Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Butter
2013-09-12 18:19:43
Pumpkin butter is perfect to make to utilize the meat of a pumpkin. It’s sweet, spicy and sopumpkin butter versatile! Spread it on breads or crackers, serve it next to a piece of meat, use it as a filling in cakes or cookies, or spread it on top of a plain cheese cake! It’s so tasty as well as easy to make. Of course you could use pumpkin from a can, but why not take advantage of a fresh pumpkin. We have found that smaller pumpkins are much more flavorful, however if you use the meat from a large one you could add some more spices to make up for any lack of flavor
Ingredients
- 3 cups of mashed pumpkin
- ¾ cup of concentrated apple juice
- ¼ cup of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon of allspice
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a pot and bring up to a simmer. Cook the mix for about 20 minutes or until everything is nicely incorporated. Taste and adjust spices to your liking.
Notes
- Storing:pumpkin_butter
- Freeze the pumpkin butter and it will stay nice for a couple of months. Or, simply store the pumpkin butter in the fridge if you plan to eat your it within two weeks.
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Apple Cider cups
2013-09-12 19:15:55
These are really much simpler than they look, and are such a charming way to enjoy your favorite apple cider! The only requirements are some apples, a paring knife, and a spoon. (Although if you have a melon baller, it’ll make the scooping slightly easier!)
Ingredients
- large apples
- lemon juice
- apple cider, either homemade or storebought
- optional: cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, allspice and/or star anise for garnish
Instructions
- On a cutting board or sturdy surface, use a knife to cut off the top of the apple. Then take a paring knife and carefully outline where you’d like the “rim” of your apple cup to be. (My rims were about 1/4″ wide.) Use a spoon to carefully begin scooping out the center of your apple until you have a nice “cup”. (A melon baller also works well for this.)
- Also, if your apple doesn’t sit exactly level, take your paring knife and just slice off a few millimeters to even off the bottom to make it even. Just be careful not to let your knife cut through the bottom or sides of the apple when hollowing it out, or the cider will leak out!
- Once you have the inside of the apples hollowed out, brush a little lemon juice over the inside of the apples (to prevent browning). Then fill with your favorite apple cider, garnish with cinnamon or spices if you’d like, and serve!
Notes
- You could also warm the apple cups in the oven before serving. I just wouldn’t leave them in too long, or they will lose their firmness.
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