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Look Who’s Coming to Dinner
I’ve made a lot of flavored butters, and these little butter pumpkins might be my cutest ones yet. We’re doing maple pecan brown butter, roasted garlic pumpkin, and pumpkin cinnamon roll. I love them for a fall dinner party, and if someone else is hosting Thanksgiving, these are coming with me. An adorable little thank-you for the person doing the cooking!
Table of Contents
Choose Your Favorite
Meet the Fall Butters
Maple Pecan Brown Butter
Sweet maple and nutty brown butter with a maple pecan filling tucked inside. You get pecan in the center and browned butter all around it, with a little flaky salt. Rich, buttery, and very much worth cutting into.
Roasted Garlic Pumpkin Butter
This one is savory, with plenty of roasted garlic and miso. The pumpkin and honey add some sweetness, but it still belongs firmly in garlic butter territory. Roasting gives the garlic a mellow flavor without that sharp raw bite.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Butter
The cinnamon roll inspiration is all here: brown sugar, warm cinnamon, and a tangy cream cheese center. The caramelized pumpkin goes into both the butter and the filling, so this is the pumpkin spice one of the bunch.
Know Before You Start
The Caramelized Pumpkin Puree
Pumpkin puree has a lot of moisture. Cooking it down makes it thicker and brings out more pumpkin flavor. Then the brown sugar and spices turn it into something much closer to pumpkin pie filling.
Give it about 10–15 minutes. Cook the plain pumpkin over medium heat, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pan. Look for a thicker texture and a slightly darker color.
Use a wide skillet. Spreading the pumpkin out helps moisture escape. Keep scraping the bottom and corners, and lower the heat if the pumpkin starts sticking or browning too quickly.
Save the garlic butter’s portion first. Scoop out 2 tablespoons before adding the brown sugar and spices. Cook the remaining pumpkin with the sugar and spices for another 3-4 minutes, then let it cool before mixing it into the softened butter.
A little extra for breakfast. You’ll have some sweetened pumpkin left after making the butters. Spread it on toast with cream cheese, stir a spoonful into oatmeal, or swirl it into plain Greek yogurt. It’s already sweetened and spiced, so taste before adding anything else.
How to Get the Look
Turning Butter Into Pumpkins
I use this silicone pumpkin mold. You can peel the silicone away from the chilled butter and keep those little pumpkin ridges intact.
Other silicone shapes work too, including silicone muffin cups or silicone ramekins. Choose something flexible that you can peel back for unmolding. Set it on a tray before filling so you can move it into the fridge without bending it.
Adding the Filled Centers
The maple pecan and pumpkin cinnamon roll butters have fillings. Fill those molds halfway for now, and fill the roasted garlic molds all the way to the top.
Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until the butter is firm enough to hold a little well made with a spoon. Leave the remaining maple and pumpkin cinnamon roll butters out during this short chill so they stay soft enough to spread over the fillings.
Use a spoon to make a well, leaving butter along the bottom and sides. Spoon or pipe in the filling, keeping it away from the sides of the mold and leaving room at the top. Cover with the remaining butter to seal the filling inside. Smooth the tops and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
Piping Tips
Stand a piping bag in a tall, sturdy cup and fold the top over the rim. This holds it open while you scoop in the butter and keeps the outside of the bag clean. Don’t fill it all the way up, leave room to twist the top closed.
Since these don’t need a decorating tip, I like to use disposable piping bags for easy cleanup. A sturdy zip-top bag works too. Fill it, press out the excess air, close it, and snip off a corner. Start small. You can always make the opening bigger.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make these the day before so they have at least 12 hours to set. Keep the molds covered in the fridge until you’re ready to unmold, and enjoy the butters within 3 days of making them. Take them out shortly before serving so they soften enough to spread. If you’re bringing them to someone’s house, pack them in a cooler with ice packs and refrigerate when you arrive.
Keep their total time out of the fridge under two hours, or one hour if you’re serving outside in temperatures above 90°F.
How to Serve
These butter pumpkins go great with warm bread. Toasted baguette, sourdough, and soft dinner rolls work with all three flavors. If you want to use crackers, choose something sturdy and fairly plain so it doesn’t compete with the butters. The maple pecan and pumpkin cinnamon roll versions are also good with warm biscuits, English muffins, or toasted brioche.
For a fall dinner menu, serve this butter appetizer with a pitcher of London Mules. The cinnamon, vanilla, and ginger make this a festive drink, and it’s make-ahead too! For dinner, Peppercorn-Braised Short Ribs over Potato Puree, and my go-to Arugula Fennel Salad on the side. Finish with Salted Pecan Pie.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Use plain pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices, which would change the sweetness and seasoning of these butters.
