sprinklefingers

i can hardly believe it. it’s october! pumpkins are everywhere!

in honor of this great time of year, i’m here today to dazzle you with a pumpkin butter recipe. not too difficult and perfect for wowing your friends with your ability to turn an actual pumpkin into something edible. magic!

before we start, a word on canned pumpkin: i use the stuff. all the time. for pies, quick breads, ice cream. but when making pumpkin butter i really, really love the flavor and texture of home-roasted pumpkin. and, never fear! it’s about one thousand times easier to do than you could ever imagine. i promise.

so, that said, listed first you’ll find instructions for roasting whole pumpkins at home. following those gritty details you’ll find a recipe for pumpkin butter using said home-roasted pumpkin.

homemade pumpkin puree

you need:

• 4 pie pumpkins (sometimes called sugar pie pumpkins)
• 1 T neutral cooking oil

make the puree:

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. rub two rimmed sheet tray with the cooking oil.
3. cut each pumpkin in half cross-wise.
4. dig out all the seeds & stringy bits.
5. place pumpkin halves cut side down on the prepared sheet trays.
6. roast for one hour.
7. remove pumpkins from oven and let cool slightly.
8. carefully pull the skins away from the pumpkin flesh and scoop flesh into a large bowl.
9. refrigerate pumpkin or use immediately to make pumpkin butter (read on!).
   
   

next up we have pumpkin butter!
what’s weird (for me) about pumpkin butter is that i want it to taste exactly like pumpkin pie filling. but it doesn’t and it shouldn’t. pumpkin pie filling is creamy and not nearly as gourdy as pumpkin butter. sure, they should both be smooth. and a bit spicy. but pumpkin butter is not a pie. so, there. there! you’re not a pie!

the following recipe for pumpkin butter is not overly sweet. if you follow the recipe exactly you’ll end up with a butter that is smooth and most definitely tastes like a pumpkin. if you like things a bit sweeter, you’ll want to add more sugar. just keep in mind what your end use will be…if it’s something that’s already sweet (topping for ice cream? stirred into vanilla yogurt?) then perhaps this less-sweet pumpkin butter is for you.

another note: this pumpkin butter is prepared in your slowcooker. the slowcooking route is perfect because the whole ordeal is mostly hands-off. the first 4 hours of the cooking time you’ll keep the lid on the cooker. the last 4 hours the lid will come off…or will simply be left ajar.

very pumpkiny pumpkin butter
makes 4 or so quarts

you need:

• flesh from above-mentioned roasted pumpkins
• 1.5 cups water
• 2 vanilla beans, pods scraped
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 of a whole nutmeg, freshly grated
• 3 cups sugar

to make the pumpkin butter:

1. mix all ingredients in the crock of your slowcooker. include the vanilla bean seeds and pod. do you best to completely incorporate the water.
2. place the lid on the slowcooker and cook for 4 hours on low.
3. after 4 hours, open the cooker and stir pumpkin mixture very, very well.
4. place lid on top of slowcooker without actually closing it completely (you want steam to escape.)
5. turn cooker up to high and cook for 4 more hours, stirring occasionally.
6. after 4 hours the pumpkin butter should be darker in color and quite glossy. there should be little to no water pooling at the top of the mixture. if you see that your pumpkin butter is not passing these simple visual tests, then keep cooking until it does.
7. once your pumpkin butter has finished cooking, you’ll want to smooth it out using your immersion blender. if you have an immersion blender you can simply leave the butter in the crock and whirl away. no immersion blender? simply take the butter for a spin (in batches) in your blender.

i’ll admit that this recipe yields a ton of pumpkin butter - especially considering that you should NOT can it. i divided mine into smaller freezer containers and froze some of it. then i ate a lot of it. then i gave some away. honestly, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you go through it. ESPECIALLY if you eat it.

i’ll be back tomorrow with some of my favorite ways to use pumpkin butter. all involve eating it.