4 ‘Butter’ Recipes for Fall Breads
Everyone loves a little bit of buttery goodness atop a breakfast English muffin or a slice of fresh baked fall bread. The question is, though: what kinds of butter do you fancy? Are you a peach butter aficionado or perhaps a fair-weather pumpkin butter user and a hardcore apple butter fan? Continue reading and to discover what butter makes you swoon. (Don’t forget to bookmark your favorite butter recipe so you can make the butter of your choosing before your next weekend brunch party!)
Homemade Spiced Pumpkin Butter (an OA Favorite)
Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients
One (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin purée (or 1 small, 1 ½ pound pumpkin)
½ cup apple cider
½ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
Pinch sea salt
Method
If using a whole pumpkin: Peel pumpkin and remove seeds. Cut flesh into ½-inch cubes. Place in medium pot with water barely to cover; bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until very soft, about 30 minutes. Drain and mash pumpkin until well pureed. If using canned pumpkin, skip and start with Step 2.
Return fresh pumpkin puree (or place canned pumpkin puree) to pot, along with remaining ingredients; stir well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring. Reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened and cohesive, about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring and scraping bottom of pot regularly.
Allow pumpkin butter to cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature or well chilled. Store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Peach Butter Recipe (Smitten Kitchen)
Ingredients
4 pounds of organic peaches
1 cup of water
2 cups of granulated sugar
Juice of one organic lemon
Method
“Without a food mill: Cut a small “x” in the bottom of each peach. Dip each into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, and then into a bowl of cold water for a minute. The peels should slide right off. [If you have a food mill, skip the peeling step and I’ll tell you where to use it in a moment.]
Halve your peaches and remove the pits, then cut each half into quarters (i.e. 8 chunks from each peach). Place peach chunks and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until peaches are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure they cook evenly. If you have a food mill, run them through it to puree them and remove the skins. If you don’t have a food mill — i.e. you already peeled your peaches — you can puree in a food processor, blender or with an immersion blender. I like my peach butter very smooth, but feel free to leave any amount of texture you prefer.
Return the peaches to the large pot, add the sugar and lemon juice and bring the mixture to a good strong simmer/gentle boil, cooking them at this level for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally in the beginning and more often near the end, as it thickens up and the fruit masses risk scorching on the bottom of the pot.
There are several methods to test for doneness: You can drizzle a ribbon of sauce across the surface; when that ribbon holds its shape before dissolve into the pot, it is done. Some people use cold or frozen plates; dollop a spoonful in the middle of one and if no water forms a ring around it in a couple minutes, it is done. Others use a spoon; if the butter remains rounded on a spoon for two minutes, it is done. You can also check the pot itself; the butter is usually done when a wooden spoon leaves a clear train when scraped across the bottom.
Let peach butter cool (unless you’re canning it, in which, follow the directions below). If you’re not canning it, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. It should be good for at least two weeks.”
Homemade Organic Almond Butter (allgoodprovisions.com)
Ingredients
2 cups organic almonds
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
Method
Mix almonds and olive oil in a powerful blender for a few minutes. Almonds should be ground to a paste. If almond paste is dry, add olive oil to loosen and soften to get desired consistency. Refrigerate in airtight container.
Sugar-Free Apple Butter (healthhomehappy.com)
Ingredients
8-12 medium-sized organic apples or combination of organic apples and organic, ripe pears
1/2 cup local honey (optional)
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon organic cinnamon
Method
Rinse apples, core, and slice. Don’t peel. Place apples in crock-pot with honey, water, and cinnamon. Turn on low for 12 hours or over night. At this point you will have apple sauce.
Puree in the crock-pot with a stick blender, or transfer to a food processor or blender and puree.
Return to crock-pot and cook on lowest setting with lid cracked to allow steam to escape for another 4 to 6 hours, stirring once every couple hours. The mixture will darken and thicken the butter.
Spoon into jars and keep in the refrigerator, freezer.
Okay. You’re done making the fruit butter of your choice. Clean up your kitchen (the guests are going to arrive bright and early, after all), and start to preheat your oven; it’s time to make some homemade fall bread to pair with that fresh butter.
This organic banana bread recipe is not too sweet, so it pairs well with most any fruit butter.
Banana Bread (by Audrey Millard in old, family cookbook)
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups of organic, whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of soda
1 cup of organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 or 3 organic bananas
2 cups organic canola oil or 2 cups of organic apple sauce
2 organic, free-range eggs
1/2 cup of natural nuts and organic raisins (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 325 degree F.
Sift flour, sugar, and salt. Mix bananas, oil or applesauce, and eggs. Blend all together in mixing bowl. Add nuts and raisins if you wish. Bake for 60 minutes.
If fruit bread isn’t your thing, give some whole grain German bread a shot. It’s rustic and hearty, and filled with healthy whole grains.
Image: missmeng
