I’m nearing the end of my beloved jar of apple butter.  Sigh…  I know I can always buy more, but for some reason it still gives me heartache to see those last dredges lying listless at the bottom of the jar.

So in the wake of this obvious tragedy, I decided to take the last pie pumpkin sitting proudly and patiently atop my fridge and grant him with a most noble calling… that of becoming pumpkin butter.

Ok. That was way too dramatic.

But seriously, I almost bought some overpriced pumpkin butter at Whole Foods the other day and snapped myself out of it when I realized that I had a whole pumpkin at home and that I could totally make it myself.

I started by making pumpkin puree and transferring it to a heavy-bottomed pot.

I added about 1/4 cup of apple cider, a hunk of Earth Balance (1-2 tbsp.), 4 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1 tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg.

I turned the heat on to medium-low and stirred until everything was melted and incorporated.

After about 25 minutes of cooking, having stirred often throughout, it turned into this luscious creamy spread…

I turned off the heat and stirred in about half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.  I covered it and let it cool on a windowsill for a few hours.

And this was my marvelous breakfast this morning!…

Homemade oatmeal topped with a bit of crumbled vegan pumpkin bread and a generous dollop of the rich autumn-scented pumpkin buttah!

Yes, it was awesome.  Thank you for noticing.

So the verdict is that yes it was worth it to make it myself.  Mine was just as rich and decadent as store-bought pumpkin butter and not terribly labor-intensive.

What if I made oatmeal with pumpkin butter and apple butter!?!?  I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow.