Don’t Throw Away Your Fall Pumpkin Decor Instead Make Pumpkin Butter from Fresh Pumpkin

Don’t throw away your pumpkin instead make homemade pumpkin butter.

I usually buy to pumpkins around October for fall decor. I lay them around the house for simple fall decorations. The week before Halloween our tradition is to carve one of the pumpkins and watch Charlie Brown’s pumpkin patch movie.  Then that pumpkin gets tossed after Halloween.

The other pumpkin usually sticks around until Thanksgiving or when the Christmas decor goes up. I love hosting a Thanksgiving meal at our house every year but this year we are going to be away.

So  Christmas decor went up extra early.

This year I thought it would be fun to end fall with making pumpkin butter for our friends and neighbors. I had so much fun making the pumpkin butter while listening to Lauren Daigle’s Christmas album and pulling out all the Christmas decor.

For years I’ve made our pumpkin butter in the crockpot. But this year I wanted to try something different so I made it in the oven. I’ve heard you can boil it but I don’t like that method.

You can find how to make the caramel pumpkin butter in the crockpot here.

Warning: Your house will smell absolutely amazing you might be tempted to lick the walls.

Homemade Pumpkin Butter from Fresh Pumpkin

ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree or 2 pumpkin cans (15 ounce)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice or water
• 1/2 -3/4 cups brown sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup (optional; you can use more brown sugar)
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

How to roast your fresh pumpkin in the oven:

1. Cut your pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and slimy stuff.
   
2. Then cut it into sections so they fit on a cookie sheet.
3. Line your cookie sheet with foil and place in the oven for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
4. Spoon out the flesh leaving the skin off and place in a blender with just enough apple juice so the blender doesn’t get stuck. If you have a food processor you won’t need apple juice.
5. I only use 3.5 cups of the puree for the butter and I save the rest to make pumpkin soup, smoothies and other savory recipes.

How to make the Pumpkin Butter:

1. Now place the pumpkin puree in a large pot with all of the spices above. Let it come to a boil. You may need to use a top in case it splatters. Then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

We use our pumpkin butter over toast, bagels, ice cream, brownies…

Note: You can add more brown sugar or maple syrup if you want it to be sweeter. You can omit the apple juice/water if you have a food processor.