Pumpkin Butter

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it on the blog yet, but our toddler daughter started preschool recently! After 2+ years of being with mama every single day, she now goes to preschool two half-days a week. It may not sound like much, but it was a big change for both of us, and I’m happy to report that, after a little adjustment/transition period, she now *loves* school. She is constantly talking about her friends, her teachers, and their daily activities, and is so happy on the mornings that I tell her it’s a school day. And this mama is loving having a little free time to herself every week. =)

Each month, her classroom has a different theme. The month of October was dedicated to all things Fall, and they had a special week devoted to pumpkins — pumpkin crafts, pumpkin songs, pumpkin decorating, and pumpkin snacks! The teachers asked for parent volunteers to make a couple pumpkin-based foods for the kiddos to try, and I signed up for pumpkin butter. If you haven’t had it before, pumpkin butter doesn’t actually contain butter, but it has a thick, creamy, butter-like consistency. It’s made of pumpkin puree, sugar, apple juice, and spices, all cooked slowly over low heat until thickened and delicious. The flavor is heavenly — it tastes a lot like pumpkin pie, with a wonderful balance of pumpkin flavor, subtle sweetness, and warm autumn spices.

There are many ways you can serve pumpkin butter — you can stir it into yogurt, dollop it on pancakes, heat it and serve it over vanilla ice cream, mix it with cream cheese + spread on a bagel — but my favorite way to serve it is very simply, spread onto fresh-outta-the-oven biscuits. Mmmmm. However you serve it, I think you are going to love this simple, scrumptious fall treat!

Pumpkin Butter

makes about 4.5 cups, adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated white sugar

Directions

Combine all ingredients — pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar — in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 30-40 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently.

Transfer to sterile containers and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

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