Pecan Pumpkin Butter

Roast pumpkins: Preheat oven to 350 F. Wash 2 sugar pie pumpkins, cut them in half, then remove pulp and seeds. Place pumpkins, cut side down in a baking pan and add water to the depth of 1/4″. Roast pumpkins in the oven for 30-35 minutes if your pumpkins are on the smaller side. It may take longer for larger ones. Bake until a fork pierces the skin easily and the pumpkin feels tender. Remove pumpkin from the oven, and when cool enough to handle, scoop pumpkin out of the skin. Discard skin, and puree pumpkin flesh in a food processor until smooth. This will yield a little more pumpkin than you need for the butter. You’ll need 2 cups for the butter. Cover and refrigerate extra for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to a month.

Place pecans on a baking sheet and roast until fragrant at 350 F for 5-7 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow pecans to cool slightly. Add pecans to a food processor (you can also add the crystallized ginger at the same time) and pulse until finely ground and pecans begin to stick together.

To a medium saucepan, add 2 cups pumpkin, nuts, orange zest, lemon zest, orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, golden syrup, salt and all of the spices. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently for about 15 minutes, until pumpkin butter is thickened. Taste and add more spices or sugar if desired. Remember the flavors will become stronger as the butter cools.

Spoon pumpkin butter into clean airtight containers (mason jars are perfect) and refrigerate up to 3 weeks.

Try swapping this butter for pumpkin in your favorite recipes for pumpkin pie, bread, bars and cheesecake. It’s fantastic!

Recipe adapted from a similar recipe by Helen Witty in her “The Good Stuff Cookbook”.