How to Make Pumpkin Butter

Guide Note Pumpkins are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, which makes pumpkin butter a tasty and fun way to eat healthy. How to Make Pumpkin Butter will teach you two quick and easy ways to make this yummy spread.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What You Will Need
• Step 1: Prepare the Pumpkin
• Step 2: Make the Pumpkin Butter
• Step 3: Storage
• Conclusion
• References

Pumpkin Butter Tips

1. Try making homemade pumpkin puree, or use canned.
2. If you go the traditional route, simmer your ingredients for 30 minutes on the stove.
3. If you choose the speedy route, nuke ingredients for a total of 8 minutes until thick and bubbly.
4. For a slightly different flavor, substitute honey or maple syrup for the sugar.
5. Add cayenne pepper for a pumpkin butter with some kick!
6. Give away your homemade pumpkin butter as a holiday or hostess gift.

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Introduction

• Pumpkin butter is a delicious low-fat spread that captures the flavor of pumpkin pie, doesn't contain any dairy or eggs and is similar to apple butter. You can put it on breads, use it on warm breakfast items such as pancakes or waffles and make it into a no-bake pumpkin pie.¹ The steps below will show you how to make a quick version using a microwave oven or a slower traditional stove top method.

What You Will Need

• The ingredients below are the most common ones associated with pumpkin butter, but you can vary the amounts or add or subtract a flavor, depending on your own personal palate.
  

  (Creative Commons photo by Dimitri N.)

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (or one 15-oz can) of pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• ¼ tsp ginger
• ¼ tsp clove
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp allspice
• ¼ cup water or apple juice

Equipment

• Large saucepan
• Cutting board
• Large serrated knife
• Newspaper
• Freezer-safe plastic containers and/or glass jars

Step 1: Prepare the Pumpkin

• Follow this step to make your own pumpkin puree from scratch. If you prefer to use canned pumpkin puree, then skip ahead to Step 2.

Prep

1. Choose a small pumpkin that is good for cooking and baking with the help of our guide How to Choose a Pumpkin Variety.
2. Place newspaper down on your work surface for easy cleanup later.²
3. Rinse the pumpkin in cool water and pat dry.
4. Use a sharp serrated knife and remove the stem.
5. Cut the pumpkin in half.
6. Scoop out the stringy mass and the seeds.³
   • Save the seeds. Check out our guide How to Cook Pumpkin Seeds for yummy recipes.
7. Discard the newspaper, stem and stringy innards.

Cook

1. Choose a method of cooking, roasting, boiling, steaming or microwave cooking, and follow the steps in How to Cook Pumpkins.
2. Allow the pumpkin pieces to cool.
3. On a cutting board, use a spoon to scoop the flesh away from the skin.
4. Puree the pumpkin pieces in a food processor or mash them with a potato masher or food mill.²

Step 2: Make the Pumpkin Butter

• It's time to mix your pumpkin puree (fresh or canned) with the remainder of your ingredients.

Stove Top Method

1. 

   (Creative Commons photo by ann-dabney)
   In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients.⁴
2. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
3. Reduce heat to low.
4. Let mixture simmer for approximately 30 minutes to an hour or until it thickens.⁵
5. Stir frequently.

Microwave Method

1. In a glass microwave-safe dish, combine all ingredients except the pumpkin.
2. Mix ingredients well, set microwave on high and cook for 3 minutes.⁶
3. Remove and stir.
4. Add pumpkin and mix well.
5. Set microwave on high and cook for 5 minutes.⁷
6. Remove the mixture and stir.
   • It will be extremely hot and bubbly.

• When your pumpkin butter is finished, either off the stove top or out of the microwave, allow it to cool slightly before storing and refrigerating.⁶

Step 3: Storage

• Now that you have cooked your pumpkin butter to a thick consistency and allowed it to cool slightly, it's time to store it.

1. Transfer pumpkin butter into glass jars for immediate use.
   • It can be refrigerated in a sealed jar for approximately 2 weeks.⁵
2. Transfer pumpkin butter into freezer safe plastic containers to freeze and use later.⁶
   • It can be frozen for several months.⁶

Canning Versus Refrigeration

• 

  (Creative Commons photo by christine592)
  Some recipes suggest canning your pumpkin butter.⁸ This method consists of sterilizing glass jars and lids, spooning the hot pumpkin mixture into the clean jars, putting the lids on the jars and placing the sealed jars into another pot of boiling water or a canner.^{8 4}

• Both the National Center for Home Food Preservation and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) do not recommend canning mashed or pureed pumpkin because of the risk of bacteria growth.^{9 10 11}

• Some people have had success canning pumpkin butter.¹² But even if you are experienced with canning your own fruits and vegetables, use canning methods with caution.⁹ For best results, follow USDA guidelines, be safe and refrigerate or freeze.

Variations

• The above recipe is a very basic, traditional pumpkin butter. To spice yours up a bit, try one of these yummy tricks.

1. Replace the apple juice or water with applesauce.⁵
2. For a slightly different flavor, substitute honey or maple syrup for the sugar.^{13 14}
3. For a sugar-free recipe, use agave nectar.¹⁵

Conclusion

• Use pumpkin butter as a substitute for regular butter on bread, muffins, pancakes, waffles and french toast or use as a topping for vanilla ice cream. Don't forget, pumpkin butter also makes a great holiday or hostess gift. Enjoy!

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References for How to Make Pumpkin Butter

1. ↑ About.com: No-Bake Pumpkin Pie
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Tony Tantillo: Pumpkin
3. ↑ Pumpkin Patches: Pumpkin Cooking
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} All Recipes.com: Pumpkin Butter
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} RecipeZaar.com:Stovetop Pumpkin Butter
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} RecipeZaar.com:Microwave Pumpkin Butter
7. ↑ PastryWiz:Spicy Pumpkin Butter
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} National Center for Home Food Preservation:Sterile Jars
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} National Center for Home Food Preservation:Official Site
10. ↑ USDA:Canning Guide
11. ↑ University of Georgia:Canning Pumpkin Butter
12. ↑ TheNeitherWorld.com:Canning Pumpkin Butter
13. ↑ BedRockPress.com:Pumpkin Butter
14. ↑ RecipeTips.com:Pumpkin Butter
15. ↑ About.com:Pumpkin Butter