pumpkin butter

Before I moved to China, I bought pumpkin in a can. Even my first two years here, I continued to buy pumpkin in a can (at $6 a can!). Then I heard how easy it is to make pumpkin puree. But won’t it be too watery? My roommate happened to have cheesecloth. Perfect. So this year, I made all my pumpkin puree from scratch. (Truth be told, ayi cut up the pumpkin, but me and the microwave did the rest. A little water in the container, put on the lid, microwave for 15 or more minutes, and puree with an immersion blender. Drain with cheesecloth, even overnight, to thicken.)

Cooking the pumpkin down into butter isn’t fun. It’s time consuming, and you can’t multi-task. But by some coincidence, I was reading Little House in the Big Woods during the same week and was so excited to find out that Ma made pumpkin butter! I guess making this butter in my tiny kitchen in China was my way of connecting with the pioneer women of old.

PUMPKIN BUTTER (makes approximately 1 cup)
from Guilty Kitchen

2 cups pumpkin puree (homemade)
or
1 can of pumpkin puree (27-29 oz)
1 cup brown sugar

COMBINE pumpkin and brown sugar in a small saucepan.

HEAT on medium and stir continually for 1 hour until very thick.

REMOVE from heat and allow to cool. Then make crispy chocolate chip pumpkin cookies…