Yesterday, my house smelled like autumn. We had two slow-cookers going with two very different kinds of pumpkin butter... both turned out delicious. Here's how we did it.
(makes 8 half-pint jars)
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (5 pound) fresh pumpkin - seeded, peeled, and cut into 2-inch cubes
Reduced Sugar Pumpkin Butter
(printable version of this recipe can be found here)
Our altered recipe:
(also should make 8 half pint jars, but we got more like 5)
1 cup (Domino) sugar/stevia blend
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 (5 lb.) fresh pumpkin; seeded, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes
⅔ cup spiced apple cider
...the cast…
...prepped pumpkin..
...sugar and spice makes everything nice…
...everyone in the hot tub…
Cook it over high heat, vented, for 3 to 3½ hours
(every hour or so)
...repeatedly..
...then puree (or mash) it when you think it looks, smells and tastes delicious…
...spoon it into sanitized canning jars (or other airtight containers),
be sure to leave ½” of headspace to allow for expansion, let them cool…
...then stick them in the freezer…
Pureed or mashed pumpkin or squash will keep quite well for a good, long time in the freezer. I’ve kept it for about 2 to 2 ½ years -which I’m not recommending- but the only damage I noticed was a little bit of freezer burn, which was easy to remove and didn’t seem to affect the flavor once removed.
We also made this:
Whiskey Maple Pecan Pumpkin Butter (tipsy pumpkin butter)
(printable version of this recipe can be found here)
5 lb pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cubed
2/3 cup apple cider
1/2 cup good quality whiskey (we used Jameson)
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp real maple syrup
2 1/2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 cup pecans
Set aside whiskey and pecans. Combine all of the other ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 3 to 3½ hours or until it’s thick (keep in mind that it will thicken a bit more after cooling).
While that’s cooking, preheat the oven to 350° and toast the pecans. Once cooled, run them through a food processor or crush them by hand until the texture is to your liking.
Add whiskey to pumpkin mixture when it looks like it’s almost done (about 30 minutes to an hour before you take it off the heat).
Once it’s thickened to your liking, fold in the pecans. Store in canning jars (or airtight containers) for about a month in the fridge or longer in the freezer.
YUM.
Have you ever made pumpkin butter? How was it?
If you try either of these recipes, please let us know what you think!
...leave a comment with your thoughts and/or questions!
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