As you may already know, I love a good Bourbon!!! It’s the perfect time of year for Bourbon pumpkin butter. Bourbon pumpkin butter is a wonderful addition to waffles, oatmeal, biscuits, banana bread, or Zucchini bread. I still recall the first time I tasted homemade pumpkin butter, slathered on a toasted slice of home-baked Farmer’s Bread. Making pumpkin butter is a wonderful activity, and cooking a season’s bounty with amazing seasonal flavors is simply satisfying and rewarding. There is no better way to celebrate the fall and winter seasons than cooking pumpkin with whole freshly grated nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon – making your pumpkin butter a flavor bomb.
Ingredients for Bourbon Pumpkin Butter
If you’ve never had Bourbon pumpkin butter, clearly you are really missing out. You only need a handful of basic ingredients, with the exception of two or three, you very likely have most ingredients already sitting in your pantry. If you are a pumpkin lover, you will love this easy scratch recipe. It’s like pumpkin pie in a jar, only better!
Why do I use canned Pumpkins?
There are about 20 common types of pumpkins in America and they come in all fun shapes, sizes, and colors! And within a single variety, there can be a lot of variations. You can use fresh pumpkin to make your pumpkin butter. It will take some time and work to clean and cook fresh pumpkins, and doing so does not necessarily make a better product for this recipe. I recommend using canned 100% pumpkin puree. The puree has a smooth and creamy texture. By itself, a pumpkin has very little flavor. Most pumpkins can be bland in flavor but the great thing about pumpkins, they carry flavors, such as spices, very well. Adding traditional warming spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla, speak comfort and are easy to incorporate into fall or winter dishes.
Adding Bourbon
Bourbon’s flavor profile is filled with our favorite fall and winter flavors: vanilla, oak, and caramel.
All of which add an interesting layer to the pumpkin butter. Use a bourbon that you would actually drink. This is not the time to offload the cheap hooch. If it doesn’t taste good in a glass, it’s not going to taste great in the dish either.
Rolled Potato Dumplings with Bacon & Buttery Bread Crumbs,
Creamy Bourbon Pumpkin Butter sauce
Bourbon pumpkin butter is a very versatile condiment. The creamy Bourbon pumpkin butter sauce adds another amazing flavor to my rolled potato dumplings. I even serve Bourbon pumpkin butter with my cheese tray. You can enjoy it straight from the fridge or let it warm to room temperature.
Why not make a gift rather than buy it
I say it repeatedly that creating an edible gift is more personal than running to a store to purchase a bottle of wine. Most of the time it’s cheaper than buying from a store and it means so much more. A jar of homemade Bourbon pumpkin butter is a mindful seasonal gift, it can be gifted at any time throughout the holidays.
Bourbon Pumpkin Butter
The Taste
The amazing rewarding flavor of fall and the holiday season.
The addition of Bourbon adds an interesting layer of winter flavors, like vanilla, oak, and caramel.
The Process
Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated and overwhelming.
The recipe is as easy as it gets and has a very rewarding flavor of traditional warming spices like
cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla and speaks comfort.
An easy spread that you can incorporate in fall or winter dishes.
The Verdict
Making pumpkin butter is a wonderful activity and the taste is simply satisfying and rewarding, providing amazing seasonal flavors.
As a bonus, a jar of homemade Bourbon pumpkin butter is a mindful seasonal gift
that can be gifted any time throughout the holiday season.

Bourbon Pumpkin Butter
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 29 ounce 100% pumpkin puree canned, not pumpkin pie mix
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup pure
- 1 tbsp cinnamon, ground ground
- 3/4 tsp ginger, ground ground
- ¼ tsp nutmeg freshly grated
- 1 pinch cloves ground
- 1 pinch allspice ground
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup Bourbon
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted cold
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a Dutch oven, bring everything to a quick boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook. Stir occasionally, until the mixture thickens and reduces by about half, approximately 45 to 60 minutes. Be careful of the bubbles as it simmers, so stir carefully and it's recommended to use a splatter guard. Turn the heat down if there is too much bubbling and stir often.
- Once reduced, remove from the stove and let cool for 5 minutes. Blend in the butter. Let cool to room temperature.
- Ladle the pumpkin butter into a glass jar and place in the refrigerator overnight to develop the flavors. Store in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate