Pumpkin Spice Butter

Posted on: September 13, 2022. Updated on: July 12, 2023.

by Carolina Gelen

A rich and flavorful compound butter, just in time for pumpkin season: today I’m sharing with you a delicious pumpkin spice butter recipe. The natural warmth and sweetness of the ingredients are what makes this recipe perfect for fall: cozy, comforting, and absolutely delicious. Serve this with a crunchy piece of toast, pancakes, cakes, crêpes or French toast.

Start by concentrating the pumpkin purée and spices in a pan, we’re looking to cook down most of the water content in the pumpkin, leaving us with a silky, concentrated spiced pumpkin paste. If you don’t have all those spices in your pantry, feel free to use a store-bought pumpkin spice seasoning, it’ll be just as good.

Once the pumpkin paste has cooled, combine that with butter and sugar, and mix until smooth. Serve this butter on a gloomy fall breakfast, with fresh bread and pancakes.

 

Pumpkin Spice Butter

4.3 / 5. from 61

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4.3 / 5. from 61

Click to vote

Servings: 8 to 12
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 can (15 oz or 425 g) pumpkin purée
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 sticks (250 g) room temperature butter
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Combine the pumpkin purée, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves in a pan, over medium heat. Cook the purée, stirring frequently, for 15 to 18 minutes, or until smooth and thickened. We’re looking to cook down most of the water in the purée, so whenever the simmering purée stops producing visible steam, you can take it off heat. Spread the hot purée in a bowl and set it aside to cool.
  2. Combine the room temperature butter and brown sugar. Mix using a stand-mixer, electric mixer, or hand whisk until most of the sugar has been incorporated. Add the cooked spice pumpkin purée and mix until incorporated.
  3. Serve right away, or store it in the fridge. Serve with fresh toast, pancakes or a slice loaf cake.

Carolina Gelen

You may have seen my work on TV, Food Network, NYT Cooking, Food52 and more. I make recipes more fun and accessible for home cooks. I immigrated to the US from Transylvania, Romania—where I lived most of my life—in 2021 to pursue my passion for cooking full-time. Here you’ll find a collection of approachable recipes, from weeknight dinners to desserts, you’ll come back to over and over again. Some of my most popular recipes include my chicken paprikash, orange chicken roast with fennel and shallots or butter beans all vodka. Some recipes are inspired by my Romanian-Hungarian upbringing, and most definitely all come with that Transylvanian resourcefulness! I love a good thrift, so make sure to catch my thrift hauls every Sunday on my Instagram!

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27 thoughts on "Pumpkin Spice Butter"

  1. Meg says:

    Hey! How long does it keep for once made?

    1. Carolina says:

      A week and a half in the fridge, a few months in the freezer!

  2. Susan Jensen says:

    Just what I needed for my pumpkin biscotti! Thank you!

    1. Carolina says:

      What a combo!!!

  3. Joana Martins says:

    Hi there, this recipe sounds delicious!
    How long will it last?

    1. Carolina says:

      I’d give it a week and a half in the fridge, a few months in the freezer.

    2. molly says:

      Just popping in again to say that this came out amazing and everyone loved it. I’m on my way to make another batch now! Fun FYI: this makes an excellent base for buttercream frosting.

  4. Stephanie says:

    Your recipes always looks looks so good and you have an certain way of cooking that catches people attention on what you make. Love ya! Hugs

    1. Carolina says:

      Awww, that is so sweet of you, Stephanie, thank you 🙂

  5. Bernadette M Roden says:

    Can I can this in mason jars or will it change the texture?

    1. Carolina says:

      If you want to keep this for longer, I recommend freezing it! If you’d like to can it, make sure to pressure can it instead of water-bathing it, it’s safer since this pumpkin butter contains dairy 🙂

  6. Rosalie says:

    I actually give this recipe 5☆ review. Very easy to follow. I look forward to making it today. I can’t have the brown sugar so I will use honey. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thank you. I get hungry for pumpkin pie often, so, I’m thinking this will satisfy my pumpkin craving.

    1. Carolina says:

      So happy to hear that 🙂

  7. Emily Yanuskiewicz says:

    Just made this today! How long is this butter good for in the fridge?

    1. Carolina says:

      So happy to hear that! I’d give it a week and a half. You can also freeze it, it’ll last a few months in the freezer 🙂

      1. Emily Yanuskiewicz says:

        great thank you!!

  8. Henni says:

    Hey, I made it will 3 tbsp maple syrup that I mixed into pumpkin puree with spices instead of the sugar. It’s super yummy but sort of separated… it’s sort of speckled. Any idea why?

    1. Carolina says:

      I’m sorry to hear that! My guess is, the maple syrup hardened and turned into taffy after cooking, which prevented it to emulsify properly with the remaining ingredients 🙁

  9. Diane Lapson says:

    Looks great. For my family, I will make it with plant based butter instead of regular butter – but I’m wondering what to replace the sugar with. Everyone in my family has a different “desire,” when it comes to food. Maybe a crystalized sugar replacement. I’ll let you know how it winds up. Thank you Carolina. Hope you and yours are healthy and happy, and ready to enjoy a wonderful Fall.

  10. molly says:

    I didn’t see it specified on whether to use salted or unsalted butter. I’m thinking salted, but just in case it makes much of a difference I thought I’d ask! 😊

    1. Carolina says:

      Good question! Either works, so use whichever one you have on hand, there won’t be a huge difference. I suggest adding a touch more salt to taste if using unsalted butter!

  11. Kisha S. says:

    If we use a pumpkin pie spice blend how much of that should we substitute for the individual spices?

    1. Carolina says:

      I would start with 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, taste, and add more as needed 🙂

  12. Sherri Shuman says:

    I made this to try in advance for a Thanksgiving Brunch and it is amazing… easy and delicious! I’ll definitely be making it again and again!

  13. molly says:

    Just popping in again to say that this came out amazing and everyone loved it. I’m on my way to make another batch now! Fun FYI: this makes an excellent base for buttercream frosting.

  14. Jordan says:

    Made some and had it on toast for breakfast. I found it a bit plain on its own, but had it with a little bit if salt and maple syrup (like Carolina recommends in her instagram video) and it was fantastic.

  15. Kay Weems says:

    Recently started following – everything looks so good and you have such a sweet way of presenting yourself. Thank you!