In the fall, when squash and pumpkins are in their prime, make this pumpkin butter your go-to add-in. This silky preserve toes the line between sweet and savory: Try it on toast with cream cheese, in whipped cream, or melted into a mixture of sage and brown butter for an autumnal pasta sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 (3-pound) sugar pumpkin, stemmed, halved lengthwise, and seeded
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
- Pinch of ground cloves
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush cut sides of pumpkin halves with oil. Arrange pumpkin halves, cut side down, on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in preheated oven until very tender when pierced with a fork, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
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Scoop flesh from cooled pumpkin; transfer to bowl of a food processor. Discard pumpkin shell. Add apple cider; process until smooth, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add brown sugar, honey, vinegar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and cloves; process until smooth, about 20 seconds, stopping to scrape down sides as needed.
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Transfer pumpkin mixture to a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula to ensure bottom of saucepan does not scorch and sides of saucepan stay clean, until mixture is reduced by one-third and turns slightly darker in color, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
*Make Ahead
Store Pumpkin Butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.
Recipe by: Kelsey Youngman, Food & Wine