Pumpkin Butter - Yep, It's Fall!

Nothing says Fall like pumpkin!  PERIOD!  The smell of it, the taste of it and just a few random ones on your dining room table for decoration are a sign of the cool, crisp Fall weather and the start of the crazy months that lie ahead. 

I would like to think that I have pretty much perfected my Apple Butter recipe so I have moved on to Pumpkin Butter.  Wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I perused MANY recipes on-line as well as in a few of my cookbooks and again, just picked what I thought we would like in it to create my own recipe.  Oh my goodness, it is amazingly delicious and I am so excited to give jars of this scrumptious Pumpkin Butter to my friends.

I saw a bunch of recipes that called for canned pumpkin.  While I don't have a problem with canned pumpkin I was really going for the real thing.  I ended up with 2 Pie Pumpkins that weighed about 2.5lb each for a total of approximately 5lbs.  I assume you could use a "regular" pumpkin but mine is made specifically with Pie Pumpkins.  Let me tell you, these little suckers were HARD to cut.  The first one wasn't "that" bad but the second?  It is a miracle I have all of my fingers left.  

You need to remove the stems, seeds and "guts" from each of the pumpkins.  SAVE the seeds.  I'll have a great Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Seed recipe in the next few days.

Once you have the pumpkins all cleaned out you need to quarter them and throw them in the crockpot - yep, skins and all.  I added both water and "natural" apple juice to my crockpot to cook them over low heat for about 4 hours.

Once the pumpkin is cooked you can scoop out the pulp and  mash it.  Throw out the liquid that remains in the crock pot.

Lastly, all the "good stuff" goes in and you just let it cook on Low for hours.  Trust me, your house will smell amazing!

Pumpkin Butter

• 5lb pumpkin (or two smaller that combined weigh 5 lbs)
• 1 c water
• 1 c apple juice + 1/2 c apple juice
• 1 c white sugar
• 1 c brown sugar
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Rinse and pat dry your pumpkin(s).  Quarter and remove stem, seeds and "guts".  Place pumpkin in your crockpot and pour in water and 1 c apple juice.  Cook on low for approximately 4 hours.

After pumpkin is cooked remove from crockpot, scoop out the pulp and place in a large bowl.  Mash all of your pumpkin.  Pour out any remaining liquicd in your crockpot.

Put pumpkin mash back into your crockpot and add 1/2 c of apple juice and the last 5 ingredients.  Mix well.  Cook on low for another 4 hours stirring frequently to prevent from burning.  Your crockpot temperature may vary from mine so cook until the butter has reached a "spreading" consistency.

I hope you give this one a try and enjoy it as much as we do.  We have spread it on toast, croissants and I can't wait to stir some into my oatmeal tomorrow morning!  I have said it a zillion times before - I LOVE FALL!!!!  Do you have any favorite Fall recipes that you simply MUST make each year?

**  This Pumpkin Butter makes the perfect little gift for your friends.  As prepared above this Pumpkin Butter will last approximately a week in the refrigerator.  You can certainly use a "heat canning" method to get a longer shelf life.  

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