands as you transfer it from kitchen to table. Trust me here). If you’re hosting a party, putting it all into a large dish is fine, but if you’re just going to be snacking, let me go ahead and strongly recommend you put a serving into a smaller bowl to keep the portions in check. It’s crazy easy to let this get out of hand.
If you want to add a drizzle of dark or bittersweet chocolate, now’s the time! You can make your own if you have time and a few ingredients on hand (this one is fantastic), or you can top it off with a small amount of your favorite natural chocolate syrup, like this.

All that’s left to do now is serve it up with some Stacy’s Salted Caramel Pita Chips and share! (Or don’t share — no judgement here. Hey, I don’t know your life.)