Pumpkin butter from fresh pumpkin | Sugar pie pumpkin butter

Pumpkin Butter from Fresh Sugar Pie Pumpkin

pumpkin butter from sugar pie pumpkin

sugar pie pumpkin

pierce the skin before microwaving

save the seeds for roasting

sugar pie pumpkin

scraping out the pumpkin

discard the skins

Pumpkin butter made from a sugar pie pumpkin is a real treat. If you’ve ever cooked a fresh pumpkin you will know the flavor and color far surpasses canned products. Pumpkin is a healthy low fat food loaded with vitamin A and potassium. Spread pumpkin butter on toast, serve as a dip with cookies or crackers, or use as an ingredient for smoothies, pie, and baked goods.

Ingredients:
Sugar pie pumpkin
1/2 cup sweetener
2 teaspoons spice

Purchase a pie pumpkin in your grocery store or farmer’s market in the fall and winter months. Pie pumpkins are not the same as the Halloween carving varieties known as field pumpkins; those have stringy flesh with little flavor. Sugar Pie pumpkin is a popular variety grown in the United States.

Pierce the skin with a sharp knife a few times and place in the microwave for about 4 minutes. This will soften the skin, allowing for easy cutting to remove the seeds. Alternately, you can bake in an oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Carefully remove the pumpkin and cut into quarters when cool enough to handle. Scrape out the center strings and reserve the seeds for roasting if desired.

Place in a covered dish with a TBLS of water, cutting into smaller pieces if needed. Bake in the microwave for 6 minutes or in your oven for 60 minutes.

Check for doneness by piercing with a fork. The pumpkin will be cooked when it begins to pull away from the skin and is soft in all areas. Continue cooking if needed until done.

Once your pumpkin is cooked and cool enough to handle, use a spoon and gently scrape the flesh off the skin.

Discard or compost the skins. Puree the pumpkin until smooth in a blender, food processor, or food strainer.

Add 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice OR 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. Taste your puree and adjust for preferred flavor.

Blend in sweeter to taste. Try ½ cup maple syrup, ½ powdered sugar, or a sugar substitute such as stevia. Add more a little at a time to adjust to taste.

Refrigerate until chilled. Pumpkin butter can be kept in the fridge up to a week or frozen. It makes a great side dish or lunchbox treat. Try it on a rice cake, with gluten free rice crackers, ginger snaps, graham crackers, or vanilla wafers. Pumpkin butter is an allergy free food.

1/2 cup cooked pumpkin has 24 calories, 0 cholesterol, 1 gram protein, 6 grams carbohydrate, 26 % RDI Vitamin A, 10% RDI vitamin C, and 281 g. potassium.

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