Pumpkin Butter

The morning after . . . the results . . . at the bottom

My friend, Cathy (she lives in California), has been making pumpkin butter and has inspired me to try. We have quite a few pumpkins out of our garden and it would be a shame to let them go to waste. She sent me her recipe which sounds really good and it uses maple syrup which we have plenty of. However, Dore (my other friend that lives in California) sent me a crock pot recipe that I decided to try since it can cook all night while I sleep. I'll put it in the jars before I leave for work tomorrow morning. While I've been watching the election results I've been taking pictures of the steps for making pumpkin butter. Please remember that I have never done this before, so these steps may give some readers quite a laugh.

The first step is to place a freshly washed pumpkin on a cutting board.

Cut the pumpkin in half and remove all the seeds.

This is the pumpkin with the seeds remove.

Place the pumpkins cut side down in a baking pan.
Fill the baking pan with about an inch to an inch and a half of water.
Bake in a 400 degree oven (375 degree convection oven) until a fork goes in easily.


This is the pumpkin after it has been baked. Be sure to drain the water off because if you leave the pumpkin sitting in the water, the pumpkin will be watery.

Once the pumpkin has cooled enough to handle,

scoop out the flesh into a bowl and discard the skin.

Then you need to puree the pumpkin. I thought I would use the equipment I used when I made applesauce, but that didn't work. It just made a big mess.

Then I decided to mix it in my Kitchenaid mixer.

Bob said that wouldn't work and I should put it in the blender.

So, I put the cooked pumpkin in the blender. And it worked.

The pumpkin pureed perfectly. I had to put it in small amounts though.

Then I placed the pureed pumpkin in my crock pot, added 4 cups of sugar, 2 Tablespoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon allspice. I'm going to cook this on low overnight and then first thing in the morning, I'll put it in jars and seal them. I'll store them in the refrigerator for up to six months. I don't think they will last six months.

Thank you Cathy and Dore for your inspiration, encouragement, and recipes. Now, you guys just need to come out so you can taste it. I'll make some homemade bread if you'll come.

This morning I got up early and finished making my pumpkin butter. I placed clean jars in the oven to warm and the jar lids in a pot of water on the stove top. Once the jars were hot, I filled them and sealed them. Once they have cooled I will store them in the refrigerator.

This is what the pumpkin butter looked like when I went to bed.


This is the finished pumpkin butter after it cooked all night.

The aroma in my house when I woke up this morning was wonderful!

Here is the finished product. I tried some this morning on dried toast

and it was delicious!

Last night I also baked four additional pumpkins and scooped out the pumpkin and instead of using the blender I used my food processor to make it smooth and that worked much easier. I filled zip-loc bags with two cups of pureed pumpkin and placed in the freezer. I made 8 bags. My pumpkin pie recipe calls for two cups of pumpkin, so I'm all ready for Bob to make 8 pies!