Spiced Pumpkin Butter

This recipe took care of three things for me. One, I had quite a bit of extra canned pumpkin left from stocking up in the fall. Two, I always like to make some sort of homemade gifts for Christmas and have done pear butter in the past with good results. And three, made my morning toast ten times better with its delicious-ness! This recipe from Multiply Delicious is incredibly easy. In fact, I mentioned I've done pear and apple butter in the past and this is so much less work since there is no fruit to clean and peel. You may have seen popular store bought versions of it at Trader Joe's or Williams-Sonoma. This recipe will make you around 3-4 pints. I doubled the recipe, used half pint jars, and got 14 out of it.
This is what I would do if you are planning to use it for gifts. You can use these for neighbors, to add to gift baskets, etc.

*Printable Version*

What You Need:
4 cups Pumpkin Puree {will take a bit more than 2 15 oz cans}
1 1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

In a 5-quart pot, combine all ingredients. Bring to boiling and then reduce the heat. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, 25 minutes or until thick. The mixture will probably spatter as it comes to a boil so watch carefully or it will be all over your kitchen! {This may have happened to me!} Keep stirring and as it loosens up this will stop.

If you are canning:
Ladle into HOT sterilized jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Keep jars on a towel. Wipe rims and immediately add sterilized seals and rings. Do not disturb for 24 hours. Mine did not seal right away but were all sealed within the hour.

If you are not canning, ladle into freezer containers or refrigerate and use.

Serve with bread, biscuits, or toast. Enjoy!