Next on the list of pumpkin recipes:
Pumpkin Apple Butter!
I'd never made any sort of apple butter before this -
and every recipe I came across online required
endless hours in a slow cooker (which I sadly don't have.)
Not in the mood to give up - or wait 12 hours - I decided to wing it.
I came up with my own recipe and attempted to cook it on the
stovetop for a just couple of hours - in the hopes that it
would thicken into something that at
least resembled apple butter.
To my surprise, it actually worked!
With the addition of the pumpkin, within just about
an hour and a half the apple butter thickened up
and had my entire apartment smelling like Fall.
And with a pot full of pumpkin apple butter
(which I would've gladly eaten by the spoonful),
I had a lovely excuse to make some homemade buttermilk biscuits
(which are actually A LOT easier to make than I would've ever guessed.)
So here's how you make the pumpkin apple butter...
1. Start by peeling, coring, & dicing 4 small apples.
(I used 3 Fuji's & 1 Granny Smith for a little tang.)
2. Place the apples into a deep pot,
and pour 1 and 1/2 cups of apple cider over them.
3. Sprinkle on 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg and 1 tsp. - 1/2 tbsp. of cinnamon,
depending on how powerful you want the spice to be.
(I used 1/2 tbsp. and found it just a tiny bit overpowering.)
4. Lastly, add in 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and up to 1/2 cup of brown sugar,
depending on how sweet you want it.
5. Bring this mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat
& let the apples simmer until tender enough to smash with a fork
(about 15 - 20 minutes.)
When the apples are cooked through,
let the entire mixture cool slightly & then add it into a blender. Blend until smooth.
(I left a few small chunks in mine, to give the final product a bit more texture.)
Once the apple mixture is smooth, pour it back into the pan that you cooked it in.
Turn the heat onto low and stir in a 15 oz can of pumpkin,
the juice of half a lemon, and a pinch of salt.
(Be sure to taste everything as you go. If you find that the mixture is too sweet,
simply add more lemon juice until the flavors balance out.)
All that's left is to cook the mixture on low for about 1 and a half hours,
stirring occasionally, until it thickens. You'll know it's done when you
can draw a line on the bottom of the pan with your spoon,
and the apple butter doesn't run back into place.
(And you'll probably need to cover the pan with a lid for the first 30 minutes or so,
because the mixture tends to bubble & burst as it cooks.)
Once thickened, you can store your pumpkin apple butter in mason jars
& even give it away as a gift!
But make sure to save some for yourself... After all,
you'll need something to slather on these flaky & fluffy buttermilk biscuits.
The biscuits really couldn't be easier to make.
Just like the apple butter, I'd never made biscuits from scratch before.
(Lots of new adventures for me this week!)
I was sad it took me so long to realize how quick they come together
& how awesome they taste.
All you need to do is combine 2 cups of flour with
1 tbsp. of baking powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt.
Next, chop up 1 stick of cold butter into small cubes
& cut them into the flour mixture until it looks like crumbs.
Lastly, pour in 1 cup of cold buttermilk
and stir with a fork until the dough comes together.
(To make this even easier, combine all of the ingredients
above in a blender or food processor!)
~~~
{ Time for some honesty... I never use real buttermilk.
It's just so easy to create a homemade version of it
with ingredients you probably already have
- plain milk & lemon juice - so for me,
buying the real stuff just seems like a waste of $... }
Have you tried this method & do you think it makes a difference?
Let me know in the comments!
Plop the dough onto a clean, floured surface
& pat it out until it's about 1 inch thick.
Fold the dough back onto itself a few more times
and press it down to about 1/2 inch thickness.
Finally, use a floured glass, or a floured round cookie cutter, to cut out circles.
Once you've cut as many circles as you can, fold the remaining dough scraps back together
and repeat the process. Continue cutting circles until all the dough is used up.
(But remember - the key to a flaky biscuit is the cold butter, which melts &
creates pockets in the biscuit. So work fast before the butter melts.)
Brush the tops of the biscuits lightly with milk &
bake them at 450 F for about 10 minutes.
While they're fresh out of the oven, slather them with pumpkin apple butter
(and some real butter) & enjoy immediately.
You'll thank me later for that suggestion!
~INGREDIENTS~
For the Pumpkin Apple Butter...
4 small apples
1 and 1/2 cups apple cider
1 tsp. to 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
up to 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 (15 oz) can of pure pumpkin
Juice of half a lemon
A pinch of salt
For the Buttermilk Biscuits...
2 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick cold, salted butter
1 cup buttermilk
(A bit of plain milk to brush
on the biscuits before baking)
(Buttermilk Biscuit recipe adapted via One Sweet Appetite)
enjoy*
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