Pumpkin Butter

I had some left over pumpkin from our Thanksgiving dinner and with it I decided to make some pumpkin butter. If you love pumpkin, you will love this butter. It is great on french toast, bagels, wheat toast, in oatmeal, as a dipping sauce for your kids' apple slices or just straight out of the jar by itself. Actually, I think I will have some on a bagel when I am done with this post!

*of note: this makes a small amount, so the picture shown of what I made is a tripled recipe!

What you will need:
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS peanut butter (almond butter would be tasty too. I even added a little extra to give it a more nut butter taste)
1 TBS brown sugar to sweeten
Pinch of salt
Optional: After tasting I decided to add
1/2 TBS of honey. But this is optional.

How to make it:
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix with a spoon. You can use a food processor if you wish. Once combined put in a jar for an store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Pumpkin Butter

Crock Pot Apple Butter

Yes, it is AMAZING! This was my first attempt at making Apple Butter and I just felt so domesticated once I had finished it, not to mention my house smelled absolutely fantastic for the entire day!  The recipe I used was adapted from Crystal, at Money Saving Mom and not only did she share an amazing recipe, but also free printable labels for your containers.  So, don't forget to jump over there when your done and print those off!

The most time consuming part of this process was peeling and coring the apples.  Luckily my husband jumped in to core and cut the apples as I was peeling them, so this greatly sped up the process.  So, if you have an extra set of hands around, grab them and have them join in on the fun!  Plus, my philosophy is, if the recipe flops, and you had a helper, you can always put the blame on them!! Just kidding!  ;)

So here we go!

PRINTABLE VERSION
The ingredients:

• 6 pounds of large Red Delicious Apples, however any type will work.
• 3 Tablespoons vanilla extract.  
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon 

Making it:
Peel, core, and slice apples in fourths. Put them in the crockpot with the vanilla and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir every few hours. Once apples are very, very tender, mash with a potato masher and stir in sugar and spices. Cook on low for another 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally.

Cool and pour into jars or an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.

Crock Pot Apple Butter