Pumpkin Butter

Happy Halloween! This is the pumpkin my daughter carved (love it). I can't wait to put it out tonight all a-glo! With Halloween and pumpkins on the brain I've been looking for pumpkin recipes, besides the usual muffins, breads, and cookies. 

There was a cute recipe on the Tasty Kitchen for stacked oatmeal to-go: Apple-Pumpkin Butter & Banana Oatmeal jars. It was the "pumpkin butter" that caught my attention. I grew up with apple butter that my mom made (and canned). The recipe I found for pumpkin butter is sweetened with brown sugar and honey. Honey seems very complimentary to this type of dish. I think there's a honey harvest in the fall based on... Google recently tweeting that they had completed their honey harvest.

So how do you chose your spices for your pumpkin butter? I would recommend following your bliss. Start by adding small amounts of what you normally add to "pumpkin pie" and give it a taste. I upped the cinnamon and cloves from the original recipe and pulled the other sprinkling of spices from pumpkin pie recipes. It turned out very autumn-y, and was better the second day.

All of the ingredients in the pan and ready to go.

By the end of the cooking time the mixture thickens a little.

 Pumpkin Butter
1 C Pureed Pumpkin (15 Oz. Libby)
2/3 C brown sugar
1/4 C honey
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/8 t nutmeg (fresh grated is nice)
1/8 t ginger
1/8 t mace
1/8 t pure vanilla bean paste

Combine and bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook for 20-25 minutes or until thicker. When done, cool. (See Nestle's Very Best Baking for storage tips!) 

Recipe Inspiration: Very Best Baking: Pumpkin Butter (I let my "pumpkin pie" imagination run away with me. I didn't have any lemon juice, but it turned out okay.)

I hope you have a fun Halloween!

Suzanne