Butter that isn't butter

Earlier this week, I gave a few suggestions for autumnal cocktails that utilize seasonal flavors in the last days of fall.

One of the drinks, Pumpkin Devine, called for pumpkin butter. An ingredient I'd never heard of, I was intrigued to understand the process of making butter out of pumpkin and subsequently, how that might mix into a liquid cocktail.

Well, come to find, the answer is quite simple. See, pumpkin butter is not butter. The recipe doesn't call for a single dairy product; apparently in the culinary world, fruit "butter" refers merely to a spreadable preserve.

Fruit butters combine fruits, sugars and spices. Prompted by co-workers hoping to try something sweet, I made an apple pumpkin butter the other night and am pleasantly surprised to report the result was delicious without any arduous milking or churning.

I glanced at some recipes but created my own off the basic concept. I used three parts apple puree and two parts pumpkin, brown and white sugars plus spices like cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg that I already had at home.

I've yet to try it in the Pumpkin Devine cocktail but it's well worth the minimal effort even for just toast and biscuits.