Pumpkin Butter

If you have never tasted pumpkin, oh my, are you missing out. This recipe tastes "just like spread-able pumpkin pie" if you ask my husband. It is definitely a household favorite. Another added bonus? It only takes about 10-15 minutes to make, and freezes well. I cut the original recipe in half, and substituted an ingredient or two, so below is my version. You can find the original version here.
I have been using canned pumpkin puree. I might get around to making my own one of these days, but at the moment, I'm not too worried about it. My family has been on a huge pumpkin scone kick lately, but that only uses 1/4 cup of the puree. To my delight, by halving the original pumpkin butter recipe, I have exactly enough puree left in the can to make the butter - yay! It's the little things in life, I swear.

Pumpkin Butter

1.5 + 1/4 C Pure pumpkin puree
1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
1/4 C + 3 tbsp of apple cider
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Place everything in a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until boiling (about 2-3 min), reduce heat and simmer, whisking often until it reaches a smooth and thick consistency (about 5-10 minutes). I like that by reducing the batch size here, the cooking time is greatly reduced as well.
I poured what was left of the mixture into small glass canning jars to freeze and store for later. If you do this, make sure to leave half an inch empty at the top of the jar for expansion during freezing.

Enjoy!