As I mentioned previously, I was inundated with pumpkins at Halloween. In early November, I steamed all the pumpkins to make pumpkin puree, which I froze until I was ready to make pumpkin butter for the holiday gift-giving season.
Over the last two days, I’ve “canned” more than 12 half-pints and 4 pints of pumpkin butter, using a recipe from PickYourOwn.org. I chose this recipe because it requires a crock pot, which means it’s a bit more hands off than stovetop methods. I didn’t have to stir the pumpkin butter as frequently to prevent burning. I did have to make one adjustment to the recipe, however. The author suggests cooking the pumpkin butter partially covered on low to allow the pumpkin puree to reduce. I was getting nowhere with this approach, so I turned my crockpot on high, leaving it covered for about an hour. Then I removed the lid completely and let the pumpkin butter cook for about 6 hours. The texture was perfect!
I should note that technically you cannot can pumpkin butter; it must remain refrigerated and should be used within 6 weeks. I’ve printed this instruction on my labels for “Little Punkins’ Pumpkin Butter.” My label also includes a full list of ingredients: pumpkins, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and sugar.
Along with the gift of pumpkin butter, I’ll include a festive recipe card with the recipe for Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake by Eleanor Johnson courtesy of Allrecipes.com. I think homemade gifts are some of the nicest, and I can’t wait to give this tasty holiday treat to family, friends and the kids’ teachers.
Kirsten W. Larson 