Ron came home with some pumpkins a few weeks ago and I decided that I would actually do something with them this year. While Ron is focused on Tiny House Farm, I am looking toward the holidays and getting ready for them. Homemade pumpkin butter would be a lovely thing to share with family and friends. I cut two pumpkins in half so I could roast them in the oven. Lots of reading on subject led me to use an ice cream scoop to both get the seeds and “guts” out of the way but to also get the cooked flesh away from the skin.

I ran this all through the food processor and then into a plastic bag for freezing. I didn’t know what specific variety pumpkin I was working with so I planned to get a few more of the pie pumpkins. Just to be sure I got the right combination of texture and flavor.
The next week we headed over to Ole McMarley Apple Farm in Clinton, NY to pick up more cider and apples. They had the pumpkins I was looking for and I came home with a bag of them.

More scooping and roasting, scooping again and I was ready to try making pumpkin butter in my crockpot. I did remember to get the frozen pumpkin puree out of the freezer too. Again internet overload. There are so many recipes and so much advice about this project. I decided to go with maple syrup as the sweetener and cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves for the spices. This was going to be a smaller batch just to see how it turned out. I ran the flesh through the food processor and then filled bags with 15 ounces of the puree.

This I will stash in the freezer and can use to make pumpkin cookies, muffins and bread.
Nice thing about crockpot cooking is that you don’t have to fuss over it. The occasional stir and taste is all it needs.

Several hours later I ended up with a lovely pumpkin butter. Ron, being my taste tester said it that was pretty good. Just the right amount of sweetness. I filled and froze one half pint jar and then two one cup containers. The rest I stashed in frig. I needed to take it to work for more taste testing. I was surprised to find out just how many people don’t like pumpkin. But I found enough friends willing to give it a taste. All in all, I got a huge thumps up from all but one person. They will remain nameless.
Once Halloween is over, I plan to get more pumpkins and get going on another batch or two. I do so love it when a plan comes together. Next I will try pumpkin soup. Taste testers always needed.