Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter, made with either fresh or canned pumpkin puree, is easy to make and packed with warm fall flavors. Enjoy it on toast, waffles, oatmeal; even ice cream! Makes a wonderful hostess or neighbor gift, too.Makes about 5 cups.
Pour the pureed pumpkin and remaining pumpkin butter ingredients into a slow cooker and use an immersion blender to blend until relatively smooth.Add a little water if necessary: the consistency should be like very thick baby food.
Set the slow cooker on Low and cook 4 hours, stirring occasionally.After 4 hours, remove the slow cooker lid and use the immersion blender again to smooth out any remaining lumps.
Continue to cook uncovered in the slow cooker, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 more hours, or until the puree reaches the desired thickness.Use the immersion blender one more time to smooth out the mixture.
Storage
Refrigerator: Pour prepared pumpkin butter into canning jars or food-safe plastic containers. Refrigerate for up to a month. Freezer: Pour in canning jars or plastic freezer containers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Allow the pumpkin butter to cool completely on the counter. Freeze for up to a year. Canning: USDA now recommends against canning pumpkin butter because, due to the density of the butter, the heat may not properly reach the center of the pumpkin butter in the jar.
Notes
The flavor of the pumpkin butter may be somewhat citrus-forward immediately after it comes out of the slow cooker, but it will mellow in a day or two as the pumpkin, citrus, and spice flavors have time to fully meld and marry.