DIY Pumpkin Butter

Since pumpkins are still in season here (read that: really cheap and easy to get), I thought I try pumpkin butter as my first DIY project for 2012. I looked at a few different pumpkin butter recipes but ended up coming up with my own very simple recipe. I really like how it turned out though; it tastes like spreadable pumpkin pie to me. Pumpkin butter is great on muffins and toast, and I would imagine it would be fabulous on homemade bagels.

Homemade Pumpkin Butter Recipe

• 8 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (or up to 3 cups depending on your personal taste, but we thought 1 1/2 cups was plenty sweet)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• dash (about 1/8 of a teaspoon) of cloves (optional)
• dash (about 1/8 of a teaspoon) of ginger (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in a crock pot or large stock pot.
2. Stir to combine.
3. Bring to a very low boil and simmer for 30 minutes to up to 2 hours.
4. When you can stand a wooden spoon up in the center of the pot and all of the flavors have combined nicely, remove from heat, and let cool.
5. Store in jars (or other airtight containers) in the refrigerator, or freeze for later use.

This recipe yielded about 7 cups of pumpkin butter for me.