On Monday I shared a slow cooker recipe for apple butter with the promise that pumpkin butter was coming next. You can also make pumpkin butter in a Crock-Pot, but I chose to do this one on the stovetop. It was almost as easy as the slow cooker apple butter, but required a little more attention.
The other big difference between the 2 recipes is that you can process the apple butter in boiling water to keep it in jars at room temperature, but you can’t do that with pumpkin butter. Pumpkin is too dense for safe canning, so it’s best stored in the fridge and enjoyed now or frozen for later. I still put mine in little jars so I can give it to friends and family, and I’ll just explain that it’s perishable.
As I mentioned in the apple butter post, fruit butters don’t actually contain butter. Instead, it’s when fruit is cooked down then pureed into a thick, creamy spread. You can spread it on toast, scones, and biscuits or stir it into oatmeal and yogurt. How do you eat fruit butter?
Recipe:
- 1 medium sugar pumpkin (about 2 1/2 pounds)
- 1 ½ cups apple cider
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Pinch ground cloves
Wash your pumpkin and cut it in half. Remove the seeds and stringy pulp, then peel with a vegetable peeler or sharp knife (you can peel it before cutting it in half if that’s easier for you). Cut pumpkin flesh into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes. Place them in a large saucepan or Dutch oven in a single layer. Pour apple cider over pumpkin cubes. They should be covered about halfway, but if not add water.
Bring pumpkin and cider to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover pot. Cook around 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until pumpkin is very soft. Puree using a hand blender or by transferring to your blender in 2 batches and returning to pot.
Stir in maple syrup, brown sugar and spices. Over medium-low heat, simmer very gently while uncovered. Continue to cook, stirring and scraping the bottom occasionally, for around 40 minutes. Butter should thick and spreadable and bubbles that form in it will burst very slowly.
Remove from heat and let cool. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
9 Comments on Pumpkin Butter
2Pingbacks & Trackbacks on Pumpkin Butter
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[…] I like Greek yogurt more than regular yogurt because it’s strained more, which makes it extra thick and creamy. Plus, it has a lot more protein than regular yogurt, which will keep you feeling full for longer. Get unsweetened to avoid excess sugar and add your own fresh fruit or honey to taste. Another way to sweeten up Greek yogurt is with jam, apple butter or pumpkin butter. […]
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[…] Eggs (usually 1 each) and Oatmeal or Toast with Pumpkin Butter (Recipe Courtesy of 52kitchenadventures.com) I added the pumpkin butter this week to give our […]
Lori Stilger
November 9, 2011 at 12:03 pm (13 years ago)Could you not pressure-process it, like you do meats? It looks WONDERFUL!
Carol Egbert
November 10, 2011 at 5:29 am (13 years ago)I’ve made apple butter, there are always loads of apples in Vermont in the fall, but haven’t tried pumpkin butter. We like apple butter on toasted, homemade, seedy wheat bread that has been slathered with cream cheese.
vianney
November 11, 2011 at 8:02 pm (13 years ago)I love pumpkin butter and make it eavery year for my oatmeal and toast. Thanks for sharing!
JJ @ 84thand3rd
November 12, 2011 at 8:44 pm (13 years ago)Thanks for the pumpkin canning (or not canning!) tip. I don’t usually put links in comments but given your fruit butter posts I figured you might like my Pumpkin Pie Spread – it uses apples instead if sugar! http://84thand3rd.com/2011/11/03/pumpkin-pie-spread/
Stephanie
November 13, 2011 at 8:02 pm (13 years ago)@JJ – that sounds delicious! I’ll go check it out…
Suzy
November 16, 2011 at 7:56 am (13 years ago)On allrecipes.com I found a recipe for pecan crusted pork with pumpkin butter slathered on top. This pumpkin butter recipe looks more delicious & perhaps more versatile than the one I found there– I can’t wait to try it!
Magic of Spice
November 22, 2011 at 12:25 pm (13 years ago)This looks so good! I have yet to try pumpkin butter, and I love pumpkin…will have to correct that 🙂