Pumpkin Butter Recipe

Taken from Martha Stewart Halloween special issue 2009.

1 sugar or pie pumpkin (about 2 lbs.), seeded, peeled, and cut into 2-inch chunks

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

1 tsp. ground ginger

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pumpkin pieces in a single layer in a roasting pan, cover tightly with foil. Bake until very tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer pieces to a food processor, and process until smooth.

2. In a saucepan, cook puree over medium-low heat, stirring often, until very thick, about 25 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; cook until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cool before serving. Pumpkin butter can be refrigerated up to 1 week in an airtight container.

In the previous post I mentioned my concern with the amount of lemon juice. After the butter cooled it tasted great, so I wouldn't alter the amount unless you find it too tart. My wonderful taste tasters at the Mom's Night Out last night loved it. It was also mentioned that it could be a bit sweeter, so maybe try adding a little refined sugar when it is in the saucepan over heat and taste along the way to achieve your desired sweetness. You may find it tastes great as is with the various spices and not want to add additional sugar. The pie pumpkin was easy to peel and seed since they are so small. I just peeled it with my vegetable peeler and cut the base off to clean out the inside and remove seeds. Then it was easy to just cut in strips and chop to 2-inch chunks. It may seem like a lot of steps, but I thought it was easy and did it one morning while Dane was enjoying Sesame Street. It makes about 2 cups, so it ends up being quite inexpensive when you compare the jars at the apple orchards and other specialty shops. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!