Pecan butter is pecans ground into a spread, like peanut butter. Use a smooth, unsweetened version for the filling. Chopped pecans won’t give you the same consistency.
Yes, but leave out the added salt and taste before adding more. Unsalted butter gives you more control, especially in the roasted garlic version, where the miso already contributes salt.
Equipment
- baking sheet
- aluminum foil
- Skillet
- saucepan
- Heatproof mixing bowl
- Large bowl for an ice bath
- Additional mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- whisk
- silicone spatula
- Tray to support the mold
- pastry brush
- Small spoon
- Piping bags, optional
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic
- 1 head garlic, top trimmed to expose the cloves
- olive oil, for drizzling
Caramelized Pumpkin Puree
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
Maple Pecan Brown Butter
- 10 oz unsalted butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 pinch flaky salt
- ¼ cup pecan butter, smooth, unsweetened
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Roasted Garlic Pumpkin Butter
- 6 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbsp reserved unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 1 tbsp miso
- 2 tbsp honey
Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Butter
- 8 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 7 tbsp prepared sweetened pumpkin puree, divided
- ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ cup cream cheese, softened
For the Molds
- softened butter, for greasing
- edible flowers
- dried edible marigolds
- rosemary, optional
Instructions
Prepare: Roasted Garlic
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Place the trimmed garlic on foil, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes, until tender.1 head garlic, olive oil
Prepare: Caramelized Pumpkin Puree
- Add the pumpkin purée to a skillet over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly caramelized. Reserve 2 tbsp in a small bowl for later.15 oz pumpkin puree
- Add brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin spice to the pumpkin puree in the skillet. Cook another 3-4 minutes and let cool.1 cup brown sugar, 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp pumpkin spice
The Butter Pumpkins
- Maple Pecan Brown Butter: Cook the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown and nutty-smelling, about 5–6 minutes. Immediately pour it into a heatproof bowl, scraping in the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.Set the bowl over an ice bath and whisk until the butter thickens to a spreadable consistency. Remove from the ice bath and whisk in ¼ cup maple syrup and a pinch of flaky salt.Filling: In a separate bowl, mix the pecan butter, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon of the maple brown butter you just made.10 oz unsalted butter, ¼ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup pecan butter, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 pinch flaky salt
- Roasted Garlic Pumpkin Butter: When the roasted garlic has cooled squeeze the cloves from their skins into the bowl with the reserved unsweetened pumpkin puree from earlier. Mix and add to a food processor along with softened butter, miso, and honey. Whip until combined.6 oz unsalted butter, 1 tbsp miso, 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp reserved unsweetened pumpkin puree
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Butter: In a bowl, whisk together the softened butter, 5 tbsp of the sweetened pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt until combinedFilling: In a separate bowl, mix together 2 tbsp of the sweetened pumpkin puree and the cream cheese.8 oz unsalted butter, 5 tbsp prepared sweetened pumpkin purée, 2 tbsp prepared sweetened pumpkin purée, ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 pinch salt, ¼ cup cream cheese
Assemble and Chill
- Prepare the Molds: Place the silicone molds on a tray. Brush softened butter onto the sides of the cavities.softened butter
- Maple Pecan Brown Butter Pumpkin: Place edible flowers around two of the cavities. Spoon or pipe the prepared maple brown butter into the cavities until halfway full.edible flowers
- Roasted Garlic Pumpkin Butter Pumpkin: Place edible marigolds around the next two cavities. Spoon or pipe the roasted garlic pumpkin butter to the top.dried edible marigolds
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Butter Pumpkin: Spoon or pipe the pumpkin cinnamon roll butter into the remaining two cavities until halfway full.
- Chill the Butters: Refrigerate the filled molds for 15 minutes, until the butters are firm enough to make a well. Keep the remaining maple and pumpkin butters soft for topping.
- Maple Pecan Brown Butter Pumpkin: Make a well with a spoon, keeping the bottom and sides intact. Spoon or pipe in the pecan filling into the middle, leaving room at the top. Cover with more of the maple pecan brown butter, making sure the filling is sealed.
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Butter Pumpkin: Make a well with a spoon, keeping the bottom and sides intact. Spoon or pipe in the cream cheese filling, leaving room at the top. Cover with more of the pumpkin cinnamon roll butter, making sure the filling is sealed.
- Set and Unmold: Smooth and clean off the tops. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, then unmold. Optional: Use a piece of rosemary to look like the stem.rosemary
Kitchen Cam
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
