Pumpkin Butter

This is the time of year when we start to see all the pumpkin spice flavored food products come out in the stores.  As much as I do love and buy some of these products, there is still nothing quite like homemade when it comes to certain things.  For me, pumpkin butter is one of those things.  This homemade pumpkin butter is so easy to make, takes less than 15 minutes to put together and is so much better than any store bought brand I’ve tried.

Prep Time: 15 min
Yield: Three 1-pint jars

You will need:
2 15 oz. cans solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp unsalted butter (cut into smaller pieces)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves

To make:
1. Set your slow cooker on low.
2. Spoon pumpkin from cans into the slow cooker.
3. Add sugars, spices, salt, lemon juice and stir together.
4. Add the butter to the mixture, cook on low and when butter starts to melt, stir all items together until butter is fully melted & blended.
5. Once you have a well blended mixture, continue to cook on low for 3 hours.  I like to stir it every half hour to avoid it browning/scorching on the bottom & sides of the slow cooker.
6. If toward the end of the 3 hours the pumpkin butter is not as thick as you’d like it, you can continue to cook for more time without the slow cooker lid to thicken it up further.  It will also thicken more once refrigerated.

When butter is ready store in an air tight covered container.  I like to use three small 1-pint glass jars, put some ribbon on it and give as a gift.  It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 weeks.

Note: If you are tempted to make a large batch and can the pumpkin butter, please note that the USDA & National Center for Home Food Preservation does not recommend canning pumpkin butter.