The Utter Delight of Pumpkin Butter

I've discovered a new treat. A few weeks ago, when Fall was till in the air and Halloween on the horizon, we all trekked up to Ort Farms here in Northern New Jersey, to pick a pumpkin or two and take a few pictures. Well, I was instantly smitten with the neatly stacked jars of Apple Butter (which always sounds better than it tastes - at least to me) and Pumpkin Butter on display. I'm a sucker for 'country' looking displays of comestibles I've always associated with 'country' living (it's the city slicker still alive within me). Anyway, long story short, I bought a jar of the Pumpkin Butter thinking I'd try it out - how bad could it be?

But the jar lingered on my pantry shelf until this week, mainly because I'd convinced myself I wouldn't like it at all and why open the jar and have to throw the contents out? (It's a Mason jar size - smallest they had at Ort.) So I merely looked at it and remembered the fun time we'd had at the farm and how well Rocky had behaved in the crowd and how cute my granddaughter had looked.

Well, this week, throwing caution to the winds, I opened the jar and lo and behold I've made a new culinary discovery. I LOVE PUMPKIN BUTTER! And how come I've never tried it before?

I know, I know, better late than never. You guys all probably love it too and know all about it - right?

The stuff I bought has no preservatives, it's all pumpkin, sugar and apple juice and has the consistency of jam. YUM! And what's more - it's probably good for me if you overlook the sugar part.

I'm thinking it will be great slathered on cranberry bread (or any other bread, come to think of it), I've been having it at breakfast on biscuits and/or toast. It would be great too on muffins or for dessert, over vanilla ice cream with a touch of home-made whipped cream.

Or how about pumpkin shortcake? Slice a biscuit or scone in half, slather on the pumpkin butter, add some creme fraiche or home-made whipped cream with just a touch of vanilla added (no extra sugar) and voila!

I'm thinking too it might work in rice pudding. A kind of rice/pumpkin pudding sort of thing. Haven't thought out the recipe yet, but it might work. And of course, it would work with or added to bread pudding.

It might, just might, work with or mixed in a brownie as well. What do you think?

Pumpkin Butter - what could be better? Not much.

And by the way, a jar of the stuff tied with a friendly checked ribbon and bit of holly or tinsel would make a nice hostess gift.

I also discovered a new cooking blog, Closet Cooking. Here are some recipes from a day in 2008 which would work wonderfully at this time of year. Good recipes never grow old. Here's a link to a more recent page as well. I love to read cooking blogs even if I never (or hardly ever) make the recipes - it's like reading cookbooks: the fun is in the speculating.