Penzey'S Pumpkin Puffs - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 cups fresh sugar pie pumpkin, cubed and peeled (approximately 1/2 of a small sugar pumpkin or 4 cups canned pumpkin puree (unflavored)
1/2 - 1 cup unbleached white flour
1/3 - 1/2 cup brown sugar, to taste
1 egg yolk
1 -2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 - 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (make your own! See Recipe #184985 or Recipe #266688) or 1/2-1 teaspoon English pudding, spice (make your own! See Exceptional Pumpkin Pie Spice or Mixed Spice - Traditional Old Fashioned English Pudding Spice)
1/2 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil (original recipe specifies 1 cup)
powdered sugar
maple syrup (optional)

Preparation

If using fresh pumpkin the original recipe states: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the pumpkin and cook until it is fork tender, approximately 15 minutes. Drain well and cooled. However, if I were to make this with fresh pumpkin, my first choice would be to bake the pumpkin, followed by steaming. Boiling would be a last resort.
Place the cooked and cooled fresh pumpkin or the canned pumpkin in a large mixing bowl. If using fresh pumpkin, mash with a potato masher, immersion blender or electric mixer.
Add 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, egg yolk, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix well.
If the mixture is too liquid-y, add more flour.
Taste for sweetness and add more brown sugar if necessary.
Refrigerate 30-45 minutes. Do not skip this step.
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a sauce pan (original recipe specifies a frying pan). Note: I never use as much oil as a recipe calls for with deep frying-perhaps 1/2 cup at most. Place a paper towel on a plate.
For small puffs, drop the mix by greased teaspoon into the pan (or greased tablespoon if you want larger puffs). Tip: Grease the utensil on both sides. *Don't* crowd the pan with too many puffs at one time.
Cook on both sides until golden, about 2 minutes for the smaller puffs, and 3-4 minutes for the larger.
Once cooked, use a slotted spoon and place puffs on the paper towel-lined plate to drain off the excess oil.
Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. If desired, drizzle puffs with a little bit of real maple syrup.