Pumpkin Butter

This satin-y smooth delight is a healthy and delicious way to take advantage of one of Autumns' most iconic symbols....pumpkins! Besides spreading Pumpkin Butter on your toast, you can use it as a topping for yogurt or slather it on a pork tenderloin before roasting. It's so darn good you'll want to find more ways to include it in your meals, whether sweet or savory. 

Makes ~ 3 or 4 half pints

• 1 - 4 lb Sugar Pie pumpkin, or 2 - 2 lb cooking* pumpkins, cut in half, and cleaned out. Save the seeds for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds! (NOT carving pumpkins. There IS a difference.)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  
• 2 lemons, zested & completely juiced OR 2/3 cup bottled lemon juice 
  
• 1/2 cup apple juice
  

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.) Place cleaned pumpkin halves, cut-side down, on a baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Bake until soft, about 60-90 minutes, depending on the size of the pumpkin. Let cool slightly, then scoop flesh out of pumpkin. You will end up with about 4 cups of very soft cooked flesh.

3.) Place cooked pumpkin in a heavy pan on the stovetop, and mash, using a potato masher or pastry blender.  Add the remaining ingredients and mash entire mixture together.

4.) Cook over LOW heat, about one hour, stirring often. Halfway through cooking, puree the mixture using a stick blender**, and again when the cooking time is up. If you don't have a stick blender, you can run the mixture through a food mill right before putting it into jars.

5.) Let cool to room temperature and then ladle into jars or containers with tight-fitting lids. Store in refrigerator or freezer. If freezing, leave enough space for the Pumpkin Butter to expand.

There have been recent USDA concerns about the dangers of canning Pumpkins, Squash, and Pumpkin Butter at home. You should store your Pumpkin Butter in the refrigerator and consume within one month or store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

*Look for pumpkins being sold as baking/eating/cooking pumpkins. The flesh is smoother and sweeter than those sold for decorations and jack-o-lanterns.

**I highly recommend stick blenders. If you don't want to invest in a new one, used ones are easy to find at garage sales and second-hand stores. You will use it for more than making fruit butters and jams. Stick blenders are great for pureeing soups, and smoothing out sauces and gravy!

Note: In the past I have made this recipe and processed the jars in a Boiling Water Bath canner because I use a pH meter to test it. I don't recommend canning this in a BWB unless you are an experienced canner and use a pH meter to test for proper acidity. 

Please read my blog about making Pumpkin Butter, to see photos and techniques.

Also, check my section on Fruit Butters, to see various cooking methods.