Prune Butter

To round off my new collection of icebox jams, I thought I'd merge my dad's stewed prune recipe with my preference for a preserve. So here's a simple recipe for making Prune Butter:

• Empty a container of pitted, sulfur dioxide free prunes into a pot.
• Add the juice of 1/4 lemon and a pinch of dried cloves, or 2 whole cloves.
• Add water to cover.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer partially covered until most of the liquid is absorbed.
• Periodically check the pot to see if you need to add more water.
• When the prunes are very soft, turn off the stove, remove the pot from the heat and set on a cooling rack.
• When the mixture has cooled down a bit, take a potato masher and press into the prunes until you have a creamy butter.

Divide into small covered glass storage containers. Put one in the refrigerator for use now. Put the other ones in the freezer for later use.

Tastes great as a spread over nut butter or yogurt on bread or a cracker. Or mix into yogurt to make a pudding.