Pumpkin Butter
Pureed pumpkin is cooked down with sugar and spices for a thick fall spread that is perfect for desserts and gifting.
Keeping on trend with all things pumpkin this fall season, pumpkin butter should be on every baker’s to-do list. It’s a thick and spreadable ‘butter’ that is lightly sweetened and heavily spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and clove. Not only is it lovely in flavor and texture, but it will also have your whole house smelling of warm pumpkin and cinnamon.
I have 2 versions of cooking this pumpkin butter as I have made them both. The first is on the stove top, it requires a little more work but less cook time. The latter is a crockpot method that takes a little longer but has less of a chance of scorching than the stove top method. Either use the same ingredients and yield wonderful results.
Why I Love This Recipe
Flavor- True pumpkin aficionados will tell you there is nothing better than the concentrated flavor of pumpkin and pumpkin spice together. There is no skimping on flavors in this recipe as I use a whopping tablespoon of pumpkin spice along with brown sugar, granulated sugar, and squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavor. It has a much richer flavor than pumpkin pie and reminds me of a good pumpkin empanada filling. You will want to put his on everything.
Texture- The name describes it perfectly, buttery. Very rich and very thick, pumpkin butter should resemble, well, butter! Even though it is a thick spread, it glides on your palate like velvet, smoother than pumpkin pie. I like for my pumpkin butter to be very thick because it is easier to add to cookies, cakes, frostings, and cream cheese without making the base recipes too runny from extra moisture. Thick is good.
Simple Recipe- I am using canned pureed pumpkin to make this recipe stress free. I have not found any pumpkins worthy of roasting quite yet this season but when I do, I will be posting a recipe all about how to roast pumpkins and make puree. It’s as easy as tossing the ingredients together and letting them reduce. No stress especially if you are following the crock pot method.
Multiple Uses- Once you make pumpkin butter you will be able to add it to a variety of dishes to add an extra oomph of spiced pumpkin flavor.
Ways to Use
Here are some of my favorite ways to use pumpkin butter:
-Pumpkin Butter cookies.
-Filling for my Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies.
–Pumpkin Butter Cookies with Pumpkin Butter Frosting
-Layer on a healthy dose on toasted sourdough, bagels, English muffins, or cinnamon toast.
-whipped into cream cheese or buttercream frosting for cakes, cupcakes, and cookies.
-Mix into the cinnamon filling for cinnamon rolls for pumpkin butter cinnamon rolls.
-Add it to banana bread batter before baking.
-By the spoonful for a late-night snack.
-This pairs nicely with a fatty, creamier cheese like a brie or camembert on a cheese board with fresh rosemary.
-Pumpkin butter pancakes and waffles are delicious. These should be a thing. Add some to your batter you won’t regret it.
-Whip a ¼ to ½ cup of pumpkin butter into whipped butter with maple syrup and spread on freshly baked biscuits.
I could go on, but I am starting to get really hungry. This stuff is good on so many things!
Ingredients You Need
-Pumpkin Puree- I use a large can of Libby’s pumpkin puree. It’s available in most stores and is always consistent in quality. If you have fresh pumpkins and want to roast them then puree the flesh, even better. Please do not use pumpkin pie filling, it will not work for this recipe.
-Pumpkin Pie Spice-you can also use nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and vanilla extract to your liking as a substitute for pumpkin pie spice.
-Brown sugar- the molasses in brown sugar gives a warm flavor to the butter. I used light brown sugar but for an even richer flavor dark brown sugar would be a great substitute.
-Granulated Sugar- this is just to sweeten the butter up a little. I don’t use very much but I do think it adds to the overall flavor of the butter. You can omit this if you want to keep the sugar content down.
-Lemon Juice- When I first thought of making my own pumpkin butter, I didn’t think of adding this to the mix. A comment on a cookie Facebook group quickly changed my mind about adding it to the recipe. I am so glad they had commented, and I wish I could find the name of the person to give full credit for this tip but filtering through Facebook comments from a month ago is a daunting task. If you are reading this and you are the one that commented lemon juice as an ingredient in your pumpkin butter THANK YOU. The addition of lemon brightens up the pumpkin butter and cuts through the sweetness of the sugar, spices, and pumpkin. It is a must for this recipe, and I won’t be making my pumpkin butter without it going forward.
It’s Butter Time
Here are two different ways you can make pumpkin butter. Both are relatively easy, and both need special attention towards the end of cook time to prevent the butter from scorching.
Stove-top Method:
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan on the stove.
Turn the heat to medium and wait for it to bubble. Once it is hot and bubbling, reduce the heat down to low and cook for an hour, stirring occasionally for the first 30 minutes then more frequently as it gets thicker. I use a silicone spatula to help release any stuck-on bits of pumpkin on the bottom of the pan.
The pumpkin butter is done when it is darker in color and is very thick.
Crockpot Method:
Combine all the ingredients in a crockpot.
Turn the crockpot on low, cover, and cook for 2-3 hours stirring occasionally at the beginning and more frequently towards the end. Make sure to stir well as the caramelized sugar and pumpkin can burn on the bottom of left unstirred.
Leave the crockpot uncovered for the last hour to half hour of cooking so extra moisture from the pumpkin can cook off. This will leave you with a thick and velvety pumpkin butter.
Storage
Once the pumpkin butter is cooked down, thick, and fragrant, spoon into jars and store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. You can also freeze this for up to 6 months for a longer shelf life.
I have made 3 batches of this so far and I am eagerly awaiting a pumpkin patch visit to purchase some locally grown pumpkins to roast and make this recipe with. This pumpkin butter recipe will be featured this week in pumpkin butter cookies with a pumpkin butter frosting for #cookiethursday. Stay tuned!
If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram and Facebook. New posts every Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!
Pumpkin Butter
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker optional. Stove top method also available below.
Ingredients
- 1 large can Pumpkin Puree I used a 29 ounce can of Libby's pure pumpkin.
- 1 tbspn pumpkin spice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ juice of one lemon Can use a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice.
Instructions
Stove Top Method
- Add all ingredients to a medium sauce pan. Stir to combine.
- Turn the stove on medium heat and bring to a simmer, it will bubble when it's hot.
- Reduce the temperature down to low and cook for an hour.
- Stir occasionally at first then more frequently as it begins to thicken to prevent scorching.
- Pumpkin butter is ready when it has deepened in color and is very thick.
Crock Pot Method
- Combine all the ingredients in a crockpot ad stir together well.
- Cover and turn your crockpot on low setting.
- Allow it to cook for 2-3 hours stirring occasionally at first then more frequently in the last half hour.
- Uncover the crockpot the last half hour of cooking.
- Pumpkin butter is done when it deepens in color and is very thick.
- Place pumpkin butter in a glass mason jar with lid and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.
Notes
