Pumpkin Butter

Recently, my friend posted this on Facebook and it made me laugh:

It’s so true, isn’t it??

I absolutely heart pumpkin…just the smell of it makes me happy!  Every year I look forward to pumpkin pie, pumpkin dip, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread…you get the picture.  So I was sauntering around on the web looking for inspiration and I stumbled across a few pumpkin butter recipes.  I’ve never made pumpkin butter so I, of course, had to try it!  And lo and behold, I actually had all of the ingredients in my pantry…don’t you just love when that happens?  And yes, as a matter of fact, I DO always have pumpkin puree in my pantry…don’t you?  Why not?  Seriously, get some.  You can use it in EVERYTHING!  And, it so extremely good for us.

Pumpkin is extremely low in calories (woooo!) and does not contain any fat or cholesterol.  It is LOADED with Vitamin A which is a powerful antioxidant that our bodies require to maintain healthy skin and...ahem...mucus membranes…let’s hear it for our mucus membranes!  Vitamin A is also important for vision, and can help protect us against certain cancers.  Pumpkin also contains folate, thiamin, B-6, potassium and calcium.  Oh, and did I mention the euphoria that bouquet de pumpkin can create??  Seriously, my eyes close just from the smell…

Soo, Happy Pumpkin Season and I hope you get to try this SUPER EASY and SUPER QUICK recipe for Pumpkin Butter – Nom!

Ingredients:

1 – 29 oz can of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling – patooey on pumpkin pie filling!)

¾ cup apple cider

1 cup (not packed) light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp cinnamon (I threw a cinnamon stick in there, too)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

¼ tsp ground ginger

Preparation:

1)    Mix all of the ingredients together in a medium saucepan. 

2)    Bring to a boil over med/high heat.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for approximately 40 minutes.  Stirring occasionally.

3)    Remove from heat and let cool.

Umm…that’s it.

Try not to burn your tongue when you taste this…you won’t be able to resist it, but at least blow on it first.

This made about 2 medium-sized (pint??) mason jars of pumpkin butter.  You can consume it right away, or put the hot pumpkin butter in a mason jar, cover with lid and screw top and as it cools, it will seal and last in your fridge for a few weeks.  Once opened, it’s good for about a week…if it even lasts that long before being eaten!  Don’t leave it on your pantry shelf, though…click here to see why.

I put a few tablespoons in my iced coffee yesterday – and, ohhh my!  You must try it!

Nutrition:

This makes almost 4 cups and serving size is approximately 2 T

Calories 60 / Carbs 14g  / Fat 0g / Protein 0g / Fiber 1g / Sodium 1mg