Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter (Compound Butter) Recipe

Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter has all the flavors of pumpkin pie and begs to be slathered all over your favorite bread. It belongs on your Thanksgiving table.

​Thanksgiving is a Great Holiday

I love the time of year around the year-end holidays when the focus is on family, friends and food. In particular, I’m a die-hard Thanksgiving fan and love everything about this holiday.

For the Thanksgiving meal, most of us tend to focus on the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and whatever other favorite things are part of our family’s eating traditions. However, there also are some simple ways to “spice” up the holiday dinner table with new recipes.

I often look for ways to tweak our traditional holiday items to make them a little more interesting but keeping to the original intent. For example, I will never give up stuffing, but you can have some fun with it (see this Apple Cranberry Leek Stuffing). Often, these new recipes become our new favorite things to eat and new traditions are created!

Pumpkin Lovers Unite!

As we head into the Fall holiday season, it is the time of year that pumpkin lovers enjoy the most. There are so many great pumpkin recipes out there for those that crave either sweet or savory.

Grab a fresh pumpkin and make a delicious pumpkin soup. Use pumpkin pie filling to make pumpkin banana bread. Take that leftover pumpkin puree and whip up some awesome chocolate pumpkin pancakes. So many options!

But let’s get to what people really get crazy about in the Fall – pumpkin pie spice. From the “it’s only here for a limited time” pumpkin pie spice latte to topping your popcorn, it’s definitely become a favorite Fall flavor. 

This got me thinking about how to incorporate one of our Fall flavor favorites beyond just our traditional pumpkin pies. I wanted to find a great way to incorporate pumpkin pie spice into the Thanksgiving meal and keep it a simple recipe.

My Grandma’s Buns and Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter

First, a little backstory. My Grandma made these incredible and perfect dinner rolls. Pretty much every meal at her house included these rolls (affectionately referred to as “Grandma’s Buns”!).

While we love these dinner rolls any time of year, they are now a staple at our Thanksgiving table. It’s just so good to have warm dinner rolls on the table, and they are delicious with just regular butter. 

Well, regular butter is delicious, but can be a bit boring, so what if I made a pumpkin butter recipe using pumpkin pie spice? The dinner rolls are already slightly sweet, so adding in the pumpkin pie spice is a great way to get some of those flavors of pumpkin pie before we get to dessert!

So, I set out to make my own homemade pumpkin butter. Or, more accurately, a pumpkin spice compound butter. But what is a compound butter and how does that differ from regular butter?

Compound Butter

We’re all pretty familiar with what regular butter is. Typically, you see salted butter and/or unsalted butter. A compound butter is softened regular butter (typically unsalted butter) to which you add sweet or savory ingredients (e.g., garlic, herbs, honey). 

This makes for a creamy butter spread that you can add to sauces, meats, and vegetables. You can also use as a spread on your favorite bread (in my case, those delicious warm dinner rolls my Grandma used to make).

Compound Butters versus Fruit Butters

At this time of year, we also see a lot of different fruit butters, including that old favorite – apple butter. So, what is the difference between let’s say the apple butter and the pumpkin pie spice compound butter. 

Let’s start with apple butter isn’t truly a butter. Using a slow cooker, you reduce apples and cider until the sugar caramelizes which creates that beautiful brown color. The thicker consistency makes it a perfect spread as opposed to the more watery applesauce.

So, fruit butters aren’t really butters, but they do spread like one on your favorite bread!

Pure Pumpkin Puree versus Canned Pumpkin Puree

In this pumpkin butter recipe, I use canned pumpkin puree. You will also see pumpkin puree or pure pumpkin puree out there and these are all the same thing. It’s basically cooked pumpkin with no spices added.

The main thing is that you do not want to use pumpkin pie mix. The mix contains sugars and spices that the canned or pure pumpkin puree do not include. 

Regular Butter (Salted) versus Unsalted Butter

I do prefer using unsalted butter in most of my recipes – including this one. I like having control of how much salt goes into any dish that I make. Using unsalted butter gives me that control.

I like using regular butter (salted) more as a condiment. A creamy butter spread on artisan bread is one of my favorite things!

​The key to using the butter is to make sure you start working with it at room temperature. You are looking to make a creamy butter spread and room temperature butter is where you need to start.

Assemble and Enjoy!

This is an easy recipe in that you simply combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and then form into logs. Refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to use.

The honey adds a delicious sweetness and the pumpkin pie spice adds so many great spices. This is a great addition to your Thanksgiving table or any time of the year!

 

Tips and Tricks

• Unsalted butter is preferred for this recipe. That way the sodium is only coming from the salt you add, which prevents the dish from becoming too salty.
• Make sure the butter is very soft. This will make it easier to incorporate the pumpkin puree, honey and pumpkin pie spice equally and completely.
• Allow the butter at least an hour to come to room temperature before serving. This will make it much easier to spread.
• To form the butter into logs, divide the butter onto the center of two pieces of plastic wrap. Then, fold the plastic wrap over the butter and form it into a log shape.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make sure the butter comes to room temperature before serving (usually about 1 hour).
• You can also put the butter into a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to about 6 months. Again, make sure the butter comes to room temperature before using.
• This can be made vegan (non-dairy) by substituting margarine for butter and agave nectar for honey.

Ingredients Needed to Make Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter

Full instructions are found in the recipe card below

• Unsalted butter
• Canned pumpkin puree
• Honey
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Salt

How to Make Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter

• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, until well mixed.
• Divide butter into the center of two pieces of plastic wrap.
• Fold plastic wrap over the butter and form into a log.
• Finish wrapping.
• Refrigerate or freeze.
• Allow to soften before serving.

More Delicious Compound Butters to Try

• Whipped Cherry Butter
• Roasted Garlic and Herb Spread
• Gremolata Compound Butter
• Homemade Cajun Butter

ENJOY!

